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CHARLES WILLIAM WASON
COLLECTION ON CHINA
AND THE CHINESE
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Twentieth century impressions of British
3 1924 023 134 368 .*.,..
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TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS
OF
BRITISH MALAYA
A MAP OF THE
MALAY PENINSULA
Scale of Statute Miles'
10 2C 30 40 y> cp
Moj/ways Open.
f^ai/woiJb undet Construction
TiiT
1^2° I
l(i3°j
i^tomtktlj Cmtur^ Impr^gsinns
0f
ritiab JEala^a
ITS HISTORY, PEOPLE, COMMERCE,
INDUSTRIES, AND RESOURCES
Editor in Chief: ARNOLD WRIGHT (London).
ASSISTANT Editor: H. A. CARTWRIGHT (Singapore).
LONDON, DURBAN, COLOMBO, PERTH (W.A.), SINGAPORE, HONGKONG, AND
SHANGHAI :
LLOYD'S GREATER BRITAIN PUBLISHING COMPANY, LTD.,
1908.
Lo
\f\i -U>L:l7o
HIS EXCELLENCY SIR JOHN ANDERSON, K.C.M.G., GOVERNOR AND COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF
THE STRA.ITS SETTLEMENTS, HIGH C3M.VII3SIONER FOR THE FEDERATED MALAY STATES,
AND CONSUL-GENERAL FOR BRITISH NORTH BORNEO, BRUNEI, AND SARAWAK.
MISS ANDERSON.
PREFACE
HIS work is ihc outcome of an enterprise licsignal to liivc in an altrachve Jonii full
and reliable information willi reference to the outlying parts of the Empire. The
value of a fuller knowledge of the '■ Britains beyond ttic Sea" and ttie great depen-
dencies of the Croivn as a means of tiglitening the bonds which unite the component
parts of the King's dominions was insisted upon by Mr. Chamberlain in a memorable
speech, and the same note ran through the Prince of Wales's impressive Mansion
House address in which His Royal Highness summed up the lessons of his lour through
the Empire, from ivhicli he had Hum fust returned. In some instances, notably in
the case of Canada, the local Governments have done much to difluse in a popular form infoi niation relative
to the territory which they administer. But there are other centres in wliich olficial enteifrise in this direction
has not been possible, or, at all events, in wliich action has not been taken, and it is in this prolilic Held lliat
the publishers are working. So far tliev have found ample fustijication for tlicir labours in the widespread
public interest taken in their operations in the colonies which have been the scene of Hair ivork, and in the
extremely cordial reception given by the Press, both home and colonial, to ttie completed results.
Briefly, the aim which the publishers keep steadily before Hi em is to give a perfect microcosm of the colony
or dependency treated. As old Stow with patient application and scrupulous regard tor accuracy set himself to
survey the London of his day, so the workers employed in tlie production of this scries endeavour to give a picture,
complete in every particular, of Hie distant possessions of the Croivn. Bui topography is only one of ttie features
treated. Responding to modern needs and tastes, the literary investigators devote their attention to every important
phase of life, bringing to the elucidation of the subjects treated the powerful aid of the latest and best metliods
of pictorial illustration. Thus a work is compiled which is not only of solid iind enduring value for purposes of
reference and for practical business objects, but is of unique interest to all who arc interested in Hie developnient
of the Empire.
Following closely upon Hie lines of Hie earlier works of Hie series on JVcslerii Australia, Xatat. and Ceylon,
this volume deals e.yhaustively willi the liistory. administration, peoples, commerce, industries, and potentialities
of the Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay States — territories ichich. though but comparatively little known
hitherto, promise to become of very great commercial importance in the near future. By reason of their
PREFACE
scattered nature, wide extent, undeveloped condition, and different systems of government, the adequate
treatment of them has presented no little difficulty to the compilers. But neither trouble nor expense has been
spared in the attempt to secure full and accurate information in every direction, and, wherever possible, the
services of recognised experts have been enlisted. The general historical matter has been written after an
exhaustive study of the original records at the India Office, and it embodies information which throws a new
light upon some aspects of the early life of the Straits Settlements. For the facilities rendered in the prosecution
of his researches and also for the sanction freely given to him to reproduce many original sketches and scarce
prints in the splendid collection at the India Office Library, Whitehall, the Editor has to offer his thanks to ike
India Council. In the Straits much valued assistance has been rendered by the heads of the various
Government Departments, and the Editor is especially indebted to his Excellency Sir John Anderson, K.C.M.G.,
the Governor of the Straits Settlements and High Commissioner for the Federated Malay States, who has
given every possible encouragement to the enterprise.
Obviously a work of this magnitude cannot be produced except at very considerable cost. As the publishers
do not ask for any Government subsidy, because of the restrictions which it might impose upon them, this cost
has to be met in part by receipts from the sale of copies and in part by revenue from the insertion of
commercial photographs. The publishers venture to think that this fact furnishes no ground for adverse
criticism. The principle is that adopted by the highest class of newspapers and magazines all over the world.
Moreover, it is claimed that these photographs add to, rather than detract from, the value of the book.
They serve to show the manifold interests of the country, and, with the accompanying descriptive letterpress,
which is independently written by members of the staff from personal observation, they constitute a picturesque
and useful feature thai is not without interest to the general reader and student of economics, while it is of
undoubted value to business men throughout the British Empire.
November, 1907.
CONTENTS
The Straits Settlements. By Arnold Wright —
Early History ■ • ......
Singapore .... .... . .
PiNANG (including PROVINCE WELLESLEY AND THE DiNDINGs)
Malacca . ..... .... . .
The Federated Malay States. By Arnold Wright (with chapters on the early history
of the Malays and the Portuguese and Dutch Periods by R. J. Wilkinson, Secretary
to the Resident of Perak) ........ ....
Christmas Island, the Cocos-Keeling Islands, and Labuan . ...
The Present Day .... ... . .
List of Governors and High Commissioners
Constitution and Law
State Finance . . ....
Opium . ...
Gambling and Spirits . . . .
Exports, Imports, and Shipping. By A. Stuart, Registrar of Imports and Exports,
Straits Settlements . . ....
Harbours and Lighthouses . . .....
Social Life .... . .
The Population of Malaya. By Mrs. Reginald Sanderson
The Malays of British Malay'a. By B. O. Stoney, Hon. Sec. of the Malay Settlement,
Kuala Lunipor . . . ■ ...
Malay Literature. By R. J. Wilkinson ... . .
Native Arts and Handicrafts. By L. Wray, I.S.O., M.I.E.E., F.Z.S., M.R.P.S., etc.,
Director of Museums, Federated Malay States .
Health and Hospitals .
Press. By W. Makepeace . . . .
Education. By J. B. Elcum, B.A. Oxon., Director of Public Instruction, Straits Settlements
and Federated Malay States
Religion .... ... . . .
Police. By Captain W. A. Cuscaden, Inspector-General of Police, Straits Settlements, and
Captain H. L. Tal,bot, Commissioner of Police, Federated Malay States
Prisons . . ...
Railways . . . . .
/ Public Works .
Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones ....
Forests of Malaya. By A. M. Burn-Murdoch, Conservator of Forests, Federated Malay
States and Straits Settlements ...
13
20
49
65
74
"5
117
120
121
137
152
161
162
182
195
213
222
229
232
346
353
267
281
394
301
303
314 ^
326
330
12
CONTENTS
Botany. By H. N. Ridley, M.A., F.R.S., F.L.S., F.R.H.S., etc., Director of the Botanical
Gardens^ Singapore . . ....
Agriculture. By R. Derry', Assistant Superintendent, Botanical Gardens, Singapore .
Rubber. By J. B. Carruthers, F.R.S.E., F.L.S., Director of Agriculture and Government
Botanist, Federated Malay States . . .... ...
Coconut Cultivation. By L. C. Brown, Inspector of Coconut Plantations, Federated Malay
States
The Pineapple Industry
Mining
Fisheries .
Meteorology ....
Geology. By J. B. Scrivenor, Government Geologist, Federated Malay States
Sport. By Theodore R. Hubback
Military .
The Straits Settle.ments —
Singapore
PiXAXG
Malacca
The Federated Malay States —
Kuala Lumpor
Perak
Selangor
Negri Sambilan
Pahang
JoHOKE
Social and Professional
Indfstrial .
Commercial ...
Fauna. By H. C. Robinson, Curator, Selangor Museum
Information for Tourists
Concluding Note
Index .
332
339
345
503
504
505
554
556
558
559
587
599 .r
728^
837
845
858
878
881
886
890
892
907
912
927
937
953
955
iritislj ^ala^a:
ITS HISTORY, PEOPLE, COMMERCE, INDUSTRIES, AND RESOURCES
?? Q -^
THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS
By ARNOLD WRIGHT
bi 9 d^
liW of the oversea pos-
sessions of the Crown,
outside India and the
great self - governing
colonies, can compare in
interest and importance
with the Straits Settle-
ments. They are situ-
ated in a region which
Nature has marked out as one of the great
strategic centres of the world alilce for pur-
poses of war and of commerce. "Within its
narrowest limits," wrote the gifted statesman '
to whom Britain owes the possession to-day of
the most important unit of this magnificent
group of colonies, " it embraces the whole of
the vast Archipelago which, stretching from
Sumatra and Java to the Islands of the Pacific
and thence to the shores of China and Japan,
has in all ages excited the attention and
attracted the cupidity of more civilised nations;
an area whose valuable and peculiar produc-
tions contributed to swell the extravagance of
Roman luxury, and one which in more modern
times has raised the power and consequence
' Sir T. Stamford Raffles, " Memoir on the Adminis-
tration of the Eastern Islands," in Lady Raffles's
" Memoir of SirT. Stamford RafHes," Appendix L, 25.
EARLY HISTORY
of every successive European nation into whose
hands its commerce has fallen ; and which,
further, perhaps in its earliest period among
the Italian States, communicated the first
electric spark which awoke to life the energies
and the literature of Europe."
England's interest in this extensive region
dates back to the very dawn of her colonial
history. The foundations of theexisting colonies
were laid in "the spacious age " of Elizabeth, in
the period following the defeat of the Spanish
Armada, when the great Queen's reign was
drawing to its splendid close in a blaze of
triumphant commercial achievement.
Drake carried the English flag through the
Straits of Malacca in his famous circumnaviga-
tion of the world in 1579. But it was left to
another of the sturdy band of Elizabethan
adventurers to take the first real step in the
introduction of English influence into the
archipelago. The Empire-builder who laid the
corner-stone of the noble edifice of which we
are treating was James Lancaster, a bluff old
sailor who had served his apprenticeship in the
first school of English seamanship of that or
any other day. It is probable that he accom-
panied Drake on his tour round the world : he
certainly fought with him in the great struggle
13
against the Armada. After that crowning vic-
tory, when the seas were opened everywhere to
vessels bearing the English flag, men's thoughts
were cast towards that Eldorado of the East
of which glowing accounts had been brought
back by the early adventurers. Then was laid
the corner-stone of the structure which, in pro-
cess of time, developed into the mighty Eastern
Empire of Britain. The first direct venture
was the despatch of three small ships, with
Lancaster as second in command, to the
East. Quitting Plymouth on .\pril 10, 1591,
these tiny vessels, mere cockboats compared
with the leviathans which now traverse the
ocean, after an adventurous voyage reached
Pulo Pinang in June of the same year. The
crews of the squadron were decimated by
disease. On Lancaster's ship, the Edward
Bonavcutnrc, there were left of a complement
of upwards of a hundred " only 33 men and
one boy, of which not past 22 were found for
labour and help, and of them not past a third
sailors." Nevertheless, after a brief sojourn
Lancaster put to sea, and in August captured a
small Portuguese vessel laden with pepper,
another of 250 tons burthen, and a third of 750
tons. \A'ith these valuable prizes the daring
adventurer proceeded home, afterwards touch-
14
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH 'v ALAYA
ing at Point de Galle, in Ceylon, to recruit.
The return voyage was marked by many
thrilling episodes, but eventually the ships got
safely to their destinations, though of the crew
of 198 who had doubled the Cape only 25
landed again in England.
The terrible risks of the adventure were soon
forgotten in the jubilation which was caused by
the results achieved. These were of a char-
acter to fire men's imaginations. On the one
hand the voyagers had to show the valuable
booty which they had captured from the Portu-
guese ; on the other they were able to point to
the breaking of the foreign monopoly of the
lucrative Eastern trade which was implied in
their success. The voyage marked an epoch
in English commercial history. As a direct
On June 5th following the fleet reached Achin.
A most cordial reception awaited Lancaster at
the hands of the King of Achin. The fame of
England's victory over Spain had enormously
enhanced her prestige in the Eastern world,
and in Achin there was the greater disposition
to show friendliness to the English because
of the bitter enmity of the Achinese to the
Portuguese, whose high-handed dealings had
created a lively hatred of their rule. Lan-
caster, who bore with him a letter from the
Queen to the native potentate, seems to have
been as clever a diplomat as he was able a
sailor. The royal missive was conveyed to the
native Court with great pomp. In delivering it
with a handsome present, Lancaster declared
that the purpose of his coming was to establish
POETRAIT OF SIR FRANCIS DRAKE WITH HAWKINS AND CAVENDISH.
(Reproduced by permission of the Lords of the Admiralty from the picture in the Gallery at Greenwich Hospital.)
Drake was the first EngUshman to navigate a ship through the Straits of Malacca.
result of it followed the formation of the East
India Company. The various steps which led
up to that important event lie beyond the pro-
vince of the present narrative. It is sufficient
for the purposes in hand to note that when the
time had come for action Lancaster was selected
by the adventurers to command the Company's
first fleet, and that he went out duly commisr
sioned by the authority of the Queen as their
Governor-General." Established in the Red
Dragon, a ship of 600 tons burthen, and with
three other vessels under his control, Lancaster
sailed from Woolwich on February 13, 1600-1.
" This point, which has been overlooked by man\-
writers, is made clear by this entry to be found in
the Hatfield Manuscripts (Historical Manuscripts
Commission), Part xi. p. 18 : " i5oo-i, Jan. 24th.
Letters patent to James Lancaster, chosen by the
Governor and Company of the Merchants of London
trading to the East Indies as their Governor-General.
The Queen approves of their choice, and grants
authority to Lancaster to exercise the office."
peace and amity between his royal mistress and
her loving brother the miglity King of Achin.
Not to be outdone in courtesy, the Sumatran
prince invited Lancaster and his officers to a
magnificent banquet, in which the service was
of gold, and at which the King's damsels, richly
attired and adorned with jewellery, attended,
and danced and sang for the guests' edification.
The culminating feature of the entertainment
was the investiture of Lancaster by the King
with a splendid robe and the presentation to
him of two kriscs — the characteristic weapon of
Malaya, without which no honorific dress is
considered complete by the Malays. What was
more to the purpose than these honours, grati-
fying as they were to the Englishmen, was the
appointment of two nobles, one of whom was
the chief priest, to settle with Lancaster the
terms of a commercial treaty. The negotiations
proceeded favourably, and in due course Lan-
caster was able to congratulate h.mself on
having secured for his country a formal and
exp lick right to trade in Achin. The progress
expncu iit,iiL watched with
of events, meanwhile, was Demg w
jealous anxiety by the Portugiiese who knew
'that the intrusion of so formidable a rival as
England into their sphere of influence boded ill
for the future of their power. Attempts were
actually made to sterilise the negotiations, but
Lancaster was too well acquainted with Portu-
guese wiles to be taken at a disadvantage. On
the contrary, his skill enabled him to turn the
Portuguese weapons against themselves. By
bribing the spies sent to Achin he got informa-
tion which led to the capture of a rich prize
—a fully laden vessel of 900 tons— in the Straits
of Malacca. Returning to Achin after this ex-
pedition, Lancaster made preparations for the
homeward voyage, loading his ships with
pepper, then a costly commodity in England
ovifing to the monopolising policy of the Portu-
guese and the Spaniards. He seems to have
continued to the end in high favour with the
King. At the farewell interview the old monarch
asked Lancaster and his officers to favour him
by singing one of the Psalms of David. This
singular request was complied with, the selec- ,;
tionbeing given with much solemnity.' On Nov-
ember 9, 1602, the Red Dragon weighed anchor I
and proceeded to Bantam, where Lancaster % t| '
established a factory. A second trading estab- { ■
lishment was formed in the Moluccas. This done^
the Red Dragon, with two of the other vessels of
the fleet, steered a course homeward. The little
squadron encountered a terrible storm off the
Cape, which nearly ended in disaster to the
enterprise. Lancaster's good seamanship, how-
ever, brought his vessels through the crisis
safely. It says much for the indomitable spirit
of the man that when the storm was at its
height and his own vessel seemed on the point
of foundering he wrote, for transmission by one
of the other ships, a letter to his employers at
home, assuring them that he would do his
utmost to save the craft and its valuable cargo,
and concluding with this remarkable sentence ;
" The passage to the East Indies lies in 62 de-
grees 30 minutes by the NW. on the America
side."' Lancaster reached England on Septem-
ber II, 1603. The country resounded with
praises of his great achievement. Milton, as
a boy, must have been deeply impressed with
the episode, for it inspired some of his stateliest
verse. Obvious references to Lancaster's voy-
ages are to be found, as Sir George Birdwood
has pointed out,3 in " Paradise Lost," in the
poet's descriptions of Satan. Thus, in Book II.
we have a presentment of the Evil One as he
" Puts on swift wings and then soars
Up to the fiery concave towering high
As when far off at sea a fleet descried
Hangs in the clouds, by equinoctial winds
Close sailing from Bengala, or the isles
Of Ternate aud Tidore, whence merchants bring
Their spicy drugs ; tliey on the trading flood
Through the wide Ethiopian to the Cape
Ply, stemming nightly towards the Pole.
So seemed far off the flying fiend."
■ Marsden's " History of Sumatra," i. p. 436.
= Hakluyt's " Principal Xavigations," ii. p. 2,
1. 102.
3 " Report on the Old Records of the East India
Company," p. 205.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
15
And again in Book IV. :
" So on he fares, and to the border comes
Of Eden . .
A sylvan scene .
Of stateliest view . .
. . able to drive
All sadness but despair ; now gentle gales
Fanning their odoriferous wings, dispense
Native perfumes, and whisper whence they
stole
Those balmy spoils. As when to them who
sail
Beyond the Cape of Hope, and now are past
Mozambick, off at sea North East winds blow
Sabean odours from the spicy shore
Of Araby the Blest ; with such delay
Well pleased they slack their course, and many
a league
Cheer'd with the grateful smell Old Ocean
smiles :
So entertain'd those odorous sweets the fiend
Who came their bane."
This Rne imagery shows how deep was the
impression made upon the nation by Lan-
caster's enterprise. But it was in its practical
aspects that the success achieved produced the
most striking results. The immediate frilit of the
voyage was a great burst of commercial activity.
The infant East India Company gained ad-
herents on all sides, and men put their- capital
into it in confident assurance that they would
reap a golden return on their investment. So
the undertaking progressed until it took its
place amongst the great established institutions
of the country. Meanwhile Lancaster dropped
into a wealthy retirement. He lived for a good
many years in leisured ease, and dying, left a
substantial fortune to his heirs..
The history of the East India Company in
its earliest years was a chequered one. The
Dutch viewed the intrusion of their English
rivals into the Straits with jealous apprehension,
and they lost no opportunity of harassing the
trading operations of both. But the conditions
of the compact were flagrantly disregarded by
the Dutch, and soon the relations of the repre-
sentatives of the two nations were on a more
nearly all their factories from the archipelago,
p'ive years later the factory at Bantam was,
however, re-established as a subordinate
agency to Surat. It was subsequently (in 1634-
SPECIMENS OF THE MALAY KBIS.
Company's agents. In 1619 a treaty was con-
cluded between the English and the Dutch
Governments with a view to preventing the
disastrous disputes which had impeded the
The Red Dragon, Captain ^^-^''^^ ^^ xl^c ktr^at
Anno loOi- -^
unfavourable footing than ever. Up to this
time, says Sir George Birdwood, the English
Company had no territory in sovereign right in
the Indies excepting the island of Lantore or
Great Banda. This island was governed by a
commercial agent who had under him 30
Europeans as clerks, and these, with 250 armed
Malays, constituted the only force by which it
was protected. In the islands of Banda, Pulo
Roon, and Rosengyn, and at Macassar and
Achin and Bantam, the Company's factories and
agents were without any military defence. In
1620, notwithstanding the Treaty of Defence,
the Dutch expelled the English from Pulo Roon
and Lantore, and in 1621 from Bantam. On
the 17th February, 1622-23, occurred the famous
massacre of Araboyna, which remained as a
deep stain on the English name until it was
wiped out by Cromwell in the Treaty of West-
minster of 1654. In 1624 the English, unable
to oppose the Dutch any longer, withdrew
35) again raised to an independent presidency,
and for some years continued to be the chief
seat of the Company's power in the Straits.
The factory was long a thorn in the Dutch side,
and they adopted a characteristic method to
extract it. In 1677 the Sultan of Bantam had
weakly shared the regal power with his son.
This act led to dissensions between parent and
child, and finally to open hostilities. The Dutch
favoured the young Sultan and actively assisted
him. The English threw the weight of their
influence into the scale in favour of the father.
They acted on the sound general principle of up-
holding the older constituted authority ; but
either from indecision or weakness they re-
frained from giving more than moral support to
iheir pro lege. When, as subsequently happened,
the young Sultan signally defeated his father and
seated himself firmly on the throne as the sole
ruler of the State, they paid the penalty of their
lack of initiative by losing their pied ,'i terre in
16
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MAI>AYA
EUROPEAN TBADEES AT THE COURT OF AN EASTERN PRINCE.
Bantam. On April I, 1682, the factory was
taken possession of by a party of Dutch
soldiers, and on the 12th August following the
to repair the mischief caused by the Dutch.
The outcome of their deliberations with the
authorities at the Western India factory was
VIEW OF THE ISLAND OF BANDA.
agent and his council were deported in Dutch
vessels to Batavia. A twelvemonth later the
expropriated officials were at Surat, attempting
the despatch of a mission, headed by Messrs.
Ord and Cawley, two expert officials, to Achin,
to set up, if possible, a factory there to take the
place of the one which had existed at Bantam.
On arrival at their destination the envoys found
established upon the throne a line of queens.
The fact that a female succession had been
adopted is thought by Marsden, the historian of
Sumatra, to have been due to the influence
exercised by our Queen Elizabeth, whose won-
derful success against the Spanish arms had
carried her fame to the archipelago, where the
Spanish and Portuguese power was feared and
hated. However that may be, the English
mission was received with every mark of
respect by the reigning Queen — Anayet Shah.
Suspicions appear to have been entertained by
the visitors that her Majesty was not a woman,
but a eunuch dressed up in female apparel.
Marsden, however, thinks that they were mis-
taken in their surmise, and he cites a curious
incident related in the record drawn up by
Messrs. Ord and Cawley of their proceedings
as conclusive evidence that his view is the
correct one. " We went to give an audience at
the palace this day as customary," write the
envoys ; " being arrived at the place of audience
with the Orang Kayos, the Queen was pleased to
order us to come nearer, when her Majesty was
very inquisitive into the use of our wearing
periwigs, and what was the convenience of
them, to all of which we returned satisfactory
answers. After this her Majesty desired of
Mr. Ord, if it were no affront to him, that he
should take off his periwig that she might see
how he appeared without it ; which, according
TWENTIETH CENTURY TMrRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
17
to her Majesty's request, he did. She then told
us she had heard of our business, and would
give her answer by the Orang Kayos, and so
proof against English determination. Gra-
dually but surely the East India Company's
authority at the chosen centres was consoli-
VIBW AT BANTAM, ISLAND OF JAVA.
(From \\\ Alexander's drawings to illustrate Lord Macartney's Embassy to China.)
we retired." The Queen's reply was a favour-
able one, but circumstances rendered it un-
necessary to proceed further with the scheme
of establishing a factory in Achin. It chanced
that the visit of the English mission coincided
with the arrival in Achin of a number of chiefs
of Priaman and other places on the West Coast
of Sumatra, and these, hearing of the English
designs, offered a site for a factory, with the
exclusive right of purchasing their pepper. Mr.
Ord readily listened to their proposals, and he
ultimately got the chiefs to embark with him for
Madras, for the purpose of completing a formal
arrangement. The business was carried through
by the Governor of Madras in the beginning of
the year 1685 on the terms proposed. Subse-
quently an expedition was fitted out with the
object of establishing the factory at Priaman.
A short time before it sailed, however, an invi-
tation was received at Madras from the chiefs
of Beng Kanlu (Bencoolen) to make a settle-
ment there. In view of the fact that a consider-
able portion of the pepper that was formerly
exported from Bantam came from this spot, it
was deemed advisable that Mr. Ord should iirst
proceed there. The English expedition arrived
at Bencoolen on June 25, 168S, and Mr. Ord
took charge of the territory assigned to the
Company. Afterwards other settlements were
formed at Indrapura and Manjuta. At Priaman
the Dutch had anticipated the English action,
and the idea of establishing a settlement there
had to be abandoned. The Dutch also astutely
prevented the creation of another English
trading centre at Batang-Kapas in 1686. The
unfriendly disposition shown in these instances
was part of a deliberate policy of crushing out
English trade in the Straits. Where factories had
been founded the Dutch sought to nullify them
by establishing themselves in the neighbour-
hood and using the utmost influence to prevent
the country people from trading with them.
Their machinations were not in the long run
dated, and within a few years Bencoolen
assumed an aspect of some prosperity. But its
progress was limited by an unhealthy situation,
and by natural disadvantages of a more serious
character. In the beginning of the eighteenth
century the old settlement was abandoned in
favour of a better site about three miles away
on the bay of Bencoolen.. The new town, to
of dignity by reason of the circumstance that it
was the headquarters of the Company's power
in these regions. But \ature never intended it
for a great commercial entrepot, and of the
leading factories of the East India Company it
represents probably the most signal failure.
In the early half of the eighteenth century
the course of British commerce in the Straits
ran smoothly. It is not until we reach the
year 1752 that we find any event of importance
in the record. At that period a forward policy
was initiated, and two new settlements were
established on the Smnatra coast. To one the
designation of Natal was given ; the other was
founded at Tappanuli. Natal in its time was
an important factory, but as a centre of British
commerce it has long since passed into the
limbo of forgotten things. In 1760, during our
war with France, a French fleet under Comte
d'Estaing visited the Straits and destroyed all
the East India Company's settlements on the
Sumatra coast. But the mischief was subse-
quently repaired, and the British rights to the
occupied territory were formally recognised in
the Treaty of Paris of 1763. Up to this period
Bencoolen had been subordinate to Madras, an
arrangement which greatly militated against its
successful administration. The establishment
was now formed into an independent presi-
dency, and provided with a charter for the
creation of a mayor's court. The outbreak of
the war with Holland brought the station into
special prominence. In.i7Si an expedition
was despatched from it to operate against the
Dutch estabUshments. It resulted in the seizure
of Pedang and other important points in
Sumatra. The British power was now practi-
cally supreme on the Sumatran coasts. But it
ANJOBE POINT, STRAITS OF SUNDA.
(From Alexander's drawings at the India Office.)
which the designation Fort Marlborough was
given, was an improvement on the original
settlement, and it attained to a certain position
had long been felt that an extension of British
influence and power beyond Sumatra was
desirable in the interests of a growing com-
18
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MAT.AVA
merce in the Straits and for the protection of
our important China trade. The occupation of
Pinang in 1786, in circumstances which will
be detailed at a later stage of our narrative, was
its possession less burdensome. It continued
to the end of its existence a serious drag on the
Company's finances.
The year 1804 is memorable in Straits history
SIB T. STAMFORD RAFFLES.
(From the portrait by G. F. Joseph, .A.R.A., in the Xiitional Portrait Gallery.)
Street. There he remained until the occupa-
tion of Pinang gave him the opportunity, for
which his ardent spirit longed, of service
abroad. He went out with high hopes and
an invincible determination to justify the con-
fidence reposed in him. His spare momenls
on the voyage were occupied in learning the
Malay language and studying Malay literature.
Thus he was able to land with more than a
casual equipment for the work he had to do.
At Pinang he continued his linguistic studies,
with such good effect that in a short time he
was an acknowledged authority on Malayan
customs. His exceptional ability did not pass
without recognition. Through Dr. Leyden,
who had formed Raffles's acquaintance in
Pinang, Lord Minto, then Governor-General
of India, heard of this brilliant young official
who was making so distinguished a reputation
in paths not usually trodden by the Company's
junior servants. A visit to Calcutta in 1807 by
Raffles was an indirect consequence of the
introduction. Lord Minto received the young
man kindly, and discussed with him the question
of the extension of British influence in the
Malay Archipelago. Raffles ended by so im-
pressing the statesman with his grasp of the
situation that the latter conferred upon him
the position of Governor-General's Agent in
the Eastern seas. This extraordinary mark of
favour was completely justified when, four
years later. Lord Minto conducted in person an
expedition for the conquest of Java. The expe-
ditionary force consisted of nearly six thousand
British and as many Indian troops. Ninety
ships were required for the transport of the
force, which was at the time the largest ever
sent to those seas by a European Power.
the result. Nine years later Malacca, captured
from the Dutch, was added to our possessions.
These important centres gave a new strength
and significance to our position in the Straits.
But no change was made in the administrative
system until 1802, when an Act of Parliament
was passed authorising the East India Com-
pany to make their settlement at Fort Marl-
borough a factory subordinate to the presidency
of Fort William in Bengal, and to transfer to
Madras the servants who, on the reduction of
the establishment, should be supernumerary.
The change was prompted by economical con-
siderations. Bencoolen had always been a very
expensive appanage of the East India Company,
and the progress of events did not tend to make
as marking the advent to this important centre
of British influence of one who has carved in
indelible letters his name and fame upon British
colonial history. In September of that year
there landed at Pinang Thomas Stamford
Raffles, the man to whom more than to any
other Britain owes her present proud position
in the Straits of Malacca. Raffles came out
with no other advantages than his natural
endowments. The son of a sea captain en-
gaged in the West India trade, he was born on
board his father's ship on July 5, 1781. His
educational training was of the briefest. After
a few years' schooling at Hammersmith he, at
the early age of fourteen, entered the East India
Company's service as a clerk in Leadenhall
THE FIRST EARL OF MINTO.
(From a portrait bv James Atkinson in the National
Portrait Gallery.)
Raffles was chosen by Lord Minto as his chief
intelligence officer. He discharged his part
with the zeal and acumen which distinguished
him. But it was a time for all of great anxiety.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
10
as the surveys of the archipelago at that period
were very inadequate, and no small peril
attended the navigation of so considerable a
fleet of transports as that which carried the
expeditionary force. The course which Raflles
advised for the passage of the ships was
severely criticised by naval authorities. But
Lord Minto placed confidence in his intelligence
officer's knowledge and judgment, and elected
to take his advice. The result was the trium-
phant vindication of Rafdes. The fleet, sailing
from Malacca on June ii, 1811, reached Batavia
early in August without a serious casualty of
any kind ; and the army, landing on the 4th of
that month, occupied Batavia on the gth, and
on the 25th inflicted a signal defeat on the
Dutch forces under General Janssens. The
battle so completely broke the power of the
Dutch that Lord Minto within six weeks was
' able to re-embark for India. Before leaving
he marked his sense of Raffles's services by
appointing him Lieutenant-Governor of the
newly conquered territory. Raflles's admini-
stration of Java brought out his greatest
qualities. Within a remarkably short time he
had evolved order out of chaos and placed the
dependency on the high road to affluent pros-
perity. When at the end of fi.ve years the time
came for him to lay down the reins of office, he
left the island with an overflowing treasury and
a trade flourishing beyond precedent. Return-
ing to England in 18 l6 with health somewhat
impaired by his arduous work in the tropics,
Raffles hoped for a tangible recognition of his
brilliant services. But his success had excited
jealousy, and there were not wanting detractors
who called in question certain aspects of his
administration. It is unnecessary for present
purposes to go into those forgotten con-
troversies. Suffice it to say that the attacks
were so far successful that no better position
could be found for Raffles than the Lieutenant-
Governorship of Bencoolen, a centre whose
obscurity had become more marked since the
occupation of Pinang.
Raffles assumed the office which had been
entrusted to him with the cheerful zeal which
was characteristic of the man. But even his
sanguine temperament was not proof against
the gloomy influences which pervaded the
place. An earthquake which had occurred
just before he landed had done great damage
to the station, and this disaster had accentuated
he forlornness of the outlook. Raffles drew a
vivid picture of the scene which confronted him
in a letter written on April 7, 1818, a few days
after landing. " This," he wrote, •' is without
exception the most wretched place I ever
beheld . . . the roads are impassable, the
highways in the town overrun with rank
grass, the Government house a den of ravenous
dogs and polecats. The natives say that Ben-
coolen is now a Taiii mati (dead land). In
truth I could never have conceived anything
half so bad. We will try and make it better,
and if I am well supported from home the
West Coast may yet be turned to account."
The moral condition of the place was in keep-
ing with its physical aspect. Public gaming
and cock-fighting were not only practised
under the eye of the chief authority, but pub-
licly patronised by the Government. This laxity
had its natural consequences in an excess of
criminality. Murders were daily committed
and robberies perpetrated which were never
traced ; profligacy and immorality obtruded
themselves in every direction.'
The truth is that Bencoolen at this time was
decaying of its own rottenness. Throughout
its existence it had been a sink of corruption
and official extravagance, and these qualities
had honeycombed it to a point almost of com-
plete destruction. A story familiar in the Straits
illustrates aptly the traditions of the station.
At one period there was a serious discrepancy
— amounting to several thousand dollars —
between the sum to the credit of the public
account and the specie in hand. Naturally the
authorities in Leadenhall Street demanded an
explanation of this unpleasant circumstance.
They were told that the blame was due to
white ants, though it was left to conjecture
whether the termites had demolished the
money or simply the chest which contained it.
The directors made no direct comment upon
this statement, but a little later despatched to
Bencoolen, unasked, a consignment of files.
At a loss to know why these articles had been
sent out, the Bencoolen officials sought au
explanation. Then they were blandly told that
they were to be used against the teeth of the
white ants should the insects again prove
troublesome. It is probable that this was a
sort of Leadenhall Street Roland for a Ben-
coolen Oliver, for just previous to this incident
the home authorities had made themselves
ridiculous by solemnly enjoining the Bencoolen
officials to encourage the cultivation of white
pepper, that variety being most valuable. On
that occasion it had been brought home to
the dense Leadenhall Street mind that black
and white pepper are from identical plants, the
difference of colour only arising from the
method of preparation, the latter being allowed
to ripen on the vine, while the former is
plucked when green. Mistakes of the character
of this one, it appears, were not uncommon in
the relations of the headquarters with Ben-
coolen. An almost identical incident is brought
to light in one of Raffles's letters. After he had
been some time at Bencoolen a ship was sent
out to him with definite instructions that it
should be loaded exclusively with pepper.
Owing to its extreme lightness, pepper alone
is an almost impossible cargo, and it was the
practice to ship it with some heavy commodity.
Acting on these principles. Raffles, in anticipa-
tion of the vessel's arrival, had accumulated a
quantity of sugar for shipment. But in view of
the peremptoriness of his orders he withdrew
it, and the vessel eventually sailed with the
small consignment of pepper which was pos-
sible having regard to the safety of the vessel.
Bencoolen from the beginning to the end of
its existence as an English trading centre was
but a costly white elephant to the East India
Company. Raffles's opinion upon it was that
" it was certainly the very worst selection that
could have been made for a settlement. It is
I " Memoir of Sir T. Stamford Raftles," p. ^97.
completely shut out of doors ; the soil is, com-
paratively with the other Malay countries, in-
ferior ; the population scanty ; neighbourhood
or passing trade it has none ; and further, it
wants a harbour, to say nothing of its long
reputed unhealthiness and the undesirable state
of ruin into which it has been allowed to run." '
Yet at this period the administration of the
settlement involved an expenditure of ;f 100,000
a year, and the only return for it, as Raffles
contemptuously put it, was "a few tons of
pepper." In the view of the energetic young
administrator the drawbacks of the place were
accentuated by the facility with which the
pepper trade was carried on by the Americans
without any settlement of any kind. In a letter
to Marsden, with whom he kept up an active
correspondence, Raffles wrote under date April
28, 1818 : "There have been no less than nine-
teen Americans at the northern ports this sea-
son, and they have taken away upwards of
60,000 pekuls of pepper at nine dollars. It is
quite ridiculous for us to be confined to this
spot in order to secure the monopoly of
500 tons, while ten times that amount may be
secured next door without any establishment
at all."
The wonder is that, with practically no ad-
vantages to recommend it, and with its serious
drawbacks, Bencoolen should so long have
remained the Company's headquarters. The
only reasonable explanation is that the directors
held it as a- counterpoise to Ihe Dutch power in
these waters. Dutch policy aimed at an abso-
lute monopoly, and it was pursued with an
arrogance and a greed which made it impera-
tive on the guardians of British interests in
these latitudes that it should be resisted with
determination. Resisted it was, as the records
show, through long years, but it cannot truly
be said that in dissipating energies and sub-
stance at Bencoolen the Company adopted a
sensible course. By their action, indeed, they
postponed for an unnecessarily protracted
period the seating of British power in the
Straits in a position adequate to the great trade
and the commanding political interests which
Britain even at that period had in the East.
But no doubt the consolidation of our position
in India absorbed the energies and the resources
of the Company in the eighteenth century, and
prevented them from taking that wider view
which was essential. That the authorities in
India were not unmindful of the importance of
extending British influence in the Straits is
shown by the readiness with which, when the
value of the position had been brought home
to them by Light, they took the necessary steps
to occupy Pinang in 1786. Still, the full lesson
of statesmanship had yet to be taught them, as
is indicated by the fact that within eight years
of the hoisting of the British flag on Prince of
Wales Island, as it was officially designated, its
abandonment in favour of a station on the
Andamans was seriously proposed. It re-
mained for Raffles to teach that lesson. How
his instruction was given and the results which
flowed from it, are matters which must be dealt
with in a separate section.
' Ibid., p. 463.
20
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
SINGAPORE.
CHAPTER.!.
The Occupation axd the Fight against
Dutch Pretensions and Official
Jealousy.
THE retrocession of Malacca under the
terms of the Treaty of Vienna was
almost universally felt throughout the Straits
to be a great blow to British political and com-
mercial influence. Regarded at home as a
mere pawn to be lightly sacrificed on the
diplomatic chess-board, the settlement through-
out the Eastern seas enjoyed a prestige second
to that of hardly any other port east of Cal-
cutta, and its loss to those on the spot appeared
a disaster of the first magnitude. There was
substantial reason for the alarm excited. The
situation of the settlement in the very centre of
the Straits gave its owners the practical com-
mand of the great highway to the Far East.
It was the historic centre of power to which all
Malaya had long been accustomed to look as
the seat of European authority ; it was a com-
mercial emporium which for centuries had
attracted to it the trade of these seas. But
these were not the only considerations which
tinged the minds of the British community
in the Straits with apprehension when they
thought over the surrender of the port, with
all that it implied. From the Dutch settle-
ments across the sea were wafted with every
man, the Governor of Pinang, to number
twelve thousand men, including a considerable
proportion of highly-trained European troops,
CHANTREY'S BUST OF SIB STAMFOED
RAFFLES.
(From the " Memoir of Sir T. Stamford Raffles.")
had been concentrated in Netherlands India.
With it was <i powerful naval squadron, well
manned and equipped. These and other cir-
cumstances which were brought to light indi-
THE ROADS, BATAVIA.
(I'Yom Von de Velde's " Gesigtenuit Neerlands Indie.")
ship rumours of preparations which were being
made for the new regime which the reoccupa-
tion of Malacca was to usher in. An imposing
military force, estimated by Colonel Banner-
cated that the reoccupation of Malacca was to
be the signal for a fresh effort on the part of
Ihe Dutch to secure that end for which they
had been struggling for two centuries— the
absolute domination of the Straits of Malacca
and of the countries bordering upon that great
waterway.
One of the first public notes of alarm at the
ominous activity of the Dutch was sounded by
the commercial men of Pinang. On June 8,
1818, the merchants of that place sent a me-
morial to Government inviting the attention of
the Governor to the very considerable inter-
course now carried on by British subjects in
India " with the countries of Perak, Salangore,
and Riho in the Straits of Malacca, and the
island of Singha, and Pontiana and other ports
on the island of Borneo," and suggesting— in
view of the transfer of Malacca and the pro-
bable re-adoption by the Dutch of their old
exclusive policy, by which they would " endea-
vour to make such arrangements with, and to
obtain such privileges from, the kings or chiefs
of those countries as might preclude British
subjects from the enjoyment of the present
advantageous commerce they now carry on "
— the expediency of the British Government
" endeavouring to make such amicable commer-
cial treaties and alliances with the kings and
chiefs of these places as may effectually secure
to British subjects the freedom of commerce
with those countries, if not on more favourable
terms, which, from the almost exclusive trade
British subjects have carried on with them for
these twenty years past, we should suppose
they might even be disposed to concede."'
There is no evidence that any formal reply
was ever made to this representation, but. that
it was not without fruit is shown by the subse-
quent action of the Government. They penned
an earnest despatch to the Supreme Govern-
ment, deploring the cession of the port and
pointing out the serious effect the action taken
was likely to have on British trade and prestige.
Meanwhile Mr. Cracroft, Malay translator to
the Government, was sent on a mission to
Perak and Selangor, with instructions to con-
clude treaties if possible with the chiefs of
those States. At the same tiine a despatch was
forwarded to Major Farquhar, the British Resi-
dent at Malacca, directing him to conduct a
similar mission to Riau, Lingen, Pontiana, and
Slack. Mr. Cracroft, after a comparatively
brief absence, returned with treaties executed
by both the chiefs to whom he was accredited.
Major Farquhar's mission proved a far more
difficult one. Embarking at Malacca on July
19th, he made Pontiana his first objective, as he
had heard of the despatch of a Dutch expedition
from Batavia to the same place, and was
anxious to anticipate it if possible. He, how-
ever, brought up off Riau for the purpose of
delivering letters, announcing his mission, to
the Raja Muda, the ruling authority of the
place, and to the Sultan of Lingen, who conld
be reached from that quarter. After a tedious
passage he arrived at Pontiana on August 3rd,
but, to his mortification, found that the Dutch
had anticipated him and had occupied the
place. Dissembling his feelings as best he
» " Straits Settlements Records," Xo. 66
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
21
could, he after a brief interval weighed anchor
and directed his course to Lingen. Here he
was told that the political authority was vested
in the Raja Muda of Riau, to whom applica-
tion for the treaty must be made. Acting on
the suggestion, Farquhar went to Riau, and
concluded what he then regarded as a very
satisfactory arrangement. Subsequently he
visited Bukit Bahoo in Slack, and concluded
a like treaty there on August 31st. Returning
to Malacca, Farquhar forwarded the treaties to
Pinang with a covering despatch of much inte-
rest in the light of subsequent events. In this
communication the writer expressed his desire
to put before the Governor of Pinang some
considerations relative to the situation created
by the retrocession to the Dutch of Malacca,
" the Key of the Straits " — an event which, in
his view, could not be too much deplored.
The provident measures adopted of concluding
alliances with native States would, he said,
prove of much ultimate benefit in preserving
an open and free trade. But however strong
might be the attachment of the native chiefs to
the British, and however much they might
desire to preserve the terms of the treaties
inviolate, it would be quite impossible for them
to do so unless strenuously supported and pro-
tected by our influence and authority. In the
circumstances it seemed to him that " the most
feasible, and indeed almost only, method to
counteract the evils which at present threaten
to annihilate all free trade to the Eastern
Archipelago would be by the formation of a
new settlement to the eastward of Malacca."
" From the observations I have been able to
make on my late voyage, as well as from
former experience, there is," Farquhar con-
tinued, " no place which holds ■ out so many
advantages in every way as do the Kariman
Islands, which are so situate as to be a com-
plete key to the Straits of Sincapore, Dryon,
and Soban, an advantage which no other place
in the Straits of Malacca possesses, as all trade,
whether coming from the eastward or west-
ward, must necessarily pass through one or
other of the above straits. A British settle-
ment, therefore, on the Karimans, however
small at first, would, I am convinced, very soon
become a port of great consequence, and not
only defray its own expenses, but yield in time
an overplus revenue to Government." The
~ Karimuns, Farquhar went on to say, were un-
inhabited, but as they were attached to the
dominions of the Sultan of Johore, he suggested
that means should be adopted of obtaining a
regular transfer of the islands from that
potentate.
In forwarding Farquhar's despatches to the
Governor-General, Colonel Bannerman drew
attention in serious terms to the menace of the
Dutch policy in regard to native States. He
pointed out that they had twelve thousand
troops in their possessions, and that the pre-
sence of this force between India and China
involved a distinct danger to British interests.
He did not, however, support Farquhar's sug-
gestion in regard to the Karimun Islands, on
the ground that " the expense of maintaining a
settlement on an uninhabited island would be
enormous," and that "the insulated situation of
Kariman and its remoteness from all support
would require a considerable military force to
guard it against the large fleets of piratical
prows infesting that part of the Straits, as well
as against the nations of the adjoining coun-
tries."
Finally he stated that the subject was under
the consideration of the Government of
Bengal.
In a later despatch, dated the 7th of Novem-
THB STRAITS OF STJNDA.
(From a sketch in the India Office.)
Before he had received any intimation as to
the views held by Colonel Bannerman, Far-
quhar, deeming that the matter was one of
urgency, took upon himself the responsibility
of writing to the Raja Muda of Riau, asking
him if he were willing to forward the transfer
of the Karimun Islands to the British. The
Raja replied cautiously that, though he had no
objection to the British examining the islands,
he did not deem himself in a position to come
to any definitive arrangement. In transmitting
this information to Colonel Bannerman, Far-
quhar reasserted the desirability of acquiring
the Karimuns, and stated that he thought a
small force — " two companies of native in-
fantry, with a proportion of artillery assisted
by a few hundred convicts " — would be suffi-
cient to garrison it.
While the arrangements for the transfer of
Malacca were in progress a claim was raised
by the Dutch to the suzerainty of Riau and
Perak on the ground that they were depen-
dencies of Malacca, and reverted to them with
that settlement, in spite of the fact that imm.e-
diately after the capture of Malacca in 1795
the Sultan of Riau was restored to the full
enjoyment of his sovereign rights by the
British.
Farquhar, writing from Malacca to Banner-
man on the 22nd of October, stated that he had
been questioned by the Dutch Commissioners
as to the intentions of his Government in regard
to the formation of a settlement to the eastward
of Malacca, and had informed them officially
that friendly communications had already been
made with the constituted authorities of Lingen
and Riau, and their permission obtained for
examining and surveying the Karimun and
neighbouring islands, and also a general con-
currence in the views of his Government.
ber, Farquhar enclosed a communication from
the Dutch Commissioners raising definitely
the question of the vassalage of the States
of Lingen, Riau, &c., arising out of old
treaties said to have been formed with those
States thirty or forty years previously. In the
letter from the Dutch was intimated in the
most explicit terms a firm determination on
the part of their Government not to permit
the Raja of Johore, Pahang, &c., to cede to
the British the smallest portion of his heredi-
tary possessions.
In a despatch dated November 21, 1818,
Bannerman forwarded Farquhar's letter and
the Dutch Commissioners' communication to
the Governor-General with the remark, " No
sanction or authority has been given to Major
Farquhar to negotiate for the Kariman Islands,
or even to discuss the question with the Dutch
authorities." "My letters to' the Governor-
General," Bannerman added, " exemplify to
his Excellency in Council rather the prevalence
of an opinion adverse to their occupation than
any sanction to the discussion of the question
itself." The communication proceeded : " It
appears to the Governor in Council that the
late discussions have had a tendency to stamp
the Kariman Islands with a degree of impor-
tance which their value cannot sanction ; but at
the same time they have led to a more complete
development of the views of general aggran-
disement with which the Netherlands Govern-
ment are actuated, and it may be feared that
the pretensions of that Power to the undivided
sovereignty in the Eastern seas, or the tenacity
with which they are prepared to support their
claims, will be productive of considerable dis-
advantage to British interests unless counter-
acted by timely arrangements."
Such was the position of events at the end of
22 TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
November as far as Pinang was concerned.
But in the interval between the first raising of
the question and the transmission of Colonel
Bannerraan's warning despatch to the Gover-
nor-General there had been important develop-
ments in another quarter.
In the early days of his exile at Bencoolen,
brooding over the situation in which the Treaty
of Vienna had placed British power in the
Straits, Raffles was quick to see that the time
had come for a new departure in policy if
British power was to hold its own in this part
of the globe. His earliest correspondence from
the settlement indicates his anxiety on the
point. In a letter dated April 14, 1818, and
despatched a week or two after his arrival, he
wrote : " The Dutch possess the only passes
through which ships must sail into this archi-
pelago, the Straits of Sinida and of Malacca ;
and the British have not now an inch of
ground to stand upon between the Cape of
Good Hope and China, nor a single friendly
port at which they can water or obtain refresh-
ments. It is indispensable that some regular
and accredited authority on the part of the
British Government should exist in. the archi-
pelago, to declare and maintain the British
rights, whatever they are, to receive appeals,
and to exercise such wholesome control as
may be conducive to the preservation of the
British honour and character. At present the
authority of the Government of Prince of Wales
Island extends no further than Malacca, and
the Dutch would willingly confine that of
Bencoolen to the almost inaccessible and
rocky shores of the West Coast of Sumatra.
To effect the objects contemplated some con-
venient station within the archipelago is neces-
sary ; both Bencoolen and Prince of Wales
Island are too far removed, and unless we
succeed in obtaining a position in the Straits
of Sunda, we have no alternative but to fix it in
the most advantageous position we can find
within the archipelago ; this would be some-
where in the neighbourhood of Bintang." ■
Bintang, or Bentan as it is now called, is an
island in the Riau Strait, about 30 miles from
Singapore at the nearest point. The reference
shows that Raffles had a clear conception of
the importance of a good strategic as well as a
favourable trading position, and knew exactly
where this was to be found. There is reason
to think that he actually had Singapore in his
mind even at this early period. His corre-
spondence suggests that his thoughts had long
been cast in that direction, and other circum-
stances make it inherently probable that a
definite scheme for establishing a British
settlement there was actually formed by him
before he left England. The point is not very
material. Even assuming that Raffles had not
the undivided honour of discovering, or, more
properly, rediscovering, Singapore, it was
beyond all reasonable question he who gave
the proposal for the occupation of the point
living force, and ensured its success by a
series of well-planned and cleverly executed
measures, followed by the initiation of an
administrative policy marked by statesmanlike
judgment.
Once having got into his mind the idea of
the necessity of counteracting Dutch influence
' " Memoir of Sir T. S. Raffles," p. 307.
by the establishment of a new settlement.
Rallies, with characteristic energy, proceeded
to enlist the support of the authorities. Within
a few months of his landing at Bencoolen he
was on his wa\' to India to lay his plans before
the Supreme.Government. At Calcutta he had
several conferences with the Marquess of
Hastings, the then Governor-General, and
put before him the case for the adoption of a
forward policy. He advocated, his biographer
says, no ambitious scheme. " In his own
words, he neither wanted people nor territory ;
all he asked was permission to anchor a line-of-
battle ship and hoist the English flag at the
mouth either of the Straits of .Malacca or of
Sunda, by which means the trade of England
would be secured and the monopoly of the
Dutch broken." ' As a result of the discussions
it was decided to concede to the Dutch their
pretensions in Sumatra, to leave to them the
FRANCIS BAWDON, FIRST MARQUESS
OF HASTINGS.
(From an engraving by Clent in the British Museum.)
exclusive command of the Straits of Sunda,
and " to limit interference to measures of
precaution by securing a free trade with the
archipelago and China through the Straits of
Malacca." In order to effect this and at the
same time to protect the political and com-
mercial interests in the Eastern seas gene-
rally, it was deemed essential that some central
station should be occupied to the southward of
Malacca. Finally, it was agreed that Raffles
should be the agent of the Governor-General to
carry out the policy decided upon, and Major
Farquhar was directed by the Calcutta Govern-
ment to postpone his departure and join Raffles
in his mission. Raffles, wriling to Marsden
under date Xovember 14, 1818, himself sums
up the results of his mission in this way : " I
have now to inform you that it is determined
to keep the command of the Straits of Malacca
by establishments at .-\chin and Rhio, and that
I leave Calcutta in a fortnight as the agent to
effect this important object. Achin I conceive
' Ibid., p. 370.
to be completely within our power, but the j
Dutch may be beforehand with us at Rhio.
They took possession of Pontiano and Malacca 5'
in July and August last, and have been bad
politicians if they have so long left Rhio open
to us." In a letter penned twelve days later to
the Duchess of Somerset, Raffles says : " I have
at last succeeded in making the authorities in
Bengal sensible of their supineness in allowing *
the Dutch to exclude us from the Eastern seas, «'
but I fear it is now too late to retrieve what we
have lost. I have full powers to do all that we
can ; and if anything is to be done I think I
need not assure your grace that it shall be done
and quickly done." It seems probable that in
the interval between these two letters informa-
tion had reached Calcutta of the Dutch occupa- •«
tion of Rhio (Riau). Whether so or not. Raffles, ,.i-
it is clear from a later letter addressed to Marsr
den froin " off the Sandheads " on December
12, 1818, had by the time he started on his
homewaid voyage turned his thoughts from
Riau in the direction of Singapore. " We are
now," he writes, " on our way to the eastward
in the hope of doing something, but I much
fear that the Dutch have hardly left us an inch
of ground to stand upon. My attention is prin-
cipally turned to Johore, and you must not be
surprised if my next letter to you is dated from
the site of the ancient city of Singapura." This
letter is important as an indication that Raffles's
designs were tending towards Singapore before
he left Calcutta and had had an opportunity of
consulting Major Farquhar.
On arrival at Pinang, Raffles found a very
discouraging situation. He was met with the
probably not unexpected news that the Dutch
had compelled the Rajas of Riau and Lingen .
to admit their troops into the former settlement
and to permit their colours to fly at Lingen,
Pahang, and Johore ; while an additional
example of their aggressiveness was supplied
by the arrest of the Sultan of Palembang and
the occupation of his capital wiih a thousand
troops, five hundred of whom were Europeans
in a high state of discipline. In. transmitting
information of these acts to the Governor-
General, Colonel Bannerman had penned a
despatch in terms which were no doubt com-
municated to Sir Stamford Raflles. In this
document the Governor of Pinang observed
that he thought that the Dutch action "must
prove to the Supreme Government the full
nature of those encroachments and monopolies
to which these acts wiU naturally tend. The
Governor in Council was satisfied that nothing
less than the uncontrolled and absolute posses-
sion of the Eastern trade would satisfy the
rapacious policy of the Dutch Government."
The despatch went on to point out that the
Dutch had now complete control of every port ■
eastward of Pinang, and had besides every
means, in a very superior military and naval
armament, to frustrate any attempt of the
British Government " to negotiate even a
common commercial alliance with any one of
the Stales in the Eastern seas." Finally the
despatch despairingly remarked, " To effect
therefore among them any political arrange: .
ments as a counterpoise to the influence of that
nation, it is needless to disguise, is now beyond
the power of the British Government in India."
These concluding words supply a keynote to
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
23
the attitude of Colonel Bannermaii. He had
clearly been overwhelmingly impressed with
Dutch activity and the resolution with which
they pursued their aims, and thought that the
position was beyond retrieval. He was not a
strong official. His despatches show him to
have been an opinionated and somewhat
irascible man, intolerant of criticism, and,
though genial in his social relations, endowed
with more than a common share of official
arrogance. Mingled with these qualities was
a constitutional timidity which prevented him
from taking any course which involved risk
or additional responsibility. He was, in fine,
the very worst type of administrator to deal
with a crisis such as that which had arisen in
the Straits. In receiving Raffles and com-
municating his views on the complicated
situation that had developed, he seems to have
given full rein to his pessimism. He was,
indeed, so entirely convinced that the position
was irretrievable that he had apparently made
up his mind to thwart Raffles's mission by
every means in his power. It is doing no
injustice to him to say that wedded to a
sincere belief in the futility of further action
was a feeling of soreness that this important
undertaking had been launched without refer-
ence to him and placed under the charge of an
official who held a less exalted position than
himself. In the recorded correspondence"
between himself and Raffles we find him at
the very ovitset taking up a position of almost
violent hostility and obstructiveness. The con-
troversy was 'opened by a letter addressed by
Bannerman to Raffles immediately after the
latter's arrival, detailing the acts of Dutch
aggressiveness and affirming the undesirability
of further prosecuting the mission in the
circumstances. To this Rafiles replied on
January i, 1819, saying that although Riau
was preoccupied, " the island of Sincapore
and the districts of Old Johore and the Straits
of Indiigeeree on Sumatra offer eligible points
for establishing the required settlement," and
declaring his inclination to the policy of pro-
ceeding at once to the eastward with a
respectable and efficient force. Bannerman,
in answer to this communication, wrote on the
3rd of January protesting against Raffles's pro-
posed action and refusing to grant the demand
which apparently had been made for a force
of 500 men to assist him in carrying out his
designs. In taking up this strong line Banner-
man does not appear to have carried his entire
Council with him. One member — Mr. Erskine
— expressed his dissent and drew upon himself
in consequence the wrath of his chief, who in
a fiery minute taunted him with vacillation on
the ground that he had at the outset been in
agreement with his colleagues as to the in-
advisability of the prosecution of the mission.
Raffles was not the man to be readily thwarted,
and we find him on the 4th of January
directing a pointed inquiry to Bannerman as
to whether he positively declined to aid him.
Thus brought to bay, the Governor found it
expedient to temporise. He wrote saying thai
he was willing to give military aid, but that he
did so only on Raffles's statement that he had
authority from the Governor-General apart
from the written instructions, Ihe terms of
' "Straits Settlements Records," No. 182A.
which were relied upon by Bannerman as
justifying the attitude he had assumed. The
bitter, unreasonable spirit which Raffles en-
countered produced upon him a natural feeling
of depression. " God only knows," he wrote
to Marsden on January 16, 1819, "where next
you may hear from me, but as you will be
happy to learn of the progress of my mission,
I will not lose the present opportunity of in-
forming you how 1 go on. Whether anything
to his destination, but that he had a definite
idea in his mind appears from a letter he wrote
the same day to Mi-. Adam, the Secretary to the
Supreme Government. In this he said: "The
island of Sincapore, independently of the
straits and harbour of Johore, which it both
forms and commands, has, on its southern
shores, and by means of the several small
islands which lie off it, excellent anchorage
and smaller harbours, and seems in every
COLONEL BANNERMAN.
(From an original drawing in the possession of tlie Rev. J. H. Bannsrman, Vicar of St. Stephen's, Congleton, Cheshire.)
is to be done to the eastward or inot is yet very
uncertain. By neglecting to occupy the place
we lost Rhio, and shall have difficulty in
establishing ourselves elsewhere, but I shall
certainly attempt it. At Achin the difficulties
I shall have to surmount in the performance
of my duty will be great and the annoyance
severe, but I shall persevere steadily in what
I conceive to be my duty." In this letter to
Marsden ignorance is professed by Raffles as
respect most peculiarly adapted for our object.
Its position in the Straits of Sincapore is far more
convenient and commanding than even Rhio
for our China trade, passing down the Straits
of Malacca, and every native vessel that sails
through the Straits of Rhio must pass in sight
of it." Raffles went on to say that there did
not appear to be any objection "to a station at
Sincapore, or on the opposite shore towards
Point Romanea, or on any other of the smaller
24
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
VIEW OF THE JUNGLE, SINGAPORE.
(From Captain Bethune's "Views in tlie Eastern Archipelago.")
islands which he off this part of the coast.
The larger harbour of Johore," he added, "is
declared by professional men whom I have
consulted, and by every Eastern trader of ex-
perience to whom I have been able to refer,
to be capacious and easily defensible, and the
British flag once hoisted, there would be no
want of supplies to meet the immediate neces-
sities of our establishment."
Three days after the despatch of this letter
Raffles sailed on his eventful mission. Major
Farquhar, who from the records appears to
have been at Pinang at the time, was com-
pletely won over to his views — " seduced " is
the phrase which Colonel Bannerman used
later — and accompanied him. It says much
for the strained character of the relations
which existed at the moment between Raffles
and the Pinang Government that in quitting
the harbour the former neglected to notify his
departure. Slipping their anchors, the four
vessels of his little fleet left at night-time
without a word from Raffles to the Govern-
ment. His mission being a secret one of the
highest importance, he probably felt indisposed
to supply more information about his move-
ments than was absolutely necessary to the
hostile officialdom of Pinang. However that
may be, the omission to give notice of sailing
appears to have been part of a deliberate
policy, for when some weeks later one of
Raffles's vessels had again to leave port, its
commander departed without the customary
formality, with the result that Colonel Banner-
man penned a flaming despatch to the
Governor-General invoking vengeance on the
culprit.
The mystery in which Raffles's intentions
and movements were, we may assume, pur-
posely enshrouded at this period has resulted in
the survival of a considerable amount of doubt
as to the actual course of events. It has even
been questioned whether he was actually
present at Singapore when the British flag
was hoisted for the first time. The records,
however, are absolutely conclusive on this
point. Indeed, there is so much direct evi-
dence on this as well as on other aspects of
the occupation that it is remarkable there
should have been any room for controversy
as to the leading part which Raffles played in
the transaction.
When Raffles sailed from Pinang, it is
probable that he had no fixed design in regard
to any place. He knew generally what he
wanted and he was determined to leave no
stone unturned to accomplish his end. But
beyond a leaning towards Singapore as in his
view the best centre, he had, it would seem
from the nature of his movements, an open
mind on the question of the exact location of
the new settlement. In the archives at the
India Office" there exists a memorandum,
I " Straits Settlements Records," Xo. lo.
drawn up by Mr. Benjamin S. Jones, who was
at the time senior clerk at the Board of Control,
detailing the circumstances which led up to the
occupation of Singapore. This document is
dated July 20, 1820, and it was probably pre-
pared with a view to the discussion then
proceeding with the Dutch as to the legality
of the occupation. As a statement of the
official views held at the time in regard to
Raffles's action it is of peculiar interest, and it
may be examined before we come to deal with
the movements of -the mission. At the outset
there is given this explanation of the causes
which led to its despatch :
" The Governor-General in Council, deeming
it expedient to secure the command of the
Straits of Malacca in order to keep open a
channel for British commerce, apparently
endangered by the schemes of exclusive policy
pursued by the Nethedandish Government,
determined to despatch Sir T. S. Raffles for
the purpose of improving the footing obtained
at Rhio. In his instructions dated December 5,
1818, it was observed that if the Dutch had
previously occupied Rhio it might be expedient
to endeavour to establish a connection with the
Sultan of Johore, but as so little was known
respecting that chief, Sir T. S. Raffles was
informed that it would be incumbent upon us
to act with caution and circumspection before
we entered into any engagements with him.
It was further observed that there was some
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
25
reason to think that the Dutch would claim
authority over the State of Johore by virtue of
some old engagements, and though it was
possible that the pretension might be success-
fully combated, it would not be consistent with
the policy and views of the Governor- General
in Council to raise a question of this sort with
the Netherlandish authorities. But in the
event of his procuring satisfactory information
concerning Johore, Sir T. S. Raffles was in-
structed, on the supposition of Rhio being
preoccupied by the Dutch, to open a negotia-
tion with the chief of Johore on a similar
basis to that contemplated at Rhio."
Then follows a relation of the circumstances
under which Singapore was selected by Raffles.
" In order to avoid collision with the Dutch
authorities. Sir T. S. Raffles determined to
avoid Rhio, but to endeavour to establish a
footing on some more unoccupied territory in
which we might find a port and accommoda-
tion for our troops, and where the British flag
might be displayed pending a reference to the
authorities in Europe. With this view he pro-
ceeded to Singapore. On his arrival off the
town a deputation came on board with the
compliments and congratulations of the chief
native authority and requested to know the
object of the visit. Having inquired whether
there was any Dutch settlement and flag at
Singapore and at Johore, and whether the
Dutch had by any means attempted to exercise
an influence or authority over the ports, the
deputation replied that Johore Lama, or Old
Johore, had long been deserted ; that the chief
authority over Singapore and all the adjacent
islands (excepting those of Lingen and Rhio)
then resided at the ancient capital of Singapore,
where no attempts had yet been made to
estabUsh the Dutch power and where no
Dutch flag would be received."
Such were the bald facts of the occupation
as officially related about eighteen months after
the hoisting of the British flag in the ancient
Malay capital. The account ma}' be supple-
mented with evidence from other quarters.
Nothing is said in Mr. Jones's memorandum
about visits paid by the mission to any other
spot than Singapore, but it is familiar know-
ledge that before proceeding to Singapore
Raffles put in at the Karimun Islands and at
Slack. His reasons for visiting these places
may be conjectured from the recital given of
the events which preceded his arrival at
Pinang. Major Farquhar, as we have seen,
was strongly in favour of the establishment of
a port on the Karimun Islands — so strongly,
indeed, that he had gone beyond his official
province to prepare the way for an occupation,
if such were deemed desirable by the higher
authorities. What would be more natural in
the circumstances than that he should induce
Raffles at the very earliest moment to visit the
spot which had struck him on his voyage to
Pontiana as being so peculiarly adapted to the
purposes of the new settlement? Whatever
the underlying motive, we have interesting
evidence of the circumstance that the Karimuns
were visited, and that Raffles found there ample
and speedy proof that the port was entirely
unsuitable. The facts are. set forth in a report
dated March i, 1819, presented to the Pinang
Government by Captain Ross, of the East
India Company's Marine. This ■ functionary,
it appears, had on the 15th of January pro-
ceeded to the Karimun Islands to carry out
a survey in accordance with official instruc-
tions, prompted, doubtless, by Major Farquhar's
advocacy of the port. His report was entirely
unfavourable to the selection of the islands.
"The Small Kariman," he wrote, "rises
abruptly from the water all round, and does
not afford any situation for a settlement on it.
The Great Kariman on the part nearest to the
small one is also very steep, and from thence
to the southward forms a deep bay, where the
land is principally low and damp, with much
mangrove along the shore, and three fathoms
water at two and a half miles off. The
channel between the two Karimans has deep
water, fourteen and fifteen fathoms, in it, but
it is too narrow to be used as a harbour." Sir
Stamford Raffles was furnished with Captain
Ross's opinion immediately on his arrival, and
it was that apparently which caused him to
turn his attention to Singapore. Recognising
the value of expert marine opinion, he took
Captain Ross with him across the Straits. The
results of the survey which that officer made
were embodied in a report, which may be given
as an interesting historical document associated
with the earliest days of the, life of the settle-
ment. Captain Ross wrote :
"Singapore Harbour, situate four miles to
.the NNE. of St. John's Island (in what is com-
monly called SInapore Strait), will afford a safe
anchorage to ships in . all seasons, and being
clear of hidden danger, the approach to it is
rendered easy by day or night. Its position
is also favourable for commanding the naviga-
tion of the strait, the track which the ships
pursue being distant about five miles ; and it
may be expected from its proximity to the
Malayan islands and the China Sea that in a
short time numerous vessels would resort to
it for commercial purposes.
" At the anchorage ships are sheltered from
ENE. round to north and west as far as SSW.
by the south point of Johore, Singapoora, and
many smaller islands extending to St. John's,
and thence round to the north point of Batang
(bearing ESE.) by the numerous islands form-
ing the southern side of Singapoora Strait.
The bottom, to within a few yards of shore,
is soft mud and holds well.
" The town of Singapoora, on the island of
the same name, stands on a point of land near
the western part of a bay, and is easily dis-
tinguished by there being just behind it a
pleasant-looking hill that is partly cleared of
trees, and between the point on which the
town is situate and the western one of the bay
there is a creek in which the native vessels
anchor close to the town, so it may be found
useful to European vessels of easy draft to
refill in. On the eastern side of the bay,
opposite to the town, there is a deep inlet lined
by mangroves, which would also be a good
anchorage for native boats; and about north
from the low sandy point of the bay there is a
village inhabited by fishermen, and a short
way to the eastward there is a passage through
the mangroves leading to a fresh - water
river. . . .
" The coast to the eastward of the town bay
is one continued sandy beach, and half-mile
to the eastward of the eastern point of the bay,
or two and a half from the town, there is a
point where the depth of water is six or seven
fathoms at three or four hundred yards from
the shore, and at eight hundred yards a small
bank with about three fathoms at low water.
The point offers a favoui-able position for
batteries to defend ships that may in time of
war anchor near to it.
"The tides during the napesare irregular at
two or three miles off shore, but close in other-
wise. The rise and fall will be about 10 and 12
feet, and it will be high water on full and
change at eight and a half hours. The latitude
of the town is about 1° 15J North, and variation
of the needle observed on the low eastern
point of the bay is 2" 9 East." '
Nothing hardly could have been more
satisfactory than this opinion by a capable
naval officer upon the maritime aspects of
Singapore. With it in his possession Raffles
had no difficulty in coming to a decision.
His experienced eye took in the splendid
possibilities which the island offered for the
purposes in hand. A practically uninhabited
island with a fine roadstead, it could, with a
minimum of difficulty and expense, be made
into a commercial centre, while its command-
ing position in the narrowest part of the Straits
of Malacca ga.ve it a political value beyond
estimate. Impressed with these features of
the situation, and swayed also, we may reason-
ably assume, by the classical traditions of the
spot. Raffles on January 29, 1819,=' ten days
after quitting Pinang, hoisted the British flag
on the island. The natural jubilation he felt
at the accomplishment of his mission found
vent in a letter to Marsden dated three days
later. In this he wrote : " Here I am at
Singapore, true to my word, and in the enjoy-
ment of all the pleasure which a footing on
such classic ground must inspire. The lines
of the old city and of its defences are still to be
traced, and within its ramparts the British
Union waves unmolested." In the midst of
his self-gratulation Raffles was not unmindful
of the dangers which still hindered his plans
from the jealousy of his rivals and the ignor-
ance and indifference of the authorities at
home. He made a special appeal to Marsden
for support on behalf of his most recent
attempt to extend British influence. "Most
certainly," he wrote, " the Dutch never had a
factory in the island of Singapore ; and it does
not appear to me that their recent arrange-
ments with a subordinate authority at Rhio can
or ought to interfere with our permanent estab-
lishment here. I have, however, a violent
opposition to surmount on the part of the
Pinang Government."
Raffles no doubt had in his mind when he
penned this appeal the possible effects of
Dutch strenuousness combined with Pinang
hostility on the weak and vacillating mind (as
it appeared markedly at this time) of the
Indian Government and the India Board.
His position, however, had been greatly
strengthened by arrangements which, after
landing on the island, he had found it possible
to make with the Dato' Temenggong of Johore,
" " Straits Settlements Records," \'o. 70, p. 432.
= In Raffles's " Memoir," by his wife, the date of
the hoisting of the flag is given as the 29th of
Fetiruary, but this is an obvious blunder.
26
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
a high State official with great ill-defined
powers, which placed him in a position almost
of equality with the Sultan. This individual
was resident on the island at the time of the
visit of the mission, and he sought an interview
with Raffles, in order to offer the British
envoy his assistance in the execution of his
designs. It fs probable that the offer was
prompted more by hatred of the Dutch than
love of the British. But Raffles was in no
mood to examine too closely into the motives
which dictated the Temenggong's action.
Realising the value of his support, he con-
cluded with him, on January 30th, a provisional
understanding for the regularising of the
occupation of the island. The Temenggong
appears to have represented himself as the
possessor of special rights, but Raffles deemed
it expedient to secure the confirmation of the
grant at the hands of the Sultan. It happened
that at this time the ruling chief was Sultan
Abdul Rahman, a man who was supported by
the Dutch and was completely under their
influence. Xo arrangement was possible with
him, and Raffles must have known as much
from the very first. But his fertile intellect
speedily found a way out of the difficulty. The
British envoy gathered from the Temenggong,
and possibly was aware of the fact previously,
that Abdul Rahman was the younger of two
sons of the previous Sultan, and as his brother
was living he was consequently a usurper.
Without loss of time Raffles, through the
Temenggong, sent to Riau for the elder
brother, Tunku Husein, and on the latter's
arrival in Singapore duly proclaimed him
Sultan of Johore. Afterwards a formal treaty,
dated February 6, 1819, was drawn up in which
the new Sultan joined with the Temenggong
in granting the British the right to settle on
the island. This treaty was strengthened by
three further agreements, one dated June 26,
1 819, another. June, 1823, and the thfrd,
November 19, 1824. But before the final treaty
was concluded, and Raffles's dream of British
domination at this point was realised, many a
battle against prejudice and stupidity had to
be fought.
In a despatch dated February 13, 1819,
reporting to the Supreme Government the
occupation of the island. Raffles gave a mas-
terly summary of its features and advantages.
" Our station at Singapore," he wrote, " may be
considered as an effectual check to the rapid
march of the Dutch in the Eastern Archi-
pelago, and vi^hether we may have the power
hereafter of extending our stations or be com-
pelled to confine ourselves to this factory, the
spell is broken, and pne independent port under
our flag may be sufficient to prevent the recur-
rence of the system of exclusive monopoly
which the Dutch once exercised in these seas
and would willingly re-establish. Situated at
the extremity of th? peninsula, all vessels to
and from China vifi Malacca are obliged to
pass within five miles of our headquarters, and
generally pass within half a mile of St. John's,
a dependent islet forming the western point of
the bay, in which I have directed a small post
to be fixed, and from whence every ship can
be boarded if necessary, the water being
smooth at all seasons. The run between
these islands and the Carimons, which are in
sight from it, can be effected in a few hours,
and crosses the route which all vessels from
the Netherlands must necessarily pursue when
bound towards Batavia and the Eastern islands.
" As a port for the refreshment and refitment
of our shipping, and particularly for that por-
tion of it engaged in the China trade, it is only
requisite for me to refer to the able survey and
report of Captain Ross, and to add to it that
excellent water in convenient situations for the
supply of ships is to be found in several places,
and that the industrious Chinese are already
established in the interior and may soon be
expected to supply vegetables, &c., &c., equal
to the demand. The port is plentifully sup-
plied with fish and turtle, which are said to
be more abundant here than in any part of the
archipelago. Rice, salt, and other necessaries
are always procurable from Siam, the granary
of the Malay tribes in this quarter. Timber
abounds in the island and its vicinity ; a large
part of the population are already engaged in
building boats and vessels, and the Chinese,
of whom some are already engaged in smelting
the ore brought from the tin mines on the
neighbouring islands, and others employed as
cultivators and artificers, may soon be expected
to increase in a number proportionate to the
wants and interests of the settlement. . .
" A measure of the nature of that which we
have adopted was in some degree necessary to
evince to the varied and enterprising popula-
THE JOHORE RIVER.
(From "Skizzen aiis Singapur und Djohor.")
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
27
tion of these islands that our commercial and
political views in this quarter had not entirely
sunk under the vaunted power and encroach-
ment of the Dutch, and to prove to them that we
were determined to make a stand against it. By
maintaining our right to a free commerce with
the Malay States and inspiring them with a
confidence in the stability of it, we may con-
template its advancement to a much greater
extent than has hitherto been enjoyed. Inde-
pendently of our commerce with the tribes of
the archipelago, Singapore may be considered
as the principal entrepot to which the native
traders of Siam, Cambodia, Champa, Cochin
China, and China will annually resort. It is
to the Straits that their merchants are always
bound in the first instance, and if on their
arrival they can find a market for their goods
and the means of supplying their wants, they
will have no possible inducement to proceed to
the more distant, unhealthy, and expensive port
of Batavia. Siam, which is the granary of the
countries north of the Equator, is rapidly ex-
tending her native commerce, nearly the whole
of which may be expected to centre at Singa-
pore. The passage from China has been made
in less than six days, and that number is all
that is requisite in the favourable monsoon for
the passage from Singapore to Batavia, Pinang,
or Achin, while two days are sufficient for a
voyage to Borneo." '
Singapore at the time of the British occupa-
tion was a mere squalid fishing village, backed
by a wi-ld, uninhabited country, the haunt of
the tiger and other beasts of prey. But it was
a place with a history. Six centuries before it
had been the Constantinople of these Eastern
seas, the seat of Malay learning and commerce,
the focus of the commerce of two oceans and
of part Of two continents. In the section of the
work treating of the Federated Malay States a
lengthy sketch is given of the rise of the Malay
power, and it is only necessary here to deal very
briefly with the subject. The most widely ac-
cepted version of the foundation of Singapore is
that contained in the " Sejara Malayu," or " Malay
Annals," a famous work produced at Goa in the
early seventeenth century from a Malay manu-
script The story here set forth brings into
prominence a line of Malay kings whose an-
cestry is traced back by the record to Alexander
the Great. The first of the line, Raja Bachi-
tram Shah (afterwards known as Sang Sapurba),
settled originally in Palembang, Sumatra, where
he married a daughter of the local prince. He
had a son, Sang Nila Utama, who was domi-
ciled in Bentan, and who, like his father,
formed a connection by marriage with the
reigning dynasty. Finding Bentan too cir-
cumscribed for his energies, Sang Nila, in
1160, crossed the channel to Singapore and
laid the foundations of what subsequently
became known as the Lion City. Concerning
this name Sir Frank Swettenham, the historian
of the Malays, writes i " Singa is Sanscrit for a
lion and Pura for a city, and the fact that there
are no lions in that neighbourhood now cannot
disprove the statement that Sang Nila Utama
saw in 1160, or thereabouts, an animal which
he called by that name — an animal more par-
ticularly described by the annalist as very
' swift and beautiful, its body bright red, its
I " Straits Settlements Records," No. 182.
head jet black, its breast white, in size rather
larger than a he-goat.' That was the lion of
Singapura, and whatever else is doubtful the
name is a fact-; it remains to this day, and
there is no reason why the descendant of
Alexander should not have seen something
which suggested a creature unknown either
to the Malay forest or the Malay language.
It is even stated, on the same authority, that
Singapura had an earlier name, Tamasak,
which is explained by some to mean ' a place
of festivals.' But that word, so interpreted, is
not Malay, though it has been adopted and
applied to other places which suggest festivals
far less than this small tropical island may
have done, even so early as the year 1160. It
is obvious that the name Singapura was not
given to the island hy Malays, but by colonists
from India, and if there were an earlier name,
Tamasak or Tamasha, that also would be of
Indian origin. The fact proves that the name
Singapura dates from a very early period, and
strongly supports the theory that the Malays
of our time are connected with a people who
emigrated from Southern India to Sumatra and
Java, and thence found their way to the Malay
Peninsula." '
Under Sang Nila's rule Singapore grew and
flourished, and when he died, in 1208, he left
it a place of considerable importance. His
successors strengthened its position until it
attained to a degree of prestige and im-
portance without parallel in the history of
any port in these seas. Its prosperity appears
to have been its ruin, for it attracted the jealous
notice of a Javanese prince, the Raja of Maja-
pahit, and that individual formed a design to
conquer the city. He was beaten off on the
first attempt, but a second expedition de-
spatched in 1377 achieved its object through
the treachery of a high official. The inhabi-
tants were put to the sword by the conquerors,
and those of them who managed to escape
ultimately settled in Malacca, where they
founded a new city. After this Singapore
declined in power, until it finally flickered out
in the racial feuds which preceded the early
European conquests.
Raffles remained only a short time at Singa-
pore after the occupation. His mission to
Achin, which was associated with the suc-
cession to the throne, brooked no delay.
Moreover, he doubtless felt that, as far as
the local situation was concerned, he was
quite safe in leaving British interests in the
capable hands of Major Farquhar. That Raffles
appreciated to the fullest extent the value of
the new settlement he had established is shown
by his correspondence at this period. In a
letter to the Duchess of Somerset from Pinang,
whither he had returned to take up the threads
of his new mission, he wrote under date Feb-
ruary 22, 1819, describing the position of
Singapore. "This," he said, "is the ancient
maritime capital of the Malays, and within the
walls of these fortifications, raised not less than
six centuries ago, I have planted the British
flag, where, I trust, it will long triumphantly
wave." On June loth, when he had returned
to Singapore after the completion of his work
in Achin, he wrote to Colonel Addenbroke, the
^ " British Malava," "by Sir Frank Swettenham,
p. 13.
equerry to Princess Charlotte, explaining in a
communication of considerable length the poli-
tical aspects of the occupation. " You will,"
he said, "probably have to consult the map
in order to ascertain from what part of the
world this letter is dated. I shall say nothing
of the importance which I attach to the per-
manence of the position I have taken up at
Singapore ; it is a child of my own. But for
my Malay studies I should hardly have known
that such a place existed ; not only the Euro-
pean but the Indian world was ignorant of it.
I am sure you will wish me success ; and I will
therefore only add that if my plans are con-
firmed at home, it is my intention to make this
my principal residence, and to devote the re-
maining years of my stay in the East to the
advancement of a colony which, in every way
in which it can be viewed, bids fair to be one
of the most important, and at the same time
one of the least troublesome and expensive,
which we possess. Our object is not territory,
but trade ; a great commercial emporium and
a fulcrum whence we may extend our influence
politically as circumstances may hereafter re-
quire. By taking immediate possession we
put a negative to the Dutch claim of exclusion,
and at the same time revive the drooping con-
fidence of our allies and friends. One free
port in these seas must eventually destroy the
spell of Dutch monopoly, and what Malta is
in the West, that may Singapore be in the
East."-"
These and other letters we have quoted,
interesting in themselves as reflections of the
mind of Raffles at this eventful period, are of
special value from the light they throw on the
controversy which from time to time has
arisen as to Raffles's title to be regarded as the
founder of Singapore. From beginning to end
there is no sort of suggestion that the scheme,
as finally carried out, was not Raffles's own.
On the contrary, there is direct evidence that
he acted independently, first in the statement
of Lady Raffles that the plan was in his mind
before he left England, and, second, in his
letter to Marsden from off the Sandheads, in
which he specifically indicates Singapore as
the possible goal of his mission.
Sir Frank Swettenham very fairly states the
case in favour of Raffles in the chapter in his
work= in which he deals with the early history
of Singapore. " It is more than probable," he
says, " that Raffles, by good luck and without
assistance from others, selected Singapore as
the site of his avowedly anti-Dutch pro-British
station. The idea of such a port was Raffles's
own ; for it is probable that his instructions
were drafted on information supplied by him-
self, and in that case it is noticeable that Rhio
and Johore are indicated as likely places and
not Singapore ; he went south with the express
object of carrying out his favourite scheme
before his masters would have time to change
their minds, or his rivals to anticipate his de-
sign. Colonel Farquhar wasonlj' there to help
his senior, and it is certain that if there had
been no Raffles in 1819 there would have been
no British Singapore to-day."
The actual occupation of Singapore was only
the beginning of Raffles's work. Obvious as
I " Memoir of Sir T. S. Raffles," p. 3S0.
= " British Malaya," p. 70.
28
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
the advantages of the situation were to those
who knew the Straits, and palpable as was the
necessity of strengthening British influence in
these seas if it was not entirely to be wiped
out, there continued a resolute opposition to
the scheme on the part of the Pinang autho-
rities. The hostility of these narrow-minded
bureaucrats went to lengths which seem per-
fectly incredible in these days. Immediately
on receipt of the news of the occupation, on
f'ebruary 14, .1819, Bannerman sat down and
indited a minute which, with perfect frankness,
revealed the jealous sentiments which animated
the writer. He wrote: "The time is now
come for throwing aside all false delicacy in
the consideration of Sir Stamford Raffles's
views and measures. I have long believed
that there was a good deal of personal ambition
and desire of distinction in his proceeding to
the eastward and forming a settlement — at any
rate, to add to his old, worn-out establishment
at Bencoolen (so styled by himself in a letter to
the Court of Directors dated 12th of April last).
He has now obtained an island, which he is
most anxious to aggrandise as soon as possible
at the expense of his neighbours, and with as
large a regular force as that stationed at Fort
Marlborough. I have no doubt he has already
determined to come and make Singapore the
seat of his government, and Bencoolen its
dependency.
" I shall now only add that before the ex-
piration of many months I feel convinced the
merchants at Calcutta will learn that this new
settlement may intercept the trade of this port,
but can never restore the commerce they
formerly enjoyed with the Eastern Archipelago,
as the occupation by the Dutch of Java, Banca,
the Moluccas, Rhio, the greater part of the
Celebes, and of Borneo must enable that
Power to engross the principal share." ' The
petty spite of this diatribe is only exceeded by
the colossal self-complacency and shortsighted-
ness which it displays. And its tone was
thoroughly in keeping with the dealings of the
Pinang Government with the infant settlement.
After Raffles had left Singapore to prosecute
his mission to Achin, information was brought
to the new settlement by Captain Ross, the
officer who made the preliminary survey of
Singapore, that the Dutch Governor of Malacca
had strongly recommended the Government of
Java to send up a force to seize the British de-
tachment at Singapore. As in duty bound,
Farquhar communicated the news to Colonel
Bannerman, with a request for reinforcements
to enable him to maintain his post in the event
of attack. Colonel Bannerman's reply was a
violently worded despatch refusing the aid
asked.
" It must be notorious," he wrote in a minute
he penned on the subject, " that any force we
are able to detach to Singapoor could not resist
the overpowering armament at the disposal of
the Batavia Government, although its presence
would certainly compel Major Farquhar to
resist the Netherlanders, even to the shedding
of blood, and its ultimate and forced submission
would tarnish the national honour infinitely
more seriously than the degradation which
would ensue from the retreat of the small party
now at Singapoor.
' " Straits Settlements Records," No. 1S2A.
"Neither Major Farquhar's honour as a
soldier nor the honour of the British Govern-
ment now require him to attempt the defence
of Singapoor by force of arms against the
Netherlanders, as he knows Sir Stamford
Raffles has occupied that island in violation
of the orders of the Supreme Government,
and as he knows that any opposition from his
present small party would be an useless and
reprehensible sacrifice of men, when made
against the overwhelming naval and military
force that the Dutch will employ. Under these
circumstances I am certain that Major Farquhar
must be certain that he would not be justified
in shedding blood in the maintenance of his
port at present."
Colonel Bannerman went on to state that he
therefore proposed to send by the despatch
prahu to Major Farquhar a letter in this tenor,
together with other papers, and at the same time
to forward a temperate and firm remonstrance
to the Dutch Governor of Malacca, by means
of which he hoped any violent projected
measures would be deprecated without affect-
ing in the slightest degree the national honour
and credit. He also proposed that, as no
other opportunity would probably occur for
several weeks, a transport should be sent
to Singapore with a further supply of six
thousand dollars. " This last I am, however,
surprised to learn that he should require so
soon, for his small detachment has not been
forty days at Singapore before it appears to
have expended so large a sum as 15,000 dollars
which was taken with it."
The minute proceeded : " In proposing to
send this transport to Major Farquhar I have
another object in view. I have just had reason
to believe that the Gauges and Ncarchiis (the
only two vessels now at Singapore) are quite
incapable of receiving on board the whole of
the detachment there in the event of Major
Farquhar's judgment deciding that a retreat
from the port would be most advisable. If,
therefore, one of the transports is victualled
equal to one month's consumption for 250 men
and sent to Singapore with authority given to
Major Farquhar to employ her should her
services be requisite, that officer will then have
ample means for removing, whenever indis-
pensably necessary, not only all his party, but
such of the native inhabitants as may fear the
Dutch vengeance, and whom it would be most
cruel to desert."
The minute went on to say that the transport
would be a means of withdrawing the Singa-
pore garrison in a British ship and saving the
national character from a very great portion of
the disgrace and mortification of having Major
Farquhar embarked by the Dutch on their own
ships.
Colonel Bannerman concluded as follows :
" However invidious the task, I cannot close
this minute without pointing out to the notice
of our superiors the very extraordinary conduct
of the Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen. He
posts a detachment at Singapoor under very
equivocal circumstances, without even the
means of coming away, and with such de-
fective instructions and slender resources that,
before it has been there a month, its com-
mander is obliged to apply for money to this
Government, whose dutv it becomes to offer
that officer advice and means against an event
which Sir Stamford Raffles ought to have ex-
pected, and for which he ought to have made
an express provision in his instructions to that
officer.
" My letters of the isth and 17th February
will prove that upon his return from Singapore
I offered him any supplies he might require
for the detachment he had left there, and also
earnestly called upon him to transmit instruc-
tions to Major Farquhar for the guidance of his
conduct in the possible event of the Nether-
landers attempting to dislodge him by force of
arms. Did he avail himself of my offer ?
No, he set off for Achin and left Major Farquhar
to shift for himself. In fact, he acted (as a
friend of mine emphatically observed) like a
man who sets a house on fire and then runs
away." This extraordinary effusion reveals the
animus and stupidity with which Raffles was
pursued in the prosecution of his great design.
But it does not stand alone. While Bannerman
was doing his best to destroy RafHes's work by
withholding much-needed support from the
tiny force planted at Singapore, he was inditing
highly-coloured despatches to the authorities in
Calcutta and at home on the mischievousneSs
of the policy that had been embarked upon.
In one of these communications despatched to
the Court of Directors on March 4, 1819, shortly
after the news of the occupation had been
received at Pinang, the irate official wrote :
" My honourable employers will observe that
the Governor-General in Council was pleased
to grant the Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen
a special commission to visit this presidency to
execute important duties belonging to this
Government, and already recommended by me
under the most favourable auspices, and to
make me the instrument of assisting that
gentleman to aggrandise his own name and
settlement at the expense of the character,
dignity, and local influence of this Govern-
ment." To Calcutta Bannerman addressed
despatches condemning in unsparing terms
the action that had been taken, and confidently
looking for support in the line of policy he had
pursued in opposition to Raffles. There was at
the outset a disposition on the part of the
Supreme Government to think that in despatch-
ing Raffles on his mission they had been
precipitate. Influenced by the news of Dutch
aggressiveness, and impressed also probably
by Bannerman's gloomy vaticinations upon
the situation, they addressed a letter to Pinang
expressing the view that it might be desirable
to relinquish the mission. But their hesitation
was only temporary. With the receipt of
Raffles's own communications there was borne
in upon them the importance of upholding his
action. Then the storm broke upon Colonel
Bannerman for the part he had played in
obstructing the mission. In a despatch dated
April 8, 1819, the Governor-General poured
upon the unfortunate Governor a volume of
censure such as has rarely been meted out to a
high official. " With regard to the station
established at Singapore," said the Governor-
General, " though we are not prepared to
express any final opinion upon the determina-
tion adopted by Sir Stamford Raffles to occupy
that harbour, we cannot think it was within
the province of your Government to pronounce
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
29
a decisive opinion upon a violation of his in-
structions. Commissioned and entrusted by
this Government, to this Government alone he
was answerable. The instructions under which
he acted, and which were communicated to
your Government that you might the more
readily promote the object, were adapted to
the port of Rhio chiefly, and the probability
that the Dutch might anticipate us there
rendered it necessary to prescribe a line which
was in that contingency to be followed with
the utmost exactness. The same principle was
in the subsequent instructions extended to
Johore. In both cases the injunctions referred
to the possible event of an apparent right
having been actually advanced by the Dutch.
But though the spirit of inculcation to avoid
collision with the Dutch applied itself to any
other position, it necessarily did so with a
latitude suited to circumstances.
" We think your Government entirely wrong
in determining so broadly against the propriety
of the step taken by Sir Stamford Raffles on
a simple reclamation from the Governor of
Malacca, which, whether well or ill, founded,
was to be looked for as certain. . . .
" Under these circumstances it does not
appear to us that any doubts which may be
excited at the present stage of the business
could be a legitimate principle for your
guidance, so as to exonerate you from the
obligation of fulfilling our directions for your
supporting Sir Stamford Raffles with a moderate
force should he establish a station on the
Eastern sea. So far do we regard you from
being freed fronl the call to act upon our instruc-
tions, that we fear you would have difficulty
in excusing yourselves should the Dutch be
tempted to violence by the weakness of the
detachment at Singapore and succeed in dis-
lodging it. Fortunately there does not appear
the likelihood of such an extremity. Repre-
sentations will be made to this Government,
and investigations must be set on foot ; in
the interval which these will occupy, we have
to request from your Government every aid to
the factory at Singapore. The jealousy of it
which we lament to have been avowed and
recorded would find no tolerance with the
British Government should misfortune occur
and be traceable to neglects originating in such
a feeling. Whether the measure of occupying
it should ultimately be judged to have been
indiscreetly risked or otherwise, the procedure
must be upheld, unless we shall be satisfied
(which is not now the case) that perseverance
in maintaining the port would be an infraction
of equity."
In a private letter, of somewhat earlier date,
the Governor-General explained at some length
the principles which had guided him in entrust-
ing the mission to Raffles. He wrote : " It is
impossible to form rational directions for the
guidance of any mission without allowing a
degree of discretion to be exercised in con-
tingencies which, though foreseen, cannot be
exactly measured, but the particular principle
by which Sir Stamford Raffles was to be ruled
was so broadly and positively marked as to
admit no excuse for proceedings inconsistent
with its tenor. For that reason I have to infer
the unlikelihood of his hazarding anything
contrary to our wishes. .
" We never meant to show such obsequious-
ness to the Dutch as to forbear securing those
interests of ours which tljey had insidiously
and basely assailed out of deference to the
title which they were disposed to advance of
supremacy over every island and coast of the
Eastern Archipelago. It was to defeat that
profligate speculation that we commissioned
Sir Stamford Raffles to aim at obtaining some
station which would prevent the entire com-
mand of the Straits of Malacca from falling
into the hands of the Dutch, there being many
unpossessed by them and not standing within
any hitherto asserted pretensions."
Bannerman replied to this letter in a " hurried
note," in which he said that he bowed with
deference to his lordship's views. " I have,"
he went on, "received a lesson which shall
teach me how I again presume to offer opinions
as long as I live." He trusted his lordship
would perceive from their despatch in reply
" that our respect and attachment have in no
degree abated, and that though we have not
the elation of success we still do not possess
the suUenness of discomfiture." The despatch
referred to (dated May i8, 1819), entered at
lenglh into the controversy, extenuating the
course that the Pinang authorities had taken,
and asking that if Singapore was retained it
should be placed under the Pinang Govern-
ment. The despatch concluded :
" I am sorry, my lord, to have trespassed so
long on your time, but 1 have a whole life of
character to defend, and in this vindication I
hope I have not borne harder than what is
necessary upon Sir S. Raffles and others. I
have taken particular care to have here no
personal controversy or cause of personal dis-
pute with that gentleman. On the contrary he
and his amiable lady have received from me
since their first arrival from Calcutta every
personal civility and attention which your
Excellency had desired me to show them in
your lordship's private communication of the
29th of November, and which my public situa-
tion here rendered it incumbent on me to offer.
Illiberal or malicious revenge, I thank God,
my heart knows not, and has never known.
The revenge which may be apparent in this
address is only such as justice imperiously
required and morality sanctioned. Its only
objects were to procure reparation for the
injury I have sustained, and to promote the
just ends of punishment." »
Just prior to the receipt of the final crushing
despatch from the Governor-General, Colonel
Bannerman had forwarded to the Court of
Directors at home a long communication, in
which he marshalled, not without skill, the
familiar arguments against the occupation of
Singapore. He concluded with this passage :
" It will now remain for the Honourable Court
to decide whether the occupation of Singapore
by Sir Stamford Raffles is an equivalent for the
certain ill-will it has excited against us from
the Dutch authorities in India, for the enormous
expense it has saddled on the India Company,
and for the probable disaster it has entailed on
all the negotiations contemplated between the
two Courts in Europe." This communication
was written on the 24th of June. A week later
another letter was forwarded. It was couched
"Straits Settlements Records," No. 182A.
in terms indicative of the heaviness of the
blow which had fallen upon the old soldier-
administrator. Bannerman wrote : " We now
beg leave to submit to your Honourable Court
the letter which we have received from the
Most Noble the Governor-General in Council
in reply to all our despatches and references
on the subject of the Achin mission and Sir
Stamford Raffles's Eastern mission, and we feel
the most poignant sorrow in acquainting your
Honourable Court that this despatch conveys
to us sentiments of reproof and animadversion
from that exalted authority instead of approval
and commendation, which we confess to have
expected with the fullest confidence.
" We had as full a knowledge of the in-
structions of the Supreme Government on
these matters as Sir S. Raffles himself had, unless
(which our duty will not allow us to believe)
Sir S. Raffles had actually, as he always stated
to our President, other verbal orders from the
Governor-General which appeared diametri-
cally opposite to the spirit and letter of his
written instructions, and we had certainly as
lively and a more immediate interest from
proximity to uphold the welfare and advantage
of the public interest in this quarter."
The despatch proceeded to state that the
Governor and his Council offered " such ah
explanation as a sense of duty and a regard
for our personal honour and reputation point
out to us " ; and then added that if their remarks
had the effect of averting from that Govern-
ment the accusation of its being actuated by
jealousy or other motives of an invidious nature
they would be fully satisfied. Then followed
this parting shot at the occupation :
" Relative to the new establishment of Singa-
pore, your Honourable Court will now be
enabled to judge whether the violent measure
of occupying such in defiance of the Dutch
claims will eventually prove more beneficial to
your or the national interests in the Eastern
Archipelago than would have been effected by
the adoption of the mild, conciliating, and, we
may say, economical policy recommended so
strenuously by this Government in pursuance
of the original views of the Governor-General.
The commercial advantages of Singapore,
whilst the Dutch hold the places of growth and
manufacture of the great staples of the Eastern
Archipelago, appear to us more than proble-
matical. Your Honourable Court may recollect
that the first occupation of this island gave rise
to similar extravagant prognostications of great
commercial benefits, so little of which have ever
been realised, although it has cost the India
Company a debt of nearly four million sterling
in enlarging and improving its capacity. . . .
On the other hand, the political advantages of
Singapore in time of war appear to us still
less, and by no means necessary whilst in
possession of such immense resources in India,
which we can always bring in less than a
month after the declaration of war against any
settlements that the Dutch may form in these
Straits."
Colonel Bannerman was not content to rely
on the despatches for his justification. Accom-
panying them he sent letters to the Chairman
and Deputy-Chairman of the Court, in which
he said that he hoped and trusted that all his
proceedings in respect to Singapore "will bear
30
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
mc out in the declaration which I now solemnly
and on my honour and conscience utter, that
the interests and only the interests of my
honourable employers have influenced and
directed the whole of my conduct, and that I
had on the occasion no other personal interest
excepting a very strong one not to do what I
considered my duty from the view of the very
event which has now happened — the possibility
of my opposition to Sir Stamford Raffles being
imputed to so base and ignoble a motive as
petty jealousy." The Court of Directors proved
scarcely more sympathetic than the Supreme
Government had shown themselves. They re-
plied in a despatch in which, while conceding
that Bannerman had been actuated by a sense
of duty, they expressed regret that he had been
betrayed by the warmth of discussion into an
imputation upon Sir Stamford Raffles's motives
" totally irreconcilable with every principle of
public duty." The unfortunate Governor was
saved this final stinging rebuke. Before the
despatch reached Pinang — before, indeed, it
was written — he had gone to his last account.
Worn out with worry and depressed by the
mortification of defeat, he died on August i,
1819. He was in some respects an excellent
administrator, but he lacked conspicuously the
qualities of foresight and force of character
necessary in such a situation as that in which he
found himself in the closing days of his career.
His treatment of Sir Stamford Raffles and his
general handling of the crisis precipitated by
the aggressive polic>' of the Dutch will always
remain a monumental example of official in-
capacity.
While the authorities at home were not
disposed to back up Colonel Bannerman, they
were little inclined to support Sir Stamford
Raffles. When news of the occupation reached
London, the Secret Committee of the East
India Company, who had previously written
to Lord Hastings disapproving of the mission,
wrote a violently worded despatch in which
they declared that " any difficulty with the
Dutch will be created by Sir Stamford Raffles's
intemperance of conduct and language." They
graciously intimated, however, that they would
await the further explanations of Lord Hastings
" before retaining or relinquishing Sir Stamford
Raffles's acquisition at Singapore."
Downing Street joined with Leadenhall
Street in angry pronouncements upon what
both regarded as an ill-advised and ill-timed
display of excessive zeal on the part of a
reckless subordinate. A premonition of the
storm must have been borne in upon Raffles,
for at the very earliest stage of the occupation
he took measures to explain the importance of
Singapore to influential personages at home
who would be able to raise their voices with
effect in the event of any retrograde policy
being favoured. To Marsden he wrote at
regular intervals with the express object, we
may assume, of enlisting his powerful support.
On January 31, 1819, the day of the signature
of the treaty with the Dalo' Tcmenggong,
Raffles addressed the following to his friend :
"This place possesses an excellent harbour
and everything that can be desired for a British
port, and the island of St. John's, which forms
the SW. point of the harbour. W'c have com-
manded an intercourse with all the ships
passing through the Straits of Singapore. We
are within a week's sail of China, close to
Siam and in the very seat of the Malayan
Empire. This, therefore, will probably be my
last attempt. If I am deserted now I must
fain return to Bencoolen and become philo-
sopher."
Writing later, on February 19th, Raffles
says :
" In short, Singapore is everything we could
desire, and I ma\' consider myself most for-
tunate in the selection ; it will soon rise into
importance, and with this single station alone I
would undertake to counteract all the plans of
Mynheer ; it breaks the spell, and they are no
longer the exclusive sovereigns of Eastern
seas."
Again, under date June 15, 1819, Raffles
writes :
" I am happy to inform you that everything
is going on well here ; it bids fair to be the
next port to Calcutta ; all we want now is the
certainty of permanent possession, and this, of
course, depends on authorities beyond our
control. You may take my word for it this is
by far the most important station in the East,
and as far as naval superiority and commercial
interests are concerned, of much higher value
than whole continents of territory."
Raffles's unwavering confidence in the future
of Singapore, expressed so trenchantly in these
letters, convinced his friends at home of the
value of the acquisition he had made ; but his
enemies and rivals were persistent, and for a
long time the fate of the settlement hung in
the balance. Echoes of the discussions from
time to time reached Raffles in the Straits, and
he was naturally affected by them. More in
sorrow than in anger we find him writing on
July 17, 1820 : " I learn with much regret the
prejudice and the malignity by which I am
attacked at home for the desperate struggle I
have maintained against the Dutch. Instead of
being supported by my own Government, I
find them deserting me and giving way in
every instance to the unscrupulous and enor-
mous assertions of the Dutch. All, however,
is safe so far, and if matters are only allowed
to remain as they are, all will go well. The
great blow has been struck, and, though I may
personally suffer in the scuffle, the nation must
be benefited. Were the value of Singapore
properly appreciated, I am confident that all
England would be in its favour. It positively
takes nothing from the Dutch, and is to us
everything ; it gives us the command of China
and Japan, vui Siam and Cambodia, Cochin
China, &c., to say nothing of the islands them-
selves. . . Let the commercial interests for
the present drop every idea of a direct trade to
China, and let them concentrate their influence
in supporting Singapore, and they will do ten
times better. As a free port it is as much to
them as the possession of Macao ; and it is here
their voyages should finish. . . . Singapore
may as a free port thus become tlie connecting
link and grand ciihifol between Europe, Asia,
and China ; it is, in fact, fast becoming so,"
Again, writing on July 22, 1820, Raffles further
alludes to the talk of abandonment. "It appears
to me impossible that Singapore should be
given up, and yet the indecisive manner in
which the Ministers express themselves, .and
the unjust and harsh terms they use towards
me, render it doubtful what course they will
adopt."
Happily his confidence in the convincing
strength of the arguments for retention was
justified. The Marquess of Hastings, after his
first lapse into timidity, firmly asserted the
British claim to maintain the occupation. In
replying to a despatch from Baron 'Vander
Capellan, Governor-General of Netherlands
India, protesting against the British action,
his lordship maintained that the chiefs who
ceded Singapore were perfectly independent
chiefs, fully competent to make arrangements
with respect to Singapore. He intimated,
however, that if it should prove on fuller
information that the Netherlands Government
possessed a right to the exclusive occupation
of Singapore, the Government would, " without
hesitation, obey the dictates of justice by with-
drawing all our establishments from the place."
Some time later, in July, 1819, the Marquess of
Hastings addressed another despatch, in which
he outlined at some length the views of the
Supreme Government of India in reference to
the Dutch claims. He affirmed that a manifest
necessity existed for counteracting the Dutch
exertions to secure absolute supremacy in the
Eastern seas ; that the views of the British
Government had always been confined to the
security of British commerce ancl the freedom
of other nations ; that it was held that the
Dutch had no just claim founded on engage-
ments which might have been made with the
native princes before the transfer of Malacca
in 1795 ; that their only right depended on
the treaty concluded at Riau on November 26,
1818, but which was subsequent to the one
entered into by Major Farquhar on the part
of the British Government with the Govern-
ment of Riau as an independent State in the
August preceding ; that under this view the
Dutch had adopted the most injurious and
extraordinary proceeding of making a treaty
declaring that of the British to be null and
void ; and that the Dutch authorities who
transferred Malacca in 1795 had declared that
Riau, Johore, Pahang and Lingen, through the
first of which the Dutch claimed Singapore,
were not dependencies of Malacca. In a
further despatch, dated August 21, 1819,
Hastings closed the controversy, as far as his
Government was concerned, by reaffirming
the untenability of the Dutch claims and
declaring that the sole object Of the British
Government was to protect its own interests
against what had appeared an alarming in-
dication of pretensions to supremacy and
monopoly on the part of the Netherlandish
authorities in seas hitherto free to all parties.
The dispute continued to rage in Europe for
some time after this, the Dutch pressing their
claims with characteristic tenacity upon the
attention of the British Government. Indeed,
it was not until 1824, when a general settle-
ment was arrived at between the two Govern-
ments, that the final word was said on the
subject of Singapore. The advocacy of power-
ful friends whose aid Raffles was able to
invoke unquestionably had considerable in-
fluence in securing the ultimate verdict in
favour of retention. But the concession was
grudgingly made, and Raffles was left to reap
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF liRITISH MAI.AYA
31
the reward of his prescient statesmanship in
the linowledge that he had won for his country
this great strategical centre in the Eastern sea.
It is a chapter in British colonial history
which redounds little to the credit of either
the British official world or the British people.
Their sole excuse is that they were ignorant
and acted ignorantly. The age was one in
which scant thought was given to question-,
of world policy, which now are of recognised
importance. Moreover, long years of war, in
which the country had been reduced to the
point of exhaustion, had left people little in
the mood to accept new responsibilities which
carried with lliem (he possibility of inter-
national strife. Still, when every allowance
is made for the circumstances of the time, it
must be conceded that the treatment of Raffles
at this period, and the subsequent neglect of
his memory, have left an indelible stain upon
the reputation of his countrymen for generosity.
CHAPTER II.
The Buildin'g of the City.
Viewing the Singapore of to-day, with its
streets thronged with a cosmopolitan crowd
drawn from every quarter of the globe, its
bustling wharves instinct with a vigorous com-
mercial life, and its noble harbour, in which
float every kind of craft, from the leviathan
liner of 10,000 tons to the tiny Malay fishing
boat, it is difficult to realise that less than a
century ago the place was nothing more than
a small Malay settlement, in which a mere
handful of natives eked out a precarious exis-
tence by fishing, with an occasional piratical
raid on the adjoining coasts. Yet if there is
one fact more conclusive than another in the
history of this great port, it is that it is a pure
product of British foresight, energy, and com-
mercial aptitude. Discovering an incomparable
position, the Empire builders, represented by
Raffles and his lieutenants and successors,
dug deep and wide the foundations of the
city, and the genius and enterprise of British
merchants did the rest. Sometimes it has
happened that a great colonial city has attained
to eminence through accidental causes, as, for
example, in the cases of Kimberley and
Johannesburg. But Singapore owes nothing
of its greatness to adventitious aids. As we
have seen in the extracts cited from Raflles's
letters, its ultimate position of importance in the
Empire was accurately forecasted ; before one
stone had been laid upon another the founders
knew that they were designing what would
be no "mean city" — a commercial entrepot
which would vie with the greatest in the
East.
From the practical point of view there were
many advantages in the situation which RafHes
found when he occupied Singapore. Rights
of property there were none outside the
interests of the overlord, which were readily
satisfied by the monetary allowance provided
for under the treaties with the Sultan and the
Temenggong. There was no large resident
population to cause trouble and friction, and
there were no local laws to conllict with
British juridical principles. In fine. Rallies
and his associates had a clL'an slate on which
to draw at their fancy the lines of the settle-
ment. They drew with perspicacity and a
courageous faith in the future. We catch
occasional glimpses of the life of the infant
settlement as reflected in the oflicial literature
of the period or in the meagre columns of the
Pinang newspaper. In the very earliest days
of the occupation an incoming ship from China
reports, we may imagine with a sharp note of
interrogation, the presence of four ships in the
roadstead at Singapore and of tents on the
shore. The Stores Department is indented
on for building materials, food supplies, and
for munitions of war, including a battery of
i8-pounder guns, with a hundred rounds of
ammunition per gun. Invalids from the island
arrive, and are drafted to the local hospital
for treatment. Then comes crowning evidence
that the settlement is really growing and
thriving in this interesting domestic announce-
ment in the C(5lumns of the Prince of Wales
Island Gazette of August 7, 1819. " Sincapore
birth. — On the 25th of July, Mrs. Barnard of a
daughter. This is the first birth at the new
settlement."
The first official step in the creation of the
new Singapore was the issue on February 6,
1819, by Sir Stamford Raffles, of a proclamation
announcing the, conclusion of the treaty which
made the place a British settlement. Simulta-
neously Rallies addressed to Colonel Farquhar
(as he had now become) a letter instructing
him as to the course he was to pursue in all
matters aflecting the settlement. By this
time the general lines of the new town had
been provisionally settled. The site of the
settlement was fixed on the identical spot
which Raffles beHeved, from the perusal of
Malayan history, was occupied by the old city.
Beyond the erection of a few temporary
buildings and the tracing of one or two
necessary roads, little seems to have been done
during the first few months of the occupation,
probably because of the uncertainty in which
the future of the place was enshrouded in
consequence of the political complications.
But on Raffles's return to Singapore on the
completion of his mission to Achin, he devoted
himself in earnest to the task of devising
arrangements for the administration of the
important port which his instinct told him
would spring up phoenix-like out of the ashes
of the dead and half-forgotten Malay city.
The plan which he finally evolved is sketched
in an elaborate letter of instructions, dated
June 26, 1819, which he addressed to Farquhar
just prior to his second departure from the
island. The European town, he directed,
should be erected without loss of time. This,
he estimated, should extend along the beach
for a distance of 200 yards from the lines as far
eastward as practicable, and should include as
mucli of the ground that had already been
cleared of the Bugis as was required, the
occupants being reimbursed for the expense
they had been put to in making the clearances,
and given other ground in lieu of the sites first
chosen. He directed that for the time being
the space lying between the new road and the
beach should be reserved for Government,
while the aiea on the opposite side of the road
should be immediately marked out into twelve
separate allotments, with an equal frontage, to
be appropriated to the first ropcclable Euro-
pean applicants. In practice it was found
impossible to adhere to this plan. The mer-
chants were indisposed to build along the
north beach on the space allotted to them,
owing to the inconvenience to shipping
resulting from the low level of the beach.
Farquhar, to relieve the situation, granted
them permission to appropriate the Govern-
ment reserved land on the left bank of the
river, on the understanding that they must be
prepared to mo\e if required to do so. In
October, 1822, when Raflles returned to take
over the Government of the island, he found
that a number of houses had already been
built on the reserved ground. He appointed
a committee consisting of three disinterested
persons — Dr. Wallich of Calcutta, Dr. Lumsdain
and Captain Salmond of Bencoolen— to assist
him in fixing a new ^ite for the town. After
much consideration it was decided to level a
small hill on the south side, on the site of what
is now Commercial Square, and with the earth
from this hill to raisp the land on the south
bank of the river and so create new building
sites. This scheme was ultimately carried out,
and in association with it were executed
arrangements for the expropriation on fair
terms of all who had built with the Resident's
permission on the north bank. A few of the
buildings on this side were allowed to remain
and were subsequently used for public offices.
While the levelling operations for the new
settlement were proceeding the workmen un-
earthed near the mouth of the river a flat stone
bearing an inscription in strange characters. Of
the finding of this relic and its subsequent fate
we have a vivid contemporary description in
a Malay work written by .■Vbdullah, Raflles's old
assistant. Abdullah wrote : " At the time there
was found, at the end of the Point, buried in
jungle, a smooth square-sided stone, about
6 feet long, covered with chiselled characters.
No one could read the characters, for they had
been exposed to the action of the sea-water
for God knows how many thousands of ye.trs.
When the stone was discovered people of every
race went in crowds to see it. The Hindus
said the writing was Hindu, but they could
not read it. The Chinese said it was Chinese.
I went with Sir Stamford Raflles and the Rev.
M. Thompson and others, and to me it seemed
that the letters resembled Arabic letters, but I
could not decipher them owing to the ages
during which the stone had been subject to the
rise and fall of the tides.
" Numbers of clever people came to read the
inscription ; some brought soft dough and took
an impi-ession, while others brought black ink
and smeared it over the stone in order to make
the writing plain. Every one exhausted his
ingenuity in attempts to ascertain the nature
of the characters and the language, but all
without success. So the stone remained
where it lay, with the tide washing it every
day. Then Sir Stamford Raffles decided that
the writing was in the Hindu character,
because the Hindus were the first people to
come to these parts, to Java, Bali, and Siam,
whose people are all descended from Hindus.
32
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
But not a man in Singapore could say what
was the meaning of the words cut on that
stone ; therefore only God knows. And the
stone remained there till Mr. Bonham became
Governor of Singapore, Pinang, and Malacca
(1837-43). At that time Mr. Coleman was the
Government engineer at Singapore, and he,
sad to tell, broke the stone. In my opinion
it was a very improper thing to do, but per-
haps it was due to his stupidity and ignorance
and because he could not understand the
writing that he destroyed the stone. It never
occurred to him that there might be others
more clever than himself who could unravel
the secret ; for I have heard that there are
those in England who are able to read such
a riddle as this with ease, whatever the lan-
guage, whoever the people who wrote it. As
the Malays say, ' What you can't mend, don't
destroy.' "
It is difficult to find a more adequate char-
acterisation of this piece of silly vandalism on
the part of Mr. Coleman than that contained
in Abdullah's scathing criticism. The motives
which prompted the act are difficult to con-
ceive, but whatever they were the secret of
the stone was effectually concealed by the
destructive operations. Some fragments col-
lected subsequently found their way to Calcutta,
to supply the savants there with a knotty
problem to puzzle over, and from time to
time discussion has arisen in Singapore itself
over the historic debris. We are still, how-
ever, as far as ever from discovering the key
to the mystery. Perhaps the most plausible
explanation is that of Lieutenant Begbie, who
writing in 1834, suggested that the stone was
identical with a tablet or tablets mentioned in
the " Malay Annals " and relating to a conflict
between a Singapuri Samson named Badang
and a rival from the Coromandel coast.
Badang won great fame as the victor in the
fight, and when he died he was buried at the
mouth of the Singapore river, and the Coro-
mandel King sent two stones to place over
his grave. The stone unearthed at the build-
ing of the town, it was argued by Lieutenant
Begbie, must have been one of these. The
controversy may be left at this point. It is
really now only of interest to illustrate the
paucity of the antiquarian remains of which
Singapore can boast.
Farquhar's share in the building of the new
settlement was a considerable one. He cleared
the jungle and drove roads in all directions,
always with a keen eye to future possibilities.
Perhaps his finest conception was the esplanade,
which is still one of the most attractive features
of the city. While the work of laying out the
new port was proceeding, merchants, both
European and native, attracted by the news
of the occupation and the promise it brought
of future prosperity, were flocking to the spot,
eager to have a share in the trade which they
rightly calculated was bound to grow up under
the protecting shadow of the British flag.
Farquhar may be left to tell the story of this
early " rush." In a letter to Raffles, dated
March 21, 1820, he wrote : " Nothing can
possibly exceed the rising trade and general
prosperity of this infant colony ; indeed, to
look at our harbour just now, where upwards
of twenty junks, three of which are from China
and two from Cochin China, the rest from
Siam, and other vessels are at anchor, besides
ships, brigs, prows, &c., &c., a person would
naturally exclaim. Surely this cannot be an
establishment of only twenty months' stand-
ing ! One of the principal Chinese merchants
has told me in the course of conversation that
he would be very glad to give 500,000 dollars
for the revenue of Singapore five years hence ;
merchants of all descriptions are collecting
here so fast that nothing is heard in the shape
of complaint but the want of more ground
to build on. The swampy ground on the
opposite side of the river is now almost
covered with Chinese houses, and the Bugis
village is become an extensive town. Settle-
ments are forming up the different rivers,
and from the public roads which have been
made the communication to various parts
of the country is now quite open and con-
venient."
In July of the same year Raffles himself, in a
letter to a friend in England, describes in glow-
ing terms the progress of the work of develop-
ment. "My settlement," he wrote, " continues
to thrive most wonderfully ; it is all and every-
thing I could wish, and if no untimely fate
awaits it, it promises to become the emporium
and pride of the East." Happily no untimely
fate did overtake it. Despite the jealousy and
obstructiveness of Pinang, notwithstanding
the indifference and neglect of the home
authorities and apprehensions born of " a
craven fear of greatness," the progress of the
port was continuous. Two years and a half
after the occupation we find Raffles estimating
that the exports and imports of Singapore by
native boats alone exceeded four millions of
dollars in the year, and that during the whole
period of the brief life of the settlement no
fewer than 2,889 vessels had entered and
cleared from the port, of which 383 were
owned and commanded by Europeans. In
1822 the tonnage had risen to 130,689 tons,
and the total value of the trade to upwards of
eight millions of dollars. Two years later the
annual trade had increased in value to upwards
of thirteen millions of dollars. It would be
difficult to discover in the whole history of
British colonisation, fruitful as it is in instances
of successful development, a more remarkable
example of rapid growth.
No small share of the brilliant success achieved
in the founding of Singapore was unquestion-
ably due to the liberal policy Raffles introduced
from the outset. He foresaw that to attempt
to build up the prosperity of the place on the
exclusive principles of the Dutch, or even on
the modified system of restrictive trade obtain-
ing at our own ports, would be to foredoom the
settlement to failure. The commerce of the
port, to obtain any degree of vigour, he under-
stood, must be absolutely unfettered. Again
and again he insists upon this point in his
correspondence, pleading and fighting for the
principle with all the earnestness of ■ his
strenuous nature. Free the trade was from
the beginning, and though later attempts were
made to tamper with the system, Singapore has
continued to this day in the enjoyment of the
liberal and enlightened constitution with which
Raffles endowed it.
Many stupid things were done by the
authorities in connection with the early his-
tory of Singapore, but it will always remain
to their credit that they entrusted to Raffles
the task of establishing the administrative
machinery there on a permanent footing.
Ordered from Bencoolen to Singapore in
September, 1822, Raffles, with a light heart
and heightened expectations, embarked upon
what was to him a labour of love. His wide
experience in Java and at Bencoolen, aided by
his natural ability, enabled him without diffi-
culty to devise a sound working constitution
for the new colony. Recognising that the
prosperity of the settlement depended upon
adequate facilities for shipping, he caused the
harbour and the adjacent coasts to be carefully
surveyed from Diamond Point to the Karimun
Islands. The sale of land was carefully regu-
lated, with due regard, on the one hand, to
Government interests, and on the other to the
development of trade. For the better safe-
guarding of rights he caused a land registry
to be established — a step which proved of
immense value in the later history of the
colony. A code of regulations designed to
suit the needs of a mixed community of the
class of that already settled in the town was
drawn up, and Raffles himself sat in court to
enforce them. He also established a local
magistracy as a means of strengthening the
administration of the law and creating a sense
of responsibility in the communitj'. As in
Bencoolen he had interested himself in the
moral well-being of those entrusted to his
charge, so here he gave serious consideration
to the problem of training the youths of the
settlement to be good citizens. The outcome
of his deliberations was the framing of a
scheme for the founding of an institution for
the study of Chinese and Malay literature.
Early in 1822 the project assumed a practical
shape in the establishment of the famous
Singapore Institute. It was Raffles's desire
to give further strength to the cause of edu-
cational progress in the colony by the transfer
to Singapore of the Anglo-Chinese College at
Malacca. But his proposals under this head
were thwarted by the action of a colleague
and the idea had reluctantly to be abandoned.
By the beginning of June, 1823, Raffles had
so far advanced the work entrusted to him
that he was able to hand over the charge of
the settlement to Mr, Crawfurd, who had been
appointed to administer it. Somewhat earlier
Raffles is revealed writing to a friend contrasting
the bustle and prosperity of Singapore with the
stagnation and costliness of his old charge.
" At Bencoolen," he wrote, " the public expenses
are more in one month than they are at Singa-
pore in twelve. The capital turned at Bencoolen
never exceeds 400,000 dollars in a year, and
nearly the whole of this is in Company's bills
on Bengal, the only returns that can be made ;
at Singapore the capital turned in a year ex-
ceeds eight millions, without any Government
bills or civil establishment whatever." ■ Further
suggestive facts were given by Raffles in a
letter he wrote to the Supreme Government on
January 15, 1823. In this he stated that the
average annual charge for the settlement for
the first three years of its establishment had
not exceeded 60,000 Spanish dollars. " I had
■ " Memoir of Sir T. S. RafHes," p. 532.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF IJRITISH MALAYA
33
anticipated," he proceeded, " tlic satisfaction of
constructing all necessary public buildings free
of expense to Government and of delivering
over charge of the settlement at the end of the
present year with an available revenue nearly
equal to its expenses, and it is extremely morti-
fying that the irregularities admitted by the
local Resident oblige me to forego this ar-
rangement." The irregularities alluded to in
this despatch were committed by a local official
employed in connection with the land transfers.
He was a man of indifferent character who
ought never to have been appointed to the
post, and Farquhar's laxity in this and other
respects drew upon him the severe censure of
Raffles. The relations between the two became
exceedingly strained in consequence. Even-
tually Farquhar resigned, and his resignation
was accepted, Mr, Crawfurd, as has been stated,
being appointed as his successor. If the course
of official life at Singapore in these days did
not run smoothly, nothing could have been
more harmonious than Raffles's relations with
the mercantile community. In striking contrast
with the contemptuous indifference displayed
by the Indian bureaucrats who ruled in the
Straits towards the civil community, Raffles
deferred to it in every way compatible with
the Government interests. The principles
which guided him in this particular are lucidly
set forth in a despatch he wrote to the Supreme
Government, dated March 29, 1823. "I am
satisfied," Raffles wrote, " that nothing has
tended more to the discomfort and constant
jarrings which have hitherto occurred in our
remote settlements than the policy which has
dictated the exclusion of the European mer-
chants from all share, much less credit, in the
domestic regulation of the settlement of which
they are frequently its most important mem-
bers." These liberal sentiments supply the key
to Raffles's remarkable success as an adminis-
trator, and they help to an understanding of the
affectionate warmth with which the European
community took -leave of him in the farewell
address they presented on his departure from
the settlement.
" To your unwearied zeal, your vigilance,
and your comprehensive views," the memorial-
ists said, "we owe at once the foundation and
the maintenance of a settlement unparalleled
for the liberality of the principles on which it
has been established ; principles the operation
of which has converted, in a period short
beyond all example, a haunt of pirates into
the abode of enterprise, security, and opulence.
While we acknowledge our peculiar obligations
to you, we reflect at the same time with pride
and satisfaction upon the active and beneficent
means by which you have promoted and patron-
ised the diffusion of intellectual and m.oral im-
provement, and we anticipate with confidence
their happy influence in advancing the cause of
humanity and civilisation."
In the course of his reply in acknowledgment
of the address Raffles wrote : " It has happily
been consistent with the poHcyof Great Britain
and accordant with the principles of the East
India Company that Singapore should be estab-
lished as a free port, that no sinister, no sordid
view, no considerations either of political im-
portance or pecuniary advantage, should inter-
fere with the broad and liberal principles on
which the British interests have been estab-
lished. Monopoly and exclusive privileges,
against which public opinion has long raised
its voice, are here unknown, and while the free
port of Singapore is allowed to continue and
prosper, as it hitherto has done, the policy
and liberality of the East India Companv, by
whom the settlement was founded and under
whose protection and control it is still adminis-
tered, can never be disputed. That Singapore
settlement, I beg that you will accept my most
sincere thanks. I know the feeling which
dictated it, I acknowledge the delicacy with
which it has been conveyed, and I prize most
highly the gratifying terms to me personally in
which it has been expressed."
An aff'ecting description of Raffles's departure
from Singapore has been left in the Malay work
already referred to by his ser\ant and friend,
Abdullah. After mentioning various gifts that
STATUE OF SIR STAMFORD RAFFLES IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY.
( Photographed specially for this work by permission of the Dean of Westminster.)
will long and always remain a free port, and
that no taxes on trade or industry will be estab-
lished to check its future rise and prosperity,
I can have no doubt. I am justified in saying
this much, on the authority of the Supreme
Government of India, and on the authority of
those who are most likely to have weight in
the councils of our nation at home. For the
public and peculiar mark of respect which you,
gentlemen, ha\'e been desirous of showing me
on the occasion of my departure from the
were made to him by the administrator and
letters recommending him to officials as one to
be trusted, Abdullah writes : "I could not speak,
but I took the papers, while the tears streamed
down my face without my being conscious of
it. That day to part with Sir Stamford Raflles
was to me as the death of my parents. My
regret was not because of the benefits I had
received or because of his greatness or attrac-
tions ; but because of his character and attain-
ments, because every word he said was sincere
B "*
34
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
HENDON CHURCH AND CHURCHYARD, IN WHICH SIR STAMFORD BAFFLES
IS BURIED.
(The supposed position of tiie grave is tlie spot under tlie centre window in tlie middle foreground.)
and reliable, because he never exalted himself
or depreciated others. All these things have
remained in my heart till now, and though I
have seen many distinguished men, many who
were clever, who were rich, who were hand-
some— for character, for the power of winning
affection, and for talent and understanding, I
have never seen the equal of Sir Stamford
Raffles ; though I die and live again, I shall
never find his peer. . . . When I had received
the two letters. Sir Stamford and his lady went
down to the sea, accompanied by an immense
crowd of people of every nationality. I also
went with them, and when they reached the
ship they went on board, A moment later
preparations were made to heave up the
anchor, and Sir Stamford sent for me. I went
into his cabin, and saw that he was wiping the
tears from his eyes. He said, ' Go home ; you
must not grieve, for, as I live, we shall meet
again.' Then Lady Raffles came in and gave
me twenty-five dollars, saying, ' This is for
your children in Malacca.' When I heard that
m\" heart was more than ever fired by the
thought of their kindness. I thanked her and
shook them both by the htind ; but I could not
restrain my tears, so I hurriedly got into my
boat and- pulled away. When we had gone
some distance I looked back and saw Sir
Stamford gazing from the port. I saluted
him and he waved his hand. After some
moments the sails filled and the ship moved
slowly away."
This was Raffles's last view of Singapore.
He proceeded to his charge at Bencoolen to
resume the old life of masterly inactivity. But
he fretted under the chains which bound him
to the Far East, and longed to be once more
in the Old Country to spend what he felt would
be the short remaining period of his life.
Broken in health, weary in spirit, but with
eager anticipations of a pleasant reunion with
old friends, he with Lady Raffles embarked
■^mmmj/H
m;m.
" BAFFLESIA' ARNOLDI."
(Tile gigantic parasitic plant of Java and Sumatra dis-
covered by Raffles.)
on February 2, 1824, on a small vessel called the
Fame for England. Before the ship had barely
got out of sight of the port a fire broke out in
the spirit store below Raffles's cabin, and within
a short period the entire vessel was a mass of
flames. With difficulty the passengers and crew
escaped in boats, but all Raffles's manuscripts
and his natural history collections, the product
of many years' assiduous labour, perished. The
loss was from many points of view irreparable,
and, coming as it did after a succession of
misfortunes, told on Raffles's already enfeebled
constitution. But outwardly he accepted the
calamity with philosophic calm, and prepared
at once to make fresh arrangements for the
return voyage. Another ship was fortunately
available, and in this he and his wife made the
voyage to England. There he met with every
kindness from influential friends, and he settled
down to a country life at Highwood Hill,
Middlesex, having as his neighbour William
Wilberforce, between whom and him there
was a close tie of interest in their mutual
horror of the slave trade. Here he died, after
an attack of apoplexy, on July 5, 1826, and
was buried in Hendon churchyard. His last
days were clouded with troubles arising out
of claims and charges made against him by
the narrow-minded oligarchy of Leadenhall
Street, who dealt with Raffles as they might
have done with a refractory servant entitled
to no consideration at their hands. It has
remained for a later generation to do justice
to the splendid qualities of the man and the
enormous services he rendered to the Empire
by his vigorous and far-seeing statesmanship.
Singapore's progress in the years immedi-
ately following Raffles's departure was steadily
maintained by a wise adherence to the princi-
ples of administration which he had laid down.
Mr. Crawfurd, his successor in the adminis-
tration, was a man of broad and liberal views,
who had served under Raffles in Java, and was
imbued with his enlightened sentiments as to
the conduct of the administration of a colony
which depended for its success upon the
unrestrained operations of commerce. In
handing over charge to him Raffles had
provided him with written instructions empha-
sising the importance of early attention " to the
beauty, regularity, and cleanliness of the settle-
ment," and desiring him in particular to see
that the width of the different roads and streets
was fixed by authority, and " as much attention
paid to the general style of building as circum-
stances admit." These directions Crawfurd kept
well in mind throughout his administration,
with the result that the town gradually assumed
!n mewory'of
Sir Thomas Sta!v,forij RAFhi^s.
F.R.S. U^.D.ETC,
Statesman, Administrator and NatufvalisT:
Founder of the Colony and C!ty of Singapore. January z2\
n8i9-.
Born July sj? i78i. Died at Highwood, Middlesex, July 5^4
I8Z6.
and buried near this Tablet.
Erected in isa? Br Members of the family.
■TABLET TO SIR S'TAMFORD RAFFLES IN HENDON CHURCH,
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
35
an architectural dignity at tliat time quite un-
Icnown in the European settlements in the
East. The value of land in 1824, though small
in comparison with the price now realised for
property in the business quarter of Singapore,
was very satisfactory, having regard to the
brief period of the occupation and the un-
certainty of the political situation. B'or plots
with a So-feet frontage on the river and 150
feet deep, 3,000 dollars were paid, in addition
to an annual quit-rent of 38 dollars. Resi-
dential plots with an area of 1,200 square yards
realised 400 dollars, in addition to an annual
quit-rent of 28 dollars."
At this time there were twelve European
fir-ms of standing established in the settlement
in addition to - many reputable Chinese and
Malay traders. Such was the growth of the
commerce of the place that Crawfurd was
impelled on August 23, 1824, to address a long
despatch to the Supreme Government pleading
for the establishment of a judicial department
to deal with the many and complicated legal
questions that were constantly arising. The
charter of Prince of Wales Island, he thought,
might be taken as a safe precedent, but he
respectfully suggested that the judicial authority
should be separate and distinct from the execu-
tive, "as the surest means of rendering it
independent and respectable." It took the
Calcutta authorities a considerable time to
digest this question, but in the long run
Crawfurd's recommendations were adopted.
On March 6, 1827, an official notification was
issued to the effect that a Court of Judicature
would be opened in Singapore, and that as a
consequence the Resident's Court would be
closed. The establishment of the judicial
system followed upon the definitive occupation
of the island, under the terms of the diplomatic
understanding arrived at in London on March
17, 1824, between the British and the Dutch
Governments. Under the agreement the Dutch
formally recognised the British right to the
settlement, and Crawfurd was instructed to
give the fullest effect to it by completing a final
treaty with the Sultan and the Temenggong.
With some difficulty the compact was made on
August 2, 1824. By its provisions the island of
Singapore was ceded absolutely to the British
Government, together with the sovereignty of
the adjacent seas, straits, and islets to the limit
of ten geographical miles from the Singapore
coasts, and, acting on instructions, Crawfurd,
on August 3, . 1824, embarked in the ship
Malabar on a voyage round the island, with
the object of notifying to all and sundry that
the British really had come to stay.
Fullerton, a Madras civilian, was sent out
as Governor, with Pinang as the seat of
government. Meantime, Singapore had felt
itself important enough to support a newspaper.
This organ, the Singapore Chronicle and Com-
mercial Advertiser, was a tiny sheet of four
quarto pages, badly printed on rough paper,
but answering, it may be supposed, all the needs
of the infant settlement. Mr. C. B. Buckley, in
his erudite " Anecdotal History of Old Times
in Singapore," in alluding to this journal, states
that in 1884 it was not possible to find any
are missing, as they must have contained much
that was of interest. Mr. Crawfurd seems to
have been a frequent contributor to the
columns, and he was a writer, of no mean
hterary skill, as his official despatches and his
later contributions to the Edinburgh Review
clearly attest. Still, the files, even in their
incomplete condition, are highly instructive
and illuminating as guides to the life of the
settlement in the dawn of its existence. The
first fact that is impressed upon the reader is
the censorship which was then maintained
NO.
singapoIle
THkmsD&T, Janswrlliiti, 1^^
ra^j ...
'■lA Jiigl .
•No. 12.
dOVERNMENT.
NOTlFIC.lTtON.
rpHE PlIIltlCAUJiHKRE-
' X B Y hifornit'd tbnt all fiirxofiK
%oktin^ Lands, on the. Inland of
Sin^;ip')rt\ under OninW itwiied hy
Cir T. S. Rapflf,.;, Lacut. ^oyer-
THoivfl'r under authority of Ijoca^- :
«m Tickett< received front th« liitie
|R<Aident Mr. Cmwfurd, uudwlin
%uve coiuplied with the cnnditiulM"
"tof the wauifi, are roiiuiped to n^icn
'^h(*^-' Docnumntfl - into th« 0(H<m
■ef the t40d SnrVBjror, when tMr!
■will to flirtished <vitU frwUiiranlf',
••nthofized nnd coufirinfiii Jjy tht.^'
• ij^gltt Uunonihlc thu Oovampt; 0<)-
-Kifcral hi Council.
AU I'freons who have W«A^
in fulfiilniK the temw of thi:ir OH-p-
' giual Contract toelW «nd hui|<^
• on the L«nd so .IwBtllwwl, at* to-
quired to cnraplete tb<uc tngiii^
■ tntiita oiiL or t>efore'*ho: 1st of Mayj
new, in default pf which, (.hs
• land* offiurh de»cril»tiou will W
' resiifloed by. and re»ect to, the
' HqiiouWe CorapoaJ; aa . Proprio-
'tirBof the Snd. "
*;• It it* .furiher to be lUi^erytood
^Ihat -ito di«por»idi3n of l«audi» V(\\\,
te futai«; bo made by th« Bsci-
dSttt tisudcillw, withoat thttfmiic
thm Stthec^HbiiOrabh! the (Jover-
iHir ia Otvnncitof l"«uice,of Wa|e«
Inland) iii^gflfiore- and ^A\a/si^.
By Ordur of the Hoo«rab»-tht
Ooveroor in Council of l^i:illt*--of
Waley lahtod Singiipore aud ^4^-
locca. . <
JOHN- PRINCE,
Smgapure. 'J.',4 Ju.-.uurj/ liiJU.
iin\iouH to comihciobiutc!
vict!9 Tt'h>ch.hc.hM n
S<.-Ul<nh<4iit,I^l£tf^:
to infocm u^^>irot)eai
liih«1>i}»hK^Sil&(ij{i6t«>'fli«i hw;
iitg reaMVj.'<i'..pftrorw<ioii W epwit'h
monutrfeul' in Oim-rament- HiM tb
hmMeinur^ » SubsCriptftA liM<hlni
Inwn ^ipined »t tlif 'Hii>l»'«>f«(*:
Updernipfed «Hert all ctAHiMltt-i
Fully peceiVfd. when it i* kntJwn,
what ibp aniouht lof «4»j«iH^tlt«(i!l
i» likrly lo hjC tt' (uVefijik'of ikm
cona^^«i^W«nll<« ml
Fos'IAndON OK ANTWliKK'^'j
Tuland pawnxPrt int^ BrtOM"
rriHK fiMi mfp iinn-
1 V.l l.ESy A. I.Capl. Wii.
Va-ikihw*. (iotomander, hn» near-,
Iv I he »li"l<jof her rarRO rnifnuod
tiWt wilt hM_^ thi" ahouttho t-'^lll
proximo. 'i'lit» IlerouIcM i^ a poop
^bi|», .Carrie^ q.f*mxeon and Iuih ex-
ciillsi.taonniodahohfor'jwA-n^erM.
^i'liir.fmBlii or pa»'«ietf apply hi '
1 ;Moaa»x» lliirti) 'ft Co.
;.,.« j.\i lilili.
TalJKSDAr J*N. I8iu ^^V-
Py tlie tVuMW >'oM»'ft JCHptoili
CriLy,'w.|in-va ret'eitMl idviciHi iroili
t ,111' I. ii (lowit to till" ^;rt«jtf dtujOMry
wliicu lsu>hle lis 10 si\o tile loUpvv-.
.•..._<»- -, ... , ^ ...,1/ ..iiViij
ONE OP THE EARLIEST COPIES EXTANT OP THE
ing Tiew of tto deliTery of opiura
itM^f^Hbv.nVWtn ol Uecemlwr »n4-
4hA 4!l»olf i»n hwi(l on the 1»[ of tha
p«««;no,a^,, ^,;,^;„^
i .. i i.;;*'-! ■;■.■'■■ ' ff ■ . »"" ;
tu' th<)''t»«» Cornmiireinl lUjjialw
'r«Mli8n«il that ftlr. Cro2iar all*
Xfi'^^aik, of H-if D..(ci,; a^ .
^ w3^i)»ii, been nWltltrtal lyeUfe
crew itid *» wwl eiirrJ.* Jfttog*.
i</mo«ej thiit'tW C«^t»ht:h»*i
irTOno cat(m Hi oilwi', "li;**
~ iM fonder; wu imowiMDlr
,„^-,- by Wflil IhsHUoihoi' Mp
iMui nwo took pMl -iWih «he.i«l^;
' ; ^litl, tUii .fairitnt-se rMiialaiiMr m
kfled M*. ^nfwetalwi and
,^ i i^a «|i«l!l,*» bh« Mn ataled,
lBloS»olo4. •I'lln Saltiin *f*h» l>l iM
WiJ he«n.'r«!<iuci!t<Nl by die Commwt
orW5witt».»o K''* ,*« fS' '"''• *"*"
to MiWd6|>«^imoftli'Bni!.»<-r«-.«.,
on tlii' lat of January, hud ihu-liiiod
eomplyiait whIitSf fDipiwitu'O 'i'ue
CuvVVaor of M.iiiillu tiMprea-wd nn
hileiitiot) yf ooDttiiiiitift t.i iii-a f"-ry
iiieuuil iu bis power, slwirtol' lorve, (pr
llie recovoW of Ijie'- veMt'l.
Onitlie «iiliji'nl ofauionumo"' 1"
Sir Stuiuliiol .BalllM "o r.-I.T ■•"■
readeri* 10 a irotico vfhu-U .ii". ■'<
oliitrr.atill • leliiT uji')"'' ""■ ■"';-■'•'"
luro af'A. in u >ul..-v.tucol L..lui.,ut.
Wiihlii 111. -■ !•'• .in«tw.,JlM;l,s
Live ..iniMl IfOi t."Ulii|), i'-iii!;
li.e nral Ol ihe -OfllOil. ,A> • "i' ■"''
■ ■ ,t- ; ""
SINGAPORE CHRONICLE.'
CHAPTER III.
Early Days— The First Newspaper.
During the period of Crawfurd's adminis-
tration Singapore was under the control
of the Supreme Government ; but in 1826
the settlement was incorporated with Pinang
and Malacca in one Government, and Mr.
I Resident-General's Report, Journal of the Indian
Archipelago, ix. 468.
copy of the paper before 1831, and " there is not
probably one in existence." Mr. Buckley,
happily for the historian of Singapore, is
mistaken. At the India Office there is preserved
a practically complete file of the paper, com-
mencing with the seventy-third number,
published on January. 4, 1827. From inscrip-
tions on the papers it appears that copies were
regularly forwarded to Leadenhall Street for
the information of the Court of Directors, and
were bound up and kept for reference among
the archives of the Secret Committee. It is
unfortunate that the three earliest years' files
over the press in these settlements as in other
territories under the administration of the East
India Company. In the second number of the
surviving copies of the journal we are con-
fronted with this letter :
" Sir,— By desire of the Hon. Governor in
Council I beg to forward for your guidance the
enclosed rules applicable to the editors of
newspapers in India and to intimate to you
that the permission of Government for the
publication of the Singapore Chronicle and
Contiucrcial Advertiser is granted to you with
36
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
the clear understanding that you strictly adhere
to these regulations.
"As you will now refrain from publishing
anything in your paper which will involve an
infringement of these rules it will no longer be
necessary for you to submit for approval the
proof sheet of each number of the Chronicle
previous to its publication.
" I am, Sir,
" Your obedient servant,
"JoHx Prince,
"Resident Councillor.
"Singapore, Feb. 20, 1827."
The " Hon. Governor in Council " of this
communication was, of course, Mr. Fullerton.
This gentleman came from India filled with
the characteristic hatred of the Anglo-Indian
official of a free press. The smallest criticism
of official action he resented as an insult ; a
slighting reference to himself personally he
regarded as lese majcstc. Apparently he had
expected that his edict would be received with
submissive respect by those whom it concerned.
But he had reckoned without the spirit of
independence which characterised the budding
journalism of the Straits. The editor of the
Chronicle, in publishing the Resident Coun-
cillor's letter, accompanied it with this
comment :
" We cannot err in saying that we receive
these regulations with all the deference which
an intimation of the wishes of the Government
ought to command. They can form, however,
but a feeble barrier against ' offensive remarks '
whilst there is a press in England over which
the sic volo, sic jabeo of Indian authority can
have no control. The rulers of India might as
well attempt, like a celebrated despot of old, to
enchain the waves as to place restrictions upon
the press of England, and whilst that is the
case their measures will be unsparingly cen-
sured whenever they shall deserve it, and the
remarks issuing from that source, no matter
how contraband, will find their way round the
Cape, and will be here read by all those, to a
man, who would have read them had they
been printed originally on the spot. When
Ihis is so very plain, it is really no easy matter
for the governed to discover the object of such
regulations, unless, indeed, it be to prevent the
evil effect which the remarks of wicked editors
might be expected to produce upon the ' reading
public ' among that lettered, and to the in-
fluence of the press most susceptible people,
the Malays."
This was bad enough in the eyes of the
autocrat of Pinang, but there was worse to
follow. On February 15, 1827, the editor, in
referring to the suspension of a Calcutta
editor for criticisms of official action in the
Burmese War, remarked sarcastically that
" however culpable the editor may have been
in other respects, he has not perpetrated in his
remarks the sin of novelty." Mr. Fullerton
was furious at the audacity of the Singapore
scribe, and caused to be transmitted to him
what the Chronicle in its issue of March 29th
described as "a very severe secretarial re-
primand." He was still not intimidated,
as is shown by the pointed announcement in
the same number of the issue in Bengal of " a
very ably conducted paper " under the name of
the Calcutta Gazette, with the motto, " Freedom
which came at length, though slow to come."
However, the official toils were closing around
him. Peremptory orders were issued from
Pinang for the muzzling of the daring jour-
nalist. The editor seems to have got wind of
the pleasant intentions of the Government, and
indulged in this final shriek of liberty •
" Ghost of the Censorship.
"We thought that the censorship had been
consigned to the ' tomb of the Capulets,' that
common charnel-house of all that is worthless.
Either we were mistaken, however, in sup-
posing it thus disposed of, or its ghost, a spirit
of unquiet conscience, continues to haunt these
settlements. It is said to have been wandering
to and fro, and to have arrived lately from
Malacca in a vessel from which we would it
had been exorcised and cast into the sea.
" The paper is going to the press, and we
have but brief space in which to say that we
have this moment heard that it is currently and
on strong authority reported that Government
has re-established the censorship in this settle-
ment. That this is not yet the case we know,
having received no official intimation to that
effect, and until we receive this 'damning
proof we will not believe that Government
can have lapsed into a measure which will
reflect on them such unspeakable discredit.
We have heard much alleged against the
present Government of Pinang, some part of
which, since kings themselves are no longer
deemed impeccable, may be just but we
never heard our rulers deemed so weak, so
wavering, so infirm of purpose, as to promul-
gate a set of admirable regulations to-day, and
presto ! to revoke them to-morrow, restoring a
censorship which of their own free motion and
magnanimous accord they had just withdrawn,
for what reason no sane person will be able to
divine, unless it should chance to be for the
very simple one of putting it on again. Should
the Government have been guilty of an im-
becility such as report assigns them, the world
(if it ever hears of it) will very naturally
conclude that "the removal of the censorship
was a mere bait for applause in the expectation
that Government would never be called upon
for the exercise of the virtues of magnanimity
and forbearance, and that editors could on all
occasions shape their sentiments and the ex-
pression of them by the line and rule of
secretarial propriety."
The "intelligent anticipation" displayed by
the editor in this clever and amusing comment
was speedily justified by facts. On the morning
following the publication of the paper in which
it appears, the journalist received a letter from
the Government at Pinang informing him that
in future he must submit a proof of his paper
previous to publication to the Resident Coun-
cillor. The official version of the episode is to
be found in a letter from Mr. Fullerton to the
Court of Directors, dated August 29, 1827. In
this the Governor wrote : " In consequence of
some objectionable articles in the Singapore
Chronicle, we considered it necessary to estab-
lish rules similar to those estabhshed by the
Supreme Government in 1818. This order was
given under the supposition that the press was
perfectly free, but it appearing that the censor-
ship had been previously imposed and that the
very first publication subsequent to its removal
having contained matter of a most offensive
nature, we were under the necessity of re-
imposing the censorship and censuring the
editor. The proof sheet of each paper was
also directed to be submitted in future to the
Resident Councillor, which was assented to by
Mr. Loch."
From this point the Singapore Chronicle
presents the spectacle of decorous dulness
which might be looked for in the circum-
stances. But the Old Adam peeps out occa-
sionally, as in a racy comment on the intimation
of a Batavian editor that he intended to answer
all attacks on Dutch policy in his journal, or
in the rather wicked interpolation of rows of
asterisks after an article from which the
stinging tail has obviously been excised.
Later, Mr. Loch again got into collision with
Pinang, and there must have been rejoicing in
official altitudes when, on March 26, 1829, he
intimated that he was retiring from the editor-
ship. The new editor was a man of a somewhat
different stamp, judging from his introductory
article. In this he intimated that he made no
pretensions whatever to literai-y or scientific
attainments. "The pursuits to which from a
very early age we have been obliged to devote
ourselves," he wrote, "have precluded- the
possibility of our giving much attention to the
cultivation of letters, so that our readers must
not expect such valuable dissertations on the
subjects we have alluded to as appeared in
the first and second volumes of this journal."
While the new editor was thus modest about
his qualifications, he was not less strong in his
opposition to the censorship than his pre-
decessor. Shortly after he was inducted into
the editorial chair he thus inveighed against
the apathy of the general public on the subject :
"An individual here and there touched with
plebeianism may entertain certain unmannerly
opinions as old-fashioned as the Glorious Revo-
lution, but Monsieur notrc frcre may depend
upon it that the mass of the public are not
affected by this leaven, nor can be spurred into
complaint by anything short of a stamp regula-
tion or some other process of abstra<;tion, the
effects of which become more speedily tan-
gible to their senses than the evils arising
from restriction upon the freedom of publi-
cation."
Harassed by official autocrats and hampered
by mechanical difficulties, the Singapore jour-
nalism of early days left a good deal to be
desired. Nevertheless, in these "brief and
abstract chronicles" of the infant settlement
we get a vivid picture of Singapore life as it
was at that period. Sir Stamford Raffles's
shadow still rested over the community. Xow
we read an account of his death with what
seems a very inadequate biography culled
from " a morning paper " at home, and almost
simultaneously appears an account of a move-
ment for raising some monument to his honour.
Later, there are festive gatherings, at which
" the memory of Sir Stamford Raffles " is dnink
in solemn silence. Meanwhile, a cutting from
a London paper gives us a glimpse of Colonel
Farquhar as the principal guest at an influen-
tially attended banquet in the city. Local
news consists mostly of records of the arrival
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
37
of ships. Occasionally we get a signilicant
reminder of what " the good old times " in the
Straits were like, as, for example, in the
announcement of the arrival of a junk with a
thousand Chinese on board on the verge of
starvation because of the giving out of supplies,
or in the information brought by incoming
boats of bloody work by pirates a few miles
beyond the limits of the port. Or again, in a
report (published on September ii, 1828) of the
arrival of the Abercrombie Robiiisoit, an East
Indiaman from Bombay, after a voyage during
which twenty-seven of the crew were carried
off by cholera. On April 17, 1827, there is
great excitement over the arrival in port of the
first steamship ■ ever seen there — the Dutch
Government vessel, Vandcr Capdlan. The
Malays promptly christen her the Kapal Asap,
or smoke vessel, and at a loss to discover by
what means she is propelled, fall back on the
comfortable theory that her motion is caused
by the immediate agency of the evil one.
Socially, life appears to run in agreeable lines.
Now the handful of Europeans who compose
the local society are foregathering at the
annual assembly of the Raffles Club, at which
there is much festivity, though the customary
dance is not given, out of respect for the
memory of the great administrator who had
just passed away. At another time there is
a brilliant entertainment at Government House
in honour of the King's birthday, with an
illumination of the hill which evokes the
enthusiastic admiration of the reporter. Some
one is even heroic enough to raise a proposal
for the construction of a theatre, while there is
a lively polemic on the evergreen subject of
mixed bathing.
From the point of view of solid information
these early Singapore papers are of exceptional
interest and value. In them we are able to
trace political currents which eddied about the
settlement at this juncture, threatening at times
to overwhelm it. One characteristic effusion
of the period is an editorial comment on an
announcement conveyed by a Pinang cor-
respondent that the Government there was
framing some custom-house regulations for
Singapore, and was about to convene a meeting
of Pinang jiierchants for the purpose of
approving them. " Offensive remarks levelled
at Councillors are prohibited," wrote the scribe
in sarcastic allusion to the press regulations,
" otherwise, though not disciples of Roche-
foucauld, we might have ventured to doubt
whether the merchants of Penang are precisely
the most impartial advisers that Government
could have selected as guides in a course of
custom-house legislation for the port of Singa-
pore.
" It is to be hoped the merchants of Penang
may be cautious in what they approve. Trade
may be as effectually injured by regulations as
by customs-house exactions, and every new
regulation added to the existing heap may be
looked upon as an evil. Here it is the general
I " On the 17th April the Dutch steam vessel Vaiider
Capellaii arrived here from Batavia, having made the
passage from the latter place in seven liours. She is
the first vessel that has ever been propelled by steam
in these Straits, and the second steam vessel em-
ployed to the eastward of the Cape, the Diana, of
Calcutta, which proved of much service in the
Burmese War, being the first."— Singapore Chronicle,
April 26, 1827.
opinion that the extent of the trade of these
ports is already known with sufficient accuracy
for every wise and beneficent purpose ; that
perfect exactness cannot be attained, and if it
could, would be useless ; but that if the Court
of Directors shall, notwithstanding, with the
minuteness of retail grocers, persist in the
pursuit of it and adopt a, system of petty and
vexatious regulations (the case is a supposed
one), it will be attended with inconvenience to
the merchants and detriment to the trade and
prosperity of these settlements." '
These spirited words arc suggestive of the
prevalent local feeling at the time as to the
interference of Pinang. Obviously there was
deep resentment at the attitude implied in the
reported statement that the concerns of Singa-
pore were matters which Pinang must settle.
Singapore at this time was decidedly "feeling
its feet," and was conscious and confident of its
destiny. A Calcutta paper having ventured
upon the surmise that " Singapore is a bubble
near exploding," the editor promptly took up
the challenge in this fashion :
'• Men's prediclions are often an index to
their wishes. Fortunately, however, the pros-
perity of Singapore is fixed on too firm a
foundation to be shaken by an artillery of
surmises. Those who lift up their voices and
prophesy against this place may, therefore,
depend upon it they labour in a vain vocation
unless they can at the same time render a
reason for the faith that is in them by showing
that the causes which have produced the past
prosperity of the settlement either have ceased
to operate or soon will do so. Till this is done
their predictions are gratuitous and childish."
Side by side with this note appeared a de-
scription of the Singapore of that day written
by a Calcutta visitor. It was intended, it
seemed, as a refutation of the bursting bubble
theory, and it certainly is fairly conclusive
proof of its absurdity. " Here," wrote the
visitor, "there is more of an English port
appearance than in almost any place I have
visited in India. The native character and
peculiarities seem to have merged more into
the English aspect than I imagined possible,
and I certainly think Singapore proves more
satisfactorily than any place in our possession
that it is possible to assimilate the Asiatic and
the European very closely in the pursuits of
commerce. The new appearance of the place
is also very pleasing to the eye, and a great
relief from the broken down, rotten, and decayed
buildings of other ports in the peninsula. The
regularity and width of the streets give Singa-
pore a cheerful and healthy look, and the plying
of boats and other craft in its river enlivens the
scene not a little. At present here are no fewer
than three ships of large burden loading for
England. The vessels from all parts of the
archipelago are also in great numbers and
great variety. At Penang and Malacca the
godowns of a merchant scarcely tell you what
he deals in, or rather proclaim that he does
nothing from the little bustle that prevails in
them ; here you stumble at every step over the
produce of China and the Straits in active
preparation for being conveyed to all parts of
the world."
These shrewd observations speak for them-
I Ibid., March 15, 1827.
selves, but if additional evidence is needed it is
supplied by the population returns of the period
which figure in the columns of the paper.
Exclusive of the military, the inhabitants of
Singapore in 1826 numbered, according to
official computation, 10,307 males and 3,443
females. The details of the enumeration may
be given, as they are of considerable interest :
Males.
Vem.'iles.
Europeans
69
18
Armenians
16
3
Native Christians ...
128
60
Arabs
18
8
Chinese
S.747
341
Malays
2,Sor
2,289
Bugis
666
576
Javanese
174
93
Natives of Bengal ...
209
35
Natives of the Coast
of Coromandel
772
5
Coffries
2
3
Siamese
5
2
Totals
10,307 3,443
The points of interest in this table are the
smallness of the European population and the
numerical strength of the Chinese community.
The latter, it will be seen, numbered more than
half the entire population and considerably
exceeded the Malays. The circumstance shows
that from the very outset of Singapore's career
the Chinese played a leading part in its deve-
lopment. Keen traders as a race, they recog-
nised at once the splendid possibilities of the
port for trade, and they no doubt appreciated
to the full the value of the equal laws and
opportunities which they enjoyed under the
liberal constitution with which Raffles had
endowed the settlement.
Mr. Fullerton, besides placing shackles on
the press, distinguished himself by a raid on
"interlopers," as all who had not the requisite
licence of the East India Company to reside
in their settlements were regarded. Most
writers on Singapore history have represented
his action in this particular as an independent
display of autocratic zeal. But the records
clearly show that he was acting under explicit
instructions from the Court of Directors to call
upon all European residents in the settlement
to show their credentials. The circular which
Fullerton issued brought to light that there were
26 unlicensed persons in the settlement, besides
those who had no other licence than that of the
local authority. The matter was referred home
for consideration, with results which appear in
the following despatch of September 30, 1829 ;
" The list which you have furnished of
Europeans resident at this last settlement
(Singapore) includes a considerable number
of persons who have received no licence from
us. We approve of your having made known
to each of these individuals his liability to
removal at our pleasure. Under the peculiar
circumstances of this settlement it has not been
our practice to discourage the resort of Euro-
peans thither for the purpose of following any
creditable occupation, and we perceive that all
those who have recently arrived there have
obtained respectable employment. We there-
fore shall make no objection to their con-
tinuance at the settlement while they fulfil
38
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
what you are to consider as the impHed con-
dition of our sufferance in all such cases, that
of conducting themselves with propriety." ■
This incident made Mr. Fullerton very un-
popular with the European inhabitants, and
about the same time he incurred the disfavour
of the native population by the introduction of
drastic land regulations based on the Madras
model. The necessity for some action seems
to have been urgent, judging from the tenor
of an entry in the Singapore records under date
August 29, 1827. It is here stated that during
the administration of Mr. Crawfurd great laxity
payment at the rate of two rupees per acre of
the land surveyed. Up to September 18, 1829,
the ground covered included 4,909 acres of
Singapore, 1,038 of St. George's in Blakang
Mati Island, and 215 of Gage Island. It was
then recommended that the survey should
embrace the Bugis town, Rochar river, and
Sandy Point, " by which the brick kilns and all
the unoccupied land in that direction will be
brought into the survey, as well as all the forts
connected with the plan of defence." The pro-
posals were adopted, and the survey finally
completed by Mr. Coleman.
demurred to this, and declined to make any
advance without direct authority. Thereupon
the Recorder refused to proceed to Malacca
and Singapore. Finding him obdurate, the
Governor himself went to discharge the
judicial duties in those ports. Before leaving
he made a call for certain documents from the
Court of Judicature, and received from Sir J. T.
Claridge a flat refusal to supply them. Not to
be frustrated, Mr. Fullerton sumrnoned a full
court, and he and the Resident Councillor, as
the majority, carried a resolution directing the
documents to be supplied, and as a consequence
MAP OF Tue
l'(>-'-< ■'■n f;.-'')7RO.'V.S
'-.--'A.' . j«i*->i
MAP OF SINGAPORE IN 1837.
was manifested in respect of the grant of loca-
tion tickets. Those outstanding issued by Mr.
Crawfurd alone (all for land in the vicinity of
the town) amounted to within 14,000 acres of
the whole computed area of the island, " although
but a very inconsiderable space is cleared, and
the greater part of the island is still an imper-
vious forest." An almost necessary outcome of
the new land system was the commencement
of a topographical survey of the island. The
work was entrusted to Mr. George D. Coleman^
the gentleman responsible for the act of van-
dalism narrated in the previous chapter. Mr.
Coleman erred on this occasion, but his name
will always be linked with some of the most
useful work associated with the building of
Singapore. The survey was undertaken by
Mr. Coleman independently on the basis of
1 " Straits Settlements Records," Xo. 195.
CHAPTER IV.
Introduction of the Judicial System — The
Dawn of Municipal Government.
The arbitrariness shown by Mr. Fullerton
in his administrative acts was extended to
his relations with his official colleagues, and
brought him into collision more than once with
them. The most violent of these personal con-
troversies, and in its effects the most important,
was a quarrel with Sir J. T. Claridge, the
Recorder, over a question relating to the
latter's expenses on circuit. Sir J. T. Claridge
contended that the demand made upon him
under the new charter to- hold sessions at
Singapore and Malacca entitled him to special
expenses, and that these should be paid him
before he went on circuit. Mr. Fullerton
they were supplied. Following upon these in-
cidents Sir J. T. Claridge paid a visit to Cal-
cutta, with the object of consulting his judicial
brethren there on the points at issue in his
controversy with the Governor. Apparently
the advice given to him was that he had made
a mistake in declining to transact his judicial
duties. At all events, on returning to Pinang
he intimated his readiness to proceed to
Malacca and Singapore. The journey was
undertaken in due course, but on arriving at
Singapore Sir J. T. Claridge cast a veritable
bomb into Government circles by a declaration
from the bench that the Gaming Farm, from
which a substantial proportion of the revenue
of the settlement was derived, was illegal.
Reluctantly the authorities relinquished the
system, which had proved so convenient a
means of filling their exchequer, and which
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
39
they were prepared to defend on the ground
even of morality. In the meantime the struggle
between the two functionaries had been trans-
ferred to Leadenhall Street, and from thence
came, in the latter part of 1829, an order for Sir
J. T. Claridge's recall. The Recorder was at
first disposed to complete the judicial work
upon which he was engaged, but Mr. Fullerton
would not hear of his remaining in office a
minute longer, and he eventually embarked for
England on September 7, 1829, much, no doubt,
to the relief of his official associates at Pinang.
On arrival home Sir J. T. Claridge appealed to
the Privy Council against his recall, but with-
out avail. The Council, while holding that no
imputation rested upon his capacity or integrity
in the discharge of his judicial functions, con-
sidered that his conduct had been such as to
justify his dismissal. The effect of the decision
was to re-establish the court under the old
charter, and Sir Benjamin Malkin was sent
out as Recorder. He assumed his duties in the
Straits in 1833.
The introduction of a regular judicial system
had one important consequence not contem-
plated probably by the officialdom of the
Straits when the charter was given. It
opened the way to municipal government.
Early in 1827 a body called the Committee
of Assessors was appointed in Pinang to super-
vise the cleansing, watching, and keeping in
repair of the streets of the settlement, and
the following editorial notice in the Singapore
Chronicle of April 26th of the same year
appears to indicate that an analogous body
was set up in Singapore :
"We adverted a short time ago to the im-
provements carrying on and contemplated by
the Committee of Assessors, and we hope that
the kindness of our friends will enable us in a
future number to give a detailed account of
them all. We understand that the Govern-
ment, with their accustomed liberality wherever
the interests of the island are concerned, have
not only warmly sanctioned, but have promised
to bear half the expenses of the projected new
roads ; and we hope that their aid will be
equally extended to the other improvements
which are projected."
The editor went on to suggest the holding of
a, lottery as a means of raising funds. This
question of funds was a difficulty which appa-
rently sterilised the nascent activities of the
pioneer municipal body. At all events its
existence was a brief one, as is evident from a
presentment made by the grand jury at the
quarter sessions in February, 1829, over which
Sir J. T. Claridge presided. The grand jury
requested the authorities "to take into con-
sideration the expediency and advantage of
appointing a committee of assessors, chosen
from amongst the principal inhabitants of the
settlement, for the purpose of carrying into
effect without delay a fair and equitable assess-
ment of the property of each inhabitant in
houses, land, &c., for the maintenance of an
efficient night police, and for repairing the
roads, bridges, &c." The suggestion called
forth the following observations from the
Recorder ;
" As to that part of your presentment which
relates to roads and bridges and that which
relates to the police, I must refer you to the
printed copies of the charter (page 46) by
which the court is authorised and empowered
to hold a general and quarter sessions of the
peace, and to give orders touching the making,
repairs, and cleansing of the roads, streets,
bridges, and ferries, and for the removal and
abatement of public nuisances, and for such
other purposes of police, and for the appoint-
ment of peace officers and the trial and punish-
ment of misdemeanours, and doing such other
acts as are usually done by justices of the peace
at their general and quarter sessions in England
as nearly as circumstances will admit and shall
require." The Recorder then stated the manner
in which these matters were conducted in
England, and concluded by observing that
"as it would be nugatory to empower the
court of quarter sessions to give orders touch-
ing the several matters specified unless they
have also the means of carrying such orders
into effect, I think the court of quarter sessions
may legally make a rate for the above purpose."
In consequence of this the magistrates con-
vened a meeting of the principal inhabitants to
discuss the matter. At this gathering they
proposed as a matter of courtesy to admit a
certain number of merchants to act with them
as assessors, but at the same time gave the
meeting to understand that they alone pos-
sessed the power to enforce the payment of
the assessments. None of the merchants,
however, would consent to act. They declined
on the ground that as they possessed no legal
authority to act they could exercise no efficient
check. They intimated, furthermore, that they
had complete confidence in the integrity of the
present bench. Subsequently the magistrates
issued a notification that a rate of 5 per cent,
would be made on the rents of all houses in
Singapore. There was at the outset some dis-
position on the part of the officials to question
the legality of this assessment, but in the end
the magistrates' power to make a rate was
acknowledged and Singapore entered smoothly
upon its municipal life.
Some years later the Committee of Assessors
here and at Malacca and Pinang developed
into a Municipal Board, constituted under an
Act of the Legislative Council of India. The
authority consisted of five Commis,sioners, two
of whom were nominated by the Government
and three elected by ratepayers who con-
tributed 25 dollars annually of assessed taxes.
Though to a certain extent these were days
of progress in Singapore, some of the official
records read strangely at the present time,
when Singapore is one of the great coaling
stations and cable centres of the world. Take
the following entry of June 21, 1826, as an ex-
ample : " We are not aware of any other
means of procuring coal at the Eastern settle-
ments excepting that of making purchases from
time to time out of the ships from Europe and
New South Wales. Under instructions received
from the Supreme Government we made a pur-
chase a short time since of forty tons of the article
from the last-mentioned country at the price of
14 Spanish dollars per ton." The spectacle of
the Singapore Government relying upon passing
ships for their supplies of coal is one which will
strike the present-day resident in the Straits as
comic. But it is not, perhaps, so amusing as
the attitude taken up by the Leadenhall Street
magnates on the subject of telegraphy. In 1827,
the Inspector-General having urged the ex-
pediency of establishing telegraphic communi-
cation between several points on the main
island, the local Government directed him to
submit an estimate of the probable cost of
three telegraph stations, and meantime they
authorised the appointment of two Europeans
as signalmen on a salary of Rs. 50 a month.
In due course the minute relating to the subject
was forwarded home, with a further proposal
for the erection of a lighthouse. The Court of
Directors appear to have been astounded at the
audacity of the telegraphic proposal. In a des-
patch dated June 17, 1829, they wrote : " You
will probably not find it expedient to erect at
present the proposed lighthouse at Singapore,
and we positively interdict you from acting
upon the projected plan for telegraphic com-
munication. We can conceive no rational use
for the establishment of telegraphs in such a
situation as that of Singapore." " No rational
use " for telegraphs in Singapore ! How those
old autocrats of the East India Office would
rub their eyes if they could see Singapore as it
is to-day — the great nerve centre from which
the cable sj'stem of the Eastern world radiates !
But no doubt the Court of Directors acted
according to the best of their judgment.
Singapore in those far-off times wanted many
things, and telegraphic communication might
well appear an unnecessary extravagance
beside them. For example, the island was
so defenceless that in 1827, on the receipt of
a false rumour that war had been declared
between Great Britain and France and Spain,
orders had to be given for the renewal of the
carriages of guns at the temporary battery
erected on the occupation of the island and for
" the clearing of the Point at the entrance to
the creek for the purpose of laying a platform
battery." About the same time we find the
Resident Councillor urging the necessity of
erecting public buildings, " the few public
buildings now at Singapore being in a very
dilapidated state, and others being urgently
required to be built." Meanwhile, he intimates
that he has " engaged anew house, nearly com-
pleted, for a court-house and Recorder's
chambers at a yearly rental of 6,000 dollars
for three years, it being the only house in the
island adapted for the purpose." Another
passage in the same communication states that
owing to the " very improper and inconvenient
situation of the burial ground on the side of
Government Hill" the Inspector-General had
selected " a more suitable spot in the vicinity
of the town, which vi'e have directed to be
walled in."
Sir J. T, Claridge's judicial dictum that
"gambling was an indictable offence" was a
source of considerable embarrassment to the
Government. The substantial sum derived from
the farming of the right to keep licensed
gaming-houses could not be readily sacrificed.
On the other hand, it was manifestly impossible
to disregard the opinion of the highest judicial
authority in the settlements. Acting in a spirit
of indecision, the Government reluctantly sus-
pended the Gaming Farm system. The dis-
organisation to the finance which resulted from
the action was considerable, and with the de-
parture of Sir J. T. Claridge it seems to have
40
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
been felt that his opinion might be disregarded.
The machinery consequently was set in m.otion
again after the issue of a minute by Mr. Fuller-
ton affirming the legality of this method of
raising the revenue. The effect upon the
revenue was very marked. The receipts
advanced from Rs. 95,482.11.10 in 1829-30 to
Rs. 177,880.15 in the year 1830-31.
The Singapore administration as a whole at
this juncture was in a state of no little con-
fusion, owing to changes which were impending
in the constitution of the Straits. In 1827 Lord
William Bentinck, the Governor-General, had
descended upon the settlements infused with
what the local officialdom regarded as an un-
holy zeal for economy. On arriving at Pinang
he professed not to be able to see what the
island was like for the number of cocked hats in
the way. Forthwith he proceeded to cut down
the extravagant establishment maintained
there. He visited Singapore, and his sharp eye
detected many weak points in the adminis-
trative armour. The official shears were exer-
cised in various directions, and retrenchment
was so sternly enforced that Mr. Fullerton felt
himself constrained to withdraw the official
subsidies, or, as tliey preferred to regard them,
subscriptions, from the local press. The Malacca
editor kicked against the pricks, and found
himself in difficulties in consequence. At
Singapore a more philosophical view was
taken of the Government action. It was
argued that if Government was at liberty to
withdraw its subscription the editor was free
to withhold his papers and close his columns
to Government announcements. Acting on
this principle, he informed the authorities that
they could no longer be supplied with the
LORD WILLIAM BENTINCK.
(From an engraving in tlie British Museum.)
eleven free copies of the journal they had been
in the habit of receiving. The officials retorted
with a more rigorous censorship. And so the
battle was waged until Mr. Fullerton finally
shook the dust of the Straits from his feet in the
middle of 1830. Before this period arrived a
great change had been made in the govern-
ment of Singapore. As a result of Lord
William Bentinck's visit the settlement, in com-
mon with Pinang and Malacca, were in 1830
put under the control of the Government of
Bengal. The change was sanctioned in a
despatch of the Supreme Government dated
May 25, 1830. In this communication the
headquarters of the new administration was
fixed at Singapore, with Mr. Fullerton as
" Chief Resident " on a salary of Rs. 36,000.
Under him were a First Assistant, with a salary
of Rs. 24,000, and a Second Assistant, with
Rs. 10,000. The chief officials at Pinang and
Malacca were styled Deputy-Residents, and
their emoluments were fixed at Rs. 30,000 for
the former and Rs. 24,000 for the latter. Two
chaplains, with salaries of Rs. 9,600, and a.
missionary, with Rs. 2,500, were part of the
estabUshment.
Mr. Fullerton remained only a few months in
chief control at Singapore. Before he handed
over control to his successor, Mr. Ibbetson, he
penned a long and able minute on the trade of
the three settlements. He gave the following
figures as representative of the imports and
exports for the official year 1828-29 ■
Rs.
Imports
... 1,76,40,969!
Exports
- i,58,25.997i
This paragraph relative to the method of
SINGAPORE FROM THE ESPLANADE.
(From Captain Bethune's "Views in the Eastern Archipelago," published 1847.)
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
41
trading followed in Singapore is of interest
from the light it throws on the early commercial
system of the settlement : " In considering the
extent of the trade at Singapore, rated not in
goods but in money, some reference must be
had to the peculiar method in which all com-
mercial dealings are there conducted ; the
unceasing drain of specie leaves not any
scarcely in the place. Specie, therefore, never
enters into any common transaction. All goods
are disposed of on credit, generally for two
months, and to intermediate native Chinese
merchants, and those at the expiration of the
period deliver in return not money, but articles
of Straits produce adapted to the return cargo ;
the value on both sides of the transaction is rated
from 25 to 30 per cent, beyond the sum that
would be paid in ready cash ; and as the price
current from which the statement is rated is
the barter and not the ready money price, the
real value of the trade may be computed 30 per
cent, under the amount stated." '
About this period a curious question, arising
out of the occupation of the island, gave a con-
siderable amount of trouble to the authorities-
By the terms of the Treaty of 1815 the United
States trade with the Eastern dependencies of
Great Britain was confined to Calcutta, Madras,
Bombay, and Pinang. The .construction put
upon this provision by the Straits officials was
that Singapore, even when under the govern-
ment of Pinang, was not a port at which the
citizens of the United States could trade. The
consequence was that American ships, then very
numerous in these seas, touched only at Singa-
pore and proceeded to Riau, where they
shipped cargo vi/hich had been sent on from the
British port. The practice was not only irk-
some to the Americans, but it was detrimental
to British trade in that it diverted to the Dutch
port much business which would otherwise
have been transacted at Singapore. Eventually,
in March, 1830, the Singapore Government,
yielding to the pressure which was put upon
them, agreed to allow American vessels to
trade with Singapore. But they intimated that
" it must be understood that such permission
cannot of itself legalise the act should other
public officers having due authority proceed
against the ships on the ground of illegality."
The concession was freely availed of, and the
mercantile marine of the United States played
no small part in the next few years in build-
ing up the great trade which centred at the
port.
Mr. Ibbetson retired from the government in
1833, and was succeeded by Mr. Kenneth Mur-
chison, the Resident Councillor at Singapore.
After four years' tenure of the office Mr. Mur-
chison proceeded home, handing over charge
temporarily to Mr. Samuel G. Bonham. Mr.
Church was sent out from England to fill the
vacant office, but he remained only a few
months. On his departure Mr. Bonham was
appointed as his successor, and held the ap-
pointment until 1843. During his administra-
tion the trade of the port greatly increased.
Ships of all nations resorted to the settlement
as a convenient calling place on the voyage to
and from the Far East, while it more and more
became an entrepot for the trade of the Eastern
■ " Report of the East India Cnmpany's Affairs,
1831-32," Part II. p. 656.
seas. On I the outbreak of the China War its
strategic value was demonstrated by the ready
facilities it afforded for the expeditious despatch
of troops and stores to the theatre of war. For
nearly three years it formed the rendezvous as
well as in great measure the base of the expedi-
tionary force, and unquestionably no small
share of the success of the operations was due
to the fact that the Government had this
convenient centre with its great resources at
their disposal. These were halcyon days for
Singapore merchants, and, indeed, for residents
imagine that these waters were almost within
living memory infested with bloodthirsty
pirates, who prosecuted their operations on an
organised system, and robbed and murdered
under the very guns of the British settlements.
Such, however, was the case, as is attested not
merely in the works of passing travellers but in
the formal records of Government and the pro-
ceedings of the courts. Singapore itself, without
doubt, was, before the British occupation, a nest
of pirates. Thereafter the piratical base was
transferred to the Karimun Islands, and from
A MALAY PRAHU.
(From a sketch in llie India Office.)
of all descriptions. So flourishing was the
settlement that there were some who thought
that the progress was too rapid to be really
.healthy. One writer of the period confidently '
declared that the trade of the port had reached
its maximum, and that the town had attained to
its highest point of importance and prosperity.
"Indeed," he added, "it is at the present
moment rather overbuilt." Alas ! for the repu-
tation of the prophet. Since the time his pre-
diction was penned Singapore has considerably
more than quadrupled in trade and population,
and its maximum of development is still
apparently a long way off.
CHAPTER V.
Piracy ix the Str.^its — Steam Navigation
— Fiscal Questions.
A BLOT, and a serious one, upon the government
of the Straits Settlements up to and even beyond
this period was the piracy which was rife
throughout the archipelago. At the present
day, when vessels of all classes sail through the
Straits with as little apprehension as they navi-
gate the English Channel, it is difficult to
• " Trade and Travel in the Far East," by G. F.
Davidson, p. 69.
time to time, even after the Dutch annexation of
the islands in 1827, these were a favourite resort
of the roving hordes which battened on the trade
of the new British port. The native chiefs were
usually hand in glove with the pirates, and
received toll of their nefarious trade. Thus we
find Mr. Fullerton, in a communication to
Government, vi^riting in April, 1829 : " Of the
connection of the Sultan of Johore, residing
under our protection at Singapore, and his
relatives, the chiefs of Rhio and Lingen, with
the pirates to the eastward there is little doubt,
and there is some reason to believe that the ex-
Raja of Quedah, residing under our protection
at this island [Pinang], if he does not directly
countenance the piratical proceedings of his
relatives, does not use any means seriously to
discourage them."' The usual prey of the
pirates was the native junks which traded
between China and the Straits ports. But
European vessels were attacked when the
venture could be undertaken with impunity,
and interspersed in the prosaic records of the
dull round of ordinary administration are
thrilling and romantic accounts of captive
Englishmen, and even Englishwomen, de-
tained in bondage in the then remote interior
by native chiefs to whom they had been
sold by pirates. Spasmodic efforts were
made by the authorities from time to time
' " Straits Settlements Recurds," No. 184.
42
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
to grapple with the evil, but, apart from a
little bloodshed and a liberal expenditure of
ammunition, the results were practically ml.
The elusive pirates, in the face of the superior
force which went out after them, showed
that discretion which is proverbially the better
part of valour. They lived to fight another
day, and not infrequently that other day was
one in the immediate future, for the intelligence
system of the bands was well organised, and
they usually knew the exact limits of the
official action.
The commercial community of Singapore
wa-jced very restive under the repeated losses to
which they were subjected by the piratical
depredations. In an article on piracy on June
17, 1830, the Singapore Chronicle stigmatised in
sharp terms the supineness of the British and
Dutch authorities in permitting the organised
system of piracy which then ^xisted in the
Straits. After stating that therg was a total
stagnation of trade owing to rovers hovering
within gunshot of Singapore river, the writer
proceeded : " Our rulers say : ' Let the galled
jade wince.' They wander the Straits in well-
armed vessels and may well feel apathy and
security, but were one of the select, a governor
or resident or deputy, to fall into the hands of
pirates, what would be the consequence ? We
should then have numerous men-of-war,
cruisers, and armed boats scourjng these seas.
Indeed, to produce such an effect, though we
wish no harm, and would exert faurselves to the
utmost for his release, we would not care to
hear of such an event. We have heard or
read of a bridge in so dilapidated a condition
that in crossing it lives were frequently lost.
No notice was ever taken of such accidents !
At length, woe to the time ! on an unlucky
morning the servant maid of Lady Mayo, un-
fortunately for herself and the public, let a
favourite pug dog (a poodle) drop over the
parapet into the water. The poor dear animal
was drowned. What was the consequence of
such a calamity .' Was the bridge repaired 1
No, but a new one was built ! "
The lash of the writer's satire was none too
severe, and it seems not to have been without
effect, for shortly afterwards a man-of-war was
sent to cruise about the entrance to the har-
bour. But the measure fell very short of what
was needed. The pirates, fully advertised of
the vessel's movements, took care to keep out
of the way, and when some time afterwards it
was removed from the station their operations
were resumed with full vigour. So intolerable
did the situation at last become that in 1832 the
Chinese merchants of the port, with the sanc-
tion of the Government, equipped at their own
expense four large trading boats fully armed to
suppress the pirates. The little fleet on sally-
ing out fell in with two pirate prahus, and
succeeded in sinking one of them. The
Government, shamed into activity by this
display of private enterprise, had two boats
built at iWalacca for protective purposes. They
carried an armament of 24-pounder guns, and
were manned by Malays. It was a very inade-
quate force to cope with the widespread piracy
of the period, and the conditions not materially
improving, petitions were in 1835 forwarded by
the European inhabitants of Singapore to the
King and to the Governor-General, praying
for the adoption of more rigorous measures.
In response to the appeal H.M. sloop WolfwTis
sent out with a special commission to deal with
the pirates. Arriving on March 22, 1836, she
conducted a vigorous crusade against the
marauders. The pirates were attacked in
their lairs and their boats either captured or
destroyed. One of the prahus seized by the
Wolf was 54 feet long and 15 feet beam, but
the general length of these craft was 56 feet.
They were double-banked, pulling 36 oars — 18
on each side. The rowers were of the lower
castes or slaves. Each prahu had a stockade
not far from the bow, through which was
pointed an iron 4-pounder. There was another
stockade aft on which were stuck two swivels,
and around the sides were from three to six
guns of the same description." The brilliant
work done by the Wolf was greatly appreciated
by the mercantile community at Singapore.
To mark "their grateful sense of his unwearied
and successful exertions " the European and
Chinese merchants presented to Captain Stan-
ley, the commandant of the Wolf a sword of
honour, and a public dinner was given to him
and his officers on June 14, 1837, at which
most complimentary speeches were delivered.
Severely as the pirates had been handled by
the Wolf, the iniquitous trade had only been
PEBBLES ENCLOSED IN BASKET.
(A substitute for shot, used in old times by the Malay
pirates. From a slcetch in the India Office )
scotched. It developed into activity again and
again subsequently, and was not finally wiped
out until after repeated expeditions had been
conducted against the marauders. As far as
piracy on the open sea was concerned the
development of steam navigation did more
than anything else to remove the curse from
the Straits. The first experience of the ruilians
of the new force had in it an element of grim
amusement. In 1837 the Diana, a little steam
consort of the Wolf, was cruising in the Straits
when she fell in with a pirate flotilla. The
marauders, thinking she was a sailing-boat on
fire, and therefore an easy prey for theiT), bore
down upon her, firing as they approached. To
their horror the Diana came up close against
the wind and then suddenly stopped before
the leading prahu, pouring a deadly fire into
the pirate ranks. The process was repeated
before each craft of the flotilla, with the result
that the force in the end was almost annihilated.
Profiting by their bitter experience on this and
other occasions, the pirates confined their opera-
tions to those parts of the coast on which the
shallow waters and numerous creeks provided
a safe refuge in case of attack by war vessels,
and so they contrived to postpone for years
the inevitable end of the system which had
flourished for ages in the archipelago.
■ '* Anecdotal History of Singapore."
The introduction of steam navigation into
the Straits had such wide-reaching effects on
the trade of Singapore that a reference to the
subject falls naturally into a survey of the his-
tory of the settlement. In an earlier part of
this work we have seen that to the Dutch
belongs the honour of placing the first steam
vessel on the Straits. The Vander Capellan
was not what would be considered in these
days a success. It steamed only a few knots
an hour, could keep the sea merely for a very
short time, and its passages were frequently
interrupted by breakdowns of the machinery.
Still, its perforinances were sufficiently re-
markable to suggest the enormous possibilities
of the new force in the usually calm waters of
the Straits, After its appearance a scheme
was mooted for the establishment of a steam
service between Singapore, Batavia, Malacca,
Pinang, and Calcutta. The expectation was
that the passage from the former port to
Calcutta, which in the case of sailing ships
occupied five weeks, would not take more than
eight days. Nothing came of the project im-
mediately. The pioneers were before their
time. They had to reckon with an immense
amount of prejudice on the part of vested
interests and a still larger degree of honest
incredulity as to the financial practicability of
working so expensive an agency as steam
appeared to be. We get a vivid impression of
the doubtful attitude of the Singapore commu-
nity in the columns of the Singapore Chronicle
in 1828. The Malacca paper about the middle
of that year published an article enthusiastically
recommending the introduction of steam navi-
gation. The Singapore editor in the issue of
his paper of October 23rd, commenting on this,
said : " That it would be an agreeable, if not in
other respects a very useful, thing to have a
steam vessel between the settlements, which
might visit now and then Calcutta, Java, or
China, everyone is agreed. The only ques-
tion, but rather a material one, is — would it
pay ? Supposing the vessel purchased and
ready for sea, would the money received for
freight and passage pay the interest of the
outlay ? Would it pay the heavy and constantly
recurring charges of a competent commander,
an engineer, a crew, fuel, the expenses of
frequent repairs, including the loss of time
consumed in them ? " The Malacca scribe,
not deterred by this copious dash of cold
water, reiterated his strong belief in the vir-
tues of steam power. Thereupon the Singapore
Chronicle remarked that it did not know how
its Malacca contemporary reconciled his con-
tempt of rhetoric " with the bold dash of it
contained in his assertion that a steam vessel
or two in the Straits would have the marvellous
effect of doubling the commerce of those settle-
ments." The Malacca journal retorted by
citing the fact that fifty years previously it
took more than a fortnight to go from London
to Edinburgh, while the proprietors of the
wagons used to advertise days previously
for passengers. "Now," he went on, "there
are no less than two thousand coaches which
daily leave and arrive at London from all parts
of the kingdom." He argued from this that
steam navigation, despite its costliness and the
difficulties which attended it, was bound to be
successful. While this lively polemic was
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
43
proceeding the Government of the settlements
had before it a serious proposal to provide a
steamer to maintain communication between
Pinang, Malacca, and Singapore. The sug-
gestion arose out of the difficulty of holding
the courts of quarter sessions at each of the
three ports at the regular periods enjoined in
the charter. Sir J. T. Claridge, the Recorder,
pointed out that if sailing vessels were used at
least two months of his time would be occupied
annually in travelling between the ports. He
urged that the solution of the difliculty was the
provision of a steamer, which would enable him
to do the journey from Pinang to Singapore in
three days, and to return viii Malacca in the
same period. The Supreme Government de-
clined to provide the steam vessel on the
ground that the cost would be prohibitive.
After this the question of steam navigation
slumbered for some years. When next it was
seriously revived it was in the form of a pro-
posal for a monthly service from Singapore to
Calcutta. A company was formed under the
name of the New Bengal Steam Fund, with
shares of Rs. 600 each. As many as 2,475
shares were taken up by 706 individuals, and
the project, with this substantial financial back-
ing, assumed a practical shape. Eventually, in
1841 the committee of the fund entered into an
agreement with the P. & O. Company, and
transferred its shares to that company. From
this period development of steam navigation
was rapid, until the point was reached at which
the Straits were traversed by a never-ending
procession of steam vessels bearing the flags of
all the great maritime nations of the world.
An early outcome of the establishment of
steam navigation in the Straits was the intro-
duction of a regular mail service. The first
contract for the conveyance of the mails was
made between the P. & O. Company and the
Government in 1845. Under the terms of this
arrangement the company contracted to
convey the mails from Ceylon to Pinang in
forty-five hours, and from thence to Singapore
in forty-eight hours. The first mail steamer
despatched under the contract was the Lady
Wood, which arrived at Singapore on
August 4, 1845, after an eight-day passage
from Point de Galle. She brought the mails
from London in the then marvellous time of
for-ty-one days. The first homeward mail was
despatched amid many felicitations on the
expedition which the new conditions made
possible in the carrying through of business
arrangements. Unhappily, before the mail
steamer had fairly cleared the harbour it was dis-
covered that the whole of the prepaid letters had,
through the blundering of some official, been
left behind. This contretemps naturally caused
much irritation, but eventually the community
settled down to a placid feeling of contentment
at the prospect which the mail system opened
up of rapid and regular intercourse with Europe
and China and the intermediate ports.
From time to time, as Singapore grew and
its revenues increased, attempts were made to
tamper with the system of Free Trade on
which its greatness had been built. As early
as 1829, when the temporary financial difficulty
created by the enforced suspension of the
Gaming Farm system necessitated a considera-
tion of the question of creating new sources
of revenue, we find Mr. Presgrave, who was
in temporary charge of the administration at
Singapore, suggesting a tax on commerce as
the only means of supplying the deficiency.
He expressed the view that such an impost
would not injure the rising commerce of the
island provided judicious arrangements were
made for exempting native trade from some of
those restrictive measures usually attendant on
custom-house regulations. "The policy of
exempting the trade from all impositions on
the first establishment of Singapore," he pro-
ceeded to say, " cannot, I imagine, be called
in question ; but as the trade has now passed
the stage of its infancy I am of opinion there
is little to apprehend from casting away the
leading strings."' The " leading strings " were,
fortunately, not cast away. The Supreme
Government was opposed to any change and
the Court of Directors, though not con-
spicuously endowed with foresight at this time,
were wise enough to realise that Singapore's
prosperity was bound up in its maintenance
as a free port. The re-establishment of the
Gaming Farm set at rest the question for the
time being ; but there was a fresh assault
made on the principle in 1836, when the
efforts for the suppression of piracy imposed a
burden upon the Supreme Government which
was disinclined to bear. The idea then
mooted was the levying of a special tax on
the trade of the three settlements to cover the
charges. A draft bill was submitted to Mr.
Murchison, the Resident, for his opinion, and
he in turn consulted the mercantile com-
munity. Their reply left no shadow of doubt
as to the unpopularity of the proposals. A
public meeting of protest, summoned by the
sheriff, held on February 4, 1836, passed
strongly worded resolutions of protest and
adopted a petition to Parliament to disallow
the scheme. In August, Lord Glenelg, the
Secretary for the Colonies, wrote saying that
the measure was deprecated by the Govern-
ment and would find no countenance from
them. In November the India Board directed
the Supreme Government to suspend the
proposals, if not enacted, and if enacted to
repeal them. The Indian authorities, defeated
on the question of a direct impost, in 1837
returned to the charge with a tonnage duty
on square-rigged vessels. The scheme came
to nothing at the time, but it was revived
about twenty years later. A protest was
promptly forwarded to the home authorities
from Singapore against the project. The
Court of Directors, on receiving this, wrote to
the Governor-General on March 25, 1857, to
inquire if there was any foundation for the
statement that dues were to be levied. "You
are doubtless avirare," the Court wrote, "that
when this subject was under our consideration
in the year 1825 we signified our entire appro-
bation of the abolition of port dues at Singa-
pore ; and that in the following year we
expressed our opinion that the establishment
of duties on imports and exports at that settle-
ment would be inexpedient. The success which
has hitherto attended the freedom of trade at
these ports has confirmed the opinion ex-
pressed to you in these despatches, and we
should deprecate the imposition of any burden
^ " Straits Settlements Records," Xo. 153.
on the commerce of the Straits Settlements
excepting under circumstances of urgent
necessity."
The Government of India replied that they
had no intention to impose customs duties at
Singapore. They explained that with regard
to the levy of port dues, after the Port Regu-
lation Act of 1855 was passed a request was
made to the Straits Government, in common
with other local administrations, for certain
information to enable the Government to
pass a supplementary Act for the regulation
of port due fees. On February 10, 1856,
the Governor of the Straits replied that if not
considered to interfere with the freedom of
the port he was inclined to agree with the
imposition of a due of half an anna per ton on
all square-rigged vessels, and would further
recommend that all native ships clearing out
of the harbour should pay a fee of two rupees
for junks and one rupee for boats of all
descriptions. " The amount so realised would,"
the Governor said, " provide for all present
expenses and enable us to do all that may be
necessary for the efficient management of the
harbours and their approaches." The de-
spatch pointed out that dues were abolished
at Singapore in 1823, not because they were
contrary to any sound principle, but because
they were unfairly assessed and were incon-
sidelable in amount. The strong expression
of opinion from the Court of Directors was
not without its effect. The scheme was con-
veniently' shelved, and amid the larger ques-
tions which speedily arose in connection with
the transfer of the government of India to the
Crown it was forgotten.
Apart from this matter of imposts on the
trade, there was from time to time serious
dissatisfaction with the control of the Govern-
ment of India of the settlement. In 1847
the discontent found vent in two petitions to
Parliament, one with reference to an Indian
Act (No. III. of 1847) transferring the appoint-
ment of police officers from the court of
judicature and quarter sessions to the Crown,
and the other asking that municipal funds
should be placed under the management of a
committee chosen by the ratepayers, which
had always been the case, but which practice
was rendered doubtful in the opinion of the
Recorder (Sir W. Norris) by another Act. An
able statement in support of the petition was
drawn up by Mr. John Crawfurd, a leading
citizen. The facts set forth in this document
constituted a very striking picture of the
progressive growth of the settlement. Mr.
Crawfurd wrote :
" The industry of the inhabitants of Singa-
pore has created the fund from which the
whole revenues are levied. This is made
evident enough when the fact is adverted to
that ■ eight-and-twenty years ago the island,
which has now fifty thousand inhabitants, was
a jungle with 150 Malay fishermen imbued
with a strong propensity to piracy and no
wealth at all, unless it were a little plunder. At
the present time the entire revenues may be
safely estimated at not less than ;£'5o,ooo per
annum, being equal to a pound sterling per
head, which is equal to about five-fold the
ratio of taxation yielded by the population of
Bengal.
44
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
"The revenues are divided into two
branches, although the division be in reality
little better than arbitrary — the general and the
police ; or taxes and rates. The first consists
of excise on wine, spirits, and opium ; of quit-
rents ; of the produce of the sale of wild
lands ; of fees and fines ; of postages, &c. The
second is a percentage on the rental of houses.
The general revenue amounted in 1845-46 in
round numbers to ^^14,000 and the local one to
industrv of the inhabitants — a fund wholly
created within the short period of twenty-eight
years. I cannot see, then, with what show of
reason it can be said that the Executive
Government pays the police, simply because it
is the mere instrument of disbursement."
Mr. Crawfurd went on to say that the
practice with respect to the colonies under the
Crown had of late years been rather to extend
than to curtail the privileges of the inhabitants.
BIVEB IN THE PRIMEVAL FOREST, JOHORE.
(From " Skizzen aus Singapur und Djohor.")
;£'7,ooo, making a total of £21,000— a sum
which, if expended with a just economy, ought
to be adequate to every purpose of government
in a small sea-girt island, with a population for
the most part concentrated in one spot.
" From this statement it is plain enough that
whether the police force is paid wholly out of
the police revenue or partly from the police
and partly from the general revenue, it must,
in any case, be paid out of the produce of the
and he expressed a hope that the East India
Company would be prepared to follow a course
" which, by conciliating the people, secures
harmony, strengthens the hands of the local
Government, and consequently contributes
largely to facilitate the conduct of the adminis-
tration.'' In this statement, as Mr. Buckley
suggests in his work, we have possibly the
commencement of the movement which led
twenty years afterwards to the transfer of the
settlements from the contiol of the Government
of India to that of the Colonial Office. How-
ever that may be, the mercantile community of
Singapore was unquestionably becoming less
and less disposed to submit their increasingly
important concerns to the sole arbitrament of
the prejudiced and sometimes ill-informed
bureaucracy of India.
One notable interest which was at this time
coming rapidly to the front was the planting
industry. One of Raffles's first concerns after
he had occupied the settlement was to stimu-
late agricultural enterprise. On his initiative
the foundations of a Botanical Department
were laid, and plants and seeds were distributed
from it to those settlers who desired to culti-
vate the soil. The first-fruits of the under-
taking were not encouraging. Compared with
Pinang, the settlement offered little attraction
to the planter. The soil was comparatively
poor, the labour supply limited, and the island
was largely an uncleared waste, ravaged by
wild beasts. Gradually, however, the best of
the land was taken up, and, aided by an
excellent climate, the various plantations
flourished. A statement prepared by the
Government surveyor in 1848 gives some
interesting particulars of the extent of the
cultivation and the results accruing from it.
There were at that time 1,190 acres planted
with 71,400 nutmeg-trees, the produce of which
in nutmegs and mace amounted to 656 piculs,
yielding an annual, value of 39,360 dollars.
There were 28 acres planted with clove-trees.
Coconut cultivation occupied 2,658 acres, the
number of trees being 342,608, and the produce
yielding a value of 10,800 dollars. Betel-nut
cultivation absorbed 445 acres, and upon this
area 128,281 trees were planted, yielding 1,030
dollars annually. Fruit trees Occupied 1,037
acres, and their produce was valued at 9,568
dollars. The gambler cultivation covered an
extent of 24,220 acres, and the produce was
valued at 80,000 dollars. The pepper culti-
vation was stated at 2,614 acres, yielding
108,230 dollars annually. Vegetable gardens
covered 379 acres, and the produce was stated
at 34,675 dollars. The siri or pawn vines
extended to 22 acres, and yielded 10,560 dollars,
while sugar-cane, pineapples, rice, or paddy
engrossed 1,962 acres, and the estimated
produce was valued at 32,386 dollars. The
quantity of ground under pasture was 402
acres, valued at 2,000 dollars annually. The
total gross annual produce of the island was
valued at 328,711 dollars.
.\t a later period the planting industry sus-
tained a disastrous check through the failure of
the crops consequent upon the exhaustion of
the soil. Many of the planters migrated to
better land across the channel in Johore, and
formed the nucleus of the great community
which flourishes there to-day.
In 1845 the question of providing dock
accommodation at Singapore was first seriously
broached. The proposal put forward was for a
dock 300 feet long, 68 feet wide, and 15 feet
deep, to cost 80,000 dollars. Inadequate support
was accorded to the scheme, and the question
slumbered until a good many years later, when
the famous Tanjong Pagar Dock Company
came into existence and commenced the great
undertaking, which was taken over by the
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
45
Government in 1906 at a cost to the colpny of
nearly three and a half million pounds.
The dock scheme was suggested by the
growing trade flowing through the Straits, with
Singapore as an almost inevitable port of call.
Identical circumstances led irresistibly a few
years later to an eager discussion of the prac-
tical aspects of telegraphic communication.
The authorities had outgrown the earlier
attitude which saw " no rational use " for a
telegraphic system in Singapore, but they were
still very far from realising the immense
imperial potentialities which centred in an
efficient cable system. When the subject vi'as
first mooted in a practical way in 1858 by the
launching of a scheme by Mr. W. H. Reed for
the extension of the Indian telegraph lines to
Singapore, China, and Australia, the Australian
colonies took the matter up warmly, and
promised a subsidy of ;f35,ooo for thirty years,
and the Dutch Government, not less enthu-
siastic, offered a subsidy of ;£8,Soo for the
same period. But the Home Government
resolutely declined to assist, and though re-
peated deputations waited upon it on the
subject, it refused to alter its policy. Never-
theless the project was proceeded with, and on
November 24, 1859, Singapore people had the
felicity of seeing the first link forged in the
great system of telegraphic communication
that now exists by the opening of the electric
cable between Singapore and Batavia. Con-
gratulatory messages were exchanged, and the
community were getting used to the experience
of having their messages flashed across the
wire, when there were ominous delays due to
injuries caused to the cable either by the
friction of coral rocks or by anchors of vessels
dropped in the narrow straits through which
the line passed. Not for a considerable time
was the system placed on a perfectly satisfactory
basis. In 1866 a new scheme was started for a
line of telegraphs from Rangoon through Siam
to Singapore, from Malacca through Sumatra,
Java, and the Dutch islands to Australia, and
through Cochin China to China. This project
was not more favoured with official counten-
ance than the earlier one, and it remained for
private interests alone to initiate and carry
through the remarkable system by which
Singapore was brought into touch wilh every
part of the civilised world by its cables
radiating from that point.
In political as in commercial matters the
policy of the East India Company in relation
to the Straits Settlements was narrow-minded
and lacking in foresight. In some cases it
showed an even more objectionable quality — it
was unjust. It is difficult to find in the whole
range of the history of British dealings with
Asiatic races a more flagrant example of
wrong-doing than the treatment of the Sultan
of Kedah, or Quedah, from whom we obtained
the grant of the island of Pinang. The story
is told in the section of the work dealing with
Pinang, and it is only necessary to say here
that, having obtained a valuable territorial
grant under conditions agreed to by its repre-
sentative, and tacitly accepted by itself, the
Government declined to carry out those condi-
tions when circumstances seemed to make rati-
fication inexpedient. At Singapore an almost
exact parallel to the Company's action, or, to
speak correctly, inaction in this instance, was
furnished in its dealings with the Sultan Tunku
All, the son of Sultan Husein, who, jointly with
the Dato' Temenggong Abdul Rahman, had
ceded the island to the British Government in
1819. Sir Frank Swettenham is at great pains
in his book to unravel the rather tangled facts,
and it is with a sense of humiliation that they
must be read by every self-respecting Briton
small account, but the influx of Chinese planters
created a revenue, and it became important to
know to whom that revenue should be paid.
Governor Butterworth, in a communication to
the Supreme Government of October 21, 1846,
spoke of the Temenggong having " irregu-
larly " collected the small revenue — an impost
on timber — previously existing, and recom-
mended that the proceeds of an opium farm
PATH IN THE PRIMEVAL FOHBST, JOHORE.
(From " Skizzen aus Singapur und Djohor.")
who values the name of his country for fair
dealing. The narrative is too long to give in
detail here, but briefly it may be said that the
dispute turned on the respective rights of the
Sultan and the Temenggong. The controversy
directly arose out of a request made by Tunku
Ali that he should be installed as Sultan of
Johore. The matter first assumed importance
in the early days of the Chinese migration to
Johore. Before that Johore was a territory of
just established should be equally divided
between the two. Accompanying this -letter
and recommendation was an application which
had been made by Tunku Ali that he should be
acknowledged and installed as Sultan. The
reply of the Government was to the effect that
"unless some political advantage could be
shown to accrue from the measure the Honour-
able the President in Council declined to adopt
it." In 1852 the question was again raised by
46
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
MK E. A. Blundell, who was ofticiating as
Governor at the time. This functionary ex-
pre;ssed his inability to find any ground of
expediency to justify the step, but he strongly
urged the impolicy of allowing " such an
apparently clear and undisputed claim " as
that of Tunku Ali to remain any longer in
abeyance. An unfavourable reply was given
by the Supreme Government to the proposal.
Mr. Blundell, undeterred by this, raised the
matter afresh in a letter dated January 14,
1853. In this communication Mr. Blundell re-
affiritied with emphasis the justice of Tunku
All's claims to recognition, and intimated that
he had induced both the Sultan and the
Temenggong to agree to an arrangement
under which the reveime, calculated at 600
dollars ^ej» mensem, should be divided between
the two for a period of three years, at the ex-
piration of which time a new calculation should
be made. The Supreme Government on March
4, 1853, sent a curious answer to Mr. Blundell's
proposal of compromise. They intimated that
they had no concern with the relations between
the Sultan and the Temenggong, but that " if
the arbitration in question should be proposed
and the Temenggong should be willing to
purchase entire sovereignty by a sacrifice of
revenue in favour of the Sultan, the Governor-
General in Council conceives that the measure
would be a beneficial one to all parties.''
There was, of course, no question of the
Temenggong purchasing entire sovereignty by
a sacrifice of revenue. What had been sug-
gested was an amicable agreement as to reve-
nues of which the Sultan had hitherto been, to
adopt Colonel Butterworth's phrase, " irregu-
larly " deprived. Broadly speaking, however,
the despatch may be accepted as sanctioning
the proposal put forward by Mr. Blundell. An
mterval of some months elapsed after the
receipt of the communication, and when the
subject again figures on the records it assumes
a different aspect. Colonel Butterworth, who
had been away on leave, finding Tunku Ali
" entangled with an European merchant at
Singapore," declined to arbitrate, and went to
Pinang. Afterwards negotiations apparently
were carried on by Mr. Church, the Resident
Councillor, and finally, as an outcome of them,
a proposal was submitted to the Supreme
Government that Tunku Ali should be installed
as Sultan, should be allowed to retain a small
strip of territory known as Kesang Muar, in
which the graves of his ancestors were situated,
that he should receive S,ooo dollars in cash, and
that he should be paid 500 dollars a month in
perpetuity. In consideration of these conces-
sions he was to renounce absolutely all sove-
reign rights in Johore. After a considerable
amount of negotiation between the parties
these terms were embodied in a treaty dated
March 10, 1855, which Tunku Ali reluctantly
signed. Sir Frank Swettenham, whose sym-
pathies are very strongly displayed on the side
of the Sultan, significantly mentions that the
annual revenues of Johore "have amounted to
over a million dollars for some years, and they
are now probably about 1,200,000 dollars, or,
say, ;^i40,ooo." The later phases of this dis-
agreeable episode may be related in his words.
" Sultan Ali is dead, and his son would still be
in receipt of 500 dollars a month from Johore
(originally about ;£r,200 a year), but the district
of Muar has also passed away from him and
his family to the Temenggong's successors.
When that further transfer took place about
twenty years ago, the allowance was by the
efforts of Governor Sir Wm. Robinson raised
to 1,250 dollars a month, divided amongst the
late Sultan's family. Lastly, it must be noted
that, though the second condition in the terms
submitted by the Temenggong on April 3,
1854, read, ' Tunku Ali, his heirs and successors to
be recognised as Sultan of Johore,' the son and
heir of Sultan Ali was never more than Tunku
Alam, while the son and heir of the Temeng-
gong became ' the Sultan of the state and terri-
tory of Johore,' and that is the title held by his
grandson, the present Sultan. The grandson
of Sultan Ali is to-day Tunku Mahmud. If
Sultan Ali sold his birthright in 1855 to secure
the recognition of his title by the Government
of India he made a poor bargain. The Govern-
ment of India loftily disclaimed any concern
with the relations between the Sultan and the
Temenggong ; however indifferent the plea, it
is one to which neither the local nor the British
Government can lay any claim in their subse-
quent proceedings."
CHAPTER VI.
Establishment or the Crown Colony
SYSTE.M..
Whilk this act of injustice was being perpe-
trated the sands of the Indian government of
the Straits Settlements were running out. In
the two and a half centuries of its connection
with the archipelago the East India Company
had never shown conspicuous judgment in its
dealings with its possessions. Its successes
were achieved in spite of its policy rather than
because of it, and if there is one thing more
certain than another about these valuable pos-
sessions of the Crown, it is that they would not
be to-day under the British flag if the govern-
ing power, represented by the autocracy of
Leadenhall Street, had had their way. The
failings of the system did not diminish with
age ; rather they developed in mischievous
strength as the settlement grew and flourished.
The mercantile community chafed for years
under the restrictions, financial and adminis-
trative, imposed upon the colony. At length, on
the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny, the feeling
burst out into an open movement for the trans-
fer of the administration from the Government
of India to the Crown. The petition presented
to the House of Commons in 1858 as a result
of the agitation based the desire for a change
in the system of administration on the syste-
matic disregard of the wants and wishes of the
inhabitants by the Government of India, and
the disposition of the Calcutta authorities to
treat all questions from an exclusively Indian
point of view. It was pointed out that the
settlements were under the control of a
Governor appointed by the Governor-General.
" Without any council to advise or assist him,
this officer has paramount authority within the
settlements, and by his reports and suggestions
the Supreme Government and Legislative
Council are in a great measure guided in
dealing with the affairs of these settlements.
It may, and indeed does in reality frequently,
happen that this functionary, from caprice,
temper, or defective judgment, is opposed to
the wishes of the whole community, yet in any
conflict of opinion so arising his views are
almost invariably, adopted by the Supreme
Government upon statements and representa-
tions which the public have no knowledge of
and no opportunity of impugning." The me-
morialists pointed out that measures of a most
obnoxious and harmful character had been
introduced by the Government of India, and
had only been defeated by the direct appeal of
the inhabitants to the authorities at home.
Moreover, Singapore had been made a dump-
ing ground for the worst class of convicts from
continental India, and these, owing to the
imperfect system of discipline maintained,
exercised a decidedly injurious influence on
the community. In a statement appended to
the report it was shown that, exclusive of dis-
bursements for municipal purposes, the expen-
diture in 1855-56 amounted tO;^i3i,375, against
an income of ;^i03,i87, but it was shown that
the deficiency was more than accounted for by
charges aggregating ;£'75,358 imposed for mili-
tary, marine, and convict establishments —
" charges which are never made against a
local reveime in a royal colony."
Lord Canning, in a despatch discussing the
question raised by the petition, wrote in favour
of the change. The only object which he
could conceive for maintaining the govern-
ment of the Straits Settlements on its then
footing was to have all the possessions in the
East under one control. But, he pointed out,
this consideration was quite as applicable to
Ceylon, which had not in recent times been
under the Government of India. He went at
length into the whole question of the transfer,
and then summarised his views in this form :
" I consider it to be established, first, that no
good and sufficient reasons now exist for con-
tinuing the Straits Settlements on their present
footing ; secondly, that very strong reasons
exist for withdrawing them from the control of
the Indian Government and transferring them
to the Colonial Office ; and, thirdly, that there
are no objections to the transfer which should
cause her Majesty's Government to hesitate in
adopting a measure calculated to be so advan-
tageous to the settlements themselves." The
Indian Government asked to be reimbursed
the cost of new recently erected barracks for
European troops ; but the Home Government
objected to this, and the point was waived by
the Indian authorities. Even then the Imperial
Government were not at all eager to accept the
charge. They haggled over the cost which, in
their shortsighted vision, the settlements were
likely to impose upon the imperial exchequer.
The Duke of Newcastle, the then Colonial
Secretary, in a despatch on the subject, esti-
mated the probable deficiency in the revenue at
from ^30,000 to ;^5o,ooo. But in his calculation
was included an extravagant contribution for
military purposes. It did not dawn upon the
sapient rulers of that day that there was an
imperial interest in maintaining a fortress at
the entrance to the Straits of Malacca through
which the world's trade from the West to the
East passes. It was left to Lord Beaconsfield,
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
47
in an eloquent passage of a memorable speech,
to bring home to the people of Great Britain
the vast strategic value of Singapore.
The financial doubts raised by the Home
Government led to the despatch to the Straits of
Sir Hercules Robinson (afterwards Lord Ros-
mead) to investigate on the spot a point which
really should have been plain enough if the
Colonial Office had been endowed with ordi-
nary discernment. Sir Hercules Robinson's
report was favourable, and the Government,
acting upon it, passed through Parliament in
the session of 1866 a measure legalising the
status of the three settlements as a Crown
colony, under a governor aided by a legislative
council of the usual Crown colony type. The
actual transfer was made on April i, 1867. It
was preceded by some rather discreditable
blundering in reference to the executive. The
arrangement made between the India and the
Colonial Offices was that all uncovenanted
officials should remain, but that the covenanted
servants should revert to their original appoint-
ments in India.
The functionaries concerned were not for-
mally notified of the change, but were left to
gather the information from the newspapers.
Even then they did not know the conditions
under which their transfer was to be carried
out. The question was raised in the House of
Commons on March 8, 1867. In the course of
the discussion Mr. John Stuart Mill commented
severely on the action of the Government in
withdrawing these experienced officials at a
time when their knowledge of local affairs
would be of great value. " He wanted to
know what the colonial system was. He
hoped and trusted there was no such thing.
How could there be one system for the govern-
ment of Demerara, Mauritius, the Cape of
Good Hope, Ceylon, and Canada ? What was
the special fitness of a gentleman who had
been employed in the administration of the
affairs of one of those colonies for the govern-
ment of another of which he knew nothing,
and in regard to which his experience in other
places could supply him with no knowledge ?
What qualifications had such a man that should
render it necessary to appoint him to transact
business of which he knew nothing" in the
place of gentlemen who did understand it, and
who had been carrying it on, not certainly upon
the- Indian system, and he believed upon no
system whatever but the Straits Settlements
system ?'"' As a result probably of this protest
the arrangement for the withdrawal of the
old officials was not carried out. But the
Government, instead of appointing as the
first Governor some man acquainted with the
peculiar conditions of the Straits, sent out as
head of the new administration Colonel Sir
Harry Ord, C.B., an officer of the corps of
Royal Engineers, whose administrative experi-
ence had been gained chiefly on the West
Coast of Africa. Though an able man, Sir
Harry Ord lacked the qualities essential for
dealing with a great mercantile community.
He was autocratic, brusque, and contemptuously
indifferent to public opinion. Moreover, he
had an extravagant sense of what was necessary
to support the dignity of his office, and rushed
the colony into expenditure which was in
excess of what it ought to have been called
SIR HAEBY OBD..
(First Governor of the Straits Settlements under the
Crown Colony system. Taken at Government
House. Singapore, in 1869.)
region of small commercial importance. The
penalty of our shortsightedness in making the
bargain was paid in the Ashanti War, and it is
small consolation to reflect that the Dutch on
their side have found the transaction even less
advantageous, since they have been involved
in practically continuous warfare with the
Achinese ever since. Sir Harry Ord erred in
this matter and in others of less importance
through a blindness to the great imperial
interests which centre in the Straits. But it
must be conceded that his vigorous administra-
tion, judged from the standpoint of finance, was
brilliantly successful. When he assumed office
the colony was, as we have seen, not paying
its way, and there was so little prospect of its
doing so that the Home Government hesitated
to assume the burden. On the conclusion of
his term of office the revenue of the settlements
exceeded the expenditure by a very respectable
sum. His administration, in fact, marked the
turning-point in the history of the Straits.
From that period the progress of the colony
has been continuous, and the teasing doubts of
timid statesmen have changed to a feeling of
complacent satisfaction at the contemplation of
balance-sheets indicative of an enduring pros-
perity.
Some facts and figures may here be ap-
propriately introduced to illustrate the mar-
vellous development of the settlements since
the introduction of Crown government. The
financial and trade position is clearly shown
in the following table given in Sir Frank
Swettenham's work and brought up to date
by the inclusion of the latest figures :
Expenditure in
Dollars.
Trade.
Year.
Revenue in Dollars.
Value of Imports
Value of E.xports
ill Dollars.
in Dollars.
1868
1,301,843
1,197,177
42,1)9,708
37,993.856
1869
1,313.046
1,164,354
43.986,222
40,583,^2
1870
1,378,748
1,259,376
54,449,388
47,989,9.S3
1871
1,405,703
1,254,111
56,016,661
51,807,601
1872
1,536,274
1,296,311
63,650,222
62,149,329
1873
1,502,094
1,415,828
64,795,135
60,312,143
1874
1,458,782
1,679,210
67.117,979
62,643,195
I«75
1,538,854
1,805,229
63,137,716
62,493,328
1880
2,361,300
2,038,947
83,718.103
78,051,739
1883
3,508,074
3,593.149
110,356.71.6
100,513,222
iSgo
4,269,125
3,757,691
147,297,317
127,923,682
1895
4,048,360
3,782,456
198.218,306
172,974,953
1900
5,3«6,557
6,030,744
314,089,860
262,617,345
1904
10,746,518
10,848,989
383,942,088
326,193,851
1905
11,657,424
10,980,391
332,233,916
282,960,785
upon to bear. His worst defect, however, was
his ignorance of Malay affairs. Knowing
nothing of the special conditions of the archi-
pelago and of the peculiar characteristics of the
inhabitants of the colony, he perpetrated many
blunders which a man differently equipped
would have avoided. His worst mistake was
his support of the exchange of our interests in
Sumatra for Dutch concessions which made us
masters of the inhospitable wastes of the Gold
Coast in West Africa. By this transfer we
renounced rights centuries old in one of the
richest island, of the tropics for the dubious
privilege of exercising supremacy over hostile
tribes and a dominion over a fever-stricken
After the grant of Crown government to the
settlements the administration broadened out
into a system which, as years went by, became
more and more comprehensive of the interests
of Malaya. In other sections of the work will
be found a detailed description of the origin
and growth of the existing arrangements by
which to the government of the three original
settlements is added the control of the Protected
Malay States, a vast territory rich in mineral
and agricultural wealth and of high future com-
mercial promise. All that it is necessary to
note here is that the marvellous development
of this important area had its natural influence
on the trade of Singapore as the chief port of
48
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
the Straits. Another and slill more potent
factor was the opening of the Suez Canal and
the consequent impetus given to steam naviga-
tion. In 1868 the tonnage of Singapore was
1,300,000 ; twenty years later it had increased
to 6,200,000 ; and to-day, after another twenty
years, it is over 13,000,000 tons. The popula-
tion of the city has shown an equally remarkable
increase. In 1857 an official return issued by
the Supreme Government placed the number of
the inhabitants at 57,421. Each successive year
there was a large accession to the number of
inhabitants until 1881, when the census showed
a population of 139,308. . Ten years later the
number of inhabitants had risen to 184,554, ^"d
in 1901 the return gave a population of 228,555.
To-day the population of Singapore is estimated
to be above 250,000, or nearly five times what
it was fifty years since. Remarkable as the
growth of the port has been in the past, its
progress seems likely to be not less rapid in the
future. Sir Frank Swettenham anticipates the
time when Singapore will have at least a
million inhabitants. As it is, the port — in the
volume of its trade — is the largest in the British
Empire next to London, Liverpool, and Hong-
kong. Side by side with commercial progress
there has been a steady growth in municipal
efficiency. The history of the municipality is
treated in detail elsewhere, but it may be noted
here that the municipal revenue, which in 1859
amounted to 90,407 dollars against disburse-
ments totalling 129,396 dollars, in 1905 reached
the enormous sum of 2,149,951 dollars, as com-
pared with an expenditure of 2,158,645 dollars.
In the five years ending 1905 the municipal
income was almost doubled.
A question hotly debated for a good many
years in the Straits was the contribution exacted
by the Imperial Government from the colony
for miUtary defence. The view of the settle-
ments, as a purely local territory which had
obtained in the years of the East India
Company's administration was one which
Whitehall adopted with complacency, and
forthwith it proceeded to charge against the
revenues of the colony the very heavy cost of
maintaining a garrison which, if it had any
raison d'etre at all, was placed where it was
to uphold imperial as distinct from colonial
interests. When the Imperial Government
assumed the control of the colony the annual
contribution of the colony towards the military
expenses was fixed at ;^5o,r45. At or about
this figure it remained until 1889, when, follow-
ing upon the completion of an extensive system
of fortification associated with the general
scheme of protecting naval coaling stations
abroad, the Colonial Office presented a
peremptory demand for the increase of the
contribution to £100,000. There was a feeling
akin to consternation in the settlements at the
action of the imperial authorities. With a
rapidly falling exchange and a practically
stationary revenue, the doubling of the mili-
tary contribution constituted a grievous burden
upon the colony. The payment of the larger
sum m.eant the complete stoppage of many
useful works urgently needed in the develop-
ment of the settlements. Alarmed at the
prospect which was opened up, and irritated
at the despotic manner in which the change
was introduced, the mercantile community of
Singapore set on foot a vehement agitation
against the proposal^ Official opinion in the
colony was in strong sympathy with the
movement, but the terms of the despatch of
Lord Knutsford, the Secretary for the Colonies,
in which the demand was preferred gave the
local government no option in the matter.
Accordingly on February 13, i8go, the neces-
sary resolution to give effect to the Home
Government's views was introduced in the
Legislative Council and passed. The circum-
stances under which the vote was sanctioned,
however, left no doubt as to the view taken by
official and non-official members alike. While
the latter delivered strenuous protests against
the action of the Imperial Government and
voted without exception against the resolution,
the former maintained an eloquent silence.
The official reticence was confined to the
debate. When the proceedings of the Council
were sent home the Governor, Sir Clementi
Smith, accompanied them with a powerfully
reasoned plea against the increase, and this
was supplemented by minutes of the same tenor
from other members of the Government.
LORD CANNING, VICEROY OF INDIA.
Though hopelessly worsted in argument.
Lord Knutsford declined to be moved from
his position. He brushed aside with a few
out-of-date quotations of earlier opinions of
Straits people the view emphatically asserted
in the communications he had received that
Singapore is a great imperial outpost, the
maintenance of which in a state of military
efficiency is an imperial rather than a local
concern. The Government, he said, did not
think that the contribution was excessive or
beyond what the colony could easily pay, and
they would make no abatement in the demands
already made. On the receipt of the despatch
(of January 10, 1891) embodying this decision
of the Colonial Office to persist in their ex-
tortionate claim, the fires of agitation were
kindled with new vigour in Singapore. When
the votes came up at the Legislative Council
for sanction on March 5, 1891, strong language
was used by the non-official members in
characterising the attitude assumed by the
Home Government on the question. One
speaker declared that the interests of the
colony were being "betrayed" ; another re-
inarked "that this colony should be condemned
literally to groan under a curse inflicted upon
it by a handful of people utterly ignorant of
the conditions of our society is a disgrace to
civilised government " ; while a third reminded
her Majesty's Government "that loyalty is a
hardy plant which asks for a fair field and no
favour ; it withers under injustice." Once
more a great number of protests were poutgd
into the Colonial Office against the demand.
The only jarring note to the chorus of con-
demnatory criticism was supplied by Sir
Charles Warren, the officer commanding the
troops, who took the view that the Singapore
people got good value for their money in the
military protection afforded them and were
quite able to bear the burden. Lord Knutsford,
entrenched behind the ramparts raised by an
exacting Treasury, still declined to make any
reduction in the contribution. He promised,
however, that " if unfortunately the revenues
of the colony should decrease," her Majesty's
Government would be prepared to review the
situation. The revenues of the colony un-
fortunately did decrease in 1890 and in 1891
as compared with 1889, and promptly a request
was preferred to the Colonial Office for the
redemption of the pledge.
After a considerable amount of additional
controversy and ^ vigorous agitation of the
question both in the Straits and at home,
the Marquess of Ripon, who had succeeded
Lord Knutsford as Colonial Secretary on the
change of Government, in a despatch dated
November 6, 1894, announced that the Govern-
ment were prepared to reduce the colonial
contribution to ;£8o,ooo for 1894 and £90,000
for 1895. At the same time it was intimated
that the contributions for the years 1896-97-98
were provisionally fixed at £100,000, £110,000,
and £120,000. This re-arrangement of the
contributions left the ultimate liability pre-
cisely where it was, and not unnaturally the
colony emphatically declined to accept Lord
Ripon's view that " sensible relief " had been
afforded. A further period of agitation fol-
lowed, culminating as a final protest in the
resignation of three members of the Legislative
Council, of eighteen justices of the peace, and
of the whole of the members of the Chinese
Advisory Board — an important body which is a
link between the Government and the Chinese
community. This dramatic action convinced
the Imperial Government at length that the
inhabitants of the Straits Settlements were in
earnest in their determination not to submit to
the burden of the heavy military contribution.
In a despatch dated June 28, 1895, Lord Ripon
intimated that the Government were prepared
lo settle the question of a military contribution
on the basis of an annual payment equivalent
to 17J per cent, of the total revenue of the
colony. In this arrangement the colonists
were compelled perforce to acquiesce. But
they have never acknowledged the justice of
the principle upon which the payment is fixed.
The imperial authorities on their part have
every reason to congratulate themselves on the
change introduced in the method of assessing
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
49
the payment, for the military contribution in
1905 was 1,(511,585 dollars— practically double
the amount which the colonists regarded as
so excessive.
Singapore's development as a great imperial
outpost and commercial entrepot is proceeding
on lines commensurate with the magnificence
of its strategical position and the vastness of its
trade. The acquisition by Government of the
Tanjong Pagar Dock Company's property in
circumstances which are fully dealt with else-
where in these pages has strengthened the
naval position enormously by providing under
absolute Government control a base for the
refitting and repair of the largest vessels of
his Majesty's navy in Far Eastern seas. On
the purely commercial side an equally im-
portant step forward has been taken by the
acceptance of the tender of Sir John Jackson,
Ltd., for the construction of new harbour
works involving an immediate expenditure of
about a million and a quarter sterling. With
these striking evidences that the importance of
Singapore both for imperial and trade purposes
is fully realised in the highest quarters, there is
every reason to hope that its future will be one
of uninterrupted and ever-increasing prosperity.
It has been said that \ou cannot set limits to
the march of a nation. He would be a wise
man who would set limits to the march of
Singapore. With the great markets of China
still to be opened up to trade, and with the
Malay countries only as yet in the first stage
of their development, it may very well be that
the port, phenomenal as its past progress has
been, is only on the threshold of its career.
Certainly nothing short of a calamity which will
paralyse the trade of the world is likely to put
a period to its advancement to a position in
the very first rank of the cities of the Empire.
.A.S we began this historical survey of Singa-
pore with a reference to its great founder, so
we may appropriately end it by quoting the
eloquent words used by Sir Frederick Weld,
the then Governor of the Straits Settlements, in
unveiling the Raffles statue at Singapore on
the occasion of the Jubilee celebration in [887.
" Look around," said his Excellency, " and a
greater monument than any that the highest art
or the most lavish outlay can raise to Raffles is
visible in this, that his name is still held in
affectionate veneration by all our races, that all
acknowledge the benefits that have resulted
from his wise policy. See that crowd of
splendid shipping in the harbour in front of
his statue. Cast a glance at the city which
surrounds it, on the evidences of civilisation —
churches, public buildings and offices, law
courts, educational establishments — in the
vicinity of this spacious recreation ground on
which we stand and near which he landed.
Were this all, it would be still sufficient to say.
Si motnunentum qiiceris circumspicc. But this
is only a small part of the monument. Look
for it in other parts of the colony. Look for it
in the native States. . . . Look for it in the con-
stantly increasing influence of the British rtame
in these parts, and j'ou will say with me that in
Raffles England had one of her greatest sons."
PINANQ (INCLUDING PROVINCE WELLESLEY AND THE DINDINQS).
CHAPTER I.
The Foundation of the Settlement.
PINANG, like Singapore, owes its existence
as a British possession mainly to the
statesmanlike foresight, energy, and diplomatic
resourcefulness of one man. Raffles's prototype
and predecessor in the work of Empire-building
in the Straits was Francis Light, a bold and
original character, who passed from the
position of trader and sea captain to that of
administrator by one of those easy transitions
which marked the history of the East India
Company in the eighteenth century. Light
was born at Dallinghoo, in Suffolk, on Decem-
ber 15, 1740. His parentage is somewhat
obscure, though the presumption is that he
came of a good stock, for he claimed as a
relative William Negus, son of Colonel Francis
Negus, who held high office in the court of
George I., and who was the owner of extensive
estatesatDallinghoo and Melton. Light received
his early education at the Woodbridge Grammar
School, and afterwards was sent into the navy,
serving as midshipman on H.M.S. Arrogant.
In 1765 he quitted the service and went out to
India, to seek his fortune, after the manner of
many well-bred young men of that day.
.Arrived at Calcutta, he was given the command
of a ship trading between India, Lower Siam,
and the Malay port^. From that time forward
he found practically exclusive employment in
the Straits trade. An excellent linguist, he
speedily acquired the Siamese and Malay
languages, and through their medium, assisted
no doubt by the sterling integrity of his char-
acter, he won the confidence of the native
chiefs. His headquarters for a good many
years were at Salang, or Junk Ceylon, as it
was then known, a large island on the north-
west side of the peninsula. Here he lived
amongst the Malay population, honoured and
respected. The ties of intimacy thus formed
with the native population brought abundant
fruit in a prosperous trade and, what is more
to our immediate purpose, a close personal
knowledge of native politics. Experience of
the Straits taught him, as it taught Raffles a
good many years later, that if British influence
was to hold its own against Dutch exclusive-
ness a more efficient and central settlement
than Bencoolen must be found. Impressed
WABEBN HASTINGS.
(From a portrait in the National Portrait Gallery.)
with this idea he, in 1771, laid a definite pro-
posal before Warren Hastings, the then
Governor-General, for the acquisition of
Pinang as "a convenient magazine for Eastern
trade." The great man had already, in his
statesmanlike vision, seen the necessity of
planting the British flag more firmly in this
sphere of the Company's influence. But for
some reason Light's proposal was coldly re-
ceived. Undismayed by the rebuff. Light
continued to press the importance of establish-
ing a new settlement, and in 1780 he proceeded
to Calcutta to lay before Hastings a definite
scheme for the creation of a British port on
Salang. The illustrious administrator received
him kindly, and probably would have fallen in
with his views had not the outbreak of war
with the French and the Dutch diverted his
attention to more pressing issues. The matter
was shelved for some years, and then Mr.
Kinloch was despatched by the Supreme
Government to Achin to attempt to found a
settlement in that part of the Straits. The mis-
sion was an entire failure owing to the hostile
attitude assumed by the natives. Light chanced
to be in Calcutta on Mr. Kinloch's return, and
he seized the opportunity afforded by the con-
tretemps of again pressing the desirability of
the acquisition of Pinang upon the attention
of the authorities. In a communication on the
subject dated February 15, 1786, he pointed out
to the Government that the Dutch had been so
active in their aggression that there was no
place left to choose from but Junk Ceylon,
.A.chin, and Quedah (Kedah). He went on to
show that .\chin could not be adopted without
subduing all the chiefs, and that if Junk Ceylon
were chosen it would take six or seven years
to clear the jungle sufficiently to furnish enough
produce to supply the needs of the fleet, though
the island was rich in minerals and could be
easily fortified. There remained for considera-
tion Quedah, or (as in deference to modern
spelling we had better call it) Kedah, and in
regard to this situation Light stated that he
was able to report that the Sultan of Kedah
had agreed to cede the island of Pinang. He
enclosed a letter from the Sultan, in which the
chief set forth the terms upon which he was
willing to make the cession. The communica-
tion was as follows : —
"Whereas Captain Light, Dewa Raja, came
here and informed me that the Rajah of Bengal
ordered him to request Pulau Pinang from me
to make an English settlement, where the
60
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
agents of the Company might reside for the
purpose of trading and building ships of war to
protect the island and to cruise at sea, so that if
any enemies of ours from the east or the west
COL. ■WILLIAM LIGHT, SON OP THE
FOUNDER OF PINANG.
(From a portrait in the National Portrait Gallery.)
should come to attack us the Company would
regard them as enemies also and fight them, and
all the expenses of such wars shall be borne by
the Company. All ships, junks or prows, large
and small, which come from the east or the
west and wish to enter the Kedah river to trade
shall not be molested or obstructed in any way
by the Company, but all persons desirous of
coming to trade with us shall be allowed to do
as they please ; and at Pulau Pinang the
same.
" The articles of opium, tin, and rattans are
monopolies of our own, and the rivers Muda,
Prai and Krian are the places from whence tin,
rattans, cane, besides other articles, are obtained.
When the Company's people, therefore, shall
reside at Pulau Pinang, I shall lose the benefit
of this monopoly, and I request the captain will
explain this to the Governor-General, and beg, as
a compensation for my losses, 30,000 dollars a
year to be paid annually to me as long as the
Company reside at Pulau Pinang. I shall permit
the free export of all sorts of provisions, and
timber for shipbuilding.
"Moreover, if any of the agents of the Com-
pany make loans or advances to any of the
nobles, chiefs, or rajahs of the Kedah country,
the Company shall not hold me responsible for
any such advances. Should any one in this
country become my enemy, even my own
children, all such shall be considered as enemies
also of the Company ; the Company shall not
alter their engagements of alliance so long as
the heavenly bodies continue to perform their
revolutions ; and when any enemies attack us
from the interior, they also shall be considered
as enemies of the Company. I request from the
Company men and powder, shot, arms, large
and small, also money for the purpose of
carrying on the war, and when the business is
settled I will repay the advances. Should these
propositions be considered proper and acceptable
to the Governor-General, he may send a confi-
dential agent to Pulau Pinang to reside ; but if
the Governor-General does not approve of the
terms and conditions of this engagement let
him not be oflfended with me. Such are my
wishes to be made known to the Company, and
this treaty must be faithfully adhered to till the
most distant times."
The Government were impressed, as well they
might be, with the facts and the letter brought
to their notice by Light, and in a little more
than a week from the receipt of his communi-
cation the Governor-General formally expressed
his approval of the scheme for the setllement of
Pinang on the terms outlined. The Govern-
ment themselves appear to have earlier un-
successfully endeavoured to obtain a grant of
the island from the Sultan, and there were many
speculations at the time as to the means by
which Light had succeeded where the
authorities had failed. Out of the gossip of the
period arose a romantic but quite apocryphal
story that Light had received the island as a
dower with his bride, who was a daughter of
the Sultan. Light had certainly married a
daughter of the country a few years before this
period in the person of Martina Rozells, a ladv
of Siamese-Portuguese or Malay-Portuguese
descent, but she was not related to the Raja of
Kedah, and she was not a princess. Romance,
however, dies hard, and so it is that the tradi-
tion of royal ancestry for Light's descendants
PULO PINANG EARLY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
(Sketch by Captain R. Elliott, R.X., published in Fisher's " Views in India China, and the Shores of the Red Sea.")
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
51
has been handed down until we meet with it in
an official publication so recent as the last
catalogue of the National Portrait Gallery,
where Colonel Light, the founder of Adelaide,
Francis Light's eldest son, is described as
"Son of a commander in the Indian navy and
a Malayan princess."
Light, having convinced the authorities that
the time had come for action, found them eager
to carry the negotiations through with as little
delay as possible. Early in May, 1786, he
sailed from Calcutta with definite instructions
to complete the engagement with the Sultan of
Kedah for the cession of Pinang. He reached
Kedah Roads near Alor Star on June 29th, and
landed on the following morning under a salute
from the fort and three volleys from the
marines. A leading official received him, and
from him he learned that war was proceeding
between Siam and Burma, and that the Sultan
feared that he himself might be involved.
Light re-embarked and landed again on the ist
of July in due slate. There was some little
delay in his reception by the Sultan, owing to
the state officials demurring to the presents
which Light brought on the ground of their in-
adequacy. Eventually, on the 3rd of July Light
was ushered into the Sultan's presence. He
found him greatly troubled at a passage in the
Governor-General's letter which seemed to him
to threaten pains and penalties if the arrange-
ment was not made. Light diplomatically
smoothed the matter over, and the treaty was
duly signed, subject to the approval of the
authorities in London. On the loth of July
Light took leave of the Sultan, and four days
later, having re-embarked his escort and suite,
proceeded in the Eliza, the Prince Henry and
the Speedwell accompanying him, to Pinang.
The little flotilla dropped anchor in the harbour
within musket shot of the shore on the 15th of
July. Two days later Lieutenant Gray, of the
Speedwell, with a body of marines, disembarked
on Point Pinaggar, a low sandy tongue of land,
which is considered by some to be now the
Esplanade, but which is by Messrs. Cullin and
Zehnder deemed to be the land near the Fort
Point, between the end of Light Street and the
Iron Wharf opposite the Government buildings.
Lieutenant Gray's advance party was reinforced
on the following day by the p;uropeans, and
thenceforward the work of establishing the
occupation proceeded with the utmost expedi-
tion. Soon a little town of atap houses arose
about the shore, with, on one side, a small
bazaar accommodating a number of Kedah
traders who had been attracted to the spot by
the prospect of lucrative business. The artillery
and stores were landed on the nth of August,
and H.M.S. Valentine opportunely arriving in
harbour the same day. Light deemed that the
occasion was auspicious for taking formal pos-
session of the island. The ceremony took place
about noon, the captains of the ships in harbour
and some gentlemen passengers, with a body of
marines and artillerymen, assisting. After the
Union Jack had been hoisted on the flagstaff and
the artillery and the ships had thundered out a
salute, the proclamation was made that the
island in future would be known as Prince of
Wales Island, in honour of the Heir Apparent
(afterwards George IV.), whose birthday fell the
CHAELBS, FIRST MARQUESS CORN-
WALLIS.
(Governor-General of India during the period immediately
following the occupation of Pinang. From a portrait
in the National Portrait Gallery.)
next day, and that the capital would be known
as Georgetown, out of compliment to the sove-
reign, George III. There were mutual con-
gratulations on the birth of the new settlement,
VIEW FROM HALLIBURTON S HILL, PRINCE OF WALES ISLAND.
(From Daniell's " Views of Prince of Wales Island," published early in the nineteenth century.)
52
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OP BRITISH MALAYA
which everyone recognised was destined to have
before it a useful career.
The faith of Light and his associates in the
future of the settlement was based rather on an
appreciation of the natural advantages of the
situation than on any material attractions in
the island itself. Truth to tell, the Pinang of
that day was little better than an uninhabited
waste. Supplies of all kinds had to be obtained
from Kedah, for there was practically no culti-
vation. Roads of course there were none, not
even of the most rudimentary description. The
interior was a thick jungle, through which
every step taken by civilisation would have to
be by laborious efifort. Still, the town was laid
out with a complete belief in the permanency of
the occupation. To each of the native nation-
alities separate quarters were allotted. The
European or official quarter was marked out on
imposing lines. As a residence for himself and
a home for future chief administrators of the
colony Light built a capacious dwelling, which
he called, in compliment to the county of his
birth, Suffolk House.and which, standing in park-
like grounds, bore more than a passing resem-
blance to the comfortable country houses in the
neighbourhood of Melton, in Suffolk, with which
he was familiar. The new settlement early
attracted emigrants from various parts. From
Kedah came a continual stream, prominent
amongst the intending settlers being a consi-
derable number of Indians, or Chulias as they
were then known. Malays, good and bad, put
in an appearance from various quarters, and a
French missionary transferred himself with his
entire flock from the mainland with Ihe full ap-
proval of Light, who thoroughly realised that the
broader the base upon which the new settlement
was built the more prosperous it was likely to
be. Almost every ship from the south brought,
too, a contingent of Chinese. They would
have come in much larger numbers but for the
vigilance of the Dutch, who were jealous of the
new port and did their utmost to destroy its
prospects of success. In spite of this and other
obstacles the settlement grew steadily. Within
two years of the occupation there were over 400
acres of land under cultivation, and a year or so
later the population of the settlement was re-
turned at the" respectable figure of io,ooo. The
trade of the port within a few years of the
hoisting of the British flag was of the value of
more than a million Spanish dollars.
Associated with the early history of Pinang
is a notable achievement by Admiral Sir Home
Riggs Pophara which created a great stir at the
time. Popham, who at that period was engaged
in private trade, in 1791 undertook to carry a
cargo of rice from Calcutta to the Malabar coast
for the use of the army employed there. He
was driven oul of his course by the monsoon
and compelled to bear up for Pinang. While
his ship was refitting Popham made an exact sur-
vey of the island and discovered a new channel
to the southward, through which, in the early
part pf 1792, he piloted the Company's fleet to
China. His services earned for him the grati-
tude of the East India Company and the more
substantial reward of a gold cup, presented by
the Governor-General. Popham was one of
the most distinguished sailors of his time,
and his name is well deserving of a place in
the roll of eminent men who at one time or
another have been connected with the Straits
Settlements.
At the earliest period in the life of the settle-
ment the question of fiscal policy arose for con-
sideration. In a letter to Light, dated January
22, 1787, Sir John Macpherson, the Governor-
General, outlined the views of the Government
on the point as follows :
•'At present our great object in settling
Prince of Wales Island is to secure a port of
refreshment and repair for the King's, the
Company's, and the country ships, and we
must leave it to time and to your good manage-
ment to establish it as a port of commerce. If
the situation is favourable, the merchants will
find their advantage in resorting with their
goods to it, and, as an inducement to them, we
desire you will refrain from levying any kind
of duties or tax on goods landed or vessels
importing at Prince of Wales Island, and it is
our wish to make the port free to all nations."
Thus it will be seen that Pinang was originally
cast for the role of a free port, but fate — in plain
truth, expediency — decided against the adoption
of a Free Trade policy, and it was left to Sir
Stamford Raffles to give effect to Sir John
Macpherson's views in another sphere with
the happiest results. Light's own opinions on
the subject were given in a communication he
forwarded in the first year of the occupation in
response to a request from the Supreme Govern-
ment to say how he proposed to meet the
growing expenses of the Pinang administra-
tion. Light suggested the adoption of a middle
course between the opening of the port abso-
lutely to all comers and the adoption of an
all-round system of custom duties. " To levy a
general duty on all goods which come to this
port would," he wrote, "defeat the intention of
Government in making remittances to China by
the barter of the manufactures of India for the
produce of other countries. The present situa-
tion of the surrounding kingdoms, distracted by
foreign and civil wars which deprive their in-
habitants of the privilege of bringing the
produce of their lands to this port, added to
the various impediments thrown in the way of
the English trade by the Dutch, who prevent
the Chinese junks and the Malay and Bugis
prows from passing Malacca, while by threats
they cause some of the Malay States and by
force oblige others to desist from trading with
the English, are obstacles too great to admit of
the levying with success any general duties."
Light went on to say that in his view the island
ought to be treated as a colony, and the expense
of maintaining it drawn from land and not from
the trade, which should be encouraged as much
as possible, to the end that the export of manu-
factures of the Company's territories in India
might be extended, and the remittances to
China by the sale of these manufactures in-
creased. Still, he recognised that money had
to be found for immediate needs, and he
accordingly suggested a system of customs
duties on foreign goods or goods imported in
foreign vessels. The chief imposts were : 4 per
cent, upon all India goods imported in foreign
vessels ; 4 per cent, upon all goods imported in
Chulia vessels not immediately from anj' of the
Company's settlements ; 6 per cent, upon all
China goods without distinction ; 6 per cent,
upon all tobacco, salt, arrack, sugar, and coarse
cloths, the produce or manufacture of Java or
any other Dutch possession to the eastward ;
6 per cent, upon all European articles imported
by foreign ships unless the produce or manu-
facture of Great Britain. The Supreme Govern-
ment gave their assent to these proposals, and
they were introduced with results so unsatis-
factory that the system was abandoned in favour
of a more uniform system of duties. Eventually,
as will be seen, all imposts were abolished, and
Pinang became, like Singapore, a free port.
Meanwhile, a series of excise farms were set
up to raise money for specific administrative
purposes. These constituted for many years
the backbone of the revenue system, and they
still form a not unimportant part of it.
Politically the affairs of the new settlement
ran none too smoothly in the early period of its
existence. Apart from the obstructiveness of
the Dutch, Light had to deal with the serious
discontent of the Sultan, arising out of the in-
terpretation put by the Supreme Government
upon their arrangement with him. Sir Frank
Swettenham, in his work, enters at great length
into a consideration of this question, and he
does not hesitate to characterise in the strongest
terms what he regards as the bad faith of the
Supreme Government in their dealings with
the Sultan and his successors. The point of
the whole matter is whether, in return for the
cession, the Government pledged themselves to
defend the Sultan's territories against aggres-
sion, and especially Siamese aggression. Sir
Frank Swettenham emphatically affirms that
they did, and the mass of documentary evidence
which he adduces in favour of that view is cer-
tainly fairly conclusive on the subject. Light
himself appears to have regarded the extension
of British protection to the State as an essential
feature of the bargain. He again and again
urged upon the Supreme Government with
much earnestness the desirability of affording
the Sultan the protection he demanded. He
pointed out that the success of the Siamese
would have very injurious effects on the Com-
pany's interests. " If they destroy the country
of Kedah," he wrote, "they deprive us of our
great supplies of provisions, and the English
will suffer disgrace in tamely suffering the
King of Kedah to be cut off. We shall then
be obliged to war in self-defence against the
Siamese and Malays. Should your lordship
resolve upon protecting Kedah, two companies
of sepoys with four six-pounder field pieces,
and a supply of small arms and ammunition,
will effectually defend this country against the
Siamese, who, though they are a very destruc-
tive enemy, are by no means formidable in
battle ; and it will be much less expense to
give the King of Kedah timely assistance than
be obliged to drive out the Siamese after they
have possessed themselves of the country."
The Calcutta authorities turned a deaf ear to
this representation, as they did to others not
less urgent that Light forwarded. Their hands
were doubtless too full at the time with the
struggle against the French to be easily turned
towards the course to which a nice honour would
have directed them. In Juh-, 1789, Light wrote
to the Government at Calcutta informing them
that the Sultan had declined to accept a mone-
tary compensation for the island, and at the
same time had "endeavoured to draw a full
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
53
promise that the Honourable Company would
assist him with arms and men in case an attack
from the Siamese should render it necessary."
This demand Light said he had met with the
evasive answer that no treaty which was likely
to occasion a dispute between the Company and
the Siamese could be made without the appro-
bation of the King of Great Britain. The
Sultan, finding that diplomacy had failed to
secure what he wanted, resolved to attempt to
oust the English from the island. Early in 1790
he assembled a formidable force of ten thousand
men and a fleet of twenty war prahus manned
by pirates at Prye. Here a stockade was
erected, and only "a propitious day" was
wanting for the attack. This never came, for
Light anticipated the Sultan's move by an
attack of his own, conducted by four hundred
well-armed men. The stockade was captured
and the fleet of prahus dispersed. Ultimately,
on the l6th of April the Sultan sued for peace,
and Light concluded a new treaty with him.
This instrument, which was afterwards approved
by the Supreme Government, provided for the
e.xclusion of all other Europeans not trading or
settling in Kedah, the mutual exchange of slaves,
debtors, and murderers, the importation of food
stuffs, and the payment of an annual subsidy of
6,000 dollars to .the Sultan. The question of
British protection remained in abeyance until
1793, when the Home Go\'ernment issued the
definitive instruction that " no offensive and
defensive alliance ' should be made with the
Rajah of Kedah." Here, as far as Light was
concerned, the controversy ended, as he died
in the following year, and an opportunity did
not occur in the interval of raising the question
afresh in the face of the direct mandate froin
home. But to the end of his days he is believed
to have felt acutely the injustice of which he
had been made the unwiUing agent.
A few months before his death Light in-
dited a communication to Sir John Shore,
who had succeeded Macpherson as Governor-
General, urging the necessity of establishing a
judicial system in the island. The letter is a
long and able document, setting forth the
peculiar conditions of the island, the charac-
teristics of the various elements in the population,
and the inadequacy of the arrangements which
at that time existed for administering justice.
Light concluded his survey with these remarks,
which show the liberal, far-seeing character of
the man : " A regular form of administering
justice is necessary for the peace and welfare
of the society, and for the honour of the nation
who granted them protection. It is likewise
improper that the superintendent should have
it in his power to exercise an arbitrary judg-
ment upon persons and things ; whether this
judgment is iniquitous or not, the mode is still
arbitrary and disagreeable to society." The
Supreme Government, in response to the
appeal, framed certain regulations for the
administration of law in the settlement, and
these remained in force until a regular judicial
system was introduced in May, 1808, with Sir
Edmond Stanley, K.T., as the first Recorder.
It will be of interest before passing from this
subject to note that one of the magistrates
appointed under the regulations was Mr. John
Dickens, an uncle of the great novelist, who
previous to his appointment at Prince of Wales
Island had practised with considerable success
at the Calcutta Bar. An amusing story illus-
trative of life in Pinang in those early days
figures on the records. One morning Mr.
Dickens was taking his usual ride when he
met an irate suitor — a certain Mr. Douglas —
who required " an explanation and satisfaction "
of him relative to n case just concluded, in
which Douglas appeared as the defendant.
Mr. Dickens replied spiritedly that he was
surprised at the man's daring to interrogate
him in that manner, and told him that he would
not permit him or any man to expect that he
would explain his official conduct as judge.
Upon this Douglas said he would have ample
satisfaction, and swore that he would have the
magistrate's blood. Mr. Dickens, not to be
outdone, " told him he was a scoundrel, and
that he had now an opportunity, and that if he
had the spirit to do it, why did he not now
take his revenge." His answer was, "that he
had no pistols, but if he had he would." Mr.
Dickens, in transmitting his account of the
episode to Raffles, who was then Colonial
Secretary, cited it as " another instance of the
injurious effects resulting from the Hon.
Governor-General in Council compelling me
to examine into complaints against British
subjects, whose judicial respect and obedience
to mj' judicial opinion I not only cannot com-
mand, but who think themselves authorised to
resent as a private personal injury the judicial
duties I perform in obedience to the injunctions
of the Hon. Governor-General in Council."
No doubt this protest of Mr. Dickens had no
small influence in bringing about the establish-
ment of the judicial system already referred to.
Before this incident occurred, as we have
mentioned, Light had been removed by death.
His demise occurred on October 21, 1794, from
malarial fever. He left behind him a widow,
two sons, and three daughters. The elder son,
William Light, was sent to England to the
charge of iMr. George Doughty, High Sheriff of
Suffolk, a frienci of Light's foster parents. He
entered the army and served with distinction in
the Peninsular War, finally becoming aide-de-
camp to the Duke of Wellington. Later he
achieved fame in quite anotlier field. As the
first Surveyor-General of South .-iustralia he laid
out the city of Adelaide, and he did so on lines
which have won for the place the designation of
" the Garden City." Every year at the elec-
tion of mayor of Adelaide the " Memory of
Colonel Light" is solemnly drunk. It is a
recognition of his title to the position of
father and founder of the city. Light's second
son, Francis Lanoon Light, had a somewhat
chequered career. At the time of the British
occupation of Java he held the position of
British Resident of Muntok, in Banka. Later
we find him a suitor for charity at the hands of
the East India Company on the ground that he
was "labouring under great affliction from
poverty and distress." The Directors, in view
of the services of his distinguished father,
granted him on July 4, 1821, a pension of ;£ioo
a year. He died on October 25, 1823, so that
he did not live long to enjoy the rather nig-
gardly bounty of the Company.
CHAPTER II.
E .\ R L Y Y ^ A R S .
After Light's death the Company appear to
have had a cold fit on the subject of Prince of
Wales Island. The first brilliant expectations
formed of the settlement had not been realised.
The trade did not grow in proportion to the
expenses of administration, and there were
numerous political difficulties to be contended
with. In the circumstances the Government
were disposed to lend an ear to the detractors
of Light's enterprise, who had from the first re-
presented the settlement as one of the Company's
bad bargains. A proposition actually enter-
tained by them was the abandonment of the
settlement in favour of one on one of the Anda-
man Islands, where a convict station and har-
bour of refuge had already been established.
The Government sent Major Kyd to report on
the respective merits of the two situations.
This officer set forth his conclusions in a com-
munication dated August 20, 1795. They were
opposed to the removal of the Company's centre
of influence from Pinang. Major Kyd pointed
out that Port Cornwallis, the alternative situa-
tion in the Andamans, was out of the track of
regular commerce, and that a station there
would answer no other purpose than a harbour
and a receptacle for con\icts, while Prince of
Wales Island was well calculated for defending
the Straits of Malacca and for securing commu-
nication to the eastward. The writer doubted,
however, whether the island could pay its way,
though he acknowledged that if the Dutch
authority to the eastward were not re-estab-
lished the intercourse with Malay merchants
would be greater and the revenues proportion-
ately increased. The report was conclusive as
to the superior advantages of Prince of Wales
Island. But the Court of Directors, in dismissing
the idea of abandonment, sardonically remarked
that revenue at the settlement arose from the
vices rather than the industry of the inhabitants
— a reference to the fact that the opium and
gaming farms were the leading items on the
credit side of the settlement's balance-sheet.
It is in the period immediately following
Light's death that we first discover traces of
the growth of a municipal system. In June,
1795, Mr. Phihp Manington, who had suc-
ceeded the founder of the settlement as Super-
intendent, appointed, on a salary of Rs. 150 per
month, a Mr. Philip Maclntyre as clerk of the
market and scavenger, " because of the intoler-
able condition of filth in the streets." In approv-
ing this appointment the Supreme Government
wrote inquiring " how far in Mr. Manington's
opinion the imposition of a moderate tax on
houses and grounds within the town for the
purposes exclusively of obtaining a fund for
cleansing and draining the town and keep-
ing the streets in repair is practicable." The
Superintendent, writing on September 25, 179S,
reported the enforcement of a tax on houses
and shops in the bazaar belonging to natives
according to the extent of the ground occupied.
He proceeded : " Since the above period the
gentlemen and other inhabitants, owners of
houses and ground situated on what is called the
Point and within the limits of Georgetown,
have had a meeting, and have given it as their
54
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH .MALAYA
opinion that the most equitable mode to adopt
would be that a committee of gentlemen should
be appointed to fix a valuation on every par-
ticular^house, and that so much per cent, on
" But," he added, " I have to observe that the
tax I have recommended will be more than
double sufficient to answer all expenses what-
ever that can be incurred in the bazaar."
which reference has been made above, the
value of Prince of Wales Island was abundantly
proved. In 1797 the Government of India had
in contemplation an expedition against Manilla,
.--^"■■^ —
PLAN OF
GEORGE TOWN
in leas.
- — ^
] Governnic-nt Hi.use
2 Court House
3 P.iblic Officer,
4 Grouiia rr;sc-rv--d kjr a Ch'ir..h
' 5 Master A)tfiivJ.Mif=. OHW,.
6 New Rice Goclowni
7 Jail
a Fish Wferkpt '
9 Fowl Mork-:-!
10 Mosqnf built by ih'- GiiL-clil..-.
11 Ghincs 0!Hjrch
l2 Sepoyi' Lines
13 Aclrniraj'5 hoil-.'
14 Lirge W(-ll
15 Govcrnntr;r,i An.nce.H' '.';ri- ^
lb Nr.w Stnr> Roij'ii?^^
17 P.ip-lly lill^.l Ml,
1 !
i \
PLAN OF GEORGETOWN (PINANG) IN 1803.
(From Sir George Leith's "Short Account of Prince of Wales Island," published 1804.)
that valuation should be levied." In reference
to the Government's particular inquiry, Mr.
Manington reported that he was of opinion
that the levying of any tax over and above
that he had recommended would for the
present " become a great burden on the native
inhabitants in the bazaai, hundreds of whom
still remain in very indigent circumstances."
Nothing further appears to have been done at
this juncture to establish a municipal system.
But some years later the suggested body to
assess the value of property was created under
the designation of the Committee of Assessors,
and from this authority was developed the
existing municipal constitution.
Two years after Major Kyd's mission, to
and they got together a considerable force for
the purpose. Prince of Wales Island, as the
most advanced post of the Company, was made
the rendezvous of the expedition. Here,' in
August of that year, were gathered five thou-
sand EuVopean troops with a large native
force under the command of General St. Leger.
The famous Duke of Wellington {then simple
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
55
Colonel Wellesley) was present in command of
the 33rd Regiment, whicli formed a part of the
expedition. He seems to have been commis-
sioned to draw up a paper on ttie settlement,
for a " Memorandum of Pulo Penang " from his
pen figures in the archives. The great soldier
saw at a glance the value of the place to the
British. He emphasised its importance as a
military station, and showed how it could be
held by a comparatively insignificant force
against all comers. He concluded with
some general remarks on the question of ad-
ministration, recommending that the natives
should be left under the direction of their head-
men, while at the head of the magistracy of the
island there should be a European magistrate
"who should inform himself of the methods of
proceeding and of the laws which bind the
Chinese and the Malays." The report had its
due weight with the authorities. Then more
than ever it was realised that there could be no
question of abandonment. But the administra-
tion of the settlement was beset with too many
difficulties for the Supreme Government to be
altogether elated with their possession. Apart
from financial drawbacks, there were serious
causes of dissatisfaction arising out of the in-
adequate policing of the settlement. The
incident already related in which Mr. Dickens,
the magistrate, figured, points to the chief
direction from which trouble came. Major
Forbes Macdonald, who succeeded to the
government of the island on Light's death,
gives a further and deeper insight into the
matter in a report he drew up for presentation
to the Supreme Government some little time
after assuming office. He there relates how
he has made himself acquainted with the
THE MARQUESS WELLESLEY.
(Governor-General of India from I7Q7 to 1806. From
the portrait in tfie National Portrait Gallery.)
people, their modes and customs. " I am
persuaded," he wrote, " I have gained their
confidence, although I may perhaps owe much
of that to the fiery ordeal through which I have
persevered, not seldom in their defence, ad-
ministered to me by the European settlers, who
affected to hold in contempt such feeble and,
as they argued, not beUeved, upstart control.
To the Europeans alone, to their interested
motives, to their spirit of insubordination, must
be attributed the general laxity of every depart-
ment, for where could vigour, where could
with propriety any restrictive regulation operate
while the most conspicuous part of the com-
munity not only holds itself sanctioned, but
preaches up publicly a crusade against all
government ? Police we have none, at least no
regulation which deserves that epithet. Various
regulations have been made from time to time,
as urgency in particular cases dictated, but they
have all shared the same fate— neglect where
every member of the community is not bound
by the same law, where to carry into effect a
necessary regulation arrangement a mandate
is issued to one class, a request hazards a
contemptuous reception from the other."
Major Macdonald clearly was not happy in
his relations with the European community.
Whether the fault was pntirely on the side of
the settlers is a question which seems to be
open to considerable doubt in the light of the
records. Macdonald appears to have been of
the fussy type of autocrats who must always
be doing something to assert their authority.
Early in his administrafion he brought obloquy
upon himself by demanding from the settlers
the proofs of their right to reside in the settle-
VIEW OF THE NOETH BEACH FROM THE COUNCIL HOUSE, PRINCE OF WALES ISLAND.
(From D.lniell's "Views of Prince of Wales Island.")
56
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
ment. One of the community, a Mr. Mason,
made this reply, which perhaps is responsible
for the allusion to the contemptuous reception
of requests in Major Macdonald's report :
" Sir, I beg leave to inform you, for the
information of the Governor-General in Council,
that my authority or permission to reside in
India is from his Majesty King George the
Third — God save him ! — also from Superinten-
dent Francis Light, Esquire, the public faith
being pledged for that purpose. And as
to my character, I shall take particular care that
it be laid before the Governor-General in
Council."
and Commander-in-Chief. One of the earliest
measures adopted by the new administrator was
the despatch of Mr. Gaunter, the First Assistant
at the settlement, to Kedah to negotiate with the
Sultan for a transfer of territory on the main-
land. The necessity for this extension of the
Company's sphere of influence had been ap-
parent from the beginning, and with the
growth of the trade of the port the matter had
become more pressing, owing to the depreda-
tions of pirates who, established on the Kedah
coast, were able to raid vessels entering or
leaving Pinang with practical impunity. Mr.
Gaunter discharged his mission successfully.
io
^^,^
TI^E feoVERNMl&NT biiliZETTE.
. -., .......I.. :,„^.^,.„^mm_H -Vji.i^-- -|-7 llTTlTl ^ iiiiirti l|
4bHA ^lebiK In-'ilf* 90 tr b RtfUS irrOA £ ttrr F ,
PMMpM. St..,r«ar TO GouiKv«..(rT.
'PROlLaMaTIOS.
♦HHitASi
" ittd loataA\
! rnnti; of WJr.
t.l'ctj Uld «pi.Dj .r. OoTWtCP Um i<4l-
ucs, jnu iu>iii^ rcU(id<> lu i<ill jbkOloie COr.>mf-
V>'C) IS pitiiiQc, idji ^ ii^mc l4iiiT( p«n>d 01
■^ Hmc, ibcreiu (pci.i»ctl, iIk vu<1 Un^> ifi^ Hov
».> Mbtullbe [•-conac^rj, ■..( re^en to itts VudX
''-BKniMncil. AikI ntic.cu <he utiil >([<4iitc do* 1
^^■uy be laK( kuJ tbca ja Uialnio '.onTrysiUc
Vuv be letup. AtKt wUfirjithf tpiriiind priji-
•ipkofilit FiijiUmiiio.. ,•; iBcjiii i.ptcuibrt,
ifcu (wtiicbdiiuU, ilwi all M<-ilrcC«A iii^!
-' bl ?pin CojII ittoowlcJue ihr.i rt'.tl,) l&i bv
the inicnluCIUD oF tht .iil .udom, lx*u rviJed .
"-Th*. HdiMTibU -Otc GvnrtMt uid C«')acil c
Vriocc of Wiilck' l>Lu>J lute ihcralois cnMlMl,
Jad dw-honby eniU uvl ilb.Ure , ThMi, .Wun iqlI
a/ltr tbr dij at the dji* of ilia f*n.<U(iuti<S,
**cr> KtioJ ^klc <lui t^l Ik raBcuiPj rf, an '
cmccTniof Limdi ui^ llonuk «a ibit Ulaod, u '
, Um opf Mira a<paodu<i nrriiofri whiftbtr ab»
^ liM( o(««oJiuanali UnJI be utirilf Ti»d, -end oi
•« ctfc^. ubJui lb* Va»dor m NUhho* oI ib'
-aad appor Im/oec the J'lJgtr indRij^iiiriie 3^ (be
Mid lU-ukd, witAtd (iriMQ dsfi Ui-at the Cfr^^i-
~ ttoo »/ lucb bWl pi i*U, uul wkoovUJ^ toll I ' ,
bMCi*cvtian«/»ui:hBill orSalf, b«l«r( itwult!
A»dib«uid Ja^fiAdMipitnit k>ull cndi^r.co.i
•Ad { And tbt Rcgiixc «r BilLi oi Silt rt ihr
UkI L.1^* -imI Hgum, I) hereby dirr^ol «<\'
m tt%iM.t ■»/ <uch liilli •( bit, ftam irl
tftcr th« date e( ifaa Pro^ U/ruiloo, uAlau •u>'>
. ■■dnfifmral ituU be Bmiouitf tmAt rbirron,'
k* ilM utd Judf* umI Mnliimai Aad «if>i
;, mp«i la »>1U ai SaU oTUadi ud M<'Om>,.
' (vUch -biTt bctA nKutsd bafcn the due of ihiJ
Fratl^mauoB, bui abiLh Fu*« oai been iJre«JT
■Mutunl «iib Um Ragliin of Um B>1U ol ^U<-,
«k( HoIdtT ..f ii\ ikKb BilU of S^ iwi yet r^-
,tBMb*n Aliccn d47«. fraoi ib« dif of the daiV'^
Ijui roKUnulija, &«&>« lbs uul RcjpKU, i4>a
'■ will t • '
ADFgRTiSiStKhir. ■ I
H KO C £ il« bM> Ui<« in iahrai 'h<.
nuKliudtiM Pibiif , thai he tttiradi tu«i; t
: Um catuts( M^wh, h Ui Utwv fttabfc;..
HEPOIlTORy VOR. M^^WU, *«. I
l>c|[ UtTc td acoM.ni thi.
<»• i.ior A. ..r ..m. wnwoi witi i)*t7v.
' l*T Pi»t»« gAl«. on ifw riC4.» a? i«i
>.ci«d4M r - ■" ■ "■ - - '
H k ifwtjidiaf tofwetftilJ, «t(ie»mi^,
U.1IUI ta MBrtBi, ftin* hb nta. u f^:u«i ^ ,
( i.<-4., a? erf;;
i U( lend foi i)U(
nu4ti^ a Kane
pajtii'f d.n«, ..::".,_
ii'oppi'H.
futag Hooft! ,...^, ■;■
MiwfuN*;,!!,, ,«h, ....
BrMlinc ia far (ha Wdla.
Spi. Dtll»^
COURT AND BONE,
THI FOLLOWltlQ MUSIC r
U Rnvur do ZaphiT. a WM. lulbah.
fiisdii
. 4ii>a.
, CkracBCl.
^o(B ttic (bie or ihu Pro..Uiiiatk)fi, (hr tud
■Mi«r tj Aretivd bst TO rrfitier uy Bills ol
«/ Lied «*.-UUCT(/, kllMU(Cl cmlbiH
to IDl •liK' 01 itua PRhUaatida, ' im1«i
Juiyc ml Mj^ittnia itki.1 tenlAr bjr liu 9t(-
-uu.'c itK.n -u, lint (ttc uiM ouftil t« bt lo f^
]iri«4 '.^11* tbe.H«Banai> tiM Co*ema> ttid
■ Tt^er^iiit lakatMiHai «M S»»
Lkin och. tad ncrj Mfcnif*
1 Billa atf Mraf LMiC *^
-•J . - '
Thn« Sor-kui. dil
A 5«nsu. ditia, ..... i
Tbc Livoriic Otintu« t> BUiu lad Bibti,
Unit, . . . . , - I
Tmi Ain, Mann aad R4U|MI«, i*i(b *aii-
uioBi. Cnaicr, .... I
Tr«U L;f«a<US Sonat*. tU"".
A r*.it'><f 0*«>ii(« IP Crbclc.
A Sum (yrinl Ccn.^n«, I>«iMk, • s
Sia SOMDOM, dim, . • . ^
Ttvrir ilinu, dtiio, . . • . ^
A r«* Cn.^ Cmrtrto, Vi«iil. . . «
T iinr Fmuui, diltti, . - . 4(
Sii Cu.toncu, HiouBtl, - ' - 4i
Thn* S»o*»4. Lcwu V,a BccilWMm, 4I
A Cruut Soaau, dnw. . . . li
A iMWiMlJ»«», fltfri, - . - Jl
TbMa b'nwl 1«a>w. diiio, . . - 4J
Kkl Cu»oAU, dttio, . - . 4'
A Ct»od Quutcti. ditio. ... 4
Tta IhttM^ »' C««ffcoi Iij, > noric Mm. i
Thl UlTttAd Ibc Kmv, dll|t>, • • ■ 1
bl«<« lif Brf|ta ilHR, ija»,
J AMI MUA^h d4u*. , « • ,
* BimitiT'^ » " i>i»fi*». ■
b4 hq[d«il T>Ktd*J 1. .u llM IM «f AP(U, « Ml.
FtrUrV Ijncni
OUfMt dn IIk Titov. u 4 o'clook, prKlMlr.
ff*'M«flfc«ii 4iV t.^ucii«d 10 iBWi »( fwif p»wf
I d'tlocklftt^hCf<-n--.<>lftlklMWo WHldfr.
VlU3«tb4 894il»npui ttMdUdl iAl«iu«al Mcrr.
JIU.« a, IM4, AkTiaa Slc>tv..y.
— ■ pUii — ;- — ■ i t ' ^ — -
COURT NKa'BONE,
HArr rojCtALI,
M^e^y. wvraniii'Ul ytAf* in
lMU«.pc. do.^^ ~..» t4
Pwt Wine, ... .>.-.. ^no, lo-
Brtailv. ..., >•*• ditto, uj
Eiuopf V»JKi«. ».— P«t S*l. a s«
R'll lioJIwidlQip, ptrfCAJe,- >■
fine Pftlt Ale, r«rdot. f
Httjnpfltnd TM|a((, 1 4 ocfa in L.fgi,
i. 1 ■ 1*1 twg, t«
Firft Clwp Hyft^fTea, per CAajf, 1 jo
BtngAl Cin««, pp boll, .. .. s
ciiiftios on, ^
POR RHEUMl^CTAtNs AND LUM.
~1AC0
M*v be had ttX^oort lAJ Bqd.:'! Rojmf
Pr!« Thtfc AaaiCb D6lhr« jwr Qoan.
PRICE CDERCNT Oy GOODS.
pecMl, ...
If
9 S'
ftpl»ri,'
RnttiM,
Bectlf.wr, dHtOk , ^
Tin, Perth, djtto, . ... it»
"Wtto, Lingii^ . .... I J
Coich, ii'AoJ 5
Ekpbirit' T^pii, per pecu!, f^j 10 75
Benjamin, ifltim aj
Sogar, ja.a,-di(to, i
Clovci,'dnKv i,IJ
Nwmrg-, fKTtOOiOOO, IOC J
Opium, vi^immi, pctrfifll. ,. -^a
Pah Mawi, PPT necoi, 40
Sigo, ditto, a '
sition did not at the time or for many years
afterwards appear to be of any great value
apart from its uses in conducting a campaign
against pirates. Thus, one writer of the early
part of the last century, alluding to the transfer,
says : " The amount of purchase monej', 2,000
dollars for nearly 150 square miles of country,
was not great, but it was probably the full
value." There are many who would be glad
to get even a decent sized piece of ground in
Province Wellesley at the present day for the
price. So much for confident assertions based
on superficial knowledge. The consideration
paid for this new territory was a good deal
more than the 2,000 dollars mentioned by the
writer. That sum was a mere extra — " the
little present for the ladies." The real pay-
ment was an annual subsidy of 10,000 dollars
"so long as the English shall continue in
possession of Pulo Pinang and the country on
the opposite shore."
In consequence possibly of the greater re-
sponsibility arising out of this increase of
territory Pinang, in 1805, was made a" presi-
dency. The new regime was ushered in with
befitting pomp on September i8th of that year.
On the day named the East Indiaman Ganges
arrived with the first Governor, in the person of
Mr. Philip Dundas, a brother of the Chief
Baron of Scotland. With Mr. Dundas were
three councillors and a staff of 26 British
officials, whose united salaries, with the
Governor's and councillors' emoluments,
amounted to ;£'43,3oo. Notable- in the official
throng was Raffles, who filled the position of
Colonial Secretary, and in that capacity gained
experience which was turned to account in
Java and later in the virgin administrative field
of Singapore. The imposing reinforcement
to the European community which the new
establishment brought stirred the dry bones of
social life in the settlement, and Pinang took
to itself airs and graces which were unknown
in the days of Light's unassuming rule or even
in the Macdonald regime. Very early in the
new administration the settlement equipped
itself with a newspaper. This journal was first
known as the Government Gazette. It was an
official organ only in the sense that the pro-
prietor, a Mr. Bone, was subsidised from the
local exchequer and set apart a portion of his
columns for official announcements. The nevi^s
columns were largely filled with extracts from
home newspapers — poetrs', anecdotes, and
gossip — calculated to interest the exile. Local
news occupied little space as a rule, but
occasionally the reporter would give a glimpse
of some social function of more than ordinary
interest. Thus, we find in the issue of Satur-
day, August 16, l8o6, the following :
PINANG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE.
(One of the earliest copies of the first newspaper pubhshed in the Straits.)
When the writer of this letter was afterwards
asked regarding the nature of the royal au-
thority which he pleaded, he is said to have
referred Major Macdonald for particulars to his
Majesty King George the Third.
Major Macdonald died in 1799 while away
from the island. His successor was Sir George
Leith, who in 1800 assumed the reins of office
with the exalted title of Lieutenant-Governor
but not without difficulty. There were impedi-
ments raised at first to the transfer, but on
adopting a hint given and making " a little
present" to the ladies of the Sultan's household,
he got his treaty. On Monday, July 7, rSoo,
Sir George Leith took formal possession of the
new territory, which was named Province
Wellesley, after the Marquess of Wellesley, the
then Governor-General of India. The acqui-
" Tuesday last being the anniversary of the
birth of H.K.H. the Prince of Wales and of the
establishment of this settlement, the Prince of
Wales Island Club held an extraordinary meet-
ing at Mr. NicoU's hotel, for the purpose of
commemorating the day. Xn elegant enter-
tainment was served up by Mr. Nicoll to the
members and their friends, who continued to
keep up the festivities of the day with the
greatest harmony and good humour till an
early hour the following morning.
" Amongst the toasts were —
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYi\
57
" H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, and many
happy returns of the day to him.
" Prosperity to the island.
" The King.
" The Queen and Royal Family.
" The Navy and Army.
" The memory of Mr. Light, the founder of
the settlement.
" The immortal memory of Lord Nelson.
" A select few also met to commemorate the
anniversary of the birth of H.R.H. as Grand
Patron and Grand Master of Masonry. They
sat down to a neat dinner provided at the
house of a brother, and the evening was spent
with the highest conviviality and good-fellow-
ship. Among others the subjoined toasts were
drunk with great applause :
"H.R.H. George Augustus Frederick, Grand
Master of Masonry.
" The Mystic Tie.
" Virtue, Benevolence, and Peace to all man-
kind.
" King and the Craft.
" Queen and our sisters.
" The immortal memory of Lord Nelson.
" The revered memory of Marquess Corn-
wallis.
" All Masons round the globe."
Mr, Bone's journalistic enterprise continued
for some time in the sun of official favour, but
after a year or two the title of the paper was
changed from the Government Gazette to the
Prince of Wales Island Gazette. Under this
designation it prospered after a feeble fashion,
with several changes in the proprietorship,
until it fell from official grace and was ex-
tinguished in circumstances which will be
hereafter related.
The elevation of Prince of Wales Island into
a presidency was due to a somewhat exag-
gerated view of the value of the settlement
created by the report which Colonel Wellesley
had furnished on the return of the Manilla
expeditionary force to India. In official circles
both in Calcutta and Leadenhall Street the
expectation based on the favourable opinions
expressed here and elsewhere was that Pinang
would become a great naval and military
centre and a flourishing commercial emporium.
This over-sanguine estimate led to many
blunders in policy, not the least important of
which was a decision to restore Malacca to the
Dutch. From this false step the Court of
Directors was, as we shall see when we come
to deal with Malacca, saved mainly by the
action of Raffles, who, after a visit to the
settlement, penned a powerful despatch, in
which he set forth with such convincing force
the arguments for retention that the Court can-
celled their instructions. It was this despatch
which mainly brought Raffles to the notice of
Lord Minto and paved the way to the position
of intimacy which he occupied in relation to
that Governor-General when he conducted his
expedition to Java in i8ll. Pinang, as has
already been stated in the opening section of
this work, was the advanced base of this impor-
tant operation. Over a hundred vessels were
engaged in the transport of the force, which
consisted of 5,344 Europeans, 5,777 natives,
and 839 lascars. The resources of the settle-
ment were heavily faxed to provide for this
great force, but on the whole the work was
successfully accomplished, though there was
considerable sickness amongst the European
troops owing to the excessive fondness of the
men for pineapples, which then as now were
abundant and cheap.
In these opening years of the nineteenth
century Prince of Wales Island witnessed
many changes in the Government, owing to
an abnormal mortality amongst the leading
officials. In March, 1807, Mr. J. H. Oliphant,
the senior member of Council, died, and the
next month Mr. Philip Dundas, the Governor,
expired. The new Governor, Colonel Xorman
■ Macalister, retired in 1810, and was succeeded
by the Hon. C. A. Bruce, a brother of the Earl
of Elgin. Mr, Bruce only lived a few months
to enjoy the dignity of his high position, his
death taking place on December 26, 1810, at
the early age of forty-two. His successor, Mr.
Seaton, was also removed by death within a
very short period of his appointment, and
strangely enough the two following Governors,
Mr. Wm. Petrie and Colonel Bannerman, did
not outlive their respective terms of office. In
less than fourteen years Prince of Wales Island
had six chief administrators, of whom no fewer
than five died and were buried on the island.
Notwithstanding the frequent changes in the
administration and the confusion they neces-
sarily caused, the progress of the settlement at
this period was vminterrupted. The population,
which in 1791 was 10,310, had risen in 1805 to
14,000, and in 1812, when Province Wellesley
was first brought into the reckoning, the return
showed a total of 26,000 inhabitants for the
entire administrative area. Ten years later the
figure for the united territory had risen to
51,207. Meanwhile, the revenue, though sub-
stantial, was not adequate to discharge the
excessively heavy liabilities imposed upon the
settlement. There were recurring deficits, until
in the financial 5'ear 1817-18, the excess of
expenditure over income reached no less a figure
than 164,000 dollars. A financial committee
was appointed to investigate matters, but as the
only satisfactory remedy was a severe cutting
down of salaries, including those of the mem-
bers of the committee, naturally little or nothing
was done. It remained for Lord Wm. Bentinck,
on the occasion of his historic visit in 1827, to
use the pruning shears to some effect upon the
bloated Pinang establishment. The amazing
thing is that the remedy was so long in being
applied. But nepotism at that time was rife in
the Company, and doubtless the numerous well-
paid official posts in Prince of Wales Island
were very useful to the dispensers of patronage
in Leadenhall Street.
The establishment of an educational system
dates to this early nineteenth century period
with which we are dealing. The facts, as set
forth in a report prepared for the information
of the Court of Directors in 1829, will be of
interest. In November, 1815, at the suggestion
of the Rev. R. S. Hutchins, chaplain of the settle-
ment, a committee was formed, consisting of
seven gentlemen, who were entrusted with the
establishment of a school for the instruction
of native children in the most useful rudiments
of education. The school, it was stipulated,
should be conducted by a superintendent, and
should be open for the reception of all children
without preference, except for the most poor
and friendless. It was further agreed that
all children should be educated in reading and
writing English, and in the common rules of
arithmetic, and, at a proper age, in useful
mechanical employments. Great care was
to be taken to avoid offending the religious
prejudices of any parties, while the Malays,
Chinese, and Hindustanies were to be in-
structed in their own languages by appointed
teachers. Children were to be admitted from
four to fourteen. The East India Company con-
tributed 1,500 dollars, to which was added an
annual grant of 200 dollars, afterwards reduced
to 100 dollars in pursuance of orders from the
Court of Directors. The Government of Prince
of Wales Island also granted a piece of ground
called Church Square for the erection of two
schoolhouses, one for boys and the other for
girls. This ground being required for the
church erected about this time, another site was
chosen, upon which the schools were built. In
July, 1824, the school was reported in a pros-
perous state, it having on the rolls at that time
104 boys of different ages, and having sent forth
several promising youths, six of whom had been
placed by regular indenture in the pubHc ser-
vice. In January, 1819, the Rev. H. Medhurst, a
missionary of the London Missionary Society,
submitted to Government the plans of a charity
school for the instruction of Chinese youth in
the Chinese language by making them ac-
quainted vi/ith the ancient classical writers of the
Chinese and connecting therewith the study
of the Christian catechism. The Government
granted a monthly allowance of 20 dollars
for the furtherance of the scheme, to which was
added a further grant of 10 dollars per month for
a Malay school. In 1821 a piece of ground for
the erection of a schoolhouse was also granted
to the society. In May, 1823, the sum of 400
dollars towards the erection 01 a missionary
chapel in Georgetown was also granted by the
Government. In July, 1819, the Bishop of Cal-
cutta being at Pinang, a branch was established
there of the Society for the Promotion of
Christian Knowledge, to which the Govern-
ment granted a donation of 200 Spanish dollars.
In April, 1823, on the representation of Mr.
A. D. Maingy, the superintendent of Province
Wellesley, four Malay schools were estab-
lished there, the Government grant being 32
dollars per month. In November, 1824, the
Govei-nment made a grant of 100 dollars for
the repair of the Roman Catholic church and 30
dollars for the support of three Roman Catholic
schools. In 1816 the Government also sanc-
tioned the grant of a piece of land at Malacca
to Dr. Milne, on behalf of the London Mission-
ary Society, for the erection of a mission
college, and in 1818 the college was built.
Such were the beginnings of the splendid
educational system which now permeates the
settlements.
CHAPTER III.
Siamese Inva.sion of Kedah— Development
OF Province Wellesley.
Troubles arising out of Siamese aggression in
Kedah greatly retarded the commercial deve-
lopment of the settlement in 1815 and the
C ""
58
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
following years. The Sultan who had con-
cluded the first treaty with the British had
died, and his son reigned in his stead. Bui
the idea that the British in accepting Pinang
had bound themselves to protect Kedah from
invasion had survived, and in 1810 the new
Sultan had addressed a powerful appeal to
Lord Minto as he passed through Pinang
on his way to Java, imploring him to carry out
the — to him — essential condition of the original
contract. The letter, which is given in full in
Anderson's " Conquest of Quedah and Peral<,"
concludes as follows :
" I request that the engagements contracted
for by Mr. Light with my late father may be
ratified, as my country and I are deficient in
strength ; the favour of his Majesty the King
of England extended to me will render his
name illustrious for justice and beneficence,
and the grace of his Majesty will fill me with
gratitude ; under the power and majesty of
the King I desire to repose in safety from
the attempts of all my enemies, and that the
King may be disposed to kindness and favour
towards me, as if I were his own subject, that
he will be pleased to issue his commands to
the Governor of Pinang to afford me aid and
assistance in my distresses and dangers, and
cause a regulation to be made by which the two
countries may have but one interest ; in like
manner I shall not refuse any aid to Pinang
consistent with my ability. I further request a
writing from the King and from my friend, that
it may remain as an assurance of the protection
of the King and descend to my successors in the
government. I place a perfect reliance in the
favour and aid of my friend in all these
matters."
In his comment on the letter Anderson
says : " The whole of Mr. light's correspon-
dence is corroborative of this candid exposition,
and it was quite inconsistent with reason to
suppose that Pinang was ceded without some
very powerful inducements in the way of
promises by Mr. Light, which, no doubt, in
his eagerness to obtain the grant, were liberal
and almost unlimited, and that his inability to
perform them was the cause of much mental
suffering to him." It does not appear that any
answer was given to the Sultan's letter. The
request for aid at all events was rejected, and
the Sultan was left to his fate. This was
somewhat long deferred, but the blow was
swift and remorseless when it was delivered.
Equipping a large force, the Siamese in 1821
appeared in the Kedah river, and landing there,
commenced to slay and pillage without provo-
cation or warning. They conducted a ruthless
warfare for days, leaving behind them wher-
ever they went a track of wasted country and
slain and outraged victims. The Sultan with
difficulty escaped to Province Wellesley and
thence to Pinang, where he was kindly
received by Mr. W. E. Phillips, Colonel Ban-
nerman's successor in the government. He
was granted an allowance for his maintenance
and a force of sepoys as a guard. A few days
after his arrival an insolent demand was made
by the Raja of Lingore, on behalf of the
Siamese, for his surrender, and when this was
refused in emphatic terms, a fleet of one
hundred war prahus was sent into Pinang
harbour to take possession of the unfortunate
Sultan by force in default of his peaceful sur-
render. The answer to this impudent move
was the despatch of the gunboat Nautilus to the
vicinity of the leading war prahu, with orders
to the Siamese commodore to leave the harbour
instantly or prepare for action. The hint was
immediately taken. In a very brief space of
time every prahu had left. The Sultan chafed
under the loss of his territory, and the other
Malay chiefs were not less indignant at the
wanton aggression committed upon one of their
number. In a short time the fugitive prince's
residence became the centre of plots and in-
trigues for the recapture of the lost territory.
The local Government, with a lively fear of
complications with the Siamese before them,
did their utmost to put a stop to these man-
oeuvres, but without much success. On April
28, 1823, an attempt was actually made by a
force commanded by Tunku Abdullah, the
eldest son of the Sultan, to oust the Siamese.
It was completely unsuccessful, and Tunku
Abdullah was left a prisoner in the Siamese
hands. A protest was lodged with the British
against the use of Province Wellesley for the
equipment of this expedition. The reply made
by Mr, Phillips to the communication was that
he could not prevent such inroads without
imitating Siamese methods, which was out of
the question. At the same time the Govern-
ment were seriouslj' alarmed at the anomalous
state of affairs created by the continued
residence of the Raja at Pinang, and after
repeated and ineffectual warnings that his
efforts to reconquer his territory would not be
tolerated, they shipped him off to Malacca to
keep him out of mischief. He closed his life
in exile, a victim, it is to be feared it must be
admitted, of an unfulfilled contract.
An immediate effect of the conquest of
Kedah by the Siamese was the filliiig of
Province Wellesley with great bodies of
refugees. In the early days of the invasion
thousands of these unfortunates crossed the
border to escape the diabolical cruelties prac-
tised by the Siamese upon all who fell into
their hands. Many of them were in a starving
condition, and without resources of any kind.
The Government authorities in the province
exerted themselves to succour the wretched
fugitives, and with such success that soon a
considerable number of them were settled on
the land in comparative comfort. It was
fortunate that at this period the local direction
of affairs was in the capable hands of Mr.
Maingy, a humane and resourceful man, who
took a real interest in developing the latent
resources of the province. Under his super-
vision roads were made in various directions
by convicts, and convicts were also employed
in cutting drains and channels for irrigation of
paddy fields and in opening arteries of com-
munication between different rivers. He made
small advances to each of the cultivators to
encourage cultivation, and obtained at his own
expense from Calcutta indigo seeds, together
with a person competent to teach the process
of concreting the- dye, in order to establish
a system of indigo cultivation. Meanwhile,
with the support and sanction of Govern-
ment, he opened native schools at Teluk Ayer,
Tawar, and Prye, for the education of natives.
The rapid growth of the agricultural interest
in the province had, somewhat earlier than
the period at which the events just narrated
occurred, induced the Government to establish
a regular system of administration in the main-
land area. The province in 1820 was divided
into four distinct districts, each under an
official, who was provided with a police estab-
lishment and a small military guard. The
whole was under a superintendent. These
and other beneficent measures had their due
effect, and soon the province, which had
hitherto been a sort of Malayan Alsatia to
which all sorts of bad characters resorted,
became a centre of thriving industry.
It is to this period we may date the rise
of the great planting industry which now
occupies so important a place in the com-
mercial Hie of the settlements. A communica-
tion written by Mr. Phillips on September 18,
1823, reported to the Court of Directors the
commencement of a S5'stem of coffee planting
on a large scale. Some passages from this
document may be quoted, as they throw an
interesting light on the history of the industry.
Mr. Phillips stated that he had received a
letter from Mr. David Brown, " the most exten-
sjve landliolder, and certainly one of the most
ii-(telligent and public-spirited Europeans on
this island, reporting that he has planted
upwards of 100,000 coffee trees and cleared
forests to enable him to complete the number
tp 300,000, and requesting our sanction to his
extending the cultivation, as the progress of
the coffee plants hitherto planted by himself
and others engaged in this speculation holds
out every prospect of the successful production
of this article on the island and no doubt on
the adjacent continent. We shall, of course,
lose no time in complying with Mr. Brown's
request." Mr. Phillips went on to submit
certain considerations as to the expediency of
improving the agricultural and other resources
of the settlement. He proceeded :
" Our climate is temperate and without any
sudden or great vicissitudes throughout the
year, and our lands are never subject to such
parching heats or destructive inundations as
those of Bengal, whilst our inhabitants enjoy
the blessings and security of a British system
of government and law, of the want of which
at Java the English residents there seem to
be daily more and more sensible. No appre-
hensions also against colonisation are enter-
tained here, and European settlers have always
been allowed, as appears by our Pre.sident's
minute of the 15th of August last, to possess as
much land as they please and to hold it as
freehold property. Hitherto the want of
adequate capital and the paucity of enterprising
individuals have restricted our objects of culti-
vation to pepper, which has never received
any encouragement from your Honourable
Court, and which is one of the most expensive
articles of culture, and to cloves and nutmegs,
which private individuals have continued to
cultivate, notwithstanding all public encour-
agement was withdrawn in the year 180S,
and which now at last promise to be bene-
ficial to them, a very favourable report of
some samples lately sent to Europe having
been just received. Mr. Brown and other
persons, however, in the year 1821, conceiving
that the soil and climate of our hills were
VIEWS OP PINANG AND PRINCE OF WALES ISLAND.
The Chinese Mills, Pin-anc. ^. the Great Tkee. 3. Glu«or House and Spice Plantation.
(From Danjell's "Views of Prince of Wales Island.")
60
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
well adapted for the production of coffee,
applied to us for permission to clear lands for
the purpose, and we are happy to acquaint
your Honourable Court that whatever may
be the success with which these gentlemen
may eventually have to congratulate themselves,
one very decided and important advantage
has already accrued, to the public from the
exertions which these public-spirited in-
dividuals have made to introduce the cultivation
of coffee on the island. They have found
employment for hundreds of our new settlers,
the miserable refugees from Kedah, and opened
to our poor a prospect of much additional
employment, particularly for our old Chinese
settlers. Were your Honourable Court to
make known generally in England the advan-
tages of this island in point of climate, situa-
tion, and other circumstances, and to encourage
the resort hither of respectable individuals,
in possession of small capital, desirous of
emigrating, we are confident that many per-
sons would see cause for agreeing with us that
this settlement affords a finer field for agri-
cultural enterprise, and for obtaining an easy
and secure livelihood, and ultimately a com-
fortable competency, than Java, the Cape of
Good Hope, or Canada." '
The coffee e.xperiment unfortunately did not
prove the success that was anticipated, but
the exertions of Mr. Brown and other pioneer
planters were not without their influence in
the development of the territory under the
Straits Government. One indirect consequence
was the institution of a regular system of land
settlement. The arrangements for land transfer
had up to this period been in a very confused
state, owing to the laxity observed in the trans-
actions. At the outset, to encourage settlers.
Light had caused it to be known that free
grants of land would be made to all suitable
applicants. This pledge had been confirmed
by Government, and land from time to time
was taken up. . Changes were subsequently
introduced without any particular method, so
that eventually there were no fewer than
seven different systems of tenure. Xew regu-
lations were formulated as a consequence of
the influx of settlers, and the entire system was
put on a more business-like footing. Meanwhile,
a complete survey of Pinang and of the
boundaries of Province Wellesley had been
made. In a letter of August 24, 1820, to the
Court of Directors, the Governor, referring
to this survey, said it was "likely to. prove of
more interest than any hitherto prepared at
such enormous expense by successive sur-
veyors. A document of the kind has long
been required to regulate the distribution of
grants of land to the numerous claimants who
have made application to clear the land on the
opposite shore. The present state of the coast
entirely demands our earliest consideration
with reference to the advantages it may be
calculated to afford to this island in supplying
provisions, &c., and also in extending and
promoting our agricultural interests."
Simultaneously with the development of the
planting industry was carried through a series
of public works with the object of opening
up the country and improving the means of
communication between the different parts of
■ " Straits Settlements Records," No. 183.
the territory. The most important of these
enterprises was a road through the hills at
the back of Georgetown. Colonel Bannerman
initiated the work in 1818, and under his
energetic direction the first section was rapidly
constructed with convict labour. Shortly after
his death the work was suspended for lack of
funds, and was not resumed until many years
later, when it was pushed to completion, greatly
to the advantage of the island. Colonel Ban-
nerman was not in some respects a wise ad-
ministrator, but it is to his lasting credit that
he was the first to grasp the essential fact that
the progress of the colony was dependent upon
the improvement of the means of communica-
tion, which up to that period had been almost
entirely neglected.
The development of Province Wellesley
went hand in hand with an extension of the
Company's influence in the adjacent native
States. Actuated by a fear of Dutch aggression
in the immediate vicinity of Pinang, Colonel
Bannerman in iSi8 despatched Mr. W. S.
Cracroft, an able official, to Perak and Selangor
to conclude treaties with the rulers of those
States. His mission was a complete success.
He brought back with him agreements which
pledged the two chiefs to maintain ties of
friendship with the British and not to renew
obsolete agreements with other Powers which
might tend to exclude or obstruct the trade of
British subjects. Subsequently a subsidiary
arrangement was made with the Raja of
Selangor by Mr. Anderson, the author of the
well-knovi'n work on Kedah from which a
quotation has' been made above, by which
t'.:e Prince contracted to supply the Company
with a certain quantity of tin for sale. Under
the contract a considerable amount of tin was
brought down to the coast by way of the
Muda river and there sold. In 1819 the sales
amounted to 650 bahars or 1,950 piculs. The
tin was purchased by the commanders of the
Company's ships General Harris and Warren
Hastings at the rate of 18 dollars per picul
(£^2 los. 8d. per ton). After, deducting all
charges against the import there was a clear
profit on the transaction of 5,396.41 Spanish
dollars. Mr. Anderson, who was designated
the Government Agent for Tin, received one-
third of the amount. The Government were
well satisfied with the results of the transac-
tion. They decided, however, that it would
not be wise for them to prosecute the tin trade,
but rather to leave it to individual merchants
" who would be more particularly concerned
in its successful prosecution." After this the
trade was carried on intermittently, but in
1827 we find in the official records an ex-
pression of regret that '.' the jealousy and
aggrandising spirit of the Siamese authorities
at Kedah has hitherto rendered ineffectual our
endeavours to prosecute the. tin trade with
Patani."
In another direction we have evidence that
at this juncture in the life of the settlement the
importance of a widened sphere of influence
was being recognised. In or about the year
1819 a Captain John Mein approached the
Pinang Government with an offer of the island
of Pangkor, which he said had been given to
him by the King. In forwarding the com-
munication to the Court of Directors the
Governor wrote : " We do not know what
claim Captain Mein may be able to establish —
it was evident that the late King of Perak was
not of sound intellect, and it appears that the
reputed grant to Captain Mein of this island
was not made valid by the seals and signa-
tures of the constitutional authorities of the
country." ' Captain Mein's ambitious venture
in islandmongering missed fire, but at a later
period, when Sir Andrew Clarke concluded the
Treaty of Pangkor in 1874, the island, with a
strip of territory on the mainland, was brought
under British rule, the whole being officially
designated the Bindings.
The history of the question subsequent to the
rejection of Captain Mein's offer may be briefly
related. On October 18, 1826, a treaty was
concluded between the Straits Government and
that of Perak, by which the latter ceded to the
former " the Pulo Dinding and the islands of
Pangkor, together with all and every one of the
islands which belonged of old and until this
period to the Kings of Perak, because the said
islands afford a safe abode to the pirates and
robbers who plunder and molest the traders on
the coast and inhabitants of the mainland, and
as the King of Perak has not the means to drive
those pirates, &c., away." It does not appear
that the Government ever took formal posses-
sion of the islands. In the sixties, Colonel Man,
then Resident Councillor at Pinang, pointed
out to the local Government that it would be to
the interest of the settlements to occupy these
islands, and he was authorised to visit them
in the Government steamer, with the view of
ascertaining what steps it was advisable to take.
Colonel Man's views of the advantages of
taking possession of the island were fully
confirmed by his visit, but he found it very
difficult to ascertain precisely what territoi-y
had been ceded, and the prospect of an early
transfer of the settlements to the Crown put a
stop to all further action except that a grant
was given to two men to clear 130 acres of
land in the island known as Pulo Pangkor Laut.
On Sir Harry Ord's arrival in the Straits,
Colonel Man brought to his notice the right
which the British possessed to the islands, and
urged the advantages which would accrue from
taking possession of them. At the same time
he pointed out the difficulty of ascertaining
exactly what land had been handed over by
the treaty, and suggested that, as there were
only two islands standing out in the sea
opposite the Dinding river and a small one to
the west of it, the other islands " must be
sought for in some of the land at the mouth of
these rivers, which was separated from the
mainland by the numerous creeks traversing it."
As a result of this communication Sir Harry
Ord instructed Colonel Man to enter into
negotiation with the Laksamana, a high officer
of the Sultan of Perak, who was then in
Pinang, with the view to the completion of an
understanding on this point. Colonel Man
followed out his instructions, but left for India
before the negotiations were completed.
Later they were carried on by Captain Playfair,
and meanwhile Sir Harry Ord paid a visit to
the Bindings and convinced himself that the
cession of 1826 included portions of the land
at the mouth of the Dindings opposite Pulo
' Ibid., \o. 182.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
61
Pangkor, because " the cession would have been
perfectly useless for the suppression of piracy,
since on the appearance of our vessels or boats
off Pulo Pangkor the pirates could at'once have
taken refuge among these islands, where they
would have been quite safe from pursuit."
The Sultan of Perak at this time was not
inclined to do business on the basis required,
and as direct orders had come out from
England that no action involving the occupation
of disputed territory should be ta}cen without
specific instructions, the matter was allowed to
drop for the time being. Sir Andrew Clarke
had some little difliculty in securing adhesion
to his proposals, which took the most compre-
hensive view of the original arrangement. But
eventually the question was satisfactorily
adjusted. In this way command was obtained
of the entrance to the river, a position of
considerable strategical value and of some
commercial importance.
At the same time that Sir Andrew Clarke
concluded this excellent bargain he arranged a
useful readjustment of theboundariesin Province
Wellesley. The matter related to the southern
boundary, which as originally drawn had been
found extremely inconvenient for both police
and revenue purposes. On this point the
chiefs displayed an accommodating spirit, and
by arrangement the British territory was
extended so as to include all the land in the
watershed of the Krian, the tracing out of the
boundary being left for a .commission to carry
out subsequently.
of this station does not consist in those staples,
it appeared no more than just that the trade
which our merchants conduct with Europe
and China, and which, taken to other ports in
India, would there be subject to duty, should
contribute something towards the maintenance
of this port, of which they make such profitable
use, and particularly as duties in such cases
must ultimately be borne by foreigners and
not by the subjects of British India." After
a reference to the lightness of the port dues
the despatch proceeded ; " We earnestly
wished to impress upon their minds the con-
viction that, independent of such share of the
commerce of the Eastern Archipelago as
might come on to them from Singapore, the
CHAPTER IV.
pin'ang made a free port — government
Regulation of the Press.
The occupation of Singapore had a very
injurious effect upon Pinang trade. Native
vessels from China, which formerly made
Pinang their principal port of call, stopped
short at the new settlement, which, besides
being more conveniently situated for their
purposes, had the considerable advantage of
being absolutely free. The mercantile com-
munity of Pinang, feeling the pinch acutely,
petitioned the Government for the extension
to the settlement of the unrestricted system of
trade which obtained at the rival port. The
reception their demand met with was not
particularly cordial. The Governor, in a de-
spatch to the Court of Directors on the subject
on September i8, 1823, made note of " the
extraordinary circumstance of a body of
merchants allowing themselves to recommend
to the Government under the protection of
which they are enabled to conduct a lucrative
commerce such a measure as the immediate
abolition of one of the most important branches
of its establishment." The Governor stated
that in his reply to the petition he remarked
that it was politic and reasonable that every
possible freedom should be given at Pinang
to the sale of the staples of continental India
and to the property of the merchants of the
other presidencies, as these had already con-
tributed towards the revenues of those places,
"but that as a valuable portion of the commerce
articles of the Pegu country must always
attract from Europe, China, and India a large
and profitable commerce to centre and flourish
here ; and to these more natural branches
of our trade we particularly invited their
attention." The despatch ended as follows :
" We cannot conclude without soliciting your
Honourable Court's particular consideration of
the difficulties noticed in our President's
minute of the 12th July last, which we have
experienced and still experience in discoun-
tenancing and allaying everything like jealousy
between Singapore and this island, and in
establishing a bond of union and sisterly
affection between the two settlements. .As
long as that factory, placed as it is in the
VIEW OF THE CASCADE, PEINCE OF WALES ISLAND.
(From Daniell's "Viewy of Prince of Wales Island.")
situation of this island with respect to the
pepper staple of the east and west coasts of
Sumatra, betul nut of Achin, tin of Junk
Ceylon and Malayan Peninsula, bird's nest
of Mergui, and oil, teak-wood, and other
immediate neighbourhood of this island, is
governed by a distant authority and different
system of government, and enjoys an exemp-
tion from all duties, your Honourable Court
cannot be surprised that the personal e.xertions
62
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
o£ this Board cannot accomplish the objects
of our increasing wish and endeavour— the
putting a stop to the baneful effects of mer-
cantile jealousy and of those differences which
utjhappily occurred on the first occupation of
Singapore." '_
The obvious aim of the despatch was not
to obtain an immunity from imposts for the
trade of Pinang, hut to secure the abandon-
meni of the Free Trade system in Singapore.
The Court of Directors, however, were too
sensible of the advantages to be derived
from the maintenance of the oren door at
Singapore to listen to the specious reasoning
of the Pinang Government. They confined
their action to sanctioning a rearrangement of
port dues at Pinang, by which the shipping
trade derived some relief. The Pinang mer-
cantile commiinity found little comfort in the
concession rilade to them. They were the
less disposed to take a roseate view of affairs
as the Company at this critical juncture had
ihstructed Ctiina ships not to call at Pinang.
Even the Government were alarmed at the
situation the order created. They wrote home
beseeching the Court " not to be so harsh and
severe to this settlement as to put a stop at
once to the valuable trade which our merchants
have conducted by means of our ships with
Europe and China during the last thirt\'-five
years." The_ obnoxious order was modified,
but the mercantile community of Pinang had
to wait until the year 1827 before they were
placed on an equal footing with their com-
petitors in Singapore by the abolition of the
customs duties at the port. Two years before
this step was taken Mr. FuUerton, the Governor
of the united settlements, had written home
bringing to the notice of the Court the advan-
tage that might result from the use of a few
steamboats in the Straits. " Perhaps," he
said with prophetic vision, " there is no place
in the world where they would be so useful —
those of a sihaller class in following pirates,
and the larger in towing vessels in and out
of the harbour, and even down the Straits,
where calms so constantly prevail." With a'l
his prescience, Mr. Fullerton could not antici-
pate the time when steamboats would make
the entire voyage and the sailing ship would
be almost an' anachronism in the Straits as
far as the main through trade was concerned.
The abolition of the customs duties at
Pinang coincided with the establishment of
a regular market system. Up to 1.827 the
privilege of holding a market, together with
the right of .levying certain duties on grain
to defray the charges of maintenance, was
leased out. The last lessee was Mr. David
Brown, the 'enterprising planter to whom
reference has already been made. Mr. Brown
had a ten years' lease dating from May, 1817.
He died before it terminated, but the market
was carried o;i by his son. On the expiration
of the term of the lease the Government,
" considering the system of taxing grain
extremely objectionable, especially as the port
has been relieved of all duties," took measures
to establish a new market on the principle of
the Singapore market, where the revenue was
raised from the rents of the stalls. Mr.
Brown offered the old market to the Govern-
■ " Straits Settlements Records," Xo. 183.
ment for 25,000 dollars ; but the offer was
declined and 10,000 dollars were sanctioned
for the construction of a new building.
In an earlier portion of this historical survey
there is an account of the launching of a news-
paper at Pinang and of its happy existence in
the light of official favour. In 1829 this journal
— the Peuang Gazette, as it had by this time
come to be designated — changed its proprietors,
for reasons not unconnected with official objec-
tions to the manner in which the paper was
conducted. Under the new proprietor the
journal was issued as the Henaiig Register and
Miscellany, and the opening number seemed to
indicate that the altered title was to be asso-
ciated with a more reverential attitude towards
the great, the wise, and the eminent of the Pinang
official hierarchy. The editor in his opening
confession of faith spoke of the restrictions
upon the press as having been " no doubt
wisely " introduced, and when taken to task by
a Singapore scribe for this subserviency, he
ingenuously argued that the press was really free
if it liked, but that as it accepted otHcial doles
the Government naturally demanded their quid
pro qno. The writer supported his views by
quoting the remark of " an odd little body at
Malacca." " What ! " said this individual, " do
you think we are fools enough to pay these
gents for picking holes in our Sunday coats ? "
This free-and-easy theory of the censorship as
a matter controlled by the subsidy did not find
favour in exalted quarters, and there was in-
creasing friction between the newspaper office
and the secretariat. A crisis was at length
reached when one day the editor, finding that
a paragraph had been deleted by the censor,
had the offending matter printed on a separate
slip of paper and circulated throughout the
settlement. Mr. Fullerton was furious at this
flagrant defiance of authority, and caused a
letter to be sent to the editor, a Mr. Ballhotchet,
demanding an explanation. The missive was
returned unopened. What the next step was
history does not reveal, but we have a record of
a hot correspondence between the offending
journalist and the Secretary to Government,
terminating in the issue of an edict that the
proprietor of the paper, a Mr. Mclntyre, who
was a clerk in the office of the Superintendent
of Lands, should be dismissed from his office,
and that Mr. Ballhotchet's licence to reside in
the settlement should be withdrawn. This
drastic action was subsequently modified to the
extent that the expulsion decree in the latter's
case was withdrawn "in consideration of the
measure of punishment he has already re-
ceived," and on the understanding that he
would have to go if he "misconducted" himself
again. Almost needless to say, the Penang
Register and Miscellany did not survive this
cataclysm. But Pinang was not left without a
newspaper. In this crisis in its history the
Government gallantly stepped into the breach,
and issued a paper of their own under the old
title of the Government Gazette. The editor of
the official journal entered upon his duties with
becoming modesty. In his opening address to
his readers he opined that " a new paper lies
under the same disadvantages as a new play —
there is a danger lest it be new without
novelty.'' " In common, therefore, with all
other periodical compilers," he proceeded, "we
are fully sensible that in offering a work of this
nature to the public the main reliance for suc-
cess must be the support we receive from the
favours of correspondents. This island doubt-
less contains an abundance of latent talent. Be
it our humble office to bring these treasures to
light, and thus offer to the man of business an
elegant relaxation and to the idler a recreation.
. We beg, however, thus early to express
an aversion to satire as being rarely free from
malice or personality, and in no way according
with the motto we have assumed." The editor,
true to his professed mission of offering
" elegant relaxation to the man of business and
to the idler recreation," filled the columns of
the paper with fashionable gossip, quaint stories
and sentimental poetry. But he was not well
served by his contributors. One of them sent
him as an original effusion a poem which had
previously appeared in Blackwood's Magazine.
The Singapore C/iromcle, which had no reason
to love this new venture, took good care to
point out the plagiarism, and no doubt there
were some heart-searchings in the official
editorial sanctum at Pinang. The sands of the
paper's existence, however, were by that time
running out. The cost of the production was
greater than had been anticipated. Moreover,
the change in the system of government by
which the seltlements were brought under the
direct control of the Supreme Government was
impending, and a new era of freedom for the
press throughout the dominions of the East
India Company was dawning. Hence the
orders went out for the stoppage of the
Government Gazette, and on July 3, 1830,
the last number was issued. In a farewell
note the editor thus addressed his readers :
"Accident rather than choice led us to assume
a character which previous experience little
qualified us to discharge with ability. So cir-
cumstanced, we cannot ask, like Augustus, to be
accompanied on our departure with applause,
but must rest satisfied in the hope that we may
have afforded temporary amusement to those
whose severer labours prevented them from
looking for it elsewhere." So the last vestige
of official domination of the press fades out, and
Straits journalism commences that honourable
and distinguished career which has given it a
worthy pre-eminence amongst the press of the
Crown colonies.
CHAPTER V.
Later Years.
When the united settlements were brought
under the government of Bengal in 1830,
Pinang, which had suffered a severe eclipse
politically as well as commercially by the rise
of Singapore, receded still further into the back-
ground. Its population became stationary or
nearly so, the increase in the number of
inhabitants on the island and in Province
Wellesley between the j-ears 1835 and 1857
being only from 86,009 to 91,098. On the
other hand the settlement more than main-
tained its reputation as a costly appanage of
the East India Company. In 1835-36, compared
with an expenditure of Rs. 253,328 was a
i-evenue of only Rs. 178,930. The position
i. View from the Convalescent Bungalow.
VIEWS OF PEINOB OP WALES ISI,AND,
1. Mount Erskine and Pulo Ticoose Bay. 3. Suffolk House.
(From Daniell'.s " Views of Prince of W.iles Island.")
4. View from STR.iwBEBRy Hill.
64
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
became worse as years went by, for in 1845,
against tlie smaller revenue of Rs. 176,495 had
to be set the enormously increased expenditure
of Rs. 346,659. In the " Report on the Moral
and Material Progress of India for 1859-60 "
we find this paragraph relative to Pinang :
" At this station, owing to their poverty, no
undertaking of importance has been projected
by the Commissioners during the past year.
The funds at their command barely s ifficed to
enable them to meet the calls made upon them
for the payment of the police force, to execute
the ordinary repairs to the roads in Prince of
Wales Island, with a few slight repairs to those
in Province Wellesley, to purchase some of the
materials required for a proposed new market,
and to make some little progress towards com-
pleting the works necessary for bringing into
the town the much-needed supply of water."
The settlement appeared to have got into a
backwater from which it did not ever seem
likely to emerge.
A circumstance which militated seriously
against its prosperity was the prevalence of
piracy about the coast. Piracy in this part of
the Straits, even more than elsewhere, was the
staple industry of the coastal inhabitants. The
native chiefs took an active hand in it. Indeed,
there was reason to believe at the time that
more than one of them derived their chief
source of revenue from the toll levied on
commerce by the rovers. The Government
routed these freebooters out from one strong-
hold after another in and about the island, but
still the nefarious trade flourished. It derived
not a little of its strength in later years from
the anarchical state into which the native
States of Perak and Selangor lapsed through
the weakness of the native government, or
what passed for such. The policy of non-
interference in native affairs traditionally pur-
sued by the British in the Straits compelled
the Pinang officials to look on with arms
folded while these States, by their disorder,
were producing a chronic state of lawlessness
along the coast and in the territory immediately
bordering on Province Wellesley. At length,
owing to a particularly menacing development
of piratical enterprise off the Larut river,
and outrages in Province Wellesley and the
Dindings and even in Pinang itself by one of
the piratical factions, the Government took
action. They sent a naval force to the chief
centre of the pirates' enterprise off the coast of
Perak, and for months the coast was patrolled.
Owing to the shallow nature of the waters
hereabouts the operations were most difficult
and little progress was made. Sir Frank
Swettenham, who speaks from personal ex-
perience, gives in " British Malaya " an inter-
esting description of these pirate hunts in the
early seventies. " It was," he writes, " im-
possible to land, for the coast was nothing but
mangroves and mud, with here and there a
fishing village, inhabited, no doubt, "by pirates
or their friends, but with nothing to prove
their complicity. These mangrove flats were
traversed in every direction by deep-water
lagoons, and whenever the pirates were sighted,
as not infrequently happened, and chase
was given, their faster boats pulled away
from their pursuers with the greatest ease,
and in a few minutes the pirates would be
lost in a maze of waterways, with nothing to
indicate which turn they had taken. The
whole business became somewhat ludicrous
when native craft were pirated (usually by
night) under the eyes of the British crews, and
when their boats got up to the scene of action
there was not a trace to show what had oc-
curred or where the pirates had gone. Finally
the boats of H.M.S. Midge were attacked in
the estuary of the Larut river, and after a
longish engagement the pirates were beaten
off, having seriously wounded two British
officers. The net result of these excursions
was that about 50 per cent, of the crews of
the gun-vessels were invalided, and not a
single pirate boat or man had been captured."
Matters drifted on until 1874, when a particu-
larly impudent case of piracy at the entrance
of the Jugra river, a tidal creek connecting
with the Langat river at a point where the
Sultan of Selangor was then living, led to a
naval demonstration in which the then Governor
of the Straits, Sir Andrew Clarke, joined. The
Sultan was duly impressed with the powerful
arguments presented to him in the shape of a
very serviceable portion of the China Squadron,
and though one of his own sons was implicated,
gave full authority for the trial of the men
who had been taken prisoners by the British
authorities, and on their being subsequently
condemned to death, sent a kris to be used at
the execution. This episode had a great moral
effect in the Straits, but the decline and final ex-
tinction of piracy is to be traced more to the de-
velopment of the Federated Malay States under
British guidance than to coercive measures.
In another section we shall have occasion to
describe this great movement in some detail,
and it is therefore unnecessary to follow here
the course of events in these States, though
their influence on Pinang was at times con-
siderable. It must be noted, however, that the
rise of the Federation has brought to Pinang a
great accession of prosperity and restored to it
something of its old prestige as a port. The
settled conditions of life and the progressive
system of government which replaced the old
anarchy not only stimulated the coast trade
which centred at Pinang, but they had a vivify-
ing influence on the territory included within
the area of the settlement. For a long
period European capitalists were shy of in-
vesting their money in Province Wellesley and
the Dindings. The conditions under which the
Government were prepared to grant land were
not sufficiently liberal to tempt them. More-
over, there was little faith in the future of
agricultural enterprise, hampered as it then
was by adverse labour conditions and a
general state of unrest which seemed to
afford a precarious tenure to any who might
be bold enough to sink their money in the
operations then open to the planter. As
Perak and Selangor were brought more and
more under a settled administration and
immense, far-reaching changes were made by
the opening up of the country by roads, the
value of the Pinang territory as a field of
enterprise was recognised, and the country
shared in the wonderful prosperity which
marked the progress of those States in common
with the whole federated area. The rise of
rubber helped on the movement, for much
of the land in Province Wellesley and the
Dindings is suited to the cultivation of this
most imp6rtant article of commerce, and capi-
talists have not been slow to realise the fact.
Lastly, the introduction of railways has been
an immense boon to the Pinang administra-
tive area, and is likely to have even more
marked results as the system in the peninsula
is more developed. Although it is only since
1903 that the line through Province Wellesley
has been open to traffic, the effects on Pinang
trade have been remarkable. The municipal
re venue of the town— a good test of prosperity-
has risen from 568,695 dollars in 1903 to 819,531
dollars in 1905, and it is now almost double
what it Mfras in 1900. The population of the
island is now more than 100,000, and it is
increasing at such a rate that, unless some great
calamity should befall the settlement, it will
probably be double that figure before another
quarter of a century has elapsed.
For a century or more Pinang was largely
the grave of disappointed expectations, but it
is now justifying the faith reposed in its future
by its founder. Indeed, Light in his most
sanguine moments could not have pictured for
his settlement a destiny so brilliant as that
which even now it has achieved. The trans-
formation from a colony slow, unprogressive,
and exceedingly costly to a thriving centre of
commercial life with a buoyant revenue and an
ever-increasing trade is due largely, if not
entirely, to the remarkable work of administra-
tive organisation which has been carried on in
the Malay Peninsula by a succession of able
British officials in the past thirty years. But
it ought never to be forgotten that much of
that work would have been barely possible if
there had been no Pinang and no Province
Wellesley to provide as it were a base for the
diffusion of British influence. Light, as his
writings show, clearly recognised in his day
how important Pinang was, viewed in the
aspect of a centre from which to dominate the
Northern Malay States. His representations
were unheeded by shortsighted bureaucrats in
India, and only the proverbial British luck in
such matters prevented the whole of the
remarkably wealthy territory which is now
peacefully and happily under British protection
from passing into foreign hands. The debt
which the Empire owes to Light is second
only to that which it readily acknowledges as
the due of Raffles. In the adjudgment of
posthumous honours by the arbiter elegatiti-
ariim of colonial history it can scarcely be
claimed that the unpretentious sea captain
and trader of Junk Ceylon has had his due.
But however ignorant the British public as
a whole may be of Light's great services,
Pinang people are not likely to forget them.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
66
MALACCA.
EARLY HISTORY.
MALACCA, slumberous, dreamy, and
picturesque, epitomises what there is
of romance in the Straits Settlements. Singa-
pore, by right of seniority, has pride of place
in the history of Malaya. But, as we have
seen, little or nothing remains of her' ancient
glories but traditions, none too authentic.
Malacca, on the other hand, has still to show
considerable monuments of the successive
conquerors who have exercised sway within
her limits. On a hill overlooking the settle-
ment are the remains of an ancient Portuguese
church, whose stately towers, with graceful
finials outlined against the intense blue of a
tropical sky, tell of that strenuous period in
sway, and lorded it in their peculiar fashion
over the inhabitants of the ancient Malay port.
In the outskirts of the town are not a few old-
world gardens, charmingly suggestive of an
age in which the steamboat was unknown, and
life rippled on in an even, if monotonous, cur-
rent. Further away, hemming in the houses
in a sea of tropical vegetation, are plantations
and orchards, with, as a background, a vista
of blue-coloured hills. It is a scene typically
Oriental, and carries with it more than a
suggestion of that commercial stagnation that
has left Malacca in a state of suspended anima-
tion, while its upstart neighbour to the south
has been progressing at a feverish rate. But
there are not wanting evidences that Malacca
is awakening from its long sleep. Agricultural
last seems to be dawning. It may not be a
great day, but it will be almost certainly one
which will contrast very remarkably with any
that it has previously known in its chequered
history.
The ancient history of Malacca, like that of
Singapore, is enveloped in a considerable
amount of doubt. Practically the only guide on
the subject is the " Sejara Malayu," or " Malay
Annals," the work already referred to in the
section dealing with Singapore. This com-
pilation is distrusted by most modern Malay
authorities because of its manifest inaccuracy
in matters of detail, and it is usually only cited
by them as a legendary record which, amidst a
great mass of chaff, may contain a few grains
of solid fact. The narrative, as has been noted,
GATE OF THE OLD FOBT AT MALACCA.
Straits history when the priest and the soldier
went hand in hand in the building up of Lusi-
tanian power in the East. Hard by is the old
Dutch Stadt House, solid and grim-looking,
recalling the era when the Netherlanders held
development is touching with its magic wand
the territory along the coast on each side and in
the Hinterland, and slowly but surely is making
its influence felt on the trade of the port.
Malacca's day as a modern trading centre at
describes the final conquest of Singapore in
1252, and the withdrawal of the remnants of
the Malay population to Malacca, to found
there a new city.- The founder was Raja
Secunder (or Iskander Shah, the erstwhile
66
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPBESSIONS OF BRITISH MAI>AYA
chief of Singapore. According to the record,
this Prince, while out hunting one day, was
resting under the shade of a tree near the coast
when one of his dogs roused a moose deer.
The animal, driven to bay, attaclied the dog
and forced it into the water. The Raja, de-
lighted at the incident, said, "This is a fine
place, where the very pelandooks (moose deer)
are full of courage. Let us found a city here."
And the city was founded and called Malacca,
after the name of the tree under which the
Prince was resting — the malacca tree [Phyl-
Janthtis Emblica). Perhaps this explanation
of the founding of Malacca is as authentic as
most stories of the origins of ancient cities. It,
at all events, must serve in the absence of
reliable historical data. Raja Secunder Shah
died in 1274, and was succeeded by Raja
Kechil Besar. In the reign of this potentate
the Malays are said to have been converted to
Mahomedanism. The next two centuries wit-
nessed a great development of the trade of the
city. The place is represented in 1509 as being
one of the first cities of the East, and its ruling
chiefs are reported to have successfully resisted
many attempts of the Siamese kings to subdue
them. The Annals give a picturesque descrip-
tion of Malacca as it existed at this period.
" From Ayer Leleh, the trickling stream, to the
entrance of the Bay of Muar, was one uninter-
rupted market-place. From the Kling town
likewise to the Bay of Penagar the buildings
extended along the shore in an uninterrupted
line. If a person went from Malacca to Jagra
(Parcelar Hill) there was no occasion to carry
fire with one, for wherever he stopped he would
find people's houses." Another vivid descrip-
tion of Malacca at the beginning of the sixteenth
century is to be found in an ancient manuscript,
which is atti-ibuted by the Hon. E. J. Stanley,
its translator, to Magellan. "This city of
Malacca," says the writer, " is the richest trad-
ing port, and possesses the most valuable
merchandise and most numerous shipping and
extensive traffic that is known in all the world.
And it has got such a quantity of gold that the
great merchants do not estimate their property
nor reckon otherwise than by bahars of gold,
which are four quintals each bahar. There are
merchants among them who will take up singly
three or four ships laden with very valuable
goods, and will supply them with cargo from
their own property. They are very well made
men, and likewise the women. They are of a
brown colour, and go bare from the waist up-
wards, and from that downwards cover them-
selves with silk and cotton cloths, and they wear
short jackets half way down the thigh of scarlet
cloth, and silk, cotton, or brocade stuffs, and
they are girt with belts and carry daggers in
their waists, wrought with rich inlaid work :
these they call querix (kris). And the women
dress in wraps of silk stuffs, and short skirts
much adorned with gold and jewellery, and
have long, beautiful hair. These people have
many mosques, and when they die they bury
their bodies. They live in large houses, and
have gardens and orchards, and pools of water
outside the city for their recreation. They have
got many slaves, who are married, with wives
and children. These slaves live separately, and
serve them when they have need of them.
These Moors, who are named Malays, are
very polished people and gentlemen, musical,
gallant, and well-proportioned."
In the section of this work dealing with the
Federated Malay States the story of Portuguese
and Dutch ascendancy in the Straits is fully
related. It is, therefore, only necessary here
to touch lightly upon this period in Malacca
history. The town was captured by Albu-
querque in 1511. For one hundred and
thirty years it remained in the occupation of
the Portuguese. Under their government the
place became an important centre for the
propagation of the Roman Catholic faith.
The great Church of Our Lady of the Annun-
ciation, whose splendid ruins still dominate the
settlement, was built, and within its walls
officiated during an eventful period of his life
St. Francis Xavier, '• the Apostle of the East."
The proselytising zeal of the Portuguese went
hand in hand with commercial enteiprise.
They built up a considerable trade in spices
and other Eastern products, revitalising in
new channels a commerce which went back
to Roman times, if not beyond. Malacca, as
the chief port in these waters, was the centre
to which the merchandise was brought for
shipment. Vessels richly freighted sailed from
its wharves with fair regularity on the perilous
voyage round the Cape, carrying with their
enormously valuable cargoes to Europe an
impression of the greatness of the Portuguese
settlement in the Straits of Malacca which,
perhaps, was scarcely justified by the actual
facts. That Malacca in the palmy days of the
Portuguese occupation was a highly flourishing
city is, however, beyond doubt. A graphic
picture of it as it existed in the early years of
the seventeenth century is given by Manuel
Godinho de Eredia in a manuscript written at
Goa in 1613 and discovered in quite modern
times in the Royal Library at Brussels. Within
the fortifications, which were of great extent,
were the castle and palace of the Governor,
the palace of the bishop, the hall of the
Council of State, and five churches. The walls
of the fortress were pierced by four gates
leading to three separate quarters of the town,
the principal of which was known as Tran-
quiera. Living in the fortress were three
hundred married Portuguese with their families.
Altogether the population of the settlement
included 7,400 Christians, and there were 4
religious houses, 14 churches, 2 hospitals, with
chapels and several hermitages and oratories.
Eredia writes with enthus.asm of the climate of
Malacca. " This land,' he says, " is the freshest
and most agreeable in the world. Its air is
healthy and vivifying, good for human life
and health, at once warm and moist. But
neither the heat nor the moisture is excessive,
for the heat is tempered by the moist vapours
arising from the waters, at the same time that
it counteracts the dampness of the excessive
rains of all seasons, especially during the
changes of the moon."
In the seventeenth century the Dutch and
English appeared in the Straits to contest the
practical monopoly of trade which the Portu-
guese had long enjoyed in these latitudes.
The English were content to leave the Portu-
guese to the possession of the territory they
had long held. The Dutch, more ambitious,
and more conscious of their strength, deter-
mined to put an end to Portuguese rivalry
by the summary process of eviction. In 1642
they sent an expedition against Malacca, and
without much difficulty occupied the place-
They took with them to their new possession
their characteristic trade exclusiveness, and
also their stern methods of dealing with the
natives. The policy had its natural fruits in
a waning commerce and a diminishing popu-
lation. Before the end of the seventeenth
century Malacca had sunk into a position of
comparative unimportance as a port. But its
possession brought to the Dutch a certain
degree of prestige and indirect advantages in
the facilities it afforded for extending Dutch
influence in the native States. Had the Nether-
landish officials grasped the essential features
of a policy of expansion — or, to give it its most
modern designation, peaceful penetration —
they might have anticipated to a considerable
extent that great work which is now being
done under British auspices in the Malay
States. Their political outlook, however,
was as characteristically narrow as was their
economic policy, and though they entered
into relations with some of the native chiefs,
their diplomacy was directed rather to the
exclusion of rivals than to practical ends. So
though the Dutch power was seated for up-
wards of a century and a half at Malacca, its
active influence at the end of the period
extended little beyond the confines of the
settlement, save in two or three instances
where interests were created for ulterior
purposes.
Valentyn, the well-known Dutch missionary
whose great work on the East Indies, published
at Dordrecht and Amsterdam in the year 1726,
is one of the classics of Indian historical litera-
ture, gives a minute account of Malacca as it
was in the middle period of the Dutch occupa-
tion. The region in which the town is situated,
he states, was called by Ptolemy and the ancients
Terra or Regio Aurifera, or the gold-bearing
country, and Aurea Chersonesus, or the Golden
Peninsula, the latter name being conferred on
account of its being joined to the countries of
Tana-sery (Tenasserim) and Siam by a narrow
neck of land.
"The town is 1,800 paces or about a mile in
circumference, and the sea face is defended by
a high wall, 600 paces in length. There is also
a fine stone wall along the banks of the river to
the north-west, and to the north-east is a stone
bulwark, called St. Domingo. A wall called
Taypa runs along the water-side to the port
St. Jago, and there are several small fortresses
with two more bulwarks on the south-east side,
which contribute much to the strength of the
place. ... In the upper part of the town lies
the Monastery of St. Paulo ; and those of the
Miniiebroeders (foster brothers) and of Madre
de Dios are erected on neighbouring hills, be-
yond which the land is everywhere low as
on the sea coast, where the slope is so gradual
that the mud bank which fronts the shore is
dry at low water to the distance of two musket
shots, and so soft and muddy that great diffi-
culty is experienced in landing. . . There are
several handsome and spacious streets in the
town, but unpaved ; and many fine stone
houses, the greater part of which are built after
the Portuguese fashion, very high. They are
TWEXriETH CEXTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
67
arranged in the form of a crescent. There is
a respectable fortress of great strength^ with
good walls and bulwarks, and well provided
with cannon, which, with a good garrison,
would stand a hard push. Within the fort
population of two or three hundred mentioned
as inhabiting the fort was doubtless the Euro-
pean and Eurasian community. Outside the
walls there was probably a much larger body
of native inhabitants. Still, the settlement had
officer of the British troops was to command
the fort ; and in consequence of the expenses
incurred by the King of Great Britain in equip-
ping the armament, the British garrison was to
be maintained at the expense of the Dutch, who
A VIEW OF OLD MALACCA UNDER THE DUTCH.
(Fro.n an old print.)
there are many strong stone houses and regular
streets, all bearing tokens of the old Portuguese
times ; and the tower which stands on the hill
has still a respectable appearance, although it
is in a great state of dilapidation. This fortress,
which occupies the hill in the centre of the
town, is about the size of Delfshaven, and has
also two gates, with part of the town on a hill,
and the outer side washed by the sea. It is at
present the residence of the Governor, the public
establishment, and of the garrison, which is
tolerably strong. Two hundred years ago it
was a mere iishing village, and now it is a
handsome city. In former times the fort con-
tained eleven or twelve thousand inhabitants,
but now there are not more than two or three
hundred, partly Dutch and partly Portuguese
and Malays, but the latter reside in mere attap
huts in the remote corners of the fort. Beyond
it there are also many handsome houses and
tidy plantations of coconut and other trees,
which are occupied chiefly by Malays."
This account of Valentyn's makes it clear that
under the Dutch domination Malacca sank into
a position of comparative insignificance. The
obviously retrograded considerably — was, in
fact, only a shadow of what it once was. With
unimportant variations it continued in this con-
dition of comparative insignificance until the
usurpation of Dutch power by Napoleon, at the
end of the eighteenth century, brought Great
Britain and Holland into a position of mutual
hostility, and indirectly led to the British occu-
pation of several of the Dutch colonies, Malacca
amongst them. The conquest of the straits
port was easily accomplished. A small British
squadron, under the command of Captain Xew-
come of the Orpheus, appeared off the place in
November, 1795. As it entered the port " a
Dutch ship which had run aground fired at the
Resistance, of forty-four guns, C.iptain Edward
Pakenham. This was returned and the ship
struck her colours. The fort also fired a few-
shots on the troops on their landing, and sur-
rendered on the opening of our fire : for which
acts of hostility the settlement, as well as the
ships in the harbour, were taken possession of
as the property of the captors, subject to the
decision of his Britannic Majesty. In the capi-
tulation it was agreed that the commanding
were to raise a sum in the settlement for that
purpose. The British commandant was also
to have the keys of the garrison and give the
parole ; all military stores of whatever descrip-
tion were to be placed under his control ; the
armed vessels belonging to the Government of
Malacca to be put likewise under the orders
of the British Government. The settlements
of Rhio and Perak, being dependencies of
Malacca, were ordered to put themselves under
the protection of the British Government." ■
The town was not at the outset actually incor-
porated in British territory, but was occupied
for the Prince of Orange, who had been driven
from his throne by the revolutionaries. The
fact is made clear by the following general
order issued by the commandant of the British
troops on November 17, 1795: "The Dutch
troops having taken the oath of allegiance
to his Britannic Majesty, George III., now
in strict alliance with his Serene Highness,
William the Fifth, Prince of Orange, the same
respect and deference is to be paid to the Dutch
officers and men when on or off duty as is paid
■ Breuton's " X;ival History," i. 360.
68
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
to the British officers and men, by whom they
are to be con'sidered and treated on all occasions
as brother soldiers in one and the same allied
service."
Malacca was to have been restored to the
Dutch in 1802 as a result of the conclusion of
the Peace of Amiens ; but war breaking out
again in May, 1S03, before the transfer was
made, and the Dutch falling once more under
the domination of France, the status of the
settlement was not changed. The British,
however, were not at all enamoured of their
trust. The place imposed a heavy drain upon
the Company's resources without bringing any
corresponding advantage. If the territory had
been absolutely British the responsibility might
have been faced, but it did not appear to the
authorities of that day to be worth while to
continue the expenditure on the port with the
possibility of its being reoccupied by the Dutch
on the conclusion of a general peace. In
the circumstances Lieut. -Colonel Farquhar (not
to be confused with Major Farquhar, of Singa-
pore fame), the Governor of Prince of Wales
Island, recommended that the Europeans and
the whole of the establishment should be with-
drawn and the place delivered over to the
neighbouring native force. The policy was
fully approved and ordered to be carried into
effect by the authorities in Europe. Strong
protests were made against the measure by the
inhabitants and by the Resident. But the work
of demolishingthefortifications was put in hand
immediately in accordance with the instruc-
tions. The Portuguese had built well, and it
took the Company's workmen two years, and
cost the Company ;f4,ooo, to undo the work
which they had created. When the act of
vandalism had been completed, an order was
received from the Supreme Government
directing the suspension of all further pro-
ceedings in connection with the evacuation.
This striking change in policy had been
brought about by a comm.unication which
Raffles had made to the superior authority as
the result of a visit he paid to Malacca in
September, 1808. Raffles had been profoundly
impressed by what he had seen and heard
during his sojourn in the settlement, and he had
immediately set to work to put on paper a
statement showing the grave blunder that was
on the point of being committed. This mono-
graph is one of the most masterly of his
numerous public communications. He com-
menced by stating that having lately had an
opportunity of noticing the destruction of the
works at Malacca, and being impressed with a
conviction that the future prosperity of Prince
of Wales Island was materially involved in the
impending fate of the place, he had felt it a
duty incumbent upon him to subm.it to the
Board the result of his observations. He pro-
ceeded .
" The object of the measures taken with
regard to Malacca appears to have been two-
fold— to discourage, by the destruction of the
works, any European Power from setting a
value on the place or turning it to any account
in the event of it falling into their hands, and
to have improved the settlement at Prince of
Wales Island by tlie transfer of its population
and trade. These objects were undoubtedly
highly desirable and of great political impor-
tance. The former, perhaps, may in some
degree have been effected by the destruction of
the works and removal of the ordnance and
stores to Pinang, but with respect to the latter
much remains to be done. .
"The inhabitants resident within the territory
of Malacca are estimated at 20,000 souls.
More than three-fourths of the above population
were born in Malacca, where their families
have settled for centuries. . . The Malays, a
class of people not generally valued as subjects,
are here industrious and valuable members of
society. .
•'The inhabitants of Malacca are very dif-
ferent from what they appear to have been
considered. Three-fourths of the native popu-
lation of Prince of Wales Island might with
little encouragement be induced to remove,
having no fixed or permanent property ;
adventurers ready to turn their hands to any
employment. But the case is very different
with the native inhabitants of Malacca. .
The inhabitants are mostly proprietors of
property or connected with those that are ;
and those possessing independence from their
gardens, fishing, and the small trade of
Malacca. The more respectable, and the
majority, accustomed to respect an indepen-
dence from their childhood, will ill brook the
difficulties of establishing themselves at a new
settlement. . . The present population must,
therefore, be considered as attached to the soil,
and from every appearance it seems they have
determined to remain by Malacca, let its fate be
what it will. Into whatever hands it falls it
cannot be much more reduced than at present,
and they have a hope that any change must be
for the better. The offer made by Government
of paying the passage of such as would embark
for Pinang was not accepted by a single
individual. . . .
" The population of Malacca is, in a great
degree, independent ; and when it is considered
that no corresponding benefit can be offered to
them at Pinang, it cannot be expected that they
will remove ; admitting even that they are
indemnified for the loss of their fixed property,
they would feel but little inclination to adven-
ture at Pinang, where theymust either purchase
land and houses from others or undertake the
clearing of an unhealthy jungle.
"The natives consider the British faith
pledged for their protection. When the settle-
ment fell into the hands of the English they
were invited to remain ; protection and even
encouragement were offered them. The latter
has long ago ceased ; and they are in daily
expectation of losing the former. For our
protection they are willing to make great
sacrifices ; and they pay the heavy duties im-
posed on them with the cheerfulness of faithful
and obedient subjects. The revenues of Malacca
are never in arrear."
The eyes of the Court of Directors were
opened by Raffles's communication, and while
issuing orders for the cancellation of the
evacuation measures, they thanked him for his
able report. Thus Raffles's name is identified
as honourably with Malacca as it is with
Singapore. While he may be regarded as the
creator of the latter settlement, he deserves with
equal justice to be looked upon as the saviour
of the former at a turning-point in its history.
In 1811, during the period of the second
British occupation of Malacca, the settlement
was used as a base for the expedition to Java
to which allusion has already been made.
Lord Minto conducted the expeditionary force
in person, and it was at Malacca that he had
the series of conferences with Raffles which
terminated in the adoption by the Governor-
General, in defiance of the opinions of other
authorities, of the route recommended by the
administrator for the passage of the flotilla.
Those were lively days for Malacca, and how
greatly the natives enjoyed the experience is to
be gathered from the pages of the Hikaiat
Abdullah. The faithful Abdullah, with the
minuteness almost of a Pepys, sets down in his
journal all the incidents of the period. His
description of Lord Minto's arrival and of his
landing does infinite credit alike to his observa-
tion and his descriptive powers. " When I
saw Lord Minto and how he bore himself," he
writes, "I was amazed. For I had imagined to
myself what he would be like, his height, his
appearance, his dress. Then I thought of the
Malay proverb which says, ' Fair fame is better
than a fine appearance,' and I bit my finger.
To me he appeared to be a man of middle age
with a spare figure, charming manners, and a
pleasant countenance. I said to myself that I
did not think he could lift as much as 30 lbs.
He wore a dark coat and dark trousers, and
beyond that there was nothing to remark in his
dress. And all the great men who were there
to welcome him stood a long way off ; and not
one of them dared to offer his hand ; they only
raised their hats and perspired. Then the
commander of the soldiers shouted an order,
and every musket was brought to the salute.
And as he [Lord Minto] came forward he
looked to left and right, and bowed to either
hand, and then walked slowly through the
guard of honour, while the guns kept thunder-
ing the salute, and he never ceased raising his
hand in courteous acknowledgment of saluta-
tions. I could not see in him the slightest
trace of self-hauteur or self-importance ; he
simply bowed without affectation and regarded
everyone pleasantly. And as he came to a
great crowd of people they saluted him ; and
he stopped for a moment and raised his hand,
to acknowledge the welcome of all these poor
folk— Chinese, Malays, Tamils, and Eurasians—
and he smiled as he returned their greeting.
How the hearts of all God's servants expanded
with joy atid how the people prayed for
blessings on Lord Minto when they saw how
he bore himself, and how well he knew the way
to win affection ! . . After waiting a moment
to return the salutations he walked on slowly,
bowing to the people, until he reached the
Stadt House and entered it. Then all the great
people of Malacca, and all the great amongst
those recently arrived, went to meet him ; and
I noticed that amongst all those distinguished
people it was Mr. Raffles who was bold enough
to approach him ; the others sat a long way
off. A few moments later everyone who had
entered and met the Governor-General with-
drew, and returned to their own quarters.
Then the troops fired three volleys in succession
and they also returned to their camp." There
is a naivete about Abdullah's description which
gives it a peculiar charm ; and it has its value
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
69
as a piece of self-revelation on the part of a
Malay in the days when Western ideas had not
penetrated very deeply in Malaya. A further
memento of Lord Minto's visit is a portrait of
the Governor-General which hangs in the
Stadt House at Mal.icca. The figure of the
Governor-General is painted against a back-
ground representing Malacca, and there is
little doubt that the work was executed shortly
after the period of the Java Expedition.
Malacca remained in the somewhat anoma-
lous position of a British settlement governed
by Dutch law, administered by a Dutch
judiciary, until the final overthrow of Napoleon
paved the way for a general adjustment of the
international position. The events of that
memorable period followed each other so
rapidly that the first intelligence received by
the Pinang Government of the close of the
war was the announcejuent of the conclusion
of the Treaty of Vienna, which iiih'r alia
provided for the retrocession of Malacca. A
feeling akin to consternation was aroused at
the action of the home authorities in acquiescing
in the rendition of the settlement, the value of
which had become more and more evident
with the revival of Dutch influence and pre-
tensions in the Straits. Earnest remonstrances
were immediately transm.itted to the authorities
in Europe by the Pinang Government against
the measure. Major Farquhar, the Resident,
also addressed to the Court of Directors a
strong plea for the reconsideration of the
question. This official's representation took
the form of a lengthy paper, in which the
position and resources of Malacca were de-
scribed with a knowledge born of long residence
in the settlement and a thorough acquaintance
with the country about it. It is probable that
the production was inspired by Raffles's earlier
effort in the same line, which, as we have
noted, had such striking results. However that
may be, the document is of exceptional interest
from the light it throws on the position of
Malacca at that period, and the prescient
wisdom displayed in regard to its future
prospects in relation to the Malay States. As
the compilation has been overlooked to a large
extent by writers on Malaya, the more im-
portant portions of it may profitably be re-
produced here.
Major Farquhar, at the outset of his com-
munication, remarked that, having regard to the
situation of Malacca, commanding as it did the
only direct passage to China, they could not
but be very forcibly impressed with the
importance of the place alike from a political
and commercial point of view, as well as with
the many evils which would inevitably arise
should it again fall into the hands of a foreign
Power. He proceeded to point out that when
Malacca was before in the hands of the Dutch
they were able to seriously harass and hamper
the British trade which centred at Pinang by
bringing into Malacca every trading prahu
passing up or down the straits.
" A doubt therefore cannot exist," he wrote,
" that should the settlement of Malacca be
restored to the Dutch, their former influence
will be speedily re-estabhshed, and probably
on a more extended basis than ever ; so as to
cause the total ruin of that advantageous and
lucrative commerce which at present is carried
on by British subjects through these straits.
Independent (sic) of the above considerations
Malacca possesses many other local advan-
tages which, under a liberal system of govern-
ment, might in my opinion render it a most
valuable colony. Nature has been profusely
bountiful to the Malay Peninsula in bestowing
on it a climate the most agreeable and salu-
brious, a soil luxuriantly fertile, watered by
numerous rivers, and the face of the country
diversified with hills and valleys, mountains
and plains, the whole forming the most
beautiful scenery that it is possible for the
imagination to figure to itself ; in contem-
plating which we have only to lament that a
more enterprising and industrious race of
inhabitants than the Malays should not have
possessed this delightful region, and we cannot
but reflect with pain and regret on the narrow
and sordid policy of the European Powers (who
" There is a great quantity of the richest kinds
of soil in the vicinity of Malacca adapted to
the growth of everything common to tropical
climates. The sugar-cane is equal to any pro-
duced in Java, and far exceeds in size that of Ben-
gal. Coffee, cotton, chocolate, indigo, pepper,
and spices have all been tried and found to thrive
remarkably well ; but as yet no cultivation to
any extent of those articles has taken place,
principally owing to the uncertainty of the
English retaining permanent possession of
Malacca, and to the afiprehensions the native
inhabitants entertain of being obliged to desist
from every species of agricultural pursuit
should the settlement revert to the Dutch. . . .
" The mineral productions of the Malay
peninsula might likewise become a source of
considerable emolument if thoroughly explored.
Indeed, I have little doubt that the gold and tin
mines in the vicinity of Malacca, if scientifically
THE STEAND, MALACCA.
have had establishments here since the fifteenth
century), by which every attempt at general
cultivation and improvement was discouraged ;
and to such a length did the Dutch carry their
restrictions that previous to the capture of
Malacca by the English in 1795, no grain
of any kind was permitted to be raised within
the limits of the Malacca territory, thus ren-
dering the whole population dependent on the
island of Java for all their supplies. Under
such a government it is not surprising that
the country should have continued in a state of
primitive nature ; but no sooner were these
restrictions taken off by the English and full
liberty given to every species of agriculture
than industry began to show itself very rapidly,
notwithstanding the natural indolence of the
Malay inhabitants, and the Malacca district
now produces nearly sufficient grain for the
consumption of the settlement, and v\'ith proper
encouragement would, I have no doubt, in the
course of a few years, yield a considerable
quantity for exportation. .
worked and placed under proper management,
would prove of very great value. At present
they are very partially worked, and with so
little skill that no comparative advantage can
be derived from them. The Malays and
Chinese who are employed at the mines con-
tent themselves with digging open pits to the
depth of from 6 to 10 feet, seldom going
beyond that, and removing from place to place
as the veins near the surface become exhausted.
The tin mines are all within a circuit of
35 miles of Malacca (with the exception of those
of Perak), and produce at present about 4,000
piculs of tin, which will yield nearly 80,000
Spanish dollars. But this quantity, were the
mines under proper management, might be
easily quadrupled. Indeed, I have not the
least doubt that the mines of Malacca would
very soon be brought to rival those of Banca."
Farquhar went on to suggest that it would be
easy to make arrangements with the native
chiefs for the working of the mines, and this
thought led him to a general dissertation on the
70
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
advantages of extending British influence in
the peninsula. Witli shrewd judgment he
remarked : " It becomes an object of the highest
interest that some means should be adopted for
establishing, under British influence, a regular
system of government throughout the Malaj'
Peninsula, calculated to rescue this delightful
region from the tyranny and ignorance which
at present so completely shuts up every avenue
of improvement."
The paper closed with this glowing descrip-
tion of the climatic advantages of Malacca :
" Malacca enjoys regular land and sea
breezes, but during the height of the XE.
monsoon the sea breezes are very faint, and
the winds from the land at this season frequently
blow with considerable force and little varia-
tion for several weeks together. They are not,
however, at all of a hot and parching nature
like those on the continent of India, owing, no
doubt, to their passing over a considerable tract
of country so thickly clothed with woods that
the earth never becomes heated to any great
degree. The mornings at this season are par-
ticularly agreeable, the weather being quite
serene and the air sharp and bracing. Very
little variation takes place in the barometer at
Malacca. . . The salubrity of the climate may
be pretty fairly judged of by the number of
casualties that have occurred in the garrison for
the last seven years, which on a correct average
taken from the medical registers of those men
who have died from disease contracted here
does not amount to quite two in the hundred, a
smaller proportion than will, I fancj', be found
in almost any other part of India."
Such was the report which Farquhar sent
home. It was reinforced by petitions from the
mercantile community, all representing in the
strongest and most earnest language the grave
impolicy of allowing the settlement to get back
into Dutch hands. The fiat, however, had gone
forth for the transfer, and however much the
home authorities might have liked to retrace
their steps they could not do so without a viola-
tion of treaty obligations. Events in Europe
prevented the immediate fulfilment of the Treaty
of Vienna. It was not, in fact, until Xovember
2, 1816, that the Government order was issued
for the restoration of Malacca. Even then the
Dutch did not appear to be at all anxious to
enter into possession. Thej' were more con-
cerned with consolidating their position in other
parts of the Straits. Riau was occupied, and
lodgments were effected at various advan-
tageous positions on the coast of Sumatra.
Malacca, stripped of its fortifications and bereft
of the most profitable part of its trade by Pinang,
they appeared to consider was of minor im-
portance to these positions which could be
used with effect for the execution of the long-
cherished design of securing a monopoly of the
Straits trade for the Dutch. That " profligate
speculation," to adopt Lord Hastings's phrase,
as we know, was defeated, thanks to Raffles's
foresight and energy* ; but it can be readily
understood that in the early stages of the plot it
seemed good policy to keep the British hanging
on as caretakers at Malacca while the Dutch
forces were careering about the Straits picking
up unconsidered trifles of territory in good
strategic positions.
It was not until the year 1818 was well
advanced that the Dutch found time to turn
their attention to Malacca. After some pre-
liminary negotiations the settlement was handed
over to the Dutch Commissioners on September
2 1st of that year. An interesting ceremony
marked the transfer. At sunrise the British
colours were hoisted, and at seven o'clock all
the British troops in garrison marched to St.
Paul's Hill, where they were joined by the
Dutch contingent. The British Resident (Major
Farquhar) and the Dutch Commissioners, with
their respective staffs, proceeded in procession
to the vicinity of the flag-staff, and on arrival
were received by the united troops with pre-
sented arms. The British proclamation an-
nouncing the retrocession was then read by the
Resident, and it was subsequently repeated in
the Malay and Chinese languages. Afterwards
the Master Attendant began slowly to lower the
Union flag, the battery meanwhile firing a
royal salute and ^the troops presenting arms.
Simultaneously the Dutch men-of-war in the
harbour thundered out a royal salute. After-
wards the British troops took up a new position
on the left of the Dutch line and the Dutch pro-
clamation was read and explained by the Com-
missioners. The Dutch colours were then
hoisted full mast under a royal salute from the
British battery and from the Dutch squadron.
The ceremony of transfer was completed by
the Dutch troops relieving the British garrison
guards.
During the progress of the arrangements for
the surrender of the town. Major Farquhar
advanced a claim on behalf of the British for
the reimbursement of the expenses incurred
over and above the revenue since the capture
of the place in 1795. He did so on the ground
"that the laws of Holland as they existed under
his Serene Highness previous to the revolution
in 1794-95 have been the only civil laws in force
in this settlement, and that all the decrees of
the Courts of Justice have continued to be
passed in the name of their High Mightinesses
the States General, even subsequent to the
Peace of Amiens, and further that none of the
former Dutch civil or military servants were re-
tained but such as professed a strict adherence
to the cause of the Stadtholders." The Dutch
Commissioners declined emphatically to enter-
tain the claim. They agreed, however, to ac-
cept responsibility for the additional charges
incurred from the date of the conclusion of the
treaty to the period when the transfer was
made, less the costs of the time covered by
Major Farquhar's absence on mission duty.
One of the last public appearances of Far-
quhar at Malacca was at the laying of the
foundation-stone of the Anglo-Chinese College
on November 11, 1818. The retiring British
Resident discharged the principal part in this
ceremony, but the Dutch Governor, Thyssen,
attended with many of his leading colleagues,
and so gave the sanction of the new regime to
an enterprise which, though entirely British in
its inception, was of a character to appeal to
broad sympathies. The founder of the college
was the Rev. Dr. Morrison, a well-known
missionary associated with the London Mission-
ary Society. Dr. Morrison's idea was to spread
a knowledge of Christianity amongst the better
class Chinese, and at the same time to provide
for the reciprocal study of European and
Chinese literature. He gave out of his own
means a sum of one thousand pounds towards
the cost of the building, and in addition pro-
vided an endowment of one hundred pounds
annually for the succeeding five years. At a
later period, when the British resumed the
occupation of Malacca, the Company granted an
allowance of twelve hundred Spanish dollars
per annum until 1830, when the grant was
discontinued. Attached to the college was an
English, Chinese and Malay Press, from which
in process of time issued several interesting
books. On the occupation of Singapore an
effort was made by Raffles to secure the trans-
fer of the college to that settlement and its
amalgamation with the Raffles Institute. But
the proposal met with much opposition and
eventually had to be reluctantly abandoned.
The second period of Dutch dominion thus
inaugurated was brief. When the time came
in 1824 to arrange a general settlement of
matters in dispute with the Dutch, the agree-
ment was come to for the British to cede to
the Netherlands Government Bencoolen in
Sumatra in exchange for Malacca and the small
. Dutch establishments on the continent of
India. It has often been thought that in this
transaction we have exemplification of the truth
of Canning's lines which affirm that —
" In matters of commerce, the fault of the Dutch
Is offering too little and asking too much."
But though if we had remained in Sumatra we
might unquestionably have developed a great
trade with that island, it is extremely doubtful
whether we could ever have secured advan-
tages equal to those which have accrued from
the possession of Malacca. With Malacca in
Dutch hands the spread of our influence
throughout the Malaj' peninsula would have
been impossible. Our line of communications
would have been broken, and a wedge would
have been driven into our sphere of action, to
the effectual crippling of our efforts. As things
are, we have an absolutely clear field, and what
that means is being increasingly demonstrated
in the marvellous development of the Malay
States under British auspices.
On the receipt by the Pinang Government
of a despatch from the Supreme Government
announcing the conclusion of the treaty with
the Dutch, Mr. W. S. Cracroft, senior civil
servant, was in March, 1825, sent with a
garrison of 100 men to reoccupy the fort.
Formal possession was taken on April gth. A
question was raised at the time as to whether the
" dependencies of Malacca " included Riau. It
was referred home, and finally answered in a
negative sense. As far as Malacca itself was
concerned, there was little in the situation
which the British found on resuming the con-
trol of the settlement to excite enthusiasm. In
the first place, the trade had been reduced
almost to vanishing point by the competition of
Singapore, whose superior conveniences as a
port attracted to it nearly the whole of the
commerce which formerly centred at Malacca.
The disastrous character of the rivalry is strik-
ingly illustrated in the revenue returns of the
settlement. In 1815 the export and import
duties and harbour fees amounted to 50,591
Spanish dollars. In 1821, two years after the
establishment of Singapore, the receipts fell to
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
71
23,282 Spanish dollars, and in 1823 there was a
further fall to 7,217 Spanish dollars. Practically,
therefore, Malacca had been wiped out as a
port for external trade. This commercial de-
terioration was not the only difficulty which
the new administration had to face. On the
reoccupation it was found that scarcely a foot
of land, with the exception of a few spots near
the town, belonged to the Government. The
proprietary rights in the soil had been given
away in grants to various individuals by the
Dutch, with the mere reservation of the right
to impose a land tax on the whole. Mr. Fuller-
ton caused a careful inquiry to be instituted
into the whole system. This took a consider-
able time and involved much research. The
system in vogue was found to be based upon
the ancient Malay custom which constituted the
sovereign the lord of the soil and gave him
one-tenth of the produce. Under this system
a landowner might hand down the trees he
planted and the house he built, but he could
not alienate the land. It followed that the
individuals called proprietors, mostly Dutch
colonists resident at Malacca, were not such in
reality, but merely persons to whom the Gov-
ernment had granted out its tenth, and who
had no other claim upon the produce, nor upon
the occupiers, not founded in abuse. The occu-
piers, in fact, were, under Government, the real
proprietors of the soil. Another point brought
out by the investigation was that a class called
Penghulus, who occupied a dominant position
in the managenjent of Malacca landed property,
were merely the agents of Government or of
the person called the proprietor, for collecting
the tenth share and performing certain duties
of the nature of police attached by custom to
the proprietorship. In order to revive the pro-
prietary rights of Government, Mr. FuUerton
elected to purchase the vested interests of the
so-called proprietors for a fixed annual pay-
ment about equal to the existing annual receipts
from the land, and to employ the Penghulus to
collect the rents on behalf of Government.
This arrangement was finally carried out with
the sanction of the Court of Directors at a cost
to the Government of Rs. 16,270 annually. For
many years the Government lost heavily over
the transaction, the receipts falling a good
many thousands short of the fixed annual dis-
bursement. There can be no question, how-
ever, that the resumption of the Government
proprietorship of the soil was a statesmanlilie
measure from which much subsequent good
was derived.
The alarming decline in the trade of the
settlement created a feeling akin to despair in
the minds of the inhabitants. In 1829 a memo-
rial was forwarded by them to Pinang, drawing
attention to the position of affairs and suggest-
ing various measures for the recovery of the
settlement's lost prosperity. In a communica-
tion in reply to the memorial, Mr. FuUerton
remarked that the memorialists had overlooked
the principal reason for the decay of Malacca,
which was the foundation of Pinang at one end
of the straits and Singapore at the other.
Henceforth, he said, the prosperity of Malacca
must depend more upon agricultural than com-
mercial resources. Seeing that she was as far
superior to the other two settlements in the
former respect as she was inferior to them in
the latter, there was no reason to doubt, he
thought, that under a wise government Malacca
might regain nearly as great a degree of pros-
perity as she formerly enjoyed.'
If the mercantile community had cause to
complain of the hardness of the times, the East
India Company had not less reason to feel
anxious about the position at Malacca. The
settlement was a steady and increasing drain
upon the Company's resources. The following
figures illustrate the position as it was a few
years after the resumption of the territory :
Revenue.
Expenditure.
Loss.
Rs.
Rs.
Rs.
1831-3^
.. 48,800
184,500
135,700
1832-33 ■
.. 69,800
359.800
290,000
1833-34
.. 60,700
526,200
465.500
It may be acknowledged that not a little of
the excessive expenditure was for objects which
were not properly debitable to Malacca — con-
ordinate officials fifty dollars per annum, pro-
vided that thev would transfer their lands to
Government in order that the tenth might be
levied upon them in the same way as at
Malacca. The proposals met with a flat re-
fusal, and Mr. Lewis had to return to head-
quarters. Another attempt was made in the
following year to bring about the desired
result. On that occasion Mr. Church, the
Deputy Resident, was despatched with instruc-
tions to inform the Penghulu that Naning was
an integral part of Malacca territory, and that
it was intended by Government to subject it to
the general regulations affecting the rest of the
Malacca territor>-. He was further instructed
to take a census and to make it known that all
offenders, except in trivial matters, would in
future be sent down to Malacca for trial. As a
solatium for the loss of their power, iSIr. Church
was instructed to offer the Penghulu and the
other functionaries a pension. The pill, though
VIEW OF MALACCA.
victs, military, &c. Still, when every allowance
is made for the influence of the tendency of the
Indian authorities to place liabilities in the
Straits, we are faced with a position which
leaves us in wonder at the patience of the East
India Company in maintaining the settlement.
They were probably much in the historic posi-
tion of Micawber — waiting for something to
turn up. Something did turn up eventually, but
not until long after the Company's rule had
faded out.
When Mr. FuUerton had settled the land
system of Malacca proper,as has been narrated,
it occurred to him that it would be well also to
take in hand the adjustment of the land ques-
tion in the neighbouring territory of Naning.
.■Accordingly, in 1828 Mr. Lewis, the Assistant
Resident, was despatched to Tabu, the capital of
Naning, to interview the chief with a view to
the introduction of the system. He was em-
powered to offer the Penghulu the sum of six
hundred Spanish dollars, and each of the sub-
' " Straits Settlements Records," Xo. 195.
thus gilded, was not more palatable than it
had proved before. Mr. Church was allowed
to take the census, but his mission in other
respects was a failure. These evidences of an
obstinate disposition to disregard the Com-
pany's authority led Mr. FuUerton to take
measures for the despatch of an expedition to
bring the recalcitrant chief to his bearings.
Pending a reference of the matter to the
Supreme Government, no forward movement
was made, but on the forcible seizure and de-
tention of a man within the Malacca boundar\-
by order of the Penghulu, a proclamation wa>
issued declaring that Abdu Syed had forfeited
all claims, and was henceforth no longer Peng-
hulu of Naning.
At length the sanction of the Supreme
Government to the expedition was received,
and on .\ugust 6, 1831, the expeditionary
force commenced its march. It consisted
of 150 rank and file of the 29th Madras
Native Infantry, two 6-pounders, and a
small detaU of native artUlery, the whole
72
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
being under the command of Captain Wyllie,
Madras Native Infantry. On the gth the de-
tachment reached Wullikey, a village about
17 miles from Malacca and about five from
Tabu, the residence of the Penghulu. Owing
to the non-receipt of supplies and the unex-
pectedly severe resistance offered by the
Malays, Captain Wyllie deemed it best to
retreat. The force withdrew to Sungie-Pattye,
v/here it remained until August 24th, when
orders were received for its return to Malacca.
The heavy baggage was destroyed and the re-
treat commenced the same evening. On the
following morning the somewhat demoralised
force reached Malacca after a little fighting and
the loss of its two guns, which were abandoned
en route. This rather discreditable business
created a considerable sensation at the time in
Malacca, and there was some apprehension for
the safety of the town, which, until the arrival
of reinforcements from Madras, was almost
at the mercy of the Malays. However, the
Penghulu was not enterprising. If he had any
disposition to trouble it was probably checked
by the fact that the British authorities had con-
cluded a treaty of alliance and friendship with
the Rembau chiefs, who had assisted him in
his rebellion. In January, 1832, a new ex-
peditionary force was organised at Malacca
from troops which had arrived from Madras in
answer to the summons for aid. It consisted
of the 5th Madras N.I.,a company of rifles, two
companies of sappers and miners, and a detail
of European and native artillery. The troops,
which were under the command of Lieutenant-
Colonel Herbert, commenced their march early
in March. They encountered considerable re-
sistance near Alor Gajeh, and were compelled
for a time to act on the defensive. Reinforce-
ments, consisting mainly of the 46th Regiment,
were ultimately received from Pinang, and on
May 2ist offensive operations were resumed
with such success that Tabu fell on the isth
June. The Penghulu fled, and his property
and lands were confiscated to Government.
In 1834 he surrendered unconditionally to
the Government at Malacca, and was per-
mitted to reside in the town and draw a
pension of thirty rupees from the Government
treasury. Newbold described him as " a hale,
stout man, apparently about fifty years of age,
of a shrewd and observant disposition, though
strongly imbued with the superstitions of his
tribe." " His miraculous power in the cure of
diseases," Newbold added, "is still as firmly
believed as that of certain kings of England
was at no very remote period, and his house is
the daily resort of the health-seeking followers
of Mahomed, Fob, Brahma, and Buddha."
The operations from first to last cost the
Company no less than ten lakhs of rupees. For
some time after the expedition it was deemed
necessary to maintain a body of Madras troops
in the territory ; but the native population soon
settled down, and within a few years there was
no more contented class in the Company's
dominions.
Naning comes to us in direct descent from
the Portuguese, who took possession of it shortly
after the capture of Malacca by Albuquerque
in 1511. Previously it had formed an integral
part of the dominions of Mahomed Shah II.,
Sultan of Malacca, who, on the fall of his
capital, tied to Muar, thence to Pahang, and
finally to Johore, where he established a king-
dom. Naning remained nominally under the
Portuguese until 1641-42, when, with Malacca,
it fell into the hands of the Dutch. Valentyn
asserts that the treaty between the Dutch and
the Sultan ol Johore was that the town should
be given up to the Dutch and the land to the
Sultan of Johore, the Dutch reserving only so
much territory about the town as was required.
This reservation was so liberally construed by
the Netherlanders that they ultimately brought
under the control an area of nearly 50 miles
by 30, including the whole of Naning up to the
frontiers of Rembau and Johore. This line
at a later period was extended beyond Bukit
Bruang and Ramoan China to the left bank of
the Linggi river, which it now comprehends.
One of the questions which arose out of the
reoccupation of Malacca was the status of the
slaves resident in the settlement. In British
dominions at this time, as the poet Cowper had
proudly proclaimed a few years before, slaves
could not breathe —
" If their lungs
Receive our air, that moment they are free ;
They touch our country, and their shackles fall."
But poetry and law are not always in harmony,
and they were not so in this case. At all
events, there was sufficient doubt as to the
application of the famou^: Emancipation statutes
to give the authorities a considerable amount
of trouble. The most divergent views were
expressed locally on the subject. The main
question was whether slaves duly registered and
recognised as such under the previous Dutch
Government could be considered in a state
of slavery on the transfer of the settlement to
the British. The inhabitants petitioned the
Pinang authorities to accept the state of bond-
age on the ground of the confusion and loss
which would be caused by emancipation. Mr.
FuUerton, the Governor, in reply, called atten-
tion to the importance of putting a stop to
slavery within a certain period. Thereupon
the inhabitants met and passed a resolution
agreeing that slavery should cease at the ex-
piration of the year 1842. Meanwhile the
matter had been referred to Calcutta for legal
consideration, and in due course the opinion of
the law officers was forthcoming. It was held
that owing to the peculiar circumstances under
which Malacca had become a British settle-
ment the state of slavery must of necessity be
recognised wherever proof could be brought
forward of the parties having been in that state
under the Netherlandish Government. Eventu-
ally the question was settled on the basis of the
compromise suggested by the resolution of the
inhabitants at their public meeting. Thus
Malacca enjoyed the dubious honour of having
slaves amongst its residents many years after
slavery had ceased to exist in other parts of the
Empire.
The discussion of the slavery question
incidentally led to a sharp controversy on the
subject of press restrictions. The local news-
paper, the Malacca Observer, which was printed
at the Mission Press, in dealing with the points
at issue ventured to write somewhat strongly
on the attitude of the Government. Mr. Fuller-
ton, who took a strictly official view of the
functions of the press, and never tolerated the
least approach to freedom in newspaper com-
ments, peremptorily ordered the withdrawal of
the subsidy which the paper enjoyed from
the Government. Mr. Garling, the Resident
Councillor, in conveying the orders of his
superior to the offending newspaper, appears
to have intimated that the stoppage of the
allowance carried with it the withdrawal of the
censorship. Great was Mr. Fullerton's indig-
nation when he learned that his directions had
been thus interpreted. He indited a strongly-
worded communication to Mr. Garling, direct-
ing him to re-institute the control over the press,
and acquainting him that he would be held
responsible for any improper pubHcation that
might appear. Not content with this, the angry
official caused a long letter to be written to Mr.
Murchison, the Resident Councillor at Singa-
pore, expatiating on the magnitude of the
blunder that had been committed, and warning
him against a similar display of weakness in
the case of the Singapore paper. "The partial
and offensive style adopted by the editor of the
Malacca Observer in the discussion of local
slavery had," he said, "tended completely to
destroy the peace, harmony, and good order of
the settlement, and as that question had been
submitted to the Supreme Government it was
most desirable that the subsisting irritation
should be allowed to subside, and that, pending
reference, publications at a neighbouring settle-
ment having a tendency to keep it alive, and
coming professedly from the same channel,
should be discouraged." He therefore directed
that no observations bearing on the question
of local slavery at Malacca should be permitted
to appear in the Singapore Chronicle. After
pointing out that the printers were responsible
with the publishers, the letter proceeded : "That
a Press instituted for the purpose of diffusing
useful knowledge and the principles of religion
and morality should be made the instrument
for disseminating scandalous aspersions on the
Government under which they live, is a point
for the consideration of the managers in
Europe." Accompanying the letter was a
minute penned by Mr. Fullerton on the sub-
ject of the outrageous conduct of the newspaper
in writing freely on a matter of great public
interest. This document showed that the irate
Governor had a great command of minatory
language. He wrote : " A more indecent and
scurrilous production has seldom appeared,
and I can only express amazement that, with
all previous discussions before him connected
with the paper, Mr. Garling should have
thought of removing restraints, the necessity
of which was sufficiently demonstrated by
every paper brought before him." He ex-
pressed "the firm conviction that unless
supported by Mr. Garling himself such obser-
vations would never have appeared, and that
he has all along had the means of putting an
end to such lucubrations. The Government
contributes to the Free School 210.8 dollars per
month ; the editor is the master of the school,
drawing his means of subsistence from the
contribution of Government ; the printers are
the members of the Mission, alike supported by
Government, and I must repeat my belief that,
unless supported by Mr. Garling, the editor
never would have hazarded such observations.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
73
THE BEACH, MALACCA.
. . . These circumstances only show how
utterly impracticable the existence of an unre-
stricted paper is to the state of the settlement,
and the endless wrangling and disputes it must
in so small a society create, and as I presume
the paper will now cease, any further measure
respecting it will be unnecessary ; the experi-
ment will no doubt be duly remembered should
any future applications be made to Government
to sanction such a publication."' Mr. Fuller-
ton's anticipation that his drastic measures of
discipline would be fatal to the Malacca Obser-
ver was realised. Soon after the withdrawal
of the subsidy the issue of the journal was
stopped, and a good many years passed be-
fore another newspaper was published in the
settlement.
Mr. FuUerton had a great opinion of the
conveniences and capabilities of Malacca. So
strongly indeed was he drawn to it that in 1828
he seriously proposed making the settlement
the capital. He urged as grounds for the
change that Malacca had been the seat of Euro-
pean Government for more than two hundred
years, that it had a more healthy climate than
Pinang, was more centrally situated, was
within two days' sail of Pinang and Singa-
pore, and had more resources than either of
those settlements for providing supplies for
troops. B'urthermore it, being on the conti-
nent, commanded an interior, and owing to
the shoal water no ship could approach near
enough to bring its guns to bear on the shore ;
• " Straits Settlements Records," Xo. 128.
it had an indigenous and attached population,
and in a political view it was conveniently
situated for maintaining such influence over
the Malay States as would prevent them from
faUing under Siamese dominion, and was near
enough to the end of the straits to enable the
proceedings of the Dutch to be watched. It
was said afterwards by Mr. Blundell, Governor
of the Straits, that there was much force in the
arguments, but that it had become so much the
habit to decry Malacca and pity the state into
which ic was supposed to have fallen, that the
argument would at that time only excite a smile
of ridicule. •
After the first shock of the Singapore com-
petition the trade of Malacca settled down into
a condition of stagnation from which it was
not to recover for many years. The com-
mercial transactions carried through almost
exclusively related to articles of local produc-
tion. The staple exports were gold-dust and
tin. In 1836 it was stated that annually about
Rs. 20,000 worth of the former and Rs. 150,000
of the latter were exported, chiefly to Madras,
Calcutta, Singapore, Pinang, and China. The
produce filtered through from the native Slates
in the Hinterland, and small as the annual
exports were, they were sufficient to show what
wealth might be drawn upon if only a settled
system of government were introduced into the
interior. As regards gold, the bulk of the pro-
duce came from Mount Ophir and its neigh-
bourhood. But from time to time there were
' ''Anecdotal History of Singapore," i. 228.
rumours of discoveries in other directions.
For example, in the records for 1828 is a Malacca
letter reporting the discovery of a gold mine in
the vicinity of the settlement. The mine was
said to yield a fair return to the 80 Chinese
engaged in working it, but the results were not
sufficiently good to promise any permanent
material advantage.
In later years the course of Malacca life has
been uneventful. " Happy is the nation that
has no history," writes the poet. We may
paraphrase the line and say, " Happy is the
settlement that has no history." If Malacca
has not been abundantly blessed with trade she
has had no great calamities or serious losses to
lament. She drifted on down the avenue of
time calmly and peacefully, like one of the
ancient regime who is above the ordinary sordid
realities of life, .i few years since the inno-
vating railway intruded upon the dull serenity
of her existence, bringing in its wake the bustle
of the twentieth century. This change will
become more pronounced with the extension
of the railway system throughout the peninsula.
Trade from the central districts will naturally
gravitate to Malacca, as the most convenient
outlet for all purposes on this part of the coast,
and the settlement will also benefit both directly
and indirectly from the development of the
rubber industry which is proceeding on every
hand. In this way the old prosperity of the port
will be revived, and she will once more plav an
active part in the commercial history of the
Straits.
D
THE FEDERATED MALAY STATES
By ARNOLD WRIGHT
{With chapters on the early history of the Malays and the Portuguese and Dutch periods by Mr. R. J. Wilkixson,
Secretary to the Resident of Perak).
CHAPTER I.
I X T R O D U C T O R Y
AXY successes have been
accomplished by British
administrators invarious
parts of the Empire, but
there is perhaps no more
remarkable achievement
to their credit than the
establishment of the
Federated Malay States
on their existing basis. Less than a half-
century- since, the territory embraced within
the confederation was a wild and thinly in-
habited region, over which a few untutored
chiefs exercised a mere semblance of authority.
Piracy was rife on the coast, and the interior,
where not impenetrable jungle or inaccessible
swamp, was given over to the savagest anar-
chical conditions. There was little legitimate
trade ; there were no proper roads ; the towns,
so called, were miserable collections of huts
devoid of even the rudiments of civilised life ;
the area was a sort of no-man'.i-land, where
the rule of might flourished in its nakedebt
form. To-day the States have a revenue
approaching twenty-five million dollars, and
they e.^port annually produce worth more
than eighty million dollars. There are over
2,500 miles of splendid roads, and 396 miles
of railways built at a cost of 37,261,922 dollars,
and earning annually upwards of four million
dollars. The population, which in 1879 was
only 81,084, is now close upon a million, and
there are towns which have nearly as many
inhabitants as were to be found in the entire
area before the advent of the British. A net-
work of postal and telegraph agencies covers
the land ; there are schools accommodating
nearly si.xteen thousand pupils, and hospitals
which annually minister to nearly sixty thousand
in-patients and one hundred and twenty thou-
sand out-patients. We may search in vain in
the annals of colonisation for a more brilliant
example of the successful application of sound
principles of government in the case of a
backward community residing in a wild, un-
developed region. And yet it would seem
that we are little more than on the threshold
of this great venture in administration. Such
is the richness and promise of this region that
the statistics of to-day may a few decades hence
pale into insignificance beside the results which
will then be presented. It is truly a wonderful
land, this over which the favouring shadow of
British protection has been cast, and the Briton
may point to it with legitimate pride as a con-
vincing proof that the genius of his race for
rule in subject lands exists in undiminished
strength.
Though the influences which have given this
notable addition to the Empire are almost en-
tirely modern, the importance of extending the
protecting influence of our flag to the Malay
States was long since recognised. Mr. John
-Anderson, in his famous pamphlet on the con-
quest of Kedah, to which reference has been
made in the earlier historical sections of this
work, argued strenuously in favour of a for-
ward policy in the peninsula. " In extending
our protecting influence to Quedah and de-
claring the other Malayan States under our
guardianship against foreign invasion, we
acquire," he wrote, " a vast increase of colonial
power without any outlay or hazard, and we
rescue from oppression a countless multitude
of human bemgs who will no doubt become
attached and faithful dependents ; we protect
them in the quiet pursuits of commerce, and
give life and energy to their exertions. We
shall acquire for our country the valuable pro-
ducts of these countries without those obnoxious
impositions under which we formerly derived
supplies from the West Indies." These saga-
cious counsels were re-echoed by Sir Stamford
Raffles in his " Memoir on the Administration
of the Eastern Islands," which he penned after
the occupation of Singapore. ■' .Among the
Malay States," he remarked, " we shall find
none of the obstacles which exist among the
more civilised people of India to the reception
of new customs and ideas. They have not
undergone the same artificial moulding ; they
are fresher from the hand of Nature, and the
absence of bigotry and inveterate prejudice
leaves them much more open to receive new
74
impressions. With a high reverence for
ancestrj- and nobility of descent, they are more
influenced, and are quicker discerners of supe-
riority of individual talent, than is usual among
people not far advanced in civilisation. They
are addicted to commerce, which has already
given a taste for luxuries, and this propensity
they indulge to the utmost extent of their
means. Among a people so unsophisticated
and so free from prejudices, it is obvious that
a greater scope is given to the influence of
example ; that in proportion as their inter-
course with Europeans increases, and a free
commerce adds to their resources, along with
the wants which will be created and the
luxuries supplied, the humanising arts of life
will also find their way ; and we may antici-
pate a much more rapid improvement than in
nations who, having once arrived at a high
point in civilisation and retrograded in the
scale, and now burdened by the recollection
of what they once were, are brought up in a
contempt for everything beyond their own
narrow circle, and who have for centuries
bent under the double load of foreign tyranny
and priestly intolerance. When these striking
and important difterences are taken into ac-
count, we may be permitted to indulge more
sanguine expectations of improvement among
the tribes of the Eastern Isles. We may look
forward to an early abolition of piracy and
illicit traffic when the seas shall be open to the
free current of commerce, and when the British
flag shall wave over them in protection of its
freedom and in promotion of its spirit." Here,
as usual. Raffles showed how completely he
understood the problems underlying the exist-
ence of British authority in the Straits. But
his and his brother-official's views were dis-
regarded by the timid oligarchy which had
the last voice in the direction of British
policy in Malaya at this period. Kedah,
as we have seen, was given over to its
fate. A little timely exertion of authority
would have saved that interesting State and
its people from the horrors of the Siamese
invasion, and have paved the way for the great
work which was commenced a half-century
later. But the Government in Calcutta shrank
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
75
from the small risk involved in the support of
the liaja, and a ruthless despotism was estab-
lished in the area, to the discredit of British
diplomacy and to the extreme detriment of
British trade.
Before entering upon a narration of the
various steps which led up to the establish-
ment of British influence in the greater part
of the Malay peninsula we may profitably
make a retrospective survey of this important
area in its ethnological and historical aspects.
For this purpose it will be appropriate to
introduce here some valuable chapters kindly
contributed by Mr. R. Wilkinson, of the
Federated Malay States Civil Service, who has
given much study to the early history of
Malaya.
CHAPTER II.
Wild Aboriginal Tribes.
It is a matter of common knowledge that the
Malays were not the first inhabitants of the
peninsula. Although they intermarried with
the aborigines, and although they show many
traces of mixed blood, they failed to completely
absorb the races that they supplanted. The
new settlers kept to the rivers ; the older races
lived on the mountains or among the swamps.
Some of the old tribes died out, some adopted
the ways of the Malays, but others retained
their own language and their primitive culture
and are still to be found in many parts of
British Malaya.
The negrito aborigines collectively known as
Semang are usually believed to have been the
first race to occupy the peninsula. As they are
closely akin to the Aetas of the Philippines and
the Mincopies of the Andamans, they must at
one time have covered large tracts of country
from which tliey have since completely dis-
appeared, but at the present day they are mere
survivals, and play no part whatever in civilised
life. Slowly but surely they are dying out.
Even within the last century they occupied the
swampy coast districts from Trang in the North
to the borders of Larut in the South, but at the
census of i8gi only one negrito, vifho, as the
enumerator said, "twittered like a bird," was
recorded from Province Wellesley, and in igoi
not one single survivor was found. Although
present-day students — who naturally prefer the
evidence of their own eyes to the records of
past observers — are inclined to regard the
Semang as a mountain people, it is quite
possible that their more natural habitat was
the swamp country from which they have been
expelled. Whether this be so or not, the
negritoes of British Malaya are usually divided
up by the Malays into three ; the Semang Paya
or Swamp-Semangs (now almost extinct) ; the
Semang Bukit or Mountain Semangs, who in-
habit the mountains of Upper Perak ; and the
Pangan, who are occasionally found in some of
the hills between Pahang and Kelantan.
The culture of some of these negrito tribes
is very primitive. The wilder Semangs are
extremely nomadic ; they are not acquainted
with any form of agriculture ; they use bows
and arrows ; they live in mere leaf-shelters,
with floors that are not raised above the
ground ; their quivers and other bamboo
utensils are very roughly made and adorned.
Such statements would not, however, be true
of the whole Semang race. A few tribes have
learned to plant ; others to use the blowpipe ;
others have very beautifully made quivers.
Some go so far — if Mr. Skeat is to be relied
upon — as to include the theft of a blunderbuss
in their little catalogues of crime. Unless, how-
ever, we are prepared to believe that they
invented such things as blunderbusses, we have
If identity of language is any criterion of
common orighi, the Northern Sakai racial
division includes the tribes known as the
"Sakai of Korbu," the "Sakai of the Plus,"
the "Sakai of Tanjong Rambutan " and the
" Tembe," who inhabit the Pahang side of the
great Kinta mountains. As these Northern
Sakai are rather darker than the Sakai of
Batang Padang, and not quite as dark as the
Semang, they have sometimes been classed as
j\^ jiip ji-^-. 5;0 OJ^^^
'^^Jii
A PAGE OF THE "MALAY ANNALS," THE GREAT HISTORICAL RECORD
OF THE MALAY RACE.
to admit that they must have borrowed some
of their neighbours' culture.
A few Semang are still to be found in the
mountains between Selaraa and the Perak
valleys. Others doubtless exist in the little
known country that lies between Temengor
and the river Plus ; but south of the Plus we
come to a fairer race, the northern division of
the numerous tribes that are often grouped
together as " Sakai."
a mere mixed race, a cross between their
northern and southern neighbours. This is
not necessarily the case. Their rather serious
appearance, for one thing, does not suggest an
admixture of the infantile physiognomy of the
Semang and the gay boyish looks of the Sakai
of Slim and Bidor. Moreover, their industrial
art — to judge by blowpipes and quivers — is
higher than that of their neighbours. They
practise agriculture, and live in small houses
76
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
raised above the ground — the commonest type
of house throughout Indo-China.
The expression " Central Sakai " has been
used to cover a group of tribes who Uve in the
Batang Padang mountains and speak what is
practically a common language — though there
are a few dialectic differences in the different
parts of this district. Mr. Hugh Clifford was
the first to point out the curiously abrupt racial
frontier between the " Tembe " to the north
and the " Senoi " (his name for the Central
Sakai) to the south. But all the secrets of this
racial frontier have not yet been revealed.
Although the Sakai who live in the valleys
above Gopeng speak a language that very
closely resembles the language of the Sakai
of Bidor, Sungkai and Slim, they seem still
closer akin — racially — to their neighbours in
the north. Moreover, if we look up from
than those of their northern and southern
neighbours. Linguistically we are still in the
" Central Sakai " region.
Near Tanjong Malim (the boundary between
Perak and Selangor) the type suddenly changes.
We come upon fresh tribes differing in appear-
ance from the Central Sakai, living (in some
cases) in lofty tree huts, and speaking varieties
of the great " Besisi " group of Sakai dialects.
The men who speak these Besisi dialects
seem to be a very mixed race. Some — dwell-
ing in the Selangor mountains — are a singularly
well built race. Others who live in the swamps
and in the coast districts are a more miserable
people of slighter build, and with a certain
suggestion of negrito admixture. Their culture
is comparatively high. They have a more
elaborate social system, with triple headmen
instead of a solitary village elder to rule the
TYPES OF SAKAI QUIVERS.
A, B, c, D, Semang Quivers.
H, Quiver from Slim.
E, F, Nortliern Sakai Quivers.
I, J, Besisi Quivers.
G, Batang Padang Quiver.
K, Kuantan Quiver.
Gopeng to the far mountains lying just to the
north of Gunong Berembun, we can see clear-
ings made by another tribe — the Mai Liik or
" men of the mountains," of whom the Central
Sakai stand in deadly fear. These mysterious
Mai Luk have communal houses like the
Borneo Dyaks, they plant vegetables, they paint
their foreheads, they are credited with great
ferocity, and they speak a language of which the
only thing known is that it is not Central Sakai.
As we proceed further south the racial type
slowly changes until — in the mountains behind
Tapah, Bidor, Sungkai and Slim — we come to a
distinct and unmistakable type that is compara-
ti-^ely well known to European students. These
Mai Darat, or hill men, are slightly lower in
culture than the Northern Sakai ; they live in
shelters rather than huts ; their quivers and
blowpipes are very much more simply made
small community. This form of tribal organisa-
tion— under a bafiii, jenang, an&ickra [or jura
krah) — is common to a very large number of
tribes in the south of the peninsula, and is also
found among the Orang Laut, or Sea-gipsies.
The Besisi tribes cultivate the soil, build fair
houses, have some artistic sense, are fond of
music, possess a few primitive songs, and
know something of the art of navigation. They
are found all over Selangor, Negri Sembilan,
and Malacca.
In the mountains of Jelebu, near the head-
waters of the Kongkoi and Kenaboi rivers, are
found the Kenaboi, a shy and mysterious people
who speak a language totally unlike either
Central Sakai, Besisi, or Malay. So little is
known about the Kenaboi that it would be
dangerous to commit oneself to any conjecture
regarding their position in the ethnography of
the peninsula, but it is at least probable that
they represent a distinct and very interesting
racial element. In the flat country on the
border between Negri Sembilan and Pahang
we meet the Serting Sakai, an important and
rather large tribe that seems at one time to
have been in contact with some early Mon-
Anam civilisation. Moreover, it is said that
there are traces of ancient canal-cuttings in the
country that this tribe occupies. By the upper
wajers of the Rompin river there Uve many
Sakai of whom very little is known. They
may be "Besisi," "Serting Sakai," "Jakun,"
or "Sakai of Kuantan." The term "Jakun " is
applied to a large number of remnants of old
Malacca and Johore tribes that have now been
so much affected by Malay civilisation as to
make it impossible to ever hope to clear up the
mystery of their origin. A few brief Jakun
vocabularies have been collected in the past, a
few customs noted. It is perhaps too much to
expect that anything more will ever be done.
The aborigines who inhabit the country
near Kuantan (and perhaps near Pekan, and
even further south) speak a language of their
own, of which no vocabulary has ever been
collected, and use curious wooden blowpipes
of a very unusual type. They may be a dis-
tinct race, as they seem to have a primitive
culture that is quite peculiar to themselves.
In the mountainous region lying between
this Kuantan district and the Tembeling river
there is found another tribe of Sakais, who wear
strange rattan girdles like the Borneo Dyaks,
and speak a language of which one observer,
though acquainted with Malay, Central Sakai,
and Northern Sakai, could make out nothing.
In the mountain mass known as Gunong
Benom (in Pahang) there are found other
tribes of Sakais speaking a language that has
some kinship with Besisi and Serting Sakai.
Very little else is known about them.
We possess fairly good specimens — vocabu-
laries of the languages of all the better known
Sakai and Semang dialects. With the single
exception of Kenaboi, they have a very
marked common element, and may be classed
as divisions of the same language, although the
peoples that speak them show such differences
of race and culture. This language is compli-
cated and inflected, and it has an elaborate
grammar, but so little is known of the details
of its structure that we dare not generalise or
point to any one dialect as being probably
the purest form of Sakai. It is impossible also
to say which race first brought this form of
speech to the peninsula. It would, however,
be rash to assume that Sakai and Kenaboi are
the only two distinctive types of language used
by these wild tribes. Nothing sufficient is yet
known of the speech of the Mai Luk, of the
dialects of Kuantan, and of the old Jakun lan-
guages. Far too much has been inferred from
the customs of what one may term the " stock "
tribes of Sakai — the tribes that are readily acces-
sible and therefore easy to study. Such peoples
have been visited again and again by casual
observers, to the neglect of the remoter and
lesser-known tribes, who may prove to be far
more interesting in the end. When we
consider the physical differences between tribe
and tribe, the differences of language, the
differences of culture evinced in types of
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
77
dwellings, in tribal organisation, in weapons,
and in mode of life, we may perhaps be ex-
cused for thinking that the racial elements in
the peninsula will prove to be more numerous
and important than scientists are apt to believe.
Meanwhile the peninsula presents us with a
curious historical museum, showing every grade
of primitive culture. It gives us the humble
negrito who has not learnt to till the ground,
but wanders over the country and lives from
hand to mouth on the products of the jungle.
It gives us the same negrito after he has learnt
the rudiments of art and agriculture from his
Sakai neighbours. It gives us the Sakai who
grows certain simple fruits and vegetables, and
is nomadic in a far slighter degree than the
primitive Semang. A man who plants is a
man who lives some time in one place, and
therefore may find it worth his vs'hile to build
a more substantial dwelling than a mere shelter
for a night. Here, however, primitive culture
stops. Even the man who has learnt to plant
a crop in a clearing must abandon his home
when the soil begins to be exhausted. The
boundary between primitive culture and
civilisation cannot be said to be reached
until habitations become really permanent,
and until a comparatively small area can
support a large population. That boundary
is therefore crossed when a people learn to
renew the fertility of land by irrigation or by
.manuring, or by a proper system of rotation of
crops. The Malays, with their system of rice-
planting — the irrigated rice, not hill rice — have
crossed that boundary. But no Sakai tribe has
yet done so.
Mr. Cameron, in his work on Malaya, gives
an interesting description of the aborigines. A
few passages relative to the tribal beliefs may
be cited.
" The accounts of their origin," he says, " are
amusing. . . . Among one tribe it is stated,
and with all gravity, that they are descended
from two white apes, Ounkeh Puteh, who,
having reared their young ones, sent them
into the plains, where the greater number
perfected so well that they became men ;
those who did not become men returned once
more to the mountains, and still continue apes.
Another account, less favourable to the theory
.of progressive creation, is that God, having in
heaven called into life a being endowed with
great strength and beauty, named him Batin.
God, desirous that a form so fair should be
perpetirated, gave to Batin a companion, and
told him to seek a dwelling upon earth.
Charmed with its beauties, Batin and his
companion alighted and took up their abode
on the banks of the river of Johore, close to
Sijigapore, increasing and multiplying with a
rapidity and to a degree now unknown, and
from these two, they say, all the tribes of the
peninsula are descended."
Another tribe, the Binnas, give an account
of their origin which strongly recalls the
Xoachian story of Scripture. " The ground,
they say, on which we stand is not solid. It
is merely the skin of the earth (Kulit Bumi).
In ancient times God broke up this skin, so
that the world was destroyed and over-
whelmed with water. Afterwards he caused
Gunong Lulumut, with Chimundang'and Bech-
nak, to rise, and this low land which we
inhabit was formed later. These mountains
on the south, and Mount Ophir, Gunong Kap,
Gunong Tonkat Bangsi and Gunong Tonkat
Subang on the north (all mountains within a
short radius), give a fixity to the earth's skin.
The earth still depends entirely on these
mountains for steadiness. The Lulumut
mountains are Ihe oldest land. The summit
of Gunong Tonkat Bangsi is within one foot
of the sky, that of Gunong Tonkat Subang is
within an ear-ring's length, and that of Gunong
Kap is in contact with it. After Lulumut had
emerged a prahu of pulai wood, covered over
and without any opening, floated on the
waters. In this God had enclosed a man
and a woman whom He had made. After
the lapse of some time the prahu was neither
directed with nor against the current, nor driven
to and fro. The man and woman, feeling it to
rest motionless, nibbled their way through it,
stood on the dry ground, and beheld this our
world. At first, however, everything was
obscure. There was neither morning nor
evening, because the sun had not yet been
made. When it became light they saw seven
Sindudo trees and seven plants of Ramput
Sambau. They then said to each other, ' In
what a condition are we, without children
or grandchildren ! ' Some time afterwards
the woman became pregnant, not, however,
in her womb, but in the calves of her legs.
From the right leg was brought forth a male
and from the left a female child. Hence it is
that the issue of the same womb cannot inter-
marry. All mankind are the descendants of
the two children of the first pair. When
men had much increased God looked down
upon them with pleasure and reckoned their
numbers." The Mantra tribe behind JMount
Ophir have a somewhat similar legend.
"They say that their fathers came originally
from heaven in a large and magnificent ship
built by God, which was set floating on the
waters of the earth. The ship sailed with fear-
ful rapidity round and about the earth till it
grounded upon one of the mountains of the
peninsula, where they declare it is still to be
seen. Their fathers disembarked and took up
their abode on the new earth, some on the
coast, some on the plains, and others on the
mountains, but all under one chief called
Batin Alam."
Their description of the probable end of the
world, as given by Mr. Cameron from notes
supplied him by Father Borie, a Roman
Catholic missionary to the Jakun near
Malacca, may be given as a pendant to these
curious traditions : " The human race having
ceased to five, a great wind will arise accom-
panied by rain, the waters wilt descend with
rapidity, lightning will fill the space all around,
and the mountains will sink down ; then a
great heat will succeed ; there will be no more
night, and the earth will wither like the grass
in the field ; God will then come down
surrounded by an immense whirlwind of flame,
ready to consume the universe. But God will
first assemble the souls of the sinners, burn
them for the first time and weigh them, after
having collected their ashes by means of a
fine piece of linen cloth. Those who will
have thus passed the first time through the
furnace without having been purified will be
successively burned and weighed for seven
times, when all those souls which have been
purified will go to enjoy the happiness of
heaven, and those that cannot be purified—
that is to say, the souls of great sinners, such
as homicides and those who have been guilty
of rape— will be cast into hell, where they will
suffer the torments of flames in company with
devils ; there will be tigers and serpents in hell
to torment the damned. Lastly, God, having
taken a light from hell, will close the portals
and then set fire to the earth."
CHAPTER III.
Early Civilisation.
Although the British possessions in Malaya
are not absolutely destitute of archteological
remains, they are singularly poor in rehcs of
antiquity when contrasted with Java and Cam-
bodia, or even with the northern part of the
peninsula itself. Ancient inscriptions have
been found in Kedah, in the Northern District
of Province Wellesley, in the Central District
of Province Wellesley, and, as has been noted,
in the island of Singapore. That in Kedah has
been completely deciphered ; it is a Buddhist
formula, such as might have been written up
in the cell or cave of an ascetic. That in the
north of Province Wellesley was carved on a
pillar that seemed to form part of a little
temple ; it has not been completely deciphered,
but from the form of the written character it is
believed to date back to the year 400 A.D., and
to be the oldest inscription in this part of the
world, unless, indeed, the Kedah writing is
slightly more ancient. The rock carvings at
Cheroh Tokun, near Bukit Mertajam, belong to
various dates and are too worn away to be read
in connected sentences ; the oldest seems to go
back to the fifth century and another to the
sixth century A.D. As the monument in Singa-
pore was blown up by the Public Works
Department in order to make room for some
town improvements, it is no longer available
for study, but from a rough copy made before
its destruction it seems to have been in the
ancient Kawi character of Java or Sumatra,
It probably dates back to the thirteenth or four-
teenth century A.u. Another inscription, pre-
sumably of the same class, is to be seen at Pulau
Karimun, near Singapore.
Near Pengkalan Kampas, on the Linggi
river, there are a number of broken monu-
ments which, though they seem to be of
comparatively recent date, are of considerable
interest. On a curious four-sided pillar there
are four inscriptions, two in clear-cut Arabic
and two in the fainter lettering of an unknown
script. Below these inscriptions there is a
circular hole cut right through the pillar and
just large enough to permit of the passage of a
man's arm— it is, indeed, believed that this pillar
(which has been much used for oaths and
ordeals) will tighten round the arm of anv man
who is rash enough to swear falsely when in its
power. Near this pillar is another cut stone
on which the lettering of some old non- Arabic
insciiption can be dimly seen. As there are
many other fragments of carved stone that go to
D *
78
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
make up the kramat, or holy place, of which the
inscriptions form part, the Malays have invented
a legend that these monuments represent the
petrified property of an ancient saint — his
spoon, his sword, and his buclcler. Maho-
medan zeal seems also to have carved the holy
name of Allah on the sword of the saint, and to
some curious old bronzes resembling bells that
have been dug up at Klang, in Selangor, (2) in
a little bronze image suggestive of a Buddha
that was discovered in a Tanjong Rambutan
mine at a depth of some 60 feet below the
surface, (3) in an old Bernam tomb beautifully
constructed of thin slabs of stone and con-
■ .!iM,-<in.T(J'.°'
•ff^--'-
-^
K
^■k
x
"1,
/ !"
^'"r-r' ^nW U ::v3
Who were the men who left these remains ?
If it is true (as the condition of the Selinsing
workings seems to suggest) that the mines were
suddenly abandoned in the very midst of the
work that was being done, such a fact would
lend further support to the natural conjecture
that the miners were only foreign adventurers
who exploited the wealth of the peninsula and
did not make the country their permanent
home. The Malays say that these alien miners
were " men of Siam." Is this true ? Students
are apt to forget that "men of Siam" — seven
or eight centuries ago — would refer to the
great and highly-civilised Cambodian race who
occupied the valley of the Menam before the
coming of the " Thai," from whom the present
Siamese are descended. It is therefore pro-
bable enough that the Malays are right, and
that the mining shafts of Selinsing are due to
the people who built the magnificent temples
of Angkor. Further evidence — if such evidence
is needed — may be found in the fact that the
Sakai of certain parts of Pahang use numerals
that are neither Siamese nor Malay nor true
Sakai, but non-Khmer.
The general conclusion that one is forced to
draw from the traces of ancient culture in the
peninsula is that the southern portions of. the
country were often visited, but never actually
occupied by any civilised race until the Malays
came in a.d. 1400. Such a conclusion would
not, however, be true of the Northern States —
of Kedah, Kelantan, Trang, and Singgora.
There we find undoubted evidence of the
existence of powerful Buddhist States like that
of Langkasuka, the kingdom of alang-kah suka
or of the Golden Age of Kedah, still re-
membered as a fairyland of Malay romance.
This Langkasuka was a very ancient State
indeed. It is mentioned in Chinese records as
Langgasu as far back as 500 a.d., and was then
reputed to be four centuries old ; it appears (in
Javanese literature) as one of the kingdoms
overcome by Majapahit in a.d. 1377 ; its name
probably survives to this day in the " Langkawi"
islands off the Kedah coast. But the ancient
States of Northern Malaya lie outside the
scope of this essay. They are interesting
because they probably sent small mining
colonies to the south, and thus claimed some
sort of dominion over the rest of the peninsula.
The great Siamese invasion changed all that.
By crushing the Northern States during the
thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries
A.D., it ruined their little southern colonies, and
left the territories of Perak, Johore, Malacca,
and Pahang a mere no-man's-land that the
Malays from Sumatra could easily occupy.
INSCRIPTION FROM NORTH PROVINCE WELLBSLEY.
(See p. 77.)
CHAPTER IV.
The Coming of the Malays.
have converted the first line of the inscriptions
into the well-known formula, " In the name of
God, the Merciful, the Compassionate." Frag-
ments of other monuments may be seen lying
low in the swamp near which this Linggi
kramat is built up.
Besides these inscriptions, traces of ancient
non-Malayan civilisations have been found (i) in
taining some broken pottery and three cornelian
beads, and (4) in pottery and iron mining tools
that are continually being met with in old
mining workings. More impressive, however,
than any of these small relics are the galleries,
slopes, and shafts of the old mines at Selinsing,
in Pahang — the work of a race that must have
possessed no small degree of mechanical skill.
According to a tradition that is accepted in
almost every portion of Malaya, the founder
of the most famous native dynasties was a
Prince named Sang Sapurba, son of Raja
Suran, the " Ruler of the East and of the
West," by his marriage with a mermaid, the
daughter of the kings of the sea. This Prince
first revealed himself upon the hill of Sigun-
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
79
tang, near Mount Mahameru, in the hinterland
of Palembang. Two young girls who dwelt
upon the hill are said to have seen a great
light shining through the darkness of night.
On ascending the hill in the morning they
THE
'SWOKD OF THE SAINT.
(See p. 76.)
found that their rice-crops had been trans-
formed— the grain into gold, the leaves into
silver, the stalks into golden brass. Proceeding
further, they came across three young men, the
eldest of whom was mounted on a silver-white
bull and was dressed as a king, while the two
younger, his brothers, bore the sword and
spear that indicated sovereign power. " Who,
then, are you — spirits or fairies?" said the
astonished girls. " Neither spirits nor fairies,
but men," said one of the brothers ; " we are
Princes of the race of the Great Alexander; we
have his seal, his sword, and his spear ;
we seek his inheritance on earth." " And
what proof have you of this ? " said tbe girls.
" Let the crown I wear bear me witness if
necessary," replied the eldest Prince ; "but
what of that ? Is it for naught that my coming
has been marked by this crop of golden
grain ? " Then out of the mouth of the bull
there issued a sweet-voiced herald, who at
once proclaimed the Prince to be a king
bearing the title of Sang Sapurba Trimurti
Tribuana. The newly - installed sovereign
afterwards descended from the hill of Sigun-
tang into the great plain watered by the
Palembang river, where he married the
daughter of the local chief, Demang Lebar
Daun, and was everywhere accepted as ruler
of the country. At a later date he is said to
have crossed the great central range of Sumatra
into the mountains of Menangkabau, where he
slew the great dragon Si-Katimuna, and was
made the king of a grateful people and the
founder of the long line of Princes of Menang-
kabau, the noblest dynasty of Malaya. Mean-
while, however, his relatives in Palembang
had crossed the sea, first to the island of
Bintang and afterwards from Bintang to the
island of Tamasak, on which they founded the
city of Singapore. " And the city of Singapore
became mighty ; and its fame filled all the
earth." Such, at least, is the story that is told
us in the "Malay Annals."
It is very easy to criticise this story — to
point out that the tale of the Macedonian origin
of Malay kings is too absurd for acceptance,
and that the miraculous incidents do not
commend themselves to the sceptical historians
of the present day. It is also possible to show
that there are actuall}- two entirely different
versions of the story in the manuscripts of the
" Malay Annals," and that both these versions
differ from a third version given by the
annalist himself to his contemporary, the author
of the Malay book known as the " Bustanu's
salatin." Xo one need treat this legend of
Sang Sapurba as actual history. But the
ancient kingdoms of Singapore and Palembang
are no myth ; the latter, at least, must have
played a great part in history. Nor is the
legend in any way an invention of the author
of the " Malay Annals " ; it occurs in still earlier
books, and is folklore throughout Perak at the
present day. The Sultan of Perak claims
direct descent from Sang Sapurba ; one of his
chiefs, the Dato' Sri Nara Diraja, is the lineal
representative of the herald who came out of
the mouth of the bull. As late as February,
1907, the Raja Bendahara was installed (in the
High Commissioner's presence) by the Dato'
Sri Nara Diraja reciting over him the mystic
words — in a forgotten tongue — that the latter
chief's ancestor is said to have used at the
proclamation of Sang Sapurba himself. The
origin of these ancient legends and old-world
ceremonies is lost in the dimness of past
centuries, but it may, to some extent, be
explained by the light that Chinese records
throw upon Malay history.
We know with absolute certainty from the
accounts of Chinese trade with Sumatra that
the kingdom of Palembang was a powerful
State certainly as far back as the year goo a.d.,
perhaps even as far back as the year 450 a.d.
We even possess the names (often mutilated
beyond recognition by Chinese transcribers) of
a large number of the old Kings of Palembang.
We can see that these ancient rulers bore
high-sounding Sanskrit titles, almost invari-
ably beginning with the royal honorific sri
that is still used by great Malay dignitaries.
But while the Malay annalist allows a single
generation to cover tire whole period from the
founding of the State of Palembang by Sang
Sapurba down to the establishment of the city
of Singapore, we are in a position to see that
the period in question must have covered
many centuries, and that even a millennium
may have elapsed between the days of the
founder of Palembang and those of the
coloniser of Tamasak or Singapore. Although
Sang Sapurba may be nothing more than a
name, the ancient legend is historical in so far
that there must have been a time when an
Indian or Javanese dynasty with a very high
conception of kingly power supplanted the
unambitious Palembang headmen, who bore
homely titles like Demang Lebar Daun, and
claimed no social superiority over their fellow-
villagers. The story given us in the " Malay
Annals " is only an idealised version of what
must have really occurred. The most mys-
terious feature in the legend is the reference
to Mount Siguntang. Although this famous
hill (which is believed by all Malays to be the
cradle of their race) is located with curious
definiteness on the slopes of the great volcano.
Mount Dempo, in the hinterland of Palembang,
there is no local tradition to guide us to the
exact spot or to suggest to us why that locality,
above all others, should be singled out for
special honour. The culture of the Malay
States that accepted the Hinduised Palembang
tradition differs completely from that of the
primitive Sumatran communities who have
not been affected by foreign influence. Such
INSCRIPTION NEAR PENGKALAN
KAMPAS.
(See p. 77.)
differences could not have been brought about
in any brief period of time. The history of the
State of Palembang must go back extremely
far into the past ; and, if only we could
80
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
unearth some real records, they might explain
why the proud rulers of the country thought it
an honour to claim descent from some still
more ancient dynasty associated with the name
of a hill district from which all traces of
imperial power have long since passed away.
In the reign of the Chinese Emperor Hsiau
Wu (a.d. 454-464), a kingdom of "Kandali"
sent articles of gold and silver to China. In
A.D. 502 a king of- this same Kandali sent an
envoy to China with other valuable gifts.
In A.D. 519, and again in A.D. 520, similar
missions were sent. After this date " Kandali"
disappears from history. Although Chinese
records positively identify this country with
San-bo-tsai or Palembang, all that contem-
porary Chinese notices tell us about Kandali
is that it was a Buddhist kingdom on an island
in the Southern Sea, that its customs were
those of Cambodia and Siam, that it produced
flowered cloth, cotton, and excellent areca-nuts,
and that its kings sent letters to the Chinese
Emperor congratulating him on his fervent
faith in Buddhism. Still, as one of these
kings is reported to have compared the
Chinese Emperor to a mountain covered with
snow, we may take it that the accuracy of even
this meagre account of Kandali is not above
suspicion. We can perhaps see traces of
Javanese influence in the reference to " flowered
cloth," as the words suggest the painted floral
designs of Java rather than the woven plaid-
patterns of the Malays.
In A.D. 905 Palembang reappears in Chinese
records under the name of San-bo-tsai. In
BBONZE IMAGE FROM TANJONG
EAMBUTAN.
(See- p. 78.)
that year the ruler of San-bo-tsai " sent tribute"
to China and received from the Emperor the
proud title of "the General who pacifies Distant
Countries." In A.D. 960 "tribute" was again
sent — twice. In a.d. 962 the same thing oc-
curred. From A.D. 962 onwards we have a
continuous record of similar tribute-bearing
missions until the year 1178, when the Chinese
Emperor found that this tribute was too expen-
sive a luxury to be kept up, so he " issued an
edict that they should not come to court any
more, but make an establishment in the Fukien
province." After this date the Palembang
merchants ceased to be tribute-bearers and
became ordinary traders — a change which
caused them to temporarily disappear from
official records. " Tribute " was, of course,
merely a gift made to the Emperor in order
to secure his permission to trade ; it flattered
his pride, and was invariably returned to the
giver in the form of titles and presents of very
high value. So much was this the case that
Chinese statesmen, when economically in-
clined, were in the habit of protesting against
the extravagance of accepting tribute. None
the less the Emperor encouraged these men of
Palembang, for in A.D. 1156 he declared that
" when distant people feel themselves attracted
by our civilising influence their discernment
must be praised." One Malay envoy received
the title of " the General who is attracted by
Virtue," a second was called "the General who
cherishes Civilising Influence," a third was
named " the General who supports Obedience
and cherishes Renovation." The manners of
the men of San-bo-tsai must have been as
ingratiating as those of their successors, the
Malays of the present day.
The Kings of San-bo-tsai are .said to have
used the Sanskrit character in their writings
and to have sealed documents with their signets
instead of signing them with their names.
One king is mentioned (A.D. 1017) as having
sent among his presents " Sanskrit books folded
between boards." Their capital was a fortified
city with a wall of piled bricks several miles in
circumference, but the people are said to have
lived in scattered villages outside the town and
to have been e.xempt from direct taxation. In
case of war " they at once select a chief to lead
them, every man providing his own arms and
provisions." From these Chinese records we
also learn that in A.D. 1003 the Emperor sent a
gift of bells to a Buddhist temple in San-bo-tsai.
As regards trade, the country is recorded as
producing rattans, lignum-aloes, areca-nuts,
coconuts, rice, poultry, ivory, rhinoceros horns,
camphor, and cotton-cloth. In the matter of
luxuries we are told that the people made in-
toxicating drinks out of coconut, areca-nut, and
honey, that they used musical instruments (a
small guitar and small drums), and that they
possessed imported slaves who made music for
them by stamping on the ground and singing.
In A.D. 992 we hear of a war between the
Javanese and the people of Palembang. It
seems, therefore, quite certain that Palembang
— between the years 900 and 1360 a.d. — was a
country of considerable civilisation and import-
ance, owing its culture to Indian sources and
perhaps possessing very close affinities to the
powerful States of Java. What, then, were the
events that brought about the downfall of this
great Malayan kingdom ?
The close of the thirteenth century in China
saw the Mongol invasion that ended in making
Kublai Khan the undisputed overlord of the
whole country. That restless conqueror was
not, however, satisfied with his continental
dominions ; he fitted out great fleets to extend
his power over the Japanese islands in the
A TOMBSTONE PBOM BBUAS.
(See p. ;8.)
north and over the island of Java in the south.
He began a period of war, during which we
hear nothing of the trade with the States in the
Southern Seas.
The advent of the Ming dynasty (a.d. 1368)
commenced a new era of peace and commerce,
in which we again find mention of the State of
Palembang. Great changes had, however,
taken place since the last reference to the
country in a.d. 1178. San-bo-tsai had been
split up into three States. We hear (a.d. 1373)
of a King Tan ma-sa-na-ho — probably the
King of Tamasak or Singapore. We hear also
(a.d. 1374) of a King Ma-na-ha-pau-lin-pang
— probably the King of Palembang. The
King Tan-ma-sa-na-ho died in a.d. 1376, and
.his successor, Ma~la-cha Wu-li, ordered the
usual eirvoys to go to China, and was sent in
return a seal and commission as King of San-
bo-tsai. The Chinese annalist goes on to say :
'' At that time, however, San-bo-tsai had
already been conquered by Java, and the
King of this country, hearing that the Emperor
had appointed a king over San-bo-tsai, became
very angry and sent men who waylaid and
killed the Imperial envoys. The Enjperor did
not think it right to punish him on this
account. After this occurrence San-bo-tsai
became gradually poorer, and no tribute was
brought from this country any more."
Chinese, Malay, and Javanese historical
records all agree in referring to a great war
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
81
of conquest carried on by the Javanese Empire
of Majapahit and ending in the destruction of
Singapore and Palembang, as well as in the
temporary subjugation of many other Malay
States, such as Pasai, Samudra, and even
Kedah, Kelantan, Trengganu, and Pahang.
The Chinese records enable us to definitely
fix the date— A.D. 1377. It is a great landmark
in Malay history, for the fugitives driven by the
Javanese from Palembang and Singapore settled
down in the peninsula and founded the famous
city of Malacca.
We come now to the founding of Singapore,
which, although dealt with in our opening
section, may be referred to at greater length
in this survey of Malay history. The name of
Singapiira was only an honorific title given
to an island that was known and continued to
be known as Tamasak. Of the existence of
this old Malay State of Singapore or Tamasak
there can be no doubt whatever, as Chinese,
Siamese, Malay, and Javanese records agree
upon the point. Of the fact that Singapore
was a colony from Palembang there can also
be no doubt, since both the Chinese and the
Malay records bear out this version of the
origin of the city. An inscription in the Kawi
character was found by Raffles at Singapore,
but it was blown up at a later date by a dis-
creditable act of vandalism, and from the
fragments left it is impossible to say definitely
whether it was carved by the Palembang
colonists or by the Javanese conquerors who
destroyed the city in A.D. 1377. The "Malay
Annals" tell us a good deal about the place,
but tell us nothing that is really reliable. They
say that Sang Nila Utama, the founder of the
State, was driven to the island by a storm of
wind, in the course of which he lost his royal
crown — a story suggesting that the founder
was not a reigning prince when he came to
settle in the island, and that his followers had
to invent a story to explain away his lack of
the usual insignia of royalty. He was, how-
ever, probably of r05'al blood, since the Chinese
envoys were afterwards willing to recognise
his descendants as rulers of Palembang. The
" Annals " also tell us that five kings reigned in
Singapore, as shown in the following table :
If this pedigree is to be accepted, the old
State of Singapore must have lasted for several
generations, but the annalist who drew it up
gave another pedigree to his friend, Xuru'ddin
Raniri al-Hasanji, the author of the " Bustanu's
salatin." The other pedigree is as follows :
ends with the ominous words that the blood
of the boy who saved the city from the sword-
fish, and was put to death lest his cleverness
should prove a public danger, rested upon the
island as a .curse to be wiped out in days to
come. The story of Tun Jana Khatib is the
Raja Shkan
(King of the East and West)
I
Sang Sapurba
(King of Menangkabau)
I
Sang Baniaka
(King of Tanjong Pura)
I
Sang Nila Utama
(First King of Singapore)
I
I
Raja Kechil Besar
(Paduka Sri PSkSrma diraja,
second King of Singapore)
I
Sri Rana Adikarma
(Iskandar Shah, third King of
Singapore and first of Malacca)
Sultan Ahmad Shah
(Second Sultan of Malacca)
I
Raja Kechil Muda
This second pedigree gives a much shorter
life to the old State of Singapore, and (since it
came from the same source as the other
pedigree) shows that neither account can be
considered altogether reliable. It also suggests
its own inaccuracy, since " Iskandar Shah " is
not a name that any non-Mahomedan prince
of Singapore would have borne at that period.
The probability is that the ancient kingdom of
Tamasak was a mere off-shoot of the State
of Palembang, that it did not last for any
length of time, and that it came to a sudden
and terrible end in the year of the great
Javanese invasion, a.d. 1377.
The account of Singapore in the " Malay
Annals " is entirely mythical — from the open-
ing tale about the lion that Sang Nila Utama
discovered on the island down to the conclud-
ing stories about the attack made by the
sword-fish upon the city, and about the fate of
Sang Ranjuna Tapa, the traitor who betrayed
the city to the Javanese and was turned into
stone as a punishment for his sin. Yet in all
this mythical account there is a suggestion of
infinite tragedy. The story of the sword-fish
Raja Suran
(King of the East and of the West)
Sang Sapurba
(King of Menangkabau)
I
Nila Pahlawan
I
Kisna Pandita
I
Sang Maniaka
Sang Nila Utama
(First King of Singapore)
I
I
Raja Kechil Besar
(Peduka Sri Pikrama Wira,
second King of Singapore)
I
Raja Muda
(Sri Rama Wirakrama,
third King of Singapore)
I
Paduka Sri Maharaja
(Fourth King of Singapore)
Raja Iskandar Dzu'l-karnain
(Fifth and last King of Singapore
and first Sultan of Malacca)
I
Raja Kechil Muda
(Tun Parapalih Parmuka
Berjajar)
1
Tun Parapatih Tulus
tale of another awful deed of wrong. The last
tale in the narrative is that of the injury which
maddened Sang Ranjuna Tapa into treason —
the cruel fate of his daughter, who was publicly
impaled on a mere suspicion of infidelity to her
lover, the King. More than once does the
annalist seem to suggest the Nemesis that
waits upon deeds of oppression. In the end
the Javanese came ; the city was betrayed ;
"blood flowed like water in full inundation,
and the plain of Singapore is red as with blood
to this day." A curse rented on the place. In
A.D. i8ig, more than four centuries later.
Colonel Farquhar found that not one of the
people of the settlement dared ascend Fort
Canning Hill, the "forbidden hill" that was
haunted by the ghosts of long-forgotten kings
and queens. The alien Chinese who now
inhabit the town believe to this day that — for
some reason unknown to them — a curse laid
on the island in times long past makes it
impossible to grow rice on it, rice being the
staple food of the Malays. .All these legends
seem to suggest that the fate of the ancient
city must have been one of appalling horror.
Many Malay towns have at different times
been captured, many were doubtless captured
by the Javanese in that very war of A.D. 1377,
but in no other case has the fall of a city left
such awful memories as to cause men four
Centuries later to refuse to face the angry
spectres that were believed to haunt so cruelly
stricken a site.
The fall of Singapore led to the rise of
Malacca. A number of fugitives, headed (if the
"Annals" are to be believed) by their king
himself, established themselves at the mouth
of the Malacca river, and founded a city that
was destined to play a much greater part in
history than the old unhappy settlement of
Singapore itself. The "Annals," however, are
not a safe guide. Although it is indeed prob-
able that a party of refugees did do something
to found the town of Malacca, it is extremely
doubtful whether they were headed by the
fugitive " Iskandar Shah." Be the facts as
they may, the new town did not delay its rise
very long. In A.D. 1403, as Chinese records
tell us, the ruler or "Paramisura" of Malacca
D * *
82
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
sent envoys to China ; in a.d. 1405 he was
recognised as King and received a seal, a suit
of silk clothes, and a 5'ello\v umbrella from the
Emperor ; in a.d. 141 i he travelled himself to
gave us a real key to the chronology of the
period. From these records it is quite clear
that Singapore fell in a.d. 1377, and not in
A.D. 1252, as the " Malay Annals " would
to be identical with Xaquendarsa, and to have
come to the throne in a.d. 1414, it will be fairly
obvious that the Malay version allows too
many generations between him and Mudzafar
BUINS OF THE BANGKOK BLOCKHOUSE.
China and was most hospitably entertained.
In the year 1414 the son of this Paramisura
came to China to report his father's death, and
to apply for recognition as his father's successor.
This son's name is given in Chinese records as
Mu-Kan-Sa-U-Tir-Sha. He died about the year
1424, and was succeeded by his son, who is
described in Chinese as Sri Mahala.
At this point it is advisable to say something
about Malay chronology. The dates given in
Sir Frank Swettenham's " British Malaya,"
in the " Colonial Office List," in Valentyn's
" History of Malacca," and in many other
works, are all obtained from the " Malay
Annals " by the simple process of adding to-
gether the reputed lengths of the reigns of the
various kings. Such a system is usually unreli-
able. In the case of the " Malay Annals " the
unreliability of the method can be proved by
taking the history of ministers who served
under several kings, and must have attained to
impossible ages if the reign lengths are really
accurate. The point was brought out clearly
for the first time by Mr. C. O. Blagden in a
paper read before an Oriental Congress in
Paris. Mr. Blagden began by showing that
the Malay dates were inaccurate, and then
went on to prove that the Chinese records,
though meagre and unreliable in many details.
suggest. From the same source it may be
shown that the various kings of Malacca
reigned between the year 1400 and the year
1511. But we are not in a position to prove
conclusively who all these kings were. The
royal names, as given to us by different authori-
ties, are here shown in parallel columns :
Shah, who seems to have been reigning in
A.D. 1445.
It is quite impossible to reconcile the lists ;
but some facts may be inferred from what we
know for certain. A Chinese work, the " Ying
Yai Sheng Lan," dated a.d. 1416, speaks of the
Malacca Malays as devoted Mahomedans, so
Chinese Records.
Palisura (1403-14)
Mukansautirsha (1414-24)
Sri Mahala (1424)
Sri Mahala (1433)
Sri Pamisiwartiupasha (1445)
Sultan Wutafunasha (1456)
Sultan 'Wangsusha (1459)
Mahamusa (undated)
Sultan Mamat (" who fled
from the Franks")
Albuquerque' s List.
Paramisura
Xaquendarsa
Modafaixa
Marsusa
Alaodin
Mahamat
The great names of Malacca history are
common to all three lists, but the minor names
differ considerably. Those in the " Malay
Annals " would naturally have been considered
the most reliable, were it not that Mahomedan
names like Iskandar Shah occurring before the
Mahomedan period suggest the certainty of
serious error. If also we take Iskandar Shah
Malay Annals.
Iskandar Shah
Raja B^sar Muda
Raja Tfngah
Muhammad Shah
Abu Shahid
Mudzafar Shah
Mansur Shah
Alaedin Riayat Shah
Mahmud Shah
that it would seem that the conversion to Islam
took place as early as the reign of the Para-
misura, and not in the time of his grandson or
great-grandson, Muhammad Shah. But the
explanation that seems to clear up the difficul-
ties most readily is the probability that the
author of the pedigree in the " Malay Annals "
confused the two Princes who bore the name
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
83
of Raja Kfchil Besar, and also confused Sultan
Ahmad with Sultan Muhammad. If the title
Muhammad Shah and the conversion to Islam
AN ACHINBSE.
are ascribed to the first Rajah Kechil Besar
instead of to the second, the difficulty of
explaining the Mahomedan names of Iskandar
Shah and Ahmad Shah disappears at once, and
the pedigree is shortened to a reasonable
length. The amended version would read as
follows :
Kaja Kechil Besar
(Paramisura, Sultan Muhammad Shah)
Iskandar Shah
Raja Besar Muda
(Ahmad Shah)
Raja Kasim
(Mudzafar Shah)
Raja Abdullah
(Mansur Shah)
Raja Husain
(Alaedin Riayat Shah I.)
Raja Mahmud
(Sultan Mahmud Shah).
We can now pass to the reigns of these
different kings.
The Chinese account of Malacca, written in
A.D. 1416, gives us a very convincing picture of
the settlement. It tells us that the inhabitants
paid very little attention to agriculture, that
they were good fishermen, that they used dug-
outs, that they possessed a currency of block
tin, that they lived in very simple huts raised
some four feet above the ground, that they
traded in resins, tin, and jungle produce, that
they made very good mats, and that " their
language, their books, and their marriage
ceremonies are nearly the same as those of
Java." The town of Malacca was surrounded
by a wall with four gates, and within this
fortified area there was a second wall or
stockade surrounding a store for money and
provisions.
This description bears out Albuquerque's
statement that the town was created by the
fusion of fugitives from Singapore with a local
population of " Cellates " or Orang Laut, The
men from Singapore brought their old Indo-
Javanese civilisation, the language, the books,
and the marriage ceremonies that were so
closely akin to those of Java ; the Orang Laut
were simply fishermen, living by the sea and
using the rude dug-outs that impressed the
Chinese historian. But there was a third
element. The Chinese account tells us that
the tin industry, both in trade and actual
mining, was important. As this industry
would be quite unknown to the Orang Laut
and could hardly have been introduced from
Singapore, we are left to infer that traders in
tin had visited the country long before the
advent of the Malays, and had taught the
aborigines the value of the metal and the
proper means of procuring it. These early
traders were, in all probability, the Cambodian
colonists whose homes in the north had just
been conquered by the Siamese, but who — up
to the fourteenth century — appear to have
exercised some sort of dominion over the
southern half of the peninsula.
According to both Chinese and Portuguese
records the first ruler of Malacca was a certain
" Palisura " or "Paramisura"; but, unfortu-
nately, this word only means king, and conse-
quently gives us no clue either to the Hindu
or to the Mahomedan name of the prince in
question. It would seem waste of time to
discuss points relating to mere names were
it not that these issues help us to unravel the
complex chronology of the period. Evei"y
king — at this time of conversion — must have
had a Hindu title before taking an Arabic name,
so that serious errors may have been imported
into genealogies by kings being counted twice
over. Omitting the mythical elements, let us
collate the first names of the four lists that we
possess :
Malay Annals.
(1) Raja Kechil Bgsar,
Paduka Sri Pekerma Wiraja.
(2) Raja Muda,
Sri Rana Wikrama.
(3) Paduka Sri Maharaja.
Bustanu's salatin.
(1) Raja Kechil Besar,
Paduka Sri Pekerma Diraja.
(2) Sri Rana Adikerma,
Sultan Iskandar Shah.
(3) Raja Besar Muda,
Sultan Ahmad Shah.
Chiiicsv.
(i) Palisura.
(2) Mukansautirsha.
(3) Sri Mahala.
Portuguese.
(i) Paramisura.
(2) Xaquendarsa.
The only point that we have to suggest is
that these lists refer to the same men in the
same order. If this is admitted, there is no
difficulty in giving the pedigree of the Kings of
Malacca ; but the acceptance of this view
disposes at once of the theory that the line of
the Malacca Kings covers the earlier dynasty of
Singapore. The truth seems to be that the
author of the " Malay Annals " had only the
Malacca pedigree to work upon, but by attach-
ing Singapore legends to the names of Malacca
Kings he represented the genealogy as one
AN EXECUTION KRIS.
which descended from the mythical Sang
Sapurba of Palembang through the Kings of
Singapore (whose very names he did not
84
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
know), down to the family with which he was
really acquainted.
As Malay tradition seems to Insist that the
first Mahomedan sovereign took the name
stones, and with horses and saddles. His wife
got a cap and dresses.
" At the moment of starting he was enter-
tained by the Emperor, and again got a girdle
JAVANESE AND MALAY CLOTH COMPARED.
of Muhammad Shah, and as the Paramisura
of Albuquerque was undoubtedly the first
Mahomedan sovereign, we are justified in
believing that the King Paduka Sri Pgkerma
Diraja took the name Sultan Muhammad Shah
on his conversion. He ascended the throne
before a.d. 1403, but was first recognised
by the Chinese Emperor in a.d. 1405. He
visited China in a.d, 1411. The following is
the account given of this visit in the records of
the Ming dynasty :
"In 1411 the King came with his wife, son,
and ministers — 540 persons in all. On his
arrival the Emperor sent officers to receive
him. He was lodged in the building of the
Board of Rites, and was received in audience
by, the Emperor, who entertained him in
person, whilst his wife and the others were
entertained in another place. Every day
bullocks, goats, and wine were sent him from
the imperial buttery. The Emperor gave the
King two suits of clothes embroidered with
golden dragons and one suit with unicorns ;
furthermore, gold and silver articles, curtains,
coverlets, mattresses — everything complete.
His wife and his suite also got presents.
" When they were going away the King was
presented with a girdle adorned with precious
with precious stones, saddled horses, 100 ounces
of gold, 40,000 dollars (kwan) in paper money,
2,600 strings of cash, 300 pieces of silk gauze,
1,000 pieces of plain silk, and two pieces of silk
with golden flowers."
It is not surprising that kings were willing to
" pay tribute " to China.
The policy of Muhammad Shah seems to
have been to ally himself with the Mahomedan
States and with the Chinese, and to resist the
Siamese, who were at that time laying claim to
the southern part of the peninsula. As the
Siamese had conquered the Cambodian princi-
palities that had sent mining colonies to the
Southern States, the King of Siam had a certain
claim to consider himself the suzerain of
Malacca. But the claim was a very shadowy
one. The fall of the Cambodian kingdoms in
the north seems to have killed the Cambodian
colonies in the south. The Siamese themselves
had never exercised any authority over Malacca.
The very title assumed by the Siamese King —
" Ruler of Singapore, Malacca, and Malayu " —
shows how very little he knew about the
countries that he claimed to own. Nevertheless
Siam was a powerful State, and its fleets and
armies were a constant menace to the prosperity
of the growing settlement of Malacca.
The Paramisura Muhammad Shah died about
A.D. 1414. He was succeeded by his son, Sri
Rakna Adikerma, who took the title of Sultan
Iskandar Shah— the Xaquendarsa of the Portu-
guese and the Mukansutirsha of the Chinese
records. This prince, who reigned ten years,
paid two visits to China during his reign, one
visit in A.D. 1414, and the other in a.d. 1419.
He pursued his father's defensive policy of
alliances against the Siamese.
Sultan Iskandar Shah died in a.d. 1424. He
was succeeded by his son, Raja Besar Muda,
who bore the Hindu title of Paduka Sri Maha-
raja, and assumed the Mahomedan name of
Sultan Ahmad Shah. This ruler is not men-
tioned by the Portuguese, but he appears in
A ^GOLDEN KRIS.
Chinese records as Sri Mahala. He seems to
appear twice — perhaps three times — in the
" Malay Annals ": first as Paduka Sri Maharaja,
son of Sri Rakna Adikerma (Iskandar Shah's
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
85
Hindu title), and secondly as Raja Besar Muda,
son of Iskandar Shah. He is also confused
with Muhammad Shah, whose place he ought
to be given in the pedigree. It is therefore
dilMcult to say whether he or the first King
of Malacca ought to be credited with the
numerous rules and regulations drawn up for
the guidance of Malay courtiers, and given at
great length in the " Malay Annals " as the
work of " Muhammad Shah." In any case,
from this time forward the use of yellow was
confined to men of royal birth, the most rigid
etiquette was enforced at all court ceremonies,
the relative precedence of officers was fixed,
and other rules were made regarding the
proper attire and privileges of courtiers. The
author of the " Malay Annals " discusses all
these points at great length, but European
students are not likely to take much interest
in them. Happy is the country that has no
more serious troubles than disputes about
etiquette ! The first three Sultans of Malacca
must have governed well to bring about such a
result as this.
Sultan Ahmad Shah (Paduka Sri Maharaja)
died about the year 1444.. His death was
followed by a sort of interregnum, during
which the reins of power were nominally held
by his son. Raja Ibrahim, or Raja Itam, after-
wards known as Abu Shahid, because of his
unhappy death. This interregnum ended in a
sudden revolution, in which Raja Ibrahim lost
his life, and Raja Kasim, his brother, came to
the throne under the name of Sultan Mudzafar
Shah, the Modafaixa of the Portuguese and the
Sultan Wu-ta-funa-sha of Chinese records.
The new ruler began his reign in the usual
manner by sending envoys to China, but he
did not go himself to pay his respects to the
Emperor. He had to wage war against the
Siamese, who seem at last to have made some
sort of effort to enforce their claim to suzerainty
over the south of the peninsula. Malay records
are not very trustworthy, and we need not
believe all that they tell us about victories over
the Siamese ; but we can see from the change
in the policy of the State of Malacca that it
must have been successful in its campaigns
against its northern foe, since the Malays,
suddenly becoming aggressive, carried the
war into the enemy's country. From this
time onwards the town of Malacca becomes
a capital instead of an entire State.
Mudzafar Shah died about the year 1459 a.d.
According to Portuguese authorities he con-
quered Pahang, Kampar, and Indragiri ; but,
if the "Malay Annals" are to be believed, the
honour of these conquests rests with his son
and successor, Mansur Shah. Sultan Mansur
Shah, we are told, began his reign by sending
an expedition to attack Pahang. After giving
a good descriptive account of this country, with
its broad and shallow river, its splendid sandy
beaches, its alluvial gold workings, and its huge
wild cattle, the " Malay Annals" go on to say
that the ruler of Pahang was a certain Maha-
raja Dewa Sura, a relative of the King of Siam.
Chinese records also say that the country was
ruled by princes who bore Sanskrit titles, and
who must have been either Buddhist or Hindu
by religion ; but they add that the people were
in the habit — otherwise unknown in Malaya —
of offering up human sacrifices to their idols
of fragrant wood. Their language also does
not seem to have been Malayan. Pahang was
conquered after very little resistance, and its
prince, Maharaja Dewa Sura, was brought
captive to Malacca. Of the expeditions against
Kampar and Indragiri we know nothing except
that they were successful.
court, and to his being sent to rule over
Pahang alone, under the title of Sultan Mu-
hammad Shah. By a Javanese wife the Sultan
had one son, Radin Geglang, who succeeded
his stepbrother as heir to the throne, and was
afterwards killed while trying to stop a man
who ran amuck. By a daughter of his chief
MALAY MATTING.
Sultan Mansur Shah married five wives. By
a daughter of the conquered Maharaja Dewa
Sura he had two sons, one of whom he desig-
nated as heir to the throne ; but a murder
committed by the prince in a moment of
passion led to his being banished from the
minister, the Bendahara, the SuUan left a son,
Raja Husain, who ultimately succeeded him.
By a Chinese wife the SuUan left descendants
who established themselves as independent
princes at Jeram, in Selangor. By his fifth
wife, the daughter of a chief (Sri Xara Diraja),
86
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
the Sultan only had two daughters. The fol-
lowing table shows how the kingdom of
Malacca was divided up ;
severe conflict, in which most of his relatives
were slain. But that is not the account given
us in the " Malay Anoalii." The proud chief is
I
Raja Ahmad
(Sultan Muhammad Shah
of Pahang)
Raja Kasim
(Sultan Madzafar Shah)
I
Raja Abdullah
(Sultan Mansur Shah)
I
Paduka Mimat
(whose family ruled
in Jeram)
Raja Husain
(Sultan Alaedin Riayat Shah I.
of Malacca)
Raja Menawar
(Sultan Menawar Shah of
Kampar)
I
Raja Muhammad
(Sultan Mahmud Shah of
Malacca)
The policy of war and conquest initiated by
Mudzafar Shah and Mansur Shah was a fatal
one to a trading port like Malacca. It turned
the Malays into a sort of military aristocracy,
living on the trade of the foreign settlers in
their city. Trade is not, however, killed in a
day. The foreign merchants ffom India and
China, though they continued to frequent the
harbour of Malacca, began to look upon the
Sultan and his people as a mere burden on
the town — as indeed they were. The Sultan
needed money for his pleasures, his followers,
and his wars ; he increased his exactions from
year to year. But for the coming of the Portu-
guese, the fate of Malacca would ultimately
have been the same as that of Pasai, Samudra,
Perlak, and the other trading ports that enjoyed
at various times a temporary spell of prosperity
as emporia in the Eastern seas. Even as it
was, Albuquerque found the foreign settlers
in the citj' perfectly willing to rise in revolt
against their Malay masters.
Mansur Shah was succeeded by his son, Raja
Husain, who took the name of Alaedin Riayat
Shah. This Prince is said by the Portuguese
to have been poisoned at the instigation of the
rulers of Pahang and Indragiri. He was suc-
ceeded by his son, Sultan Mahmud Shah, the
last of the Kings of Malacca. Sultan Mahmud
Shah seems to have been a weak ruler, who
gave himself up to his pleasures, and ultimately
delegated all his powers to his son, the Prince
Alaedin, whom he raised to sovereign rank
under the name of Ahmad Shah. The most
important event in his reign — apart from the
Portuguese conquest — was the mysterious revo-
lution of A.D. 1510, in which the most powerful
chief in Malacca, the Bendahara Sri Maharaja,
lost his hfe. This event is mentioned by Albu-
querque, and is described with great vividness
by the author of the " Malay Annals," who,
being a member of the Bendahara's family,
was extremely anxious to represent his great
ancestor's case in the best possible light.
According to his story, one of the great
ministers of state was induced, by a very
heavy bribe, to bring a false charge of treason
against the Bendahara —"for there is truth in
the saying, ' Gold, thou art not God, yet art
thou the almighty ' " — and the Sultan was
tempted by an illicit passion for the Benda-
hara's daughter into consenting to his min-
ister's death — " Love knows no limitation and
passion no consideration." It is probable that
the great minister was only overthrown after a
said to have consented to die rather than lift a
finger in opposition to the King : " It is the
glory of the Malay that he is ever faithful to
his ruler." The Sultan's messenger approached
and presented him with a silver platter, on
which rested the sword of execution. " God
calls you to His presence," said the messenger.
" I bow to the Divine will," said the Bendahara.
Such was said to have been his end, but there
is a curious epilogue to this tale of loyalty. In
A.D. 1699 the last Prince of the royal line of
Malacca was slain by his Bendahara, the lineal
representative of the murdered minister of
A.D. 1510, and of his successor and champion
thecourtly author of the " Malay Annals." It is
therefore quite possible that the Bendahara of
A.D. 1510 was only conspiring to do what the
Bendahara of a.d. 1699 eventually succeeded in
doing.
CHAPTER V.
The Portuguese Ascendancy.
The famous expedition of Vasco da Gama,
the first European navigator to appear in the
Eastern seas, took place in 1498. Within ten
years Da Gama had been followed to the East
by many other famous adventurers — Francisco
de Albuquerque, Alfonso de Albuquerque, Fran-
cisco de Almeida, Tristano d'Acunha, Jorge de
Mello, and Jorge de Aguyar. In 1508 the whole
of the Portuguese " empire " in the East was
divided into two viceroyalties, one stretching
from Mozambique to Diu in India, the other
from Diu to Cape Comorin. Francisco de
Almeida was appointed Viceroy of Africa,
Arabia, and Persia ; Alfonso de Albuquerque
was Viceroy of India. Two other Admirals
were sent out in that year to carve out vice-
royalties for themselves. Of these two, one
— Diego Lopez de Sequeira — was destined for
Malaya. He left the Tagus with four ships
on April 5, 1508, sailed to Cochin (the head-
quarters of the Indian Viceroy), borrowed a
ship from the Portuguese fleet at that port,
and finally, in August, 1509, sailed to Malacca.
As soon as Sequeira cast anchor in the
harbour a boat put off from the shore to ask
him, in the name of the Bendahara, who he
was and why he came. The Portuguese
Admiral answered that he was an envoy from
the King of Portugal with gifts for the Sultan
of Malacca. Messages then seem to have been
interchanged for several days, and ultimately
a Portuguese of good position, one Teixeira,
was sent ashore and conducted to the palace
on an elephant. He handed the Sultan an
Arabic letter signed by Emmahuel, King of
Portugal ; he also gave the Malay ruler some
presents. This interview was followed by the
usual interchange of compliments and friendly
assurances ; permission to trade was given,
and, finally, Teixeira was conducted in honour
back to his ship.
But in the town of Malacca all was excite-
ment. The wealthy Indian merchants could
hardly have viewed with equanimity the
presence of strangers who threatened them
with the loss of their trade. The suspicious
rulers of the city feared the powerful fleet of
Sequeira. The Bendahara wished to attack
the Portuguese at once ; the Laksamana and
the Temenggong hesitated. The Sultan in-
vited the strangers to a feast — perhaps with
the intention of murdering them ; Sequeira,
with d. rudeness that may have been wise,
refused the dangerous invitation. Meanwhile
the Bendahara's party had begun to collect a
small flotilla behind Cape Rachado so as to be
ready for all emergencies. The position was
one of great tension. The Portuguese who
landed at Malacca do not seem to have been
molested, but they could hardly have failed to
notice the nervous hostility of the populace.
The " Malay Annals " — written a century later
— contain echoes of this old feeling of fear and
dislike of the strangers, the popular wonder at
these " white-skinned Bengalis," the astonish-
ment at the blunt bullet that pierced so sharply,
the horror at the blunders in etiquette com-
mitted by the well-meaning Portuguese. " Let
them alone, they know no manners," said the
Sultan, when his followers wished to cut down
a Portuguese who had laid hands on the sacred
person of the King in placing a collar round
his neck. At such a time very little provoca-
tion would have started a conflict ; a mis-
understanding probably brought it about.
Suspecting the crews of the Malay boats of
wishing to board the Portuguese vessels, a
sentry gave an alarm. A panic at once
arose ; the Malays on deck sprang overboard ;
the Portuguese fired their guns. Sequeira
avoided any further action in the hope of
saving those of his men who were on shore
at the time, but the sudden appearance of the
Malay flotilla from behind Cape Rachado
forced his hand. The Portuguese sailed out
to meet this new enemy and so lost the chance
of rescuing the stragglers. When they re-
turned it was too late. The city was now
openly hostile ; the Europeans on shore had
been taken ; the fleet was not strong enough
to take the town unaided. After wasting some
days in useless negotiations, Sequeira had to
sail away. His expedition had been an utter
failure. After plundering a few native ships
he sent two of his own fleet to Cochin, and
returned to Portugal without making any
attempt to redeem his mistakes.
King Emmanuel of Portugal was not the
man to submit tamely to a disaster of this
sort. Fitting out three more ships under
Diego Mendez de Vasconcellos, he sent them
—in March, 1510— to organise a fresh attack
on Malacca. This fleet was diverted by the
Viceroy de Albuquerque to assist him in his
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MAI.AYA
87
Indian wars; but in May, ijii, the great
Viceroy himself set out to attack Malacca,
taking 19 ships, 800 European troops, and 600
Malabar sepoys. He first sailed to Pedir, in
Sumatra. There he found a Portuguese named
Viegas, one of Sequeira's men, who had
that was bearing the news of his approach to
Malacca. He caught this vessel and slew its
captain. Still sailing on, he captured a large
Indian trading ship, from which he learnt
that the rest of Sequeira's men were still alive
and in bondage to the Malays, the leading man
escaped from captivity in Malacca and who
reported that there were other Portuguese
fugitives at Pasai. The Viceroy sailed to
Pasai and picked them up. He was well
received by the people of Pasai, but he sailed
on at once in order to overtake a native ship
among them being one Ruy d'Aranjo, a per-
sonal friend of the Viceroy. On July T,
1511, Albuquerque and his fleet of nineteen
ships sailed into the roadstead at Malacca
with trumpets sounding, banners waving,
guns firing, and with every demonstration
that might be expected to overawe the junks
in the harbour and the warriors in the town.
At the sight of the powerful Portuguese fleet
the native vessels in the roadstead attempted
to flee, but the Viceroy, who feared that any
precipitate action on his part might lead to the
murder of his fellow-countrymen in the town,
ordered the ships to stay where they vi'ere, and
assured them that he had no piratical inten-
tions. The captains of three large Chinese
junks in the harbour then visited the Por-
tuguese Admiral and offered to assist him in
attacking the town ; they, too, had grievances
against the port authorities. The captain of a
Gujerat trading ship also came with a similar
tale. Early on the following day there came
envoys from the Sultan to say that the Malay
ruler had always been friendly to the King of
Portugal, and that his wicked Bendahara — who
had recently been put to death — was entirely
responsible for the attack on Sequeira. Albu-
querque made every effort to impress the
envoys with a sense of his power, but he
replied with the simple answer that no
arrangement was possible until the prisoners
had been released. The prisoners were,
indeed, the key of the situation. The Admiral
was sure (hat any attack on the town would
be the signal for them to be massacred ; the
Sultan vaguely felt that to give them up would
be to surrender a powerful weapon of defence.
So the days passed ; the Malays were arming,
the Portuguese were examining the roadstead
with a view to devising a good plan of attack,
but neither side did any overt act of hostility.
At the Malacca Court itself the usual divided
counsels prevailed, the war party being led by
the Sultan's eldest son and by the Sultan's son-
in-law, the Prince of Pahang. After seven
days of futile negotiations a man from the
town slipped on board the Admiral's ship with
a letter from Ruy d'Aranjo, the most important
of the prisoners, strongly advising Albuquerque
to abandon all idea of rescuing them and to
begin the attack without further delay. The
Viceroy was not prepared to take advantage
of this heroic offer of self-sacrifice on the
prisoners' part, but he felt that his present
policy could lead to nothing. By way of a
demonstration, he burnt some of the Malay
shipping in the harbour and bombarded a
few of the finer residences on the seaside.
The demonstration produced an unexpected
result : Ruy d'Aranjo was at once released.
He brought with him the news that many of
the townspeople were hostile to the Sultan
and would be prepared to turn against the
Malays should the opportunity present itself.
This information probably settled the fate of
the city.
More negotiations followed. Albuquerque
asked for permission to build a fortified factory
in the town of Malacca, so that Portuguese
merchants might be able to trade there in
peace and safety ; he also asked for the return
of the booty taken from Sequeira, and for an
indemnity of 300,000 cruzados (about ;£33,50o).
He found that the Sultan was not indisposed
to make concessions, but that the younger
chiefs were clamorous for war. Ultimately,
as often happens in Malay councils, the Sultan
decided to stand aside and to let the opposing
parties — the Portuguese and the Princes —
88
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
fight it out. He himself stood on the defensive
and refused either to malce concessions or to
lead an attack. As soon as tliis decision was
arrived at, the Prince Alaedin and the Sultan
of Pahang set about the defence of the town,
while the Javanese communities seem to have
assured the Admirals that the coming conflict
was no concern of theirs, and that they were, if
anything, well disposed to the Portuguese.
In order to understand the plan of attack, it
MALAY SEAL.
is necessary to appreciate the difference between
the Malacca of 1511 and the Malacca of the
present time. It is often supposed that the
harbour has silted up and that the conditions
cannot be reproduced, but it should be remem-
bered (hat the Portuguese ships were small
vessels of light draught that could lie much
closer to the shore than the deep-draughted
steamers of to-day. The great change that has
come over the harbour is due to the shifting of
the river channel after it enters the sea. The
old maps of Malacca show that the Malacca
river on reaching its mouth turned sharply to
the right, and had scooped out a comparatively
deep channel very close to the northern shore,
where the houses — then as now — were thickly
clustered. This channel was the old harbour
of Malacca ; it enabled light-draught ships to
lie very close to the land, and it explains how
the Portuguese with their guns of little range
could succeed in bombarding the houses on
the shore. Landing was, however, another
matter. The deep mud-banks made it ex-
tremely difficult to land under cover of the
guns of the fleet ; the true landing-place,
then as now, lay just inside the river itself.
Above the landing-place, then as now,
there was a bridge, but the old Malay bridge
was a little further up the river than the
present structure. This bridge, since it com-
manded the landing-place and maintained
communications between the two sections of
the town, was the key of the whole situation.
Both sides realised how matters stood. The
Malays strongly fortified the bridge, and
stationed upon it a force of picked men under
an Indian mercenary named Tuan Bandam.
The high ground immediately to the south of
the river — St. Paul's Hill, as it is now called —
was the true Malay citadel. It was covered
with the houses of the principal adherents of
the Sultan, and was the site of the Sultan's
palace itself. It protected the bridge, and
was garrisoned by the followers of the war
party, the Prince Alaedin and the Sultan of
Pahang. It was felt by all that the landing-
places and the bridge would be the centre of
the coming struggle.
Behind all this show of Malay strength there
was, however, very little true power. The
Malays themselves were nothing more than a
military garrison living on the resources of
an alien community. The trading town of
Malacca was divided up into quarters under
foreign headmen. The Javanese of Gersek
held Bandar Hilir to the south of the river ;
the Javanese and Sundanese from Japara and
Tuban held Kampong Upeh to the north of the
river. The Indian merchants also possessed
a quarter of their own. These alien merchants
did not love the Malays. All they wanted was
to trade in peace ; at the first sign of a struggle
they began to remove their goods to places of
safety, and had to be forcibly prevented from
fleeing inland. The Sultan of Pahang with
his fire-eating followers was not a very reliable
ally ; he had no real interest in the war. The
conflict ultimately resolved itself into a trial of
strength between the personal retainers of the
Sultan and the 1,400 soldiers of Albuquerque,
but the advantage of position was all on the
side of the Malays.
The Viceroy's preparations for attack lasted
several days. He spent his time in tampering
with the loyalty of the Javanese and other
foreign communities, and in constructing a
floating battery of very light draught to enter
the river and bombard the bridge. This
battery was not altogether a success. It
grounded at the very mouth of the river, and
was exposed for nine days and nights to inces-
and forced the floating battery up to a more
commanding position, whence it made short
work of the bridge itself. The battery had now
done its work and had made communication
between the two banks of the river less ready
than it had previously been, but the fight was
MALAY TIN CURRENCY ("WITH
CASTING MOULD).
sant attacks from both b.mks. Its commander,
Antonio d'Abreu, had his teeth shot away at
the very first attack, but he stuck doggedly to
his post and saved the battery from capture.
At last Albuquerque landed a strong force,
obtained temporary possession of both banks,
CHINESE "CASH AND MALAY COINS.
(The "tree " shows how Malay tin coins are cast.
The hole in the cash is square.)
by no means over. The Prince Alaedin and his
men furiously attacked the landing party and
were only beaten off after the Portuguese had
lost 80 men in killed and wounded. The Viceroy
tried to follow up his success by attacking the
mosques and palace on St. Paul's Hill. Be-
wildered in a maze of buildings, the Portuguese
again suffered heavy loss, and had to beat a
confused retreat to their landing-place. There
they entrenched themselves and were able to
hold their own. Their only substantial success
had been the capture of the outworks built by
the Malays to protect the landing-places ; the
fortifications of the bridge itself were still un-
captured.
The next attack took place on St. James's
Day, July 24, 15:1. The Viceroy landed bodies
of men on both banks of the river and advanced
again upon the bridge. The Portuguese on the
south bank were furiously attacked by a Malay
force of about seven hundred men, headed by the
Sultan in person. The battle appears to have
been a very terrible one, and to have raged
principally about the south end of the bridge,
where the high ground of the hill approaches
nearest to the river. From their vantage
ground on the slopes, and under cover of their
buildings, the Malays poured an incessant stream
of poisoned darts upon the Portuguese, who
replied by burning the houses and endeavouring
to drive the Malays out of their cover. En-
cumbered with armour and weapons, the Portu-
guese found that the heat of the fire was more
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
89
than they could resist. To add to their troubles,
the Lalcsamana Hang Tuah brought down a
flotilla of boats and fireships that harassed the
flanks and threatened the communications of
the Viceroy's force^. Albuquerque decided to
retreat. He retireid to his ships, taking with
him 70 of his men who had been struck
down with poisoned darts ; of these 70 men
twelve died, and the rest suffered from con-
stantly recurring pain for a long period of
time. The Malay losses will never be known.
The Sultan of Pahang, whose houses had been
burnt and whose property had been plundered,
left his father-in-law in the lurch and returned
to his own country. The iire-eating youths of
Malacca, who had egged on their .Sultan to
war, had now had enough of the fighting. The
foreign merchants had learnt that their Malay
masters were not necessarily omnipotent.
Although the Viceroy had been consistently
repulsed, his very pertinacity had practically
secured the victory. When he landed again
on the following day all organised resistance
was over. The foreign subjects of the Sultan
refused to expose their lives in a hopeless cause
that was not their own. The Sultan's retainers
found that the profit of war was not worth its
risks. The Sultan himself fled. A few untam-
able spirits like the Laksamana continued to
carry on a guerilla warfare against the Portu-
guese, but with no real hope of success. The
foreigners all submitted — first the Peguans, then
the various sections of the Javanese community ;
they even joined the Portuguese Under the
brothers De Andrade in an expedition to destroy
the stockades of the Prince Alaedin. After this
the Malay Prince saw the futility of further
resistance ; he followed his father in his flight
to the interior. A few scattered bands of out-
laws represented all that was left of the famous
Malay kingdom of Malacca.
The spoils taken by the Portuguese are not
exactly known. According to some authorities,
the value of the plunder was SOi°oo cruzados,
or about ;^6,ooo ; others say that this only
represented the King's share of the spoil. It
was also said that several thousand cannon —
either 3,000 or 8,000 — were captured. This ex-
pression may refer to mere firearms, but it
must be enormously exaggerated even with
this limitation. The Malay forces were very
small, and they inflicted most damage with
poisoned darts. Moreover, we are specially
told that Albuquerque sent home as his only
important trophies one or two cannon of Indian
make and some Chinese images of lions. Had
it not been for the foreign elements in the
population of the town of Malacca, the capture
of the city would have been an act of useless
folly. As it was, the victory was a valuable
one. It substituted a Portuguese for a Malay
ruling class without destroying the trade-
tradition of the place. It gave the Portuguese
a- naval base, a trading centre, and a citadel
that they could easily hold against any attacks
that the Malays might organise.
The Viceroy could not afford to garrison
Malacca with the force that had sufficed to
take it. He had captured it with the whole
of the available forces of Portuguese India —
ig ships, 800 European soldiers, and 600 sepoys.
If anything was needed to show the unreality
of the wealth and power ascribed by some
imaginative writers to these old Malayan
"empires" or "kingdoms," it would be the
insignificance of the Portuguese garrisons
that held their own against all attacks and
even organised small punitive expeditions in
reply. The loss of ten or twelve Portuguese
was a disaster of the first magnitude to the
" captain " in charge of the town and fort of
Malacca. A small Portuguese reverse on the
Muar river — when the gallant Ruy d'Aranjo
was killed — enabled the Laksamana Hang
Tuah to entrench himself on the Malacca
river and to "besiege" the town. This
famous Malay chief, whose name still lives in
the memory of his countrymen, was a man of
extraordinary energy and resource. He fought
the Portuguese by sea, in the narrows of the
Singapore Straits ; he surprised them off Cape
Rachado ; he harassed the town of Malacca
from the upper reaches of its own river ; he
intrigued with the allies of the Portuguese ;
he even induced a Javanese fleet to threaten
Malacca. This indefatigable fighter died as he
PORTUGUESE TIN COINS OP
MALACCA.
had lived, desperately warring against the
enemies of his race. With his death, and with
the destruction in 1526 of the Sultan's new
stronghold on the island of Bintang, the Malay
power was utterly destroyed. From 1511 to
1605 the Portuguese were the real masters of
the Straits.
The history of Malacca from the date of
Sequeira's expedition (a.d. 1509) to the time
when it was captured by the Dutch (a.d. 1641)
reads like a romance. It is associated with
great names like those of Camoens and St.
Francis Xavier ; it is the story of desperate
sieges and of the most gallant feats of arms.
Tradition has it that once when the garrison
had fired away their last ounce of powder in
the course of a desperate battle against the
Achinese, the suspicious-seeming silence of
the grim fortress terrified the enemy into flight.
We are not, however, concerned with the
romance of its history so much as with its
pohtical aspect. There is something significant
in the very titles of the officials of Malacca.
The Portuguese Governor of Malacca was
its " captain," the heads of the native com-
munities were "captains" too. Indeed, Albu-
querque went so far as to appoint the Javanese
headman, Ultimuti Raja, his bendahara. The
high officials of the Dutch bore trading names
such as " first merchant " or " second mer-
chant " ; the civil servants of our own East
India Company were " writers." There is no
arrogance about any of these descriptions ;
they only showed what their bearers really
were. What, then, are we to make of titles
such as those of the " Viceroy of Africa,
Arabia, and Persia " and the " Viceroy of
India " ? They hardly represented realities ; did
they symbolise any national policy or ambition ?
The aim of all the European Powers in the
Far East — whether Portuguese or Dutch or
English — was to capture the rich trade of these
countries. Sequeira asked for permission to
trade ; Albuquerque asked for permission to
build a fortified factory at Malacca ; the East
India Companies of the Dutch and English were
merely trading concerns. Yet there was this
difference. The imperial idea — which, in the
case of the Dutch and English, took centuries
to develop — seems to have existed from the
very first in the minds of the Portuguese. It
was not the imperialism of the present clay ;
Albuquerque did not seek to administer, even
when he claimed suzerainty. He allowed his
Asiatic subjects a wide measure of self-govern-
ment under their own " captains " in the very
town of Malacca itself. Although he did not,
indeed, try to administer, he tried to dominate.
The Portuguese power would brook no rival.
The garrisons were small — they were not
sufficient to hold any tract of country — but the
striking force of the viceroyalty was sufficient
to destroy any trading port that refused to bow
to the wishes of the Portuguese or that set
itself up in irreconcilable hostility against them.
Again and again — at Kampar, in the island of
Bintang, and on the shores of the Johore river
— did the Portuguese expeditions harry the
fugitives of the old Malay kingdom and destroy
the chance of a native community rising to
menace their fortified base at Malacca. What
they did in these Straits they also did on the
shores of India and Africa. The titles of the
old Portuguese Viceroys were not misnomers,
though they did not bear the administrative
significance that we should now attach to
them. The Portuguese fleet did really domin-
ate the East. The weakness of this old Portu-
guese " empire" lay in the fact thatit could not
possibly survive the loss of sea-power. It
consisted — territoriallj' — of a few naval bases
that became a useless burden when the com-
mand of the sea passed into the hands of the
English and Dutch. The fall of Malacca may
be truly said to date from a.d. 1606, when the
Dutch Admiral Cornells Matelief gained a
decisive, victory over the Portuguese fleet in
the Straits of Malacca. From that time for-
ward the doom of the town was sealed. Trade
went with the command of the sea ; apart
from lis trade, Malacca had no sufficient
revenue and became a useless burden to the
Viceroys of Goa. Portuguese pride did indeed
induce the Viceroys at first to send expeditions
to the relief of their beleaguered countrvmen
in the famous fortress, but as siege succeeded
siege it became obvious that the fate of the city
was only a question of time. It fell in 1641.
90
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
After Sultan JIahmud had been driven out
of Malacca he fled to Batu Hampar, while his
son, the Prince Alaedin, built a stockade at
Pagoh. Pagoh was soon taken by the Portu-
guese. The Malay Princes then took refuge
for a time in Pahang, after which they estab-
lished themselves far up the Johore river, where
they were relatively safe from attack. Settle-
ments far up a river are, however, of very
little use either for trade or piracy, so — as
the Malays regained confidence — they moved
southwards and established themselves on the
island of Bintang, Sultan Mahmud at Tebing
Tinggi and the Prince Alaedin at Batu Pela-
bohan. This Prince Alaedin had been raised
to sovereign rank and bore the title of Sultan
Ahmad Shah, to the great confusion of historical
records, which confuse him both with his
father. Sultan Mahmud, and with his brother,
who afterwards bore the name of Sultan
Alaedin. In any case the Sultan Ahmad died
at Batu Pelabohan and was buried at Bukit
Batu in Bintang ; if Malay rumour is to be
believed, he was poisoned by his jealous
father. Sultan Mahmud then installed his
younger son as Raja Muda, but did not confer
on him 'the sovereign dignity borne by the
murdered Ahmad Shah. After this, the Sultan
moved his headquarters to Kopak. There
another son was born to him, this time by his
favourite wife. Tun Fatimah, the daughter of
the famous Bendahara who had so bitterly
opposed Sequeira. This child was given the
title of Raja Kechil Besar, and was afterwards
allowed (through his mother's influence) to
take precedence of his elder brother, the Raja
Muda, and to be raised to sovereign rank as the
Sultan Muda or Sultan Alaedin Riayat Shah II.
Meanwhile the Malay settlement at Kopak had
increased sufficiently in importance to attract
the notice of the Portuguese. In 1526 it was
surprised by the Viceroy Mascarenhas, who
utterly destroj'ed it. Sultan Mahmud, again a
fugitive, took refuge at Kampar in Sumatra.
By a high-handed act of policy the Portuguese
had just, abducted the ruler of Kampar and had
thereby incurred the deadly hostiUty of the
inhabitants of that Sumatran port. The aged
Sultan Mahmud was welcomed and was recog-
nised as sovereign in the absence of the local
chief. He died shortly afterwards, leaving the
throne to his son, Alaedin Riayat Shah II.
The new Sultan was not left in peace by the
Portuguese. Driven out of Kampar, he ulti-
mately settled at a place on the Johore river.
He died there and was succeeded by his son,
the Raja Muda Perdana, who took the title of
Sultan Mudzafar Shah 11. This Mudzafar
Shah established himself at Seluyut (Johore
Lama) but he had outlying stations on the
trade routes. At a later date these stations
were destined to become important.
The Sultans of Perak claim descent from a
" Sultan Mudzafar Shah," an elder son of the
Sultan Mahmud who was driven from Malacca
by the Portuguese. The present Sultan of
Perak has asserted that this '' Sultan Mudzafar
Shah" went to Perak because he had been
passed over for the succession by his younger
brother. If this tradition is correct, the
" Sultan Mudzafar Shah " of Perak would
not be the poisoned Alaedin (Sultan Ahmad
Shah), but the young Raja Muda, who was set
aside by his father in favour of the Raja Kechil
Besar, afterwards Alaedin Riayat Shah II.
All that we know about this member of the
royal line is that he married a daughter of
Tun Fatimah by her first husband. Tun Ali,
and that he had a son, Raja Mansur. This
accords with the Perak story that Sultan
Mudzafar Shah was succeeded by his son, a
Sultan Mansur Shah. The following table
shov/s the line of descent
in the sight of the Malays. From this time
onwards the Dutch came constantly to Johore.
Their factor, Jacob Buijsen, resided continu-
ously at his station and seems to have done
a good deal to turn an insignificant fishing
village into an important centre of trade and
political influence. In this work of develop-
ment he received every assistance from the
Sultan's brother, Raja Abdullah, who was
anxious to make a definite alliance with Holland
Sultan Mahmud Shah
(of Malacca and Johore)
Alaedin
(Sultan Ahmad Shah)
I
" Raja Muda "
[Sultan Mudzafar Shah I.
of Perak)
I
Raja Mansur
(Sultan Mansur Shah I.
of Perak)
Raja Kechil Besar
{Sultan Alaedin Riayat
Shah II. of Johore)
Raja Muda Perdana
{Sultan Mudzafar Shah II.
of Johore)
This pedigree would go to prove not only
that the Sultan of Perak represents the senior
line of the oldest Malay dynasty, but also that
he is directly descended from the famous line
of Bendaharas whose glories are the subject
of the "Sejarah Melayu."
Sultan Mudzafar Shah 11. seems to have
reigned in comparative peace at Johore. The
only incident of any importance recorded
about him was his secret marriage under
rather suspicious circumstances to a Pahang
lady, the divorced or abducted wife of one
Raja Omar of Pahang. Sultan Mudzafar Shah
did not live long. When he died the chiefs
placed his son, the boy Abdul Jalil, on the
throne. The new sovereign, Abdul Jalil Shah,
suffered great tribulations at the hands of the
Portuguese, who burnt Johore Lama and drove
him to the upper reaches of the river, where
no ships could follow him. He settled ulti-
mately at Batu Sawar, which he named Makam
Tauhid. He died at this place, leaving two
sons (Raja Mansur and Raja Abdullah) by his
principal wife, and three sons (Raja Hasan,
Raja Husain and Raja Mahmud) by secondary
wives. It is said that the last three became
rulers of Siak, Kelantan and Kampar respec-
tively. Raja Mansur succeeded to the throne
of Johore under the title of Alaedin Riayat
Shah III. It was in the reign of this Alaedin
Riayat Shah that the Dutch and English first
came to Johore.
CHAPTER VI.
The Dutch Ascexdaxcv.
About the end of a.d. 1602 a Dutch navi-
gator of the name of Jacob van Heemskerck
visited Johore and left a factor behind, after
satisfying himself that the factor's life was
not likely to be endangered by any peace
between the Malays and the Portuguese. By
doing this he attracted to Johore the unwelcome
attentions of the Governor of Malacca, who at
once sent a few small vessels to blockade the
river. However, in a.d. 1603 two Dutch ships
that came to visit the factor drove away the
Portuguese flotilla and obtained great honour
and to obtain some permanent protection
against Portuguese attack. A Malay envoy
was actually sent to Holland, but died on
the journey, and no treaty was made till
a.d. 1606, 'when Admiral Cornells Matelief
with a powerful fleet arrived in the Straits of
Malacca.
The Dutch account of this expedition tells us
that the old Sultan Abdul Jalil Shah had been
a great fighter and had waged a long war
against the Portuguese. At his death he left
four sons. The eldest, the " King Yang-di-
Pertuan " (Alaedin Riayat Shah III.) was in
the habit of getting up at noon and having a
meal, after which he drank himself drunk and
transacted no further business. His second son,
the King of Siak, was a man of weak character,
who rarely visited Johore. His third, Raja
Abdullah, is described as a man of about thirty-
five years of age, fairly intelligent, far-sighted,
quiet m disposition, and a great hand at driving
hard bargains. The fourth brother, Raja Laut,
is depicted as " the greatest drunkard, murderer,
and scoundrel of the whole family. . . All
the brothers drink except Raja Abdullah ; and
as the rulers are, so are the nobles in their
train." Such, then, were the men whom the
Admiral Cornells Matelief had come to succour.
But we must not condemn these men too
hastily. The Bendahara or prime minister of
these Princes was the author of the " Annals,"
our great source of information on Malay history.
The royal drunkard, Alaedin Riayat Shah, was
the man who ordered the "Annals "to be written.
The " great hand at driving hard bargains "—
Raja Abdullah — is the patron of the history :
"Sultan Abdullah Maayat Shah, the glory of
his land and of his time, the chief of the
assembly of true believers, the ornament of
the atrodes of the Faithful — may God enhance
his generosity and his dignities, and perpetuate
his just government over all his estates."
These men must have been something more
than mere drunkards ; the historian has reason
to be grateful to them.
On May 14, 1606, Admiral Matelief arrived
off the Johore river and received a friendly
letter of greeting from Raja Abdullah ; on May
17th he entertained the Prince on board his
iflagship. The interview must have been
amusing, for it is quite clear that the Dutch
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
91
had come to the Straits with the most ex-
aggerated ideas about the greatness of Johore.
On boarding the Dutch ship Raja Abdullah
greeted his host most cordially and presented
him with a "golden kris studded with stones
of little value." In welcoming the sailoi's to
Malay waters, the Raja prolonged the compli-
ments to such an extent that the impatient
Admiral tried to lead him up to business by
a pointed inquiry regarding the nature and
extent of the help that might be expected from
Johore if the Dutch attacked Malacca. In this
matter, however, the Prince was anxious not
to commit himself. He explained that he was
an orang miskin, a person of little wealth and
importance, subordinate in all things to the
will of his royal brother. " In short," says our
angry Dutch chronicler, " all the information
that we could obtain from this Prince was that
he was a very poor man indeed ; had he been
able to fight the Portuguese by himself, would
he have sent to Holland for assistance ? "
This was unanswerable. The Admiral gave
up all hope of obtaining any real armed assist-
ance from Johore.
Nevertheless a treaty was signed. It is the
first Dutch treaty with Johore and is dated
May 17, 1606. Its terms are interesting.
The new allies began by agreeing to capture
Malacca. After capturing it, they were to
divide up the spoil — the city was to go to the
Dutch and the adjoining territories to the
Malays, but the Dutch were to possess the
right to take timber from the nearest Malay
jungles for the needs of the tovi'n and its
shipping. The permission of the future Dutch
Governor of Malacca was to be obtained
before any European could be permitted to
land on Johore territory.
As this treaty seemed a little premature until
the capture of Malacca had been effected,
Admiral Matelief set out at once to carry out
that portion of the arrangement. He gained
a decisive victory over the Portuguese fleet
but failed to take the town, and ultimately gave
up the enterprise as impracticable. On Sep-
tember 23, 1606, he made an amended treaty
under which a small portion of Johore territory
was ceded to the Dutch as a trading station in
lieu of the town and fort of Malacca, the rest
of the treaty remaining the same as before.
After concluding this agreement he sailed
away, and only returned to the Malay Pen-
insula in October, 1607, when he visited the
factory at Palani. He then found that a com-
plete change had come over the position of
affairs at Johore. The Portuguese — having
lost the command of the sea — had reversed
their policy of unceasing hostility to native
powers, and were now prepared to make an
alliance with the Sultan. The Dutch factor
had fled to Java, and the Admiral summed up
the situation in a letter dated January 4, 1608 :
" The chief King drinks more than ever ; the
chiefs are on the side of the Portuguese ; Raja
Abdullah has no power." The Dutch East
India Company had invested 10,000 dollars at
Johore and 63,000 dollars at Patani.
Admiral Matelief could do very little. As
he had sent most of his ships home and was
expecting the arrival of a fleet under Admiral
van Caerden, he tried to induce Admiral van
Caerden to change his course and threaten
Johore, but he was too late, as the Admiral had
sailed already from Java on his way to the
Moluccas and was too far away to give any
assistance. Nothing could be done till the
autumn. In the end a Dutch fleet arrived
under Admiral Verhoeff to bring the SuKan
to reason. Sultan Alaedin Riayat Shah seems
to have defended himself by the very logical
argument that he wished to be at peace with
everybody and that Dutch friendship, to be of
value, should accord him permanent pro-
tection. This permanent protection was
promised him by a new treaty, under which
the Dutch agreed to build a fort at Johore and
to station two guardships there to defend the
place against Portuguese attack. Having
made this arrangement, the Admiral sailed
from Johore with a letter from the Sultan
begging for Dutch aid to prosecute a personal
quarrel between himself and the Raja of Patani.
In fact, nothing could have been more fatuous
than the policy of this Alaedin Riayat Shah.
Dutch residents in the factory. The Achinese
did not treat their prisoners very harshly.
The Sultan of Achin — the famous Iskandar
Muda or Mahkota Alam — gave his sister in
marriage to Raja Abdullah and even joined
Alaedin in the convivial bouts that were so
dear to the Johore Princes. A reconciliation
was effected. On August 25, 1614, Alaedin
Riayat Shah was back in his own capital, but
he does not seem to have learned much
wisdom from his stay in Achin. Accused of
lukewarmness in helping the Achinese in
their siege of Malacca, he brought upon him-
self for the second time the vengeance of the
great Mahkota Alam. Johore was again
attacked — this time by a force which an eye-
witness, Admiral Steven van der Haghen,
estimated at 300 ships and from 30,000 to 40,000
men. Johore was taken, but the Sultan him-
self escaped to Bintang. Bintang was next
attacked. The unfortunate Sultan received
some help from Malacca, but only just enough
MALAY CANNON.
Surrounded by powerful enemies, he was
content to think only of the pleasures and of
the passions of the moment, leaving all graver
matters to the care of his cautious brother.
Raja Abdullah.
In A.D. 1610 the marriage of the Sultan's
eldest son to his cousin, the daughter of the
Raja of Siak, led to a complete change in the
attitude of the fickle Alaedin Riayat Shah
towards Raja Abdullah and the Dutch. The
Raja of Siak, a friend of the Portuguese,
became the real power behind the throne of
Johore. Again, as in 1608, the Dutch might
well have written : " The King drinks more
than ever ; the chiefs are on the side of the
Portuguese ; the Raja Abdullah has no power."
But vengeance overtook the treacherous Ala-
edin from a most unexpected quarter. On
June 6, 1613, the Achinese, who were at war
with Malacca, suddenly made a raid on Johore,
captured the capital, and carried the Sultan off
into captivity along with his brother Abdullah,
the chief Malay Court dignitaries, and the
to seal his destruction. He was now unable
either to repel the attack of his enemies or
to clear himself of the charge of allying him-
self with the Portuguese infidel against whom
Mahkota Alam was waging religious war.
Alaedin Riayat Shah was taken prisoner and
died very shortly afterwards ; tradition has it
that he was put to death by his captors.
Incidentally it may be observed that the
"Malay Annals," though dated a.d. 1612, refer
to "the late Sultan Alaedin Riayat Shah, who
died in Achin." This reference shows that
the book, though begun in A.D. 1612, was not
actually completed till some years later. It
is very much to be regretted that the Malay
historian should have confined his work to the
records of the past and should have given us
no account whatever of the stirring incidents
in which he personally, as Bendahara, must
have played a most prominent part.
Sultan Alaedin Riayat Shah III. was suc-
ceeded by his brother Raja Abdullah, who
took the title of Sultan Abdullah Maayat Shah.
92
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
The new ruler. possessed many good qualities
and he had the advantage of being married to
a sister of Mahkota Alam, but was extremely
unfortunate in being forced to contend against
so jealous a "potentate as his brother-in-law.
He seems to have led the wandering existence
of a Pretender-King. In a.d. 1623 he was cer-
tainly driven out of the island of Linggi by
an Achinese force. In A.D. 1634 the Dutch
records speak of Pahang and Johore as being
incorporated in the kingdom of Achin. No
Dutch ships ever visited Abdullah during his
sultanate ; no Dutch factors were ever sta-
tioned at his Court. He was deserving but
unfortunate — a mere claimant to a throne that
the Achinese would not permit him to fill.
He died in a.d. 1637.
He was succeeded — if indeed we can speak
of succession to so barren a title — by his
nephew, Sultan Abdul Jalil Shah II., son_ of
the Sultan Alaedin Riayat Shah III. who died at
Achin. The new ruler was more fortunate
than his predecessor in that the Achinese
power was now on the wane. The mighty
Mahkota Alam, the most powerful and most
ambitious of the rulers of Achin, was dead ;
his sceptre had passed into the hands of
women. These years — from 1637 onwards —
may be considered years of revival among the
Malay States that had been reduced to vassal-
age by Achin, for they gave a new lease of
life to the kingdoms of Johore, Pahang and
Perak. In a.d. 1639 the Dutch, who were
anxious to procure native assistance for the
siege of Malacca, made overtures to the Sultan.
Possessing the command of the sea, they
wanted Malay auxiliaries to assist them with
supplies and transport and to help in hem-
ming in the Portuguese by land. The Dutch
Admiral Van de Veer accordingly entered into
an agreement with Abdul Jalil Shah and' defi-
nitely secured him as an ally in the war
against Malacca. This time the Portuguese
stronghold was captured (a.d. 1641).
In spite of the fact that the military com-
manders at Malacca were not altogether satis-
fied with the help given them by their Malay
allies, the Dutch civil authorities did their best
to show gratitude to Johore and to restore it
as much as possible to its old position. They
arranged peace between Johore and Achin,
and gave various other assurances of . their
goodwill to the Sultan Abdul Jalil Shah. We
hear of various complimentary missions being
exchanged between Johore and Batavia with-
out much practical result. What else, indeed,
could we have expected ? Johore became
useless to Holland as soon as the capture of
Malacca gave the Dutch a better station in the
Straits than the old trading factory of Batu
Sawar had ever been. Johore had no indus-
tries, no trade, no productive hinterland ; it
was bound to decline. Sultan Abdul Jalil lived
long enough to see a great calamity overwhelm
his country. A quarrel with the Sultan of
Jambi led in a.d. 1673 to a war in which
Johore was plundered and burnt and its aged
rulerdriven into exile. The death of the old
Sultan — who did not long survive the shock
of the destruction of his capital — brought to an
end the direct line of the Johore dynasty.
He, was succeeded by a cousin, a Pahang
Prince who took the name of Sultan Ibrahim
Shah. The new ruler's energy infused fresh
life into the State ; he established himself at
Riau in order to carry on the war against Jambi
more effectively than from Johore Lama ; he
allied himself with the Dutch, and in time
succeeded in regaining what his predeces-
sor had lost. But he did not live long. On
February 16, 1685, he died, leaving an only
son, who was at once placed on the throne
under the title of Sultan Mahmud Shah. As
the new Sultan was a mere boy, his mother
became Regent, but she allowed all real power
to be vested in the Bendahara Paduka Raja,
the loyal and able minister of her late husband,
the victorious Sultan Ibrahim. She was wisely
advised in so doing. Peace was assured ; the
traditional friendship with Holland was loyally
kept up by the Bendahara ; internal troubles
of all kinds were avoided. Unfortunately the
Bendahara died, and his headstrong ward took
the government of the State into his own hands.
In a.d. 1691 we hear of him as ruling from
Johore. This young Sultan, Mahmud Shah II.,
the last Prince of his race — ruler of Pahang
and Riau as well as of Johore — is the most
mysterious and tragic figure in Malay history.
He was said to be.the victim of one of those
terrible ghostly visitants, a Malay vampire,
the spirit of a woman dead in childbirth and
full of vengeance against the cause of her
death. He is accused, by Malay traditions from
all parts of the peninsula, of having slain in
the most fiendish manner those of his wives
who had the misfortune to become pregnant.
Probably he was mad ; but no form of madness
could have been more dangerous to a prince
in his position. The frail Hfe of this insane
and hated Sultan was the only thing that stood
between any bold conspirator and the thrones
of Johore, Pahang, and Linggi. The end
came in a.d. 1699. As the young ruler was
being carried to mosque at Kota Tinggi on the
shoulders of one of his retainers he was stabbed
to death. All Malay tradition ascribes this
assassination to the Sultan's minister, the
Bendahara Sri Maharaja, head of the great
family that is described in the " Malay Annals "
as glorying in the tradition of fidelity to its
Princes. With the death of the Sultan Mahmud
Shah II. the dynasty of Malacca, Johore, and
Pahang disappears from the page of history.
In the records of this long line of Kings the
point that most impresses the student is the
curiously personal character of Malay sove-
reignty. In Europe, where all the Continent
is divided up under different rulers, there is
no place for a fallen king except as a subject.
In the thinly pop'.ilated Malay world the
position was entirely different. So long as
a fugitive prince could induce a few followers
to share his lot, he could always find some
unoccupied valley or river in which to set up
his miniature Court. The wandering exile
Raja Abdullah (a.d. 1615-37), whose movements
cannot be traced and the date of whose death
is uncertain, was nevertheless a king — " Sultan
Abdullah Maayat Shah, the glory of his land
and of his time." He was born in the purple.
But to less highly born adventurers the
acquisition of royal rank, as distinct from
mere power, was a very difficult matter. All
Malay popular feeling is against the " worm "
that aspires to become a " dragon." If a bad
harvest or a murrain or any other misfortune
had overtaken the subjects of an upstart king,
all Malaya would have explained it as the
Nemesis that waits on sacrilege, the result of
outraging the divine majesty of kings. Royalty
was a mere matter of caste, but a great Sultan
might create minor Sultans, just as the Emperor
of China made a Sultan of the Paramisura
Muhammad Shah, or as Sultan Mansur Shah
divided his dominions between his sons, or as
Sultan Mahmud Shah I. gave sovereign rank to
his son Ahmad Shah, or as Queen Victoria may
be said to have created the sultanates of Johore
and Pahang. Titular dignity was one thing ;
real authority was another. Powerful de facto
rulers such as (in recent times) the Bendahara
of Pahang, the Temenggong of Johore and the
Dato' of Rembau, and great territorial magnates
like the Maharaja Perba of Jelai, were kings
in all except the name. The glamour of titles
and of royal descent is so great that it often
obscures realities. The Dutch when they
negotiated their treaty with the Sultan of
Achin found, when too late, that he was
Sultan in rank only, not .in power. The
sympathy that has been lavished upon the
dispossessed princely house of Singapore is
based upon a misconception of. the meaning
of Malay " royalty." Royal rank meant prestige,
position, influence — the things that lead to
power. Royal rank was a great thing in
Malay eyes and justified the attention that they
devoted to pedigrees and to the discussion of
the relative importance of the articles that made
up a king's regalia. But the student of Malay
things who mistakes mere rank for power will
constantly be surprised to find, as Admiral
Matelief was astonished to discover, that a
Malay Prince is often an orang miskin — a very
poor person indeed !
Immediately after the death of the unhappy
Mahmud Shah, his murderer, the Bendahara
Sri Maharaja, ascended the throne of Johore
and Pahang under the title of Sultan Abdul
Jalil Riayat Shah. Like most Princes who
obtain a crown by violence, he found that his
position was one of ever-growing danger from
malcontents at home and enemies abroad.
Two new disturbing forces had entered the
arena of Malayan politics. The first was the
great Menangkabau immigration ; the second
was the continued presence of Bugis fleets and
colonies on the peninsula coast. A constant
stream of industrious Sumatran Malays had for
some time past been pouring into the inland
district now known as the Negri Sambilan.
These men, being very tenacious of their own
tribal rights and customs, resented any inter-
ference from Johore. The Bugis were even
more dangerous. They were more warlike and
more energetic than the Malays ; they built
bigger ships ; they were ambitious, and they
seemed anxious to get a firm footing in the
country. In A.D. 1713 Sultan Abdul Jalil Riayat
Shah tried to strengthen his position by a
closer alliance with, the Dutch ; but such a
policy, though it might assist him against
foreign foes, was of very little avail against the
enemies of his own household. In a.d. 1617
(or a little earlier) an incident occurred that
may be described as one of the more extra-
ordinary events in Malay history. A Menang-
kabau adyenturer calling himself Raja K^chil
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
93
appeared in Johore. He gave himself out to be
a postliumous son of the murdered Mahmud
Shah and stirred up a revolution in the capital.
But the strangest part of the incident was its
termination. The upstart Sultan Abdul Jalil
Riayat Shah consented to revert to his old
position of Bendahara Sri Maharaja and to
serve under the impostor, Raja Kfchil, whose
claims he must have known to be false. To
cement this alliance between murder and fraud
the ex-Sultan agreed to give his daughter,
Tengku Tengah, in marriage to the new Sultan,
who took the name of Abdul Jalil Rahmat
Shah.
It is difficult to exactly trace the course of
events after this point because we have two
Malay partisan histories written from opposite
points of view. One history accepts this Raja
Kechil as a true son of the murdered Sultan
Mahmud ; the other treats him as a scoundrel
and an impostor, and makes a martyr of the
deposed assassin, Sultan Abdul Jalil Riayat
Shah. There can be no doubt that the Benda-
hara's relatives conspired with the Bugis
against their new master, but the details of
the plot are not very clear. According to one
account ^.a woman's jealousy provoked the
trouble. Raja Kechil had jilted Tgngku Tengah
in order to marry her younger sister, Tengku
Kamariah. This little change in the original
plan did not injure the Bendahara, but it made
a great deal of difference to the ambitious
Tengku Tengah and caused further dissension
in a family that was already divided by personal
jealousies. As the children of the Bendahara
who were born after his accession to the throne
denied that their elder brothers, who were
born before their father became a king, had
any right to call themselves princes, it is
not surprising that intrigues and conspiracies
should have been begun. It happened that
there was at this time in Johore a Bugis adven-
turer named Daeng Parani. Tengku Sulaiman,
eldest son of the Bendahara, went to this man
and appealed to him for help in overthrowing
the upstart Raja Kfichil. Daeng Parani hesi-
tated ; the odds against him were too great.
TSngku Sulaiman then tried to win over the
Bugis adventurer by promising him the hand
of his sister, Tengku Tengah, in marriage.
Daeng Parani again refused. At this juncture
Tengku Tengah herself came forward and
made a personal appeal to the love and chivalry
of the Bugis chief. Daeng Parani now con-
sented to act. With great boldness — for he
had only a handful of men in the heart of a
hostile capital — he surrounded the Sultan's
residence and endeavoured to slay Raja Kechil
and to abduct Tfingku Kamariah. He was
only partially successful ; the Sultan escaped.
Daeng Parani fled to Selangor, leaving his
fellow-conspirators behind. Tengku Sulaiman
and Tengku Tengah fled to Pahang. The aged
Bendahara, father of Tengku Sulaiman and
Tengku Tengah, feeling that he would be
suspected of having taken a part in the con-
spiracy, followed his children in their flight,
but was overtaken and murdered at Kuala
Pahang. He is the Sultan known as marhum
kuala Pahang. Tengku Sulaiman, however,
managed to make good his escape and ulti-
mately joined his Bugis friends.
After these incidents Raja Kechil — or Abdul
Jalil Rahmat Shah as he styled himself —
abandoned Johore Lama, the scene of so many
misfortunes to Malay Kings, and made a new
capital for himself at Riau. He carried on
with great courage and success a desultory
war against the Bugis, but was ultimately out-
manoiuvred and lost his position as Sultan of
Johore, because the Bugis ships, having enticed
the Malay fleet to Kuala Linggi, doubled back
during the night and suddenly appeared before
Riau. In the absence of its King and his
followers, Riau could offer no resistance. The
Bugis proclaimed Tengku Sulaiman Sultan of
Johore under the title of Sultan Sulaiman
Badru'l-alamShah. The principal Bugis chief,
Daeng Merowah (or Klana Jaya Putra) became
"Yang-di-Pertuan Muda" of Riau, with the title
of Sultan Alaedin Shah, while another Bugis
chief, Daeng Manompo, became " Raja tua "
under the title of Sultan Ibrahim Shah. This
seems to have occurred on October 22,
A.D. 1721, but the formal investiture only took
place on October 4, 1722. To strengthen their
position, the Bugis chiefs allied themselves in
marriage with the Malays. Daeng Manompo
married Tun Tepati, aunt of Sultan Sulaiman ;
Daeng Merowah maiTied Inche' Ayu, daughter
of the ex-Temenggong Abdul Jalil and widow
of the murdered Sultan Mahmud ; Daeng
Parani had married Tengku Tengah ; and
Daeng Chelak sought to marry Tengku Ka-
mariah, the captured wife of Raja Kechil.
Other Bugis chiefs — Daeng Sasuru and Daeng
Mengato — married nieces of Sultan Sulaiman.
As the Bugis accounts of the Raja Kechil
incident differ very materially from the Malay
version, we can hardly hope to get a thoroughly
reliable history of the events that led to the
establishment of Bugis kingdoms in the Straits
of Malacca. We may, however, consider it
certain that Raja Kechil was not a posthumous
son of Sultan Mahmud Shah. Dutch records
prove that Raja Kechil was an extremely old
man in A.D. 1745 ; they even provide strong
evidence that he was fifty-three years of age
when he seized the throne of Johore. He
must therefore have been an older man than
the Prince whom he claimed as his father. In
all probability Raja Kechil won his kingdom by
mere right of conquest, supplanting a murderer
who was quite ready to give up an untenable
throne and to take a secure position as Benda-
hara under a strong ruler. In later years, when
the Malays became savagely hostile to their
Bugis masters, they were doubtless ready to ac-
cept any tale and to follow a Menangkabau
ruler, who was at least a Malay, in preference
to the Bugis pirates and their miserable tool.
Sultan Sulaiman Shah. But when Raja Kechil
died the Malays rallied to the side of his
younger son (who had a royal Malay mother)
and treated the elder son as a mere alien with-
out any claim to the throne. The murder at
Kota Tinggi in A.D. 1699 had divided the alle-
giance of the Malay world and contributed
greatly to the success of the Bugis. It was
only at the close of the eighteenth century
that the old Johore communities again recog-
nised a common ruler.
The Bugis chiefs at Riau paid very little
attention to the puppet-Sultans that they set
up. They so exasperated Sultan Sulaiman
that he soon left his sultanate and fled to
Kampar. After this incident the Bugis felt
that they had gone too far, and they made a
new treaty with their titular sovereign and
induced him to return to Riau. It should be
understood that even with Sultan Sulaiman's
help the Bugis position at Riau was very in-
secure. Raja Kechil, who had established
himself at Siak, gained many victories and re-
peatedly attacked his enemies in their very
capital. In a.d. 1727 he even abducted his
wife, Tengku Kamariah, who was held captive
at Riau itself. In a.d. 1728, with the aid of
Palembang troops, he laid siege to Riau and
was repulsed. In a.d. 1729 the Bugis block-
aded Siak and were repulsed in their turn.
The history of the whole of this period of Bugis
activity (1721-85) is extremely involved, but
it is fully discussed in Dutch works, especially
in the thirty-fifth volume of the Transactions
of the Batavian Society. We can only briefly
refer to it.
The policy of the Dutch — so far as their
general unwillingness to interfere allowed of
any policy — was that of supporting the Malays
against the restless and piratical Bugis. It was
a difficult policy, this assistance of the weak
against the strong, but it proved successful in
the end. Looking at it in the light of ultimate
results, we can compare two exactly similar
situations, one in 1756 and the other in 1784,
and notice the difference in treatment. On
both occasions Malacca was attacked.
On the first occasion the Dutch, after re-
pelling the attack on their fortress, allied
themselves with the Malays (Sultan Sulaiman,
his son the Tengku BSsar, and his son-in-law
the Sultan of Trengganu), and forced the Bugis
to come to terms (a.d. 1757) and to acknow-
ledge the Sultan of Johore as their lawful
sovereign. This plan did not work well, as
Sultan Sulaiman had great difficulty in en-
forcing his authority. To make matters worse,
his death (August 20, 1760) occurred at a time
when his eldest son, the Tengku BSsar, was
on a mission to the Bugis Princes of Linggi
and Selangor. If Malay records are to be
believed, the Bugis chief, Daeng Kamboja,
was not a man to waste an opportunity. He
poisoned the Tengku Besar and then took his
body, with every possible manifestation of
grief, back to Riau to be buried. At the burial
he proclaimed the Tengku Besar's young son
Sultan of Johore under the title of Sultan
Ahmad Riayat Shah, but he also nominated
himself to be Regent. When the unhappy
boy-King was a little older, and seemed likely
to take the government into his own hands,
he too was poisoned, so as to allow a mere
child, his brother. Sultan Mahmud Riayat Shah,
to be made Sultan and to prolong the duration
of the Regency. The Dutch plan of securing
Malay ascendancy had completely failed.
On the second occasion (when Raja Haji
attacked Malacca in 1784) the Dutch, after
repelling the attack and killing the Bugis
chief, followed up their success by driving the
Bugis out of Riau and recognising the young
Malay Sultan Mahmud Riayat Shah as the
ruler of Johore. But on this occasion they felt
that they could not trust any native dynasty to
maintain permanent peace. They accordingly
made a treaty with the Sultan, and stationed
a Resident with a small Dutch garrison at Riau.
94
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
This plan did not work very well at first ; it
pleased neither the Bugis nor the Malay chiefs.
The fifth Bugis "Yamtuan Muda " attacked
I^iau ; the Malay Sultan fled from his capital
to get up a coalition against the Dutch ; even
the Ilanun pirates made an attack upon the
place. In time, however, when the various
chiefs came to recognise that the glories of
independence were not sufficient compensation
for losing the creature-comforts of security
and peace, both the Sultan Mahmud Shah
and the Bugis Yamtuan Muda settled down
definitely at Riau and accepted the part of
dependent Princes.
The following pedigree shows the branches
of the Bugis family that ruled in the Straits.
derived a considerable portion of their slender
revenue from piracy. Generally, the condition
of the country was anarchical. There was
little trade and less agriculture, and the popu-
lation was very scanty. The Dutch had a
great opportunity of extending their influence
throughout the peninsula, but they lacked the
conciliatory qualities which are essential in
dealing with so proud and highly intellectual
a people as the Malays. Their power, such as
it was, was greatly shaken by a " regrettable
occurrence " in Selangor in 1785 which dimmed
the lustre of their laurels. The State, as we
have seen, was settled in the eighteenth cen-
tury by a Bugis colony from the Celebes, and
at the period named it was under the govern-
Upu Tanderi Burong
(a Bugis chief)
I I .1
Daeng Perani Daeng Merowah, Daeng Chelak,
(died 1725 A.D.) Klana Jaya Putra, Sultan Alaedin Sultan Alaedin Shah II.
Shah I. (First Yang-di-Pertuan (Second Yang-di-Pertuan Muda
Muda of Riau, 1721-28)
Daeng Kamboja,
Sultan Alaedin Shah III.
(Third Yang-di-Pertuan Muda,
I74S-77)
i
Raja Ali
(Fifth Yang-di-Pertuan Muda)
Sultan Mahmud Riayat Shah of Johore died
in the year 1812 A.D., leaving two sons,
Tfngku Husain and Tengku Abdurrahman.
The latter was at once proclaimed Sultan by
the Bugis Yang-di-Pertuan Muda of Riau.
Tengku Husain, who was absent in Pahang
at the time of his father's death, returned to
Riau, but appears to have made no effective
protest against his younger brother's accession.
Sultan Abdurrahman was recognised as Sultan
of Johore and Pahang by both the Dutch and
the English until January, 1819, when it suited
Sir Stamford Raffles to repudiate that recog-
nition and to accord to Tengku Husain the
title of Sultan of Johore. From this time the
line of Sultans divides into two, one branch
reigning under Dutch protection in the island
of Linggi, the other living under British pro-
tection in the town of Singapore itself.
Raja Lumu,
Sultan Selaheddin Shah
(First Sultan of Selangor)
of Riau, 1728-45)
I
1
Raja Haji
(Fourth Yang-di-Pertuan Muda
of Riau, 1777-84)
CHAPTER VII.
The Early British Connection with the
States.
When the British occupied Pinang at the
close of the eighteenth century the situation
on the mainland was a confused one. The
Dutch held Malacca, and their power extended
over Naning, and to a less extent over Rem-
bau and the Negri Sambilan, and they had
a factory in Selangor which they utilised for
the enforcement of their tin monopoly. In
the north were the Siamese hovering about the
confines of Kedah and menacing Trengganu
and Kelantan. The separate States were ruled
by chiefs whose power was despotically exer-
cised, and who, in the majority of instances,
ment of Sultan Ibrahim, a sturdy chief who
commanded a great reputation amongst the
people of the area. In 1784 the Sultan, with his
ally the Muda of Riau, Raja Haji, attacked
Malacca, plundered and burned the suburbs
of the city, and would probably have com-
pleted the conquest of the place but for the
timely arrival in the roads of a Dutch fleet
under Admiral Von Braam. The Dutch suc-
ceeded in defeating the combined forces, and
later carried the war into the enemy's country.
But Sultan Ibrahim, deeming discretion the
better part of valour, fled to Pahang, leaving
the Dutch to occupy Selangor without opposi-
tion. Subsequently Ibrahim crossed the penin-
sula from Pahang with about two thousand
followers, and made a night attack on the
Dutch fort on June 27, 1785. Panic-stricken,
the Dutch garrison abandoned their fort in a
disgraceful manner, leaving behind them all
their heavy artillery, ammunition, and a con-
siderable amount of property. The Dutch
threatened reprisals, and Ibrahim made peace
with them by restoring the plunder and
acknowledging the suzerainty of the Nether-
lands East India Company. The chief, how-
ever, was never reconciled to the connection,
and he made repeated overtures to the authori-
ties of Pinang for the extension of British
protection to his State.
When Malacca was handed back to the
Dutch in 1818, under the terms of the Treaty
of Vienna, there was, as we have already noted,
a feeling of alarm excited amongst the British
community at Pinang. Not only was the retro-
cession regarded as in itself a serious blow to
British prestige, but there were apprehensions
that the re-establishment of the Dutch at this
fine strategical centre would effectually pre-
vent the extension of British influence in the
peninsula. The Pinang merchants on June 8,
1818, wrote to the Government on the subject
of the desirability of the adoption of a more
active poHcy in the Malay peninsula. In the
course of their communication they adverted
to the extensive commercial intercourse then
carried on by British subjects from Pinang
with Perak, Selangor, Riau, Cringore and
Pontiana, and other ports in Borneo, and ex-
pressed apprehension that the Dutch on
reoccupying Malacca would endeavour to
make exclusive treaties with the chiefs of
those States very detrimental to British trade.
They therefore earnestly pressed the Governor
(Colonel Bannerman) to lose no time in en-
deavouring to enter into friendly alliance
with the chiefs of these countries, which
would secure for British merchants equal
privileges with those of the subjects of other
nations. The Government, acting promptly
upon the suggestion, despatched Mr. Cracroft,
Malay translator to the Government, to the
adjoining States of Perak and Selangor for the
purpose of forming treaties which would at
least prevent a monopoly on the part of the
Dutch, and secure for Pinang a fair partici-
pation in the general trade of the States-
There was at the time war raging between
Kedah and Perak over the question of the des-
patch of a token of homage by the latter to the
Siam Court. Mr. Cracroft was instructed by
the short-sighted autocrat of Pinang to urge
submission to the demand, and as the Perak
people were little disposed to yield, his
mission was for a time imperilled by the
attitude he assumed. Eventually, however,
by clever diplomacy, he managed to obtain
the desired treaty. Proceeding to Selangor,
Mr. Cracroft concluded a similar treaty there.
At or about this time efforts were made by
the Pinang Government to revive the tin
trade, which had greatly suffered by the
transfer of the island of Banca to the Dutch.
A reference has been made to this in the
Pinang section of the work, but a more ex-
tended account of the transactions may be
given here. The movement was prompted
by offers from the Sultans of Perak, Selangor,
and Patani to furnish supplies of the product.
The Sultan of Perak was especially friendly.
As far back as 1816 he not only made an offer
to the Government of a tin monopoly, but
tendered also the island of Pangkor and the
Dinding district on the mainland for the trifling
consideration of 2,000 dollars a year. This
Sultan was the same chief who expelled the
Dutch from Selangor in 1785. In these favour-
able circumstances Mr. John Anderson was
despatched with full powers to negotiate
with the chiefs named for the re-establish-
ment of the trade.
In conformity with his instructions, Mr.
Anderson proceeded to the States of Perak,
Selangor, and Colong. An interesting rela-
tion of what befel him is given in a pamphlet
he issued some years later under the title of
"Observations on the Restoration of Banca
and Malacca." From this we may sum-
marise the facts. Despite the circumstance
that Perak was in a state of anarchy at
the time of his arrival, the result of his
mission was by no means unfavourable even
there, while at Selangor and Colong, although
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
95
considerable difficulties were encountered, the
objects attained fully realised the expectations
formed, an engagement having been made
for 1,500 piculs of tin annually to the Com-
pany at the low price of 43 dollars per bahar,
which was considerably less than expected.
The contract was a perpetual one, but it
appeared to Mr. Anderson that the establish-
ment of native agents at the different States,
as had been suggested by a Committee which
had sat in Pinang before he left, would not
only be ineffectual for the purposes intended,
but involve a heavy expense without any corre-
sponding benefit, and be much less adapted for
the purpose of extending and encouraging the
tin trade than the formation of a small factory
at an island near the chief port where the tin
was procured, to which natives of their own
accord would resort for the sale of tin. He
consequently recommended the establishment
of a factory on the island of Pangkor, near the
Bindings, and distant from the Perak river
about 12 miles. It was pointed out by Mr,
Anderson that tlie island was peculiarly well
situated for the contemplated purpose. It
abounded in canes, rattans, wood-oil, dammar,
and crooked timber for ships. The water was
particularly excellent, the harbour safe, and in
fine the island possessed almost every advan-
tage that could be desired for the purpose
stated. Independently of its occupation being
important in a commercial sense, it would, he
pointed out, be the means of preventing pirates
resorting there, as they had been in the habit
of doing. The Government at Pinang approved
the scheme, and obtained the sanction of the
Supreme Government to establish a factory at
Pangkor, " provided a cession of the island
could be obtained from a power competent
to grant it, and there was no probability of
difficulties afterwards arising as to the legality
of the occupation." The circumstances were
not immediately favourable for the execution
of the plan suggested by Mr. Anderson. The
Sultan of Perak had long claimed the island as
a dependency of that State, but the Sultan of
Selangor had, with more propriety, made a
similar claim, and his son was in fact in
possession of the island and part of the main-
land district known as the Bindings. Mean-
while, the Sultan of Kedah, having invaded
Perak territory, was disposed to regard it as
his by right of conquest. To this potentate
Mr. Anderson applied in January, 18 19, for the
cession of the island, and for permission to
allow his chiefs to continue disposing of the
tin collected to the British agents in Perak.
The Sultan of Kedah replied that he could not
comply, as he was under the authority of
Siara, and pending a communication from the
King of Siam as to how matters were to be
settled he could do nothing. While these
negotiations were proceeding -the Government
of Pinang had been taking steps to forward the
tin trade with Patani. Their operations were,
however, hampered by the Sultan of Kedah's
agents, and were ultimately completely nulli-
fied by the imposition of what was practically
a prohibitive export duty. Shortly afterwards
a new complication was introduced into the
tangled thread of Perak politics by the intru-
sion of a Butch mission into the territory with
the object of founding a settlement there.
Both the Kedah and the Perak people were
extremely averse to the Dutch designs, and
an urgent representation in favour of inviting
British interference was made by the Benda-
liara of Perak to the Sultan of Kedah. The
withdrawal of the Butch mission to Malacca
relieved the situation, and nothing came of
the proposal immediately. But two months
later, when the Kedah forces evacuated Perak,
the Bendahara wrote to Mr. Anderson offering
to enter into -t treaty with him for the supply
of tin. The Butch Government about this
time sent an embassy to Selangor and in-
sisted upon the King renewing an obsolete
treaty which prejudiced British interests.
The Sultan promptly communicated the fact
to Pinang, and at the same time expressed his
desire to fulfil his engagements, In June Mr.
Cracroft was despatched again to Colong and
Selangor, and on his return availed himself of
the opportunity of bringing up 310 bahars of
tin which were ready for Mr. Anderson.
The death of Colonel Bannerman rendered it
expedient to suspend the execution of the con-
tract with the Sultan of Selangor and to dis-
continue the collection of tin on account of the
Company. The whole of the tin collected,
about 2,000 piculs, having been properly
smelted, was ultimately sold at the price of
18 Spanish dollars per picul. There was a
gain on the adventure of 5,396.41 Spanish
dollars, besides the Custom House duties,
which amounted to 800 dollars more. The
Hon. Mr. Clubley, in a minute on the subject,
expressed the view that sufficient had been
done for the beneficial purposes contemplated.
" I quite agree with the Hon. the President
in the justice of his ideas, that we shall best
encourage the trade in tin by endeavouring, as
much as lies in our power, to remove the
barriers which, at present, either the selfish
or timid policy of the neighbouring Malay
Governments has opposed to the free transit
of that article. The opening of a free com-
munication with the Kwala Muda will be
highly desirable in this view on the one side,
and on the other, the possession of Pankor, if
it could be done with propriety, would facilitate
trade with Perak and render it liable to the
least possible obstructions. I am aware, how-
ever, of the justice and propriety of the Hon.
the President's objections against our occupa-
tion of Pankor at present, in view to avoid
any cause for jealousy either from the Butch
Government or from that of Siam under
present circumstances. It does not appear to
me, however, that any objections do arise from
any other quarter to prevent this desirable
measure being attained, and when the discus-
sions which have been referred to Europe shall
be adjusted, I certainly hope to see that island
an integral part of this Government and
forming (as it will essentially do) a great
protection to the passing trade, especially of
tin from Perak and Selangor, and a material
obstruction, when guarded by a British detach-
ment, to the enormous system of piracy that
at present prevails in that part of the Straits. . . ,
From the foregoing observations, it is needless
to add I consider, as the Hon. President does,
that it becomes unnecessary to persevere in
enforcing our treaties, with the Rajas of Perak
and Selangor for our annual supply of tin.
Yet, if circumstances had been otherwise, I
would assuredly have added ray humble voice
in deprecating and resenting the overbearing
assumptions of our Netherlands neighbours at
Malacca, who in the most uncourteous, if not
unjustifiable, manner have prevailed on the
Raja of Selangor to annul a former treaty
he had concluded with this Government, for
the purpose of substituting an obsolete one
of their own. The superior authorities will
no doubt view in this procedure a continuation
only of the same system which has been
practised universally by the Dutch since they
resumed the government of the Eastern
islands,"
The Siamese connection with the affairs of
the Malay Peninsula cannot be overlooked in a
general survey of the history of the federated
area. From a very early period, as has been
noted, the Siamese had relations with the
northern portions of the region. Their influ-
ence varied in degree from time to time with
the fortunes of their country ; but they would
appear to have effectually stamped the impress
of their race upon the population at the period
of the occupation of Pinang. On the strength of
their position as the dominant power seated at
the northern end of the peninsula, they put for-
ward claims to supremacy over several of the
principal Malay States, notably Kedah, Patani,
Perak, and Selangor. These claims were
never, there is reason to think, fully conceded,
but occasionally, under stress of threats, the
chiefs of the States rendered the traditional
tribute, known as the Bunga Mas, or flower
of gold. Kedah conceded this degree of
dependence upon the Siamese power early
in the nineteenth century, but when demands
were made upon it for more substantial
homage it resolutely declined to submit, with
the result that the State, in November, 1821,
was overrun by a horde of Siamese under
the Raja of Ligore, and conquered in the
circumstances of hideous barbarity related in
the Pinang section of this work. What fol-
lowed may be related in the words of Mr.
Anderson in his famous pamphlet previously
referred to • : " Having effected the complete
subjugation of Quedah and possessed himself
of the country, the Raja of Ligore next
turned his attention to one of its principal
dependencies, one of the Lancavy islands, and
fitted out a strong, well-equipped expedition,
which proceeded to the principal island, which,
independent of possessing a fixed population
of three or four thousand souls, had received
a large accession by emigrants from Quedah.
Here, too, commenced a scene of death and
desolation almost exceeding credibility. The
men were murdered and the women and
female children carried off to Quedah, while
the male children were either put to death
or left to perish. . . Several badly planned
and ineffectual attempts have at different times
been made by unorganised bodies of the King
of Quedah's adherents in the country to cut off
the Siamese garrison in Quedah, but these
have all been followed by the most disastrous
results ; not only by the destruction of the
assailants, but b>- increased persecution towards
' " Considerations on the Conquest of Quedah and
Perak by the Siamese."
96
TWEXTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
the remaining Malayan inhabitants. The King
himself for some time was anxious to have
made an effort to regain his country, in concert
with some native powers which had promised
him aid in vessels and men ; but he was dis-
suaded from so perilous and certainly doubtful
an enterprise by those who were interested in
his cause, and who apprehended his certain
overthrow and destruction from an attempt of
the kind. There is no doubt the Siamese were
too powerful and too well prepared for any
such ill-arranged expedition as it could have
been within the compass of the Quedah Raja's
means to have brought against them to have
had any chance of success ; and it would have
been inconsistent with the professed neutrality
of the British Government to have permitted
any equipments or warlike preparations within
its ports, the more particularly so as a mission
had just proceeded to Siam from the Governor-
General of India.
" However much disposed the Pinang
Government might have been on the first
blush of the affair to have stopped such
proceedings on the part of the Siamese and
to have checked such ambitious and un-
warrantable aggression, however consistent
and politic it might have been to have treated
the Ligorean troops as a predatory horde and
expelled them at once from the territories of an
old and faithful ally of the British Government,
the mission from the Supreme Government of
Bengal to the Court of Siam, and the probable
evil consequences of an immediate rupture,
were considerations which could not fail to
embarrass the Pinang Government and render
it necessary to deliberate well before it em-
barked in any measures of active hostility ;
while the disposable force on the island,
although fully adequate to the safe guardian-
ship and protection of the place, and sufficient
to repel any force that the Siamese could
bring against it, was yet insufficient for pro-
secuting a vigorous war, or maintaining its
conquests against the recruited legions which
the Siamese power could have transported
with facility, ere reinforcements could have
arrived from other parts of India. Under all
these circumstances the policy of suspending
hostilities was manifest, and it was deemed
proper to await the orders of the superior
and controlling authorities. It was ex-
pected that the mission would have produced
some results advantageous to the interests of
our ally, by the mediation of the Ambassador,
and that, at all events, the affairs of Quedah
would have been settled upon a proper footing.
So far, however, from any of these most
desirable objects which were contemplated
being attained, the Siamese authorities not only
assumed a tone of insolence and evasion to all
the reasonable propositions of the Ambassador,
but signified their expectation that the King of
Quedah should be delivered up to them.
"The King of Ligore, not satisfied with the
conquest of Quedah, and grasping at more
extended dominion, under pretence of con-
veying back some messengers from Perak
who had carried the Bunga Mas, or token
of homage, to Quedah, requested permission
for a fleet to pass through Pinang harbour,
which, being conducted beyond the borders
by a cruiser, proceeded to Perak, and, after a
short struggle, his (the King of Ligore's) forces
also possessed themselves of that country,
which had been reduced by the Quedah
forces in 1818, by the orders of Siam, in
consequence of a refusal to send the Bunga
Mas, a refusal thoroughly justified, for the
history of that oppressed State affords no in-
stance of such a demand ever having been
made by Siam or complied with before."
It was understood that Selangor was to
be the next place attacked, but the timely
preparations of, and the determined attitude
taken up by, the Raja of that country deterred
the Siamese from making the attempt. But it
was evident from their actions, Mr. Anderson
thinks, that they contemplated the total over-
throw and subjugation of all the Malayan
States on the peninsula and the subversion
of the Mahomedan religion. Raffles, with his
clear-sighted vision, had an equally strong
opinion of the subversive tendencies of Sia-
mese policy. In a letter dated June 7, 1823,
addressed to Mr. John Crawfurd, on the occa-
sion of his handing over to that official the
administration of Singapore, he drew attention
to the political relations of Siam with the Malay
States in order to guide him as to the line he
should adopt in his political capacity. After
stating that in his opinion the policy hitherto
pursued by the British had been founded on
erroneous principles, Raffles proceeded : " The
dependence of the tributary States in this case
is founded on no rational relation which con-
nects them with the Siamese nation. These
people are of opposite manners, language, re-
ligion, and general interests, and the superiority
maintained by the one over the other is so
remote from protection on the one side or
attachment on the other, that it is but a simple
exercise of capricious tj'ranny by the stronger
party, submitted to by the weaker from the law
of necessity. We have ourselves for nearly
forty years been eye-witnesses of the pernicious
influence exercised by the Siamese over the
Malayan States. During the revolution of the
Siamese Government these profit by its weak-
ness, and from cultivating an intimacy with
strangers, especially with ours over other Euro-
pean nations, they are always in a fair train of
prosperity ; with the settlement of the Siamese
Government, on the contrary, it invariably
regains the exercise of its tyranny, and the
Malayan States are threatened, intimidated, and
plundered. The recent invasion of Kedah is a
striking example in point, and from the infor-
mation conveyed to me it would appear that
that commercial seat, governed by a prince of
the most respectable character, long personally
attached to our nation, has only been saved
from a similar fate by a most unlooked-for
event. By the independent Malayan States,
who may be supposed the best judges of this
matter, it is important to observe, the connec-
tion of the tributary Malays with Siam is looked
upon as a matter of simple compulsion. Fully
aware of our power and in general deeply
impressed with respect for our national
character, still it cannot be denied that we
suffer at the present moment in their good
opinion by withholding from them that pro-
tection from the oppression of the Siamese
which it would be so easy for us to give ; and
Ihe case is stronger with regard to Kedah than
the rest, for here a general impression is abroad
amongst them that we refuse an assistance that
we are by treaty virtually bound to give, since
we entered into a treaty with that State as an
independent Power, without regarding the
supremacy of Siam, or even alluding to its
connection for five-and-twenty years after our
first establishment at Pinang. The prosperity of
the settlement under your direction is so much
connected with that of the Malayan nation in its
neighbourhood, and this again depends so much
upon their liberty and security from foreign op-
pression, that I must seriously recommend to
your attention the contemplation of the probable
event of their deliverance from the yoke of Siam,
and your making the Supreme Government im-
mediately informed of every event which may
promise to lead to that desirable result."
Raffles was so impressed with the vital
importance of the question that, besides inditing
this suggestive letter of advice to his successor,
he wrote to the Supreme Government urging
the necessity of a strong policy in dealing with
the Siamese. "The conduct and character of
the Court of Siam," he wrote, "offer no open-
ing for friendly negotiations on the footing on
which European States would treat with each
other, and require that in our future communi-
cations we should rather dictate what we con-
sider to be just and right than sue for their
granting it as an indulgence. I am satisfied
that if, instead of deferring to them so much as
we have done in the case of Kedah, we had
maintained a higher tone and declared the
country to be under our protection , they would
have hesitated to invade that unfortunate terri-
tory. Having, however, been allowed to
indulge their rapacity in this instance with
impunity, they are encouraged to similar acts
towards the other States of the peninsula, and,
if not timely checked, may be expected in a
similar manner to destroy the truly respectable
State of Tringanu, on the eastern side of the
peninsula." Raffles went or, to suggest that
the blockade of the Menam river, which could
at any time be effected by the cruisers from
Singapore, would always bring the Siamese to
terms as far as concerned the Malay States^
The wise words of the founder of Singapore
had little influence on the prejudiced minds of
the authorities in India and at home. They dis-
liked the idea of additional responsibility in this
region, and they adopted the line of the least
resistance, which was the conclusion of a treaty
with Siam accepting the conquest of Kedah as
an accomplished fact and compromising other
disputed points.
The treaty, which was concluded on June 20,
1826, provided, inter alia, for unrestricted trade
between the contracting parties " in the English
countries of Prince of Wales Island, Malacca,
and Singapore, and the Siamese countries of
Ligore, Merdilons,Singora,Patani,Junk Ceylon,
Quedah, and other Siamese provinces ; " that the
Siamese should not " obstruct or interrupt com-
merce in the States of Tringanu and Calan-
tan"; that Kedah should remain in Siamese
occupation ; and that the Raja of Perak should
govern his country according to his own will,
and should send gold and silver flowers to
Siam as heretofore, if he desired so to do.
Practically the effect of the treaty was to con-
firm the Siamese in the possession of an
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
97
enormous tract of country over which their hold
would, in other circumstances, have been of a
very precarious character, and supplythem with
an excuse for further aggression at a later period.
The shortcomings of the arrangement were
recognised at the time by the most experienced
of the Straits administrators, but the full realisa-
tion of the nature of the blunder committed in
giving the aggressive little people from the
North a substantial stake in the peninsula was
left to a later generation of officials, who were
to find the natural expansion of British influence
checked by claims arising out of this Treaty of
Bangkok of 1826,
CHAPTER VIII.
Anarchy in the States-
Intervention.
-British
For a considerable period following the com-
pletion of this compact between Great Britain
and Siam the course of events in the Malay
Peninsula ceased to engage the active attention
of British officials in the Straits. The expedi-
tion to Naning, described in the Malacca section,
was the one exception to the rule of inactivity,
and that was but a local and passing episode
which did not touch the larger question of con-
trol in the peninsula, since Naning had long
been regarded as an essential part of the Malacca
territory. The abstention from interference was
due to a variety of reasons, but chiefly to the
indifference of the Indian authorities to the
interests which centred in the Straits. The dis-
tance of the area from the seat of government
prevented that intimate knowledge of the
country which was essential to a proper
handUng of the difficult and delicate problems
arising out of the position of the Malay chiefs,
and, moreover, there was no apparent compen-
sation to be gained for thrusting a hand into the
Asiatic wasps' nest which the region for gene-
rations had proved to be. Could the Supreme
Government have seen the Federated Malay
States as they are to-day — a marvellously
prosperous centre of industry, not only hand-
somely paying their way but acting as a feeder
to the trade of the established British settlements
— they would doubtless have acted differently.
But those things were in the lap of the gods.
All that was visible to the somewhat narrow
political intelligence of the Calcutta bureaucrats
was a welter of anarchical tribal despotism, out
of which nothing could come more tangible
than a heavy financial responsibility to the Com-
pany should it be rash enough to intervene. So,
forgetting the lessons inculcated by Raffles,
Marsden, and Anderson of the vast potentialities
of this region for trade, it was content to ignore
the existence of the Western Malay States save
on those occasions, not infrequent, when some
unusually daring act of piracy perpetrated by
the inhabitants aroused it to transient activity.
The indifference of the Government of the
Straits to affairs in the Malay States survived
for some years the authority of the Govern-
ment of India in the settlements. The Govern-
ment at home sternly discountenanced any
exercise of authority beyond the limits of
British territory, and knowing this, the local
officials turned a blind eye on events which
were passing across the border save when, as
has been said, flagrant acts of piracy committed
on British subjects galvanised them to spasmodic
action. This poHcy of masterly inactivity was
possible when the trade of the peninsula was
small and steam communication was little
developed in the Straits. But when the tin
mines of Larut became, as they did in the later
sixties, an important centre of Chinese industry
and a valuable trade flowed from them through
Pinang, the attitude of aloofness could not be
so easily maintained. The commercial com-
munity of Singapore and Pinang chafed under
the losses to which they were subjected by the
eternal warfare of the anarchical elements
which pervaded the Western States, and again
and again urged the Government in vain to
adopt a more energetic policy for the protection
of what even then was a valuable trade.
Matters at length got so bad that the Govern-
ment could no longer ignore their plain respon-
sibilities. The events which led up to interven-
tion may be briefly described. In 1871 a
daring act of piracy committed on a British
trading boat by Chinese and Selangor Malays
led to the bombardment by H.M.S. Rinaldo of
the forts at the mouth of the Selangor river.
The situation in Selangor itself at the time was
about as disturbed as it could possibly be. On
the one side was the brother-in-law of the
Sultan, a Kedah chief named Tunku Dia Oodin,
acting as a sort of viceroy under the authority
of the Sultan, a curious old fellow whose motto
seems to have been " Anything for a quiet life "
— his idea of quietude being freedom from
personal worry ; and on the other were the
Sultan's sons, who set themselves indefatigably
to thwart the constituted authority at every
turn. Three of these sons, the Rajas Mahdie,
Syed Mashoor, and Mahmud, were mixed up in
the act of piracy which led to the bombardment
of the Selangor forts, and the British Govern-
ment preferred a demand to the Sultan for
their surrender, and at the same time an-
nounced that they would support Tunku Dia
Oodin. For some reason the demand was not
pressed, and the three lively young princelets,
with other disaffected members of the royal
house, threw themselves heart and soul into
the congenial task of making government by
Tunku impossible. In July, 1872, a number of
influential traders at Malacca petitioned the
Singapore Chamber of Commerce to take up
the question of the disturbances in Selangor.
They represented that on the faith of the
Government assurances- of support to Tunku,
and with full confidence in his administration,
they had invested large sums of money in the
trade of Selangor, more particularly in the tin
mines. The Singapore Chamber sent the
petition on to Government, and elicited a reply
to the eff'ect that every endeavour was being
made to induce the chiefs to submit to the
authority of the Sultan and his viceroy, but
that it was the policy of the Government " not
to interfere in the affairs of those countries
unless (sic) where it becomes necessary for the
suppression of piracy or the punishment of
aggression on our people or territories ; but
that if traders, prompted by the prospect of
large gains, choose to run the risk of placing
their persons and property in the jeopardy
which they are aware attends them in this
country, under these circumstances it is im-
possible for Government to be answerable for
their protection or that of their property.'' The
Singapore Chamber sent a respectful protest
against the views enunciated in this communi-
cation. They urged that the Malacca traders
had made out a just claim for the interference
of the British Government for the " punishment
of aggression on our people," and that even if
the Malacca traders had been induced solely by
" prospects of large gains " to run considerable
risks, that alone would not warrant the Govern-
ment in refusing its protection. Finally the
Chamber, while deprecating any recourse to
coercive measures, urged upon the Government
"the absolute necessity of adopting some
straightforward and well defined policy in
dealing with the rulers of the various States of
the Malay Peninsula, for the purpose of pro-
moting and protecting commercial relations
with their respective provinces, as there is every
reason to believe they would readily accept the
impartial views and friendly advice of the British
authorities."
Somewhat earlier than the date of this
Malacca petition — in the month of April — the
Governor, Sir Harry Ord, had been induced by
the news which reached him of the disturbed
conditions on the peninsula to despatch the
Auditor-General, Mr. C. J. Irving, who had
warmly supported the cause of Tunku Dia
Oodin, to the Klang and Selangor rivers to
ascertain exactly what was the condition of
affairs, and whether it was likely that any
arrangement could be come to between Tunku
and those Rajas, especiafly Mahdie, Syed
Mashoor, and Mahmud, who were still holding
out against his and the Sultan's authority. Mr,
Irving brought back word that Tunku Dia
Oodin had practical possession of both the
Selangor and Klang rivers, and possessed
communications with the Bernam river on the
north and the Langat river on the south, on
which latter the Sultan resided, and were thus
enabled to send down to the coast, though not
without difficulty, the tin raised in the interior,
and with it to obtain supplies of arms and food.
Constant warfare prevailed between the two
parties, and there were repeated attacks and
captures of posts in which neither party seemed
to gain any great advantage. Raja Mahdie
was then out of the country trying to organise
a force with which to return to the attack.
Tunku Dia Oodin expressed himself ready to
make any arrangement by which peace could
be restored to the country. He had, he said,
put the Sultan's sons in charge of the Selangor
river, but partly through weakness and partly
through treachery they had played into the
hands of his enemies, and he had been com-
pelled to displace them. He endeavoured to
interfere as little as possible with the trade of
the country, but so long as the rebel Rajas
could send out of it the tin and get back in re-
turn supplies, so long would the war continue ;
and with the view of putting a stop to this he
had been compelled to enforce a strict blockade
of the two rivers, which was naturally giving
great offence to those merchants who had
made advances on behalf of the tin.
After completing his inquiries at Selangor,
Mr. Irving proceeded to Larut, in Perak, where
98
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
serious disturbances threatening the trade of
the country with Pinang had brolcen out. He
found the state of affairs quite as bad as it had
been represented to the Government at Singa-
pore. On the death of the Sultan of Peralc,
his son, the Raja Muda, should in the natural
course~of events have succeeded his father, but
he, having given great offence to a number of
chiefs by absenting himself from the funeral
ceremonies, was superseded by another high
official, the Bendahara, who had, with the chiefs'
consent, assumed the sultanship. Each party
appealed to the Government for countenance
and support, and was informed that the British
authorities could not interfere in any way in the
internal affairs of the country, but that as soon
as the chiefs and great men had determined
who, according to their native customs, was the
proper successor to the Sultan, the Government
would be happy to recognise him. Mr. Irving
saw the Raja Muda, but not the Bendahara, who
made excuses to avoid meeting" him. He was
of opinion that the Raja Muda had stronger
claims, but owing to his being an opium
smoker and a debauchee he had no great
following nor much influence with the people.
Mr. Irving strongly urged on the three Rajas
and their chiefs the importance of a peaceful set-
tlement of their differences, and suggested that
there should be a meeting of all the great chiefs
to determine the question of the succession.
He added that he would wiih pleasure send
an officer of rank to be present at their delibera-
tion and to communicate their selection, which
they might rest assured would be accepted by
the British Government. Mr. Irving returned
to Singapore on April 29, and on May 3rd he
went back again with letters from the Governor
strongly impressing on the disputants the ex-
pediency of settling their differences in the
way that had been suggested. He found the
Raja Muda willing to accede to the proposal,
but not the Bendahara and his adviser, the
Raja of Larut.
Such was the position at Perak. At Larut,
where thousands of Chinese were employed
upon the mines, serious faction fights had
broken out amongst these people earlier in the
year, with the result of the victory of one party
and the driving away of the vanquished. It
was hoped that matters had quieted down, but
in October the faction fight broke out afresh
with renewed violence. The defeated party,
having obtained assistance, largely from
Pinang, attacked their former opponents, and
after a severe struggle succeeded in driving
them from the mines, of which they took
possession.
Meanwhile, matters in Selangor were going
from bad to worse. When Raja Mahdie
escaped from Johore he made his way up the
Linggi river, which forms the northern
boundary of Malacca, and with the connivance
of the chief of a small territory called Sungei
Ujong (one of the Negri Sambilan States),
through which the northern branch of the
river runs, he made his way to the interior of
Selangor and joined his brother rebel chiefs.
Although bringing neither men nor arms, his
mere presence seems to have acted strongly on
his party, and the result was a series of attacks
on Tunku Dia Oodin, ending in the recapture
of the forts at the mouth of the Selangor river.
which gave them the entire possession of that
river, and later of two forts on the upper part
of the Klang river. Tunku Dia Oodin, being
now hard pressed, applied for assistance to
the Bendahara of Pahang, with the assent of
the British authorities. But before this could
reach him Tunku, irritated with the favour
shown to Mahdie by the chief of Sungei Ujong,
prevailed on the chief of Rembau, another of
the Negri Sambilan group of States, to reassert
some old claim which he had to a place called
Sempang in Sungei Ujong, and on the banks
of the Linggi river, which communicates in
the interior with the Langat, Klang, and Selan-
gor rivers. As the immediate effect of this
would have been to prevent the Sungei Ujong
people from getting in their supplies or getting
out their tin, they immediately applied to the
Straits Government for protection, offering to
hand their country over to the British Govern-
ment if they would accept it. Thinking that
his interference might tend to bring about
some arrangement of the matter, Sir Harry
Ord sent his Colonial Secretary to the chief of
Rembau, and this individual, on being seen, at
once expressed his willingness to leave in the
Governor's hands the entire settlement of his
difference with Sungei Ujong. The Sungei
Ujong chief being equally ready to accept the
proposal. Sir Harry Ord proceeded on October
29th to Sempang, where he met the chief of
Sungei Ujong but not the Rembau chief, who
appears to have mistaken the day of meeting.
As Sir Harry Ord had an appointment "with
the Sultan of Selangor on the next day but one,
and the day after was the Ramazan festival, on
which no business could be done, it was im-
possible for him to wait, and he conducted
his inquiries in the absence of the Rembau
chief. He was glad to find, after discussing
matters with the Tunku and the chief of
Sungei Ujong, that the latter stated that he
would do all in his power to prevent any
assistance whatever from reaching Tunku's
enemies. With this assurance Tunku expressed
himself satisfied, and the idea of his occupying
the Sungei river was allowed to drop. On
leaving Sungei Sir Harry Ord proceeded to
Langat to meet the Sultan of Selangor. He
was accompanied by Tunku, and knowing that
Mahdie was in the neighbourhood and that
some of the Sultan's people and relatives were
ill-affected towards Tunku, he deemed it pru-
dent to ask to be accompanied by the armed
boats of H.M.S. Zebra and a small escort of
the 88th Regiment. Before landing he had a
long interview with Tunku Dia Oodin. He
pointed out to him the apparently precarious
nature of his position, and that although he
had the nominal support of the Sultan and was
well backed up by people who were satisfied
of his ultimate success, yet that he had immense
difficulties to contend with in the open hostility
of the rebel chiefs and lukewarmness, if not
treachery, of the Sultan's sons. Sir Harry sug-
gested that if he did not feel very sanguine of
success it would be better for him to retire
from the contest while he could do so with-
out loss or disgrace, and that if he decided
on this he (Sir Harry) would, in his inter-
view with the Sultan, pave the way for his
doing so in an honourable and satisfactory
manner. Tunku Dia Oodin, while acknow-
ledging the justice of much that Sir Harry
Ord had said, stated that he did not con-
sider his situation desperate so long as he
had the prospect of the aid that had been
promised him from Pahang. Tunku admitted,
however, that this was his last chance, and
offered to hand back to the Sultan the authority
that had been given him on being reimbursed
the expenses he had been put to in endeavouring
to carry it out. Sir Harry Ord did not think it
necessary to accept this offer, and was glad
to find in his interview with the Sultan that
individual expressed the utmost confidence in
Tunku. The complaints about the blockade
were abandoned on Tunku's explanation of the
difficulties which compelled him to take this
step. At Sir Harry Ord's suggestion it was
agreed that any future difficulties should be
left for adjustment between Tunku and Raja
Yacoof, the Sultan's youngest and favourite
son.
Sir Harry Ord hoped rather than expected
that in the arrangement he had made he had
advanced a good step towards adjusting the diffi-
culties which had for so long a period existed
in Selangor. But he had not taken sufficient
account of the strength of the elements of dis-
order which were in active being all over
the peninsula. Before very long the position
changed materially for the worse. The
assistance asked of the Bendahara of Pahang
by Tunku Dia Oodin was duly forthcoming,
and with its aid the tide was soon turned in
Tunku's favour once more. One after another
the " rebel " forts were captured, and finally,
after a long blockade, Kuala Lumpor, the chief
town of the State, now the flourishing head-
quarters of the Federation, fell into Tunku's
hands. The advantage was somewhat dearly
purchased, for the intrusion of the Pahang force
introduced a fresh disturbing factor into this
truly distressful land.
In October, 1873, Sir Harry Ord left for
England, bearing with him a vivid impression
of the increasing gravity of the situation which
he left behind him. Some little time earUer
he had forwarded home a suggestive memorial,
signed by practically every leading Chinese
merchant in the Straits, representing the
lamentable condition into which the Malay
States had been allowed to fall, and imploring
the Government to give their attention to the
matter. As evidence of the overwhelming
desire there was at the period for British
intervention on the part of the peaceful native
community, the document is of great interest.
But perhaps its chief value to-day lies in its
impartial testimony to the beneficent fruits of
British rule. After drawing a lurid picture
of the anarchy which everywhere prevailed,
the memorialists contrasted the condition of
the disturbed country with that of Johore :
" As an example of what the moral influence
of Great Britain can effect in a native State we
would point to the neighbouring territory of
Johore, whose prosperous and peaceful con-
dition and steady progress is due as well to the
liberality and foresight of its present ruler as
to the English influences which have of late
years been brought to bear upon the Maha-
raja's rule. This territory we are informed
from the highest authority contains some
seventy thousand Chinese, amongst whom are
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
99
twenty or thirty Chinese traders, who are
possessed of property and capital valued at from
twenty thousand to thirty thousand dollars.
" Your Excellency will thus see that the above
circumstances have so restricted the field for
trade round the British settlements in these
waters that it becomes necessary for us to seek
elsewhere openings for commerce, and our eyes
anxiously turn to the Malayan Peninsula, which
affords the finest field for the enterprise of
British subjects, and from whence we may
hope to reinvigorate that commercial pros-
perity which our industry has hitherto secured
for us.
" In former days it was the duty of the
Governors and Resident Councillors of the
settlements to maintain intimate relations with
the States of the peninsula. If complaints
were made of misconduct on the part of the
native chiefs or any of their headmen, or
of outrages committed by them on the legiti-
mate trader, an investigation was ordered and
redress afforded. B\- a constant attention
to the state of affairs in these territories, and
by the rendering of advice and assistance
in their regulation, the officials of Government
obtained such an influence over the native rulers
as to be enabled without the use of force
to insure the security of the trader and the
order of the country."
The policy pursued by the Government of
the day might, the petitioners said, be in
accordance with the view which European
Governments took of their responsibilities to
each other, but " its application to the half
civilised States of the Malay Peninsula (whose
inhabitants are as ignorant as children) is
to assume an amount of knowledge of the
world and an appreciation of the elements of
law and justice which will not exist amongst
those Governments until your petitioners and
their descendants of several generations have
passed away." The memorialists concluded :
" We ask for no privileges or monopolies ;
all vire pray of our most gracious Queen is
that she will protect us when engaged in
honest occupations, that she will continue
to make the privilege of being one of her
subjects the greatest that we can enjoy,
and that by the counsel, advice, and enter-
prise of her representative in this colony, she
will restore peace and order again in those
States, so long connected with her country,
not only by treaty engagements but by filial
attachment, but which, in consequence of the
policy now pursued towards them, are rapidly
returning to their original state of lawlessness
and barbarism."
It was impossible for the Home Government
to ignore a memorial couched in such pointed
language without doing grave injury to British
prestige, not merely in the Straits Settlements
but throughout the Far East. Accordingly,
when at the close of 1873 Major-General Sir
Andrew Clarke, R.E , went out as Sir Harry
Ord's successor, he took with him definite
instructions from Lord Kimberley to make
a new and important departure in the policy
of deaUng with the Malay States. In a letter
dated September 20, 1873, in which acknow-
ledgment of the receipt of the petition of the
Chinese traders is made. Lord Kimberley
wrote :
" Her Majesty's Government have, it need
hardly be said, no desire to interfere in the
internal affairs of the Malay States. But look-
ing to the long and intimate connection between
them and the British Government, as shown
in the treaties which have at various times been
concluded with them, and to the well-being
of the British settlements themselves, her
Majesty's Government feel it incumbent upon
them to employ such influence as they possess
with the native Princes to rescue, if possible,
these fertile and productive countries from the
ruin which must befall them if the present
disorders continue unchecked.
" I have to request that you will carefully
ascertain, as far as you are able, the actual
condition of affairs in each State, and that you
will report to me whether there are, in your
opinion, any steps which can properly be
taken by the Colonial Government to promote
the restoration of peace and order and to
secure protection to trade and commerce with
LIEUT.-GEN. SIE ANDREW CLABKE.,
the native territories. I should wish you espe-
cially to consider whether it would be advisable
to appoint a British officer to reside in any of
the States. Such an appointment could, of
course, only be made with the full consent
of the native Government, and the expenses
connected with it would have to be defrayed
by the Government of the Straits Settlements."
Sir Andrew Clarke's responsibilities were
enormously lightened by these instructions,
which practically conceded the principle for
which traders and ofBcials alike in the Straits
had been pleading for many years. But the
situation he had to face when he reached
Singapore on November 4, 1873, was not of a
character to inspire a hopeful feeling. In the
weeks preceding his arrival the troubles all
round had increased in seriousness. The chief
storm centre was Larut. As has been briefly
noted, the country was the battle-ground of
two Chinese factions — the See Kwans (or four
district men) and the Go Kwans (or five
district men). These men, from different parts
of China, were traditionally at enmity, but their
feud had blazed into stronger flame owing to
the absence of any controlling authority in the
disturbed area, For a proper understanding
of the position we may with advantage quote
from a memorandum drawn up by Mr. Irving,
the Auditor-General, a survey of the history of
Larut anterior to these events. In the reign
of a previous Sultan, Jafaar of Perak, there
was a trader of considerable importance at
Bukit Gantang, several miles beyond the tin
mines, of the name of Inchi Long Jafaar. This
individual was placed by the Sultan in charge
of a district, which was then limited to the
river and the mines, without any title, and in
this oiBce he probably received all the revenues
of Larut. Each successive Sultan confirmed
the appointment on attaining to power, and
when Inchi Jafaar died, his brother Inchi
Nghar Lamat succeeded him. In turn Inchi
Nghar was succeeded by Nghar Ibrahim.
Before this last-named personage attained to
power the long protracted feud of the Chinese
factions had broken out. The first attack was
made by the Cheng Sia (or Go Kwans) upon the
Wee Chew (or See Kwans), and the latter came
off victorious. Nghar Ibrahim appears to have
sided with the victorious party, and it is
certain that he dated his rise in fortune from
this point. One of the leaders of the defeated
party, a British subject, complained to the
Resident Councillor of Pinang of the loss he
had suffered. This resulted in two visits to
Perak of a man-of-war carrying letters from
Governor Cavenagh with a demand (enforced
by a blockade of the river Larut) for an indem-
nity amounting to 17,447 dollars to recoup the
defeated party the injury done. The Sultan
treated the indemnity as a forfeiture due from
Nghar Ibrahim. He, moreover, confirmed
the government of Larut upon Nghar Ibrahim.
This appointment was apparently in considera-
tion of his having found the indemnity money.
The Sultan soon afterwards promoted Nghar
Ibrahim to the high office of Orang Kaya
Mantri of Perak, one of the Mantri Ampat or
four chief officers, and before long he was
acknowledged to be practically the indepen-
dent ruler of Larut, including a district
between the river Krian on the north and the
river Bruas on the south. The Laksamana's
name seems to have been added merely to
give weight to the appointment ; he had never
held authority in Larut. From that period
until 1872 the Mantri enjoyed all the royalties
and other revenues of the country. These had
much increased with the growth of the
Chinese population, whose numbers at the close
of 1871 amounted to forty thousand, while the
imports that year into Pinang of tin, the
greater part of which came from Larut,
amounted to 1,276,518 dollars. Circumstances,
however, had already occurred to show that he
was losing his control over the miners ; and
when, in February, 1872, disturbances com-
menced between the two factions, he was
practically powerless. As has been stated, the
fighting resulted in the complete defeat of the
Go Kwan party and their expulsion from the
country. With August, 1872, opened the
second stage of the Larut disturbances. On
August 27th the Mantri addressed a letter to
100
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSI(3NS OF BRITISH MALAYA
the Lieutenant-Governor of Pinang (Mr. Camp-
bell), in which he made bitter complaints of
" the trouble that had now befallen him." He
asserted that the Go Kwans were collecting to
attack him, and that many of his relatives were
siding with them. On the 6th of September
the Lieutenant-Governor, in forwarding papers
on the subject, reported that he feared there
was much bad feeling abroad, as evidenced by
the attempt made a few days before to stab Ho
Gie Slew, the chief of the victorious See Kwan
faction. Later in the same month, on the 28th,
Too Tye Sin, one of the principal Chinese in
Pinang, forwarded a petition signed by forty-
four Chinese traders directly accusing the
Mantri of having assented to the proceedings
of the See Kwans, and claiming protection
from the Government. This seems to have
been designed as an announcement of their
intention to recommence hostilities. It was
followed, at all events, on the i6th of October
by the departure from Pinang of a large junk
manned with one hundred Chinese and armed
with twelve 4-pounder guns. In anticipation of
fighting, the Lieutenant-Governor proceeded
in H.M.S. Nassau to Larut. He returned to
Pinang on the i8th. The Governor, in com-
menting on his proceedings, observed that he
should have required the junks to desist from
their illegal proceedings, which were in
contravention of the provisions of the Penal
Code. In consequence of this a proclamation
was issued in Pinang citing the sections of
the Code bearing upon the matter. But the
mischief had then been done. The two
factions were engaged in a deadly fight, and,
thanks to the assistance from Pinang, the See
Kwans were ousted from the mines. With
them went the Mantri, who had got into bad
odour with both parties.
Meanwhile, affairs along the coast had
assumed a condition of such gravity as to
necessitate the adoption of special measures by
the British authorities. Early in August, owing
to attacks on boats and junks near Province
Wellesley, H.M.S. Midge had been sent to
patrol that part of the straits. Some piratical
craft were captured, but the force available
was too small to cope with the marauders, who
skilfully and successfully evaded the man-of-
war's boats by sending their larger vessels to
sea and concealing their war boats and prahus
in the numerous creeks along the sea-board.
On September i6th the Midge's boat, while
proceeding up the Larut river, was fired upon
by the faction opposing the Mantri, who held
the banks. The fire was briskly returned, but
owing to the native pilot bolting below on the
firing of the first shot, the boat got ashore and
the position of the inmates was for a time one
of some danger. It was got off eventually, but
not before two officers had been seriously
wounded. In consequence of this outrage
Captain Woolcombe, the senior naval officer on
the station, proceeded in H.M.S. Thalia to the
Larut river, and on the 20th of September an
attack was made under his direction upon the
enemy's position. The stockade was carried
in a brilliant manner, and three junks form-
ing part of the defences were also captured.
Having dismounted all the guns and spiked
them, and thrown the small arms found in the
stockade into the river, Captain Woolcombe
burnt the junks. Afterwards he directed his
forces against another stockade further up the
river. By this time the enemy had lost their
zest for the fight, and the British contingent
met with little further opposition. The punish-
ment administered had a great moral effect on
the piratical faction. From three thousand to
four thousand of the See Kwaris there and
then tendered their submission, and there can
be no doubt that if the success had been
followed up an end would have been made to
the struggle which had for so long a period
raged in the district. As things were, the
fighting continued in a desultory fashion for
some time longer, a hand being taken in the
later phases by Captain T. C. Speedy, who
had resigned his post as Port-Officer of
Pinang to assist the Mantri with a specially
recruited force of Indians.
Sir Andrew Clarke's first business on taking
up the reins of government was to thoroughly
acquaint himself with the situation in all its
aspects. He was not long in coming to the
conclusion that the anarchy must be stopped
MR. W. A. PICKERING.
by the action of the Government, but as to
what that action should be he was not quite
clear. A proposal to invoke the intervention
of the Malay rulers was rejected as absolutely
hopeless, and a suggestion that the Chinese
Government should be asked to send a man-
darin to play the part of mediator was found
equally objectionable. Direct intervention
appeared to be also out of the question because
the Government was suspect owing to its
having favoured one party. Eventually, as a
last resource Sir Andrew Clarke empowered
Mr. W. A. Pickering, an able official who
had charge of Chinese affairs at Singapore, to
seek out the headmen and sound them infor-
mally as to whether they would accept the
Governor as an arbitrator in their quarrel.
Such was Mr. Pickering's influence over the
Chinese and their trust in his integrity, that
he had little difficulty in persuading them to
submit their dispute to Sir Andrew Clarke for
adjustment. This important point gained. Sir
Andrew Clarke lost no time in taking action.
He immediately issued invitations to the Perak
chiefs and the Chinese headmen to a con-
ference, which he fixed for January 14th at the
Bindings. Arriving at the rendezvous on the
13th, the Governor had several interviews with
the chiefs, separately and together. He was
agreeably surprised to find the Raja Muda a
man of considerable intelligence, and possess-
ing perfect confidence in his ability to maintain
his position if once placed in Perak as its
legitimate ruler. All the chiefs except the
Mantri of Larut were prepared at once to
receive him as their sovereign. Therefore, at
the final meeting on the 20th of January, Sir
Andrew Clarke announced his intention to
support the Raja Muda. As regards the
Chinese disputants, an arrangement was come
to under which the leaders of both factions
pledged themselves under a penalty of 50,000
dollars to keep the peace towards each other
and towards the Malays and to complete the
disarmament of their stockades. A commission
of three officers was appointed to settle the
question of the right to the mines and to
endeavour to discover and release a number of
women and children held captive by the
victorious party.
As an outcome of the conference we have
the Treaty of Pangkor of June 20, 1874, giving
force to the arrangements already detailed as
to the Dindings and Province Wellesley, and
containing these important provisions :
"That the Sultan receive and provide a
suitable residence for a British officer, to be
called Resident, who shall be accredited to his
Court, and whose advice must be asked and
acted upon in all questions other than those
touching Malay religion and custom.
"That the collection and control of all
revenues and the general adminish-ation of
the country be regulated under the advice of
these Residents."
Thus at one stroke the British Government,
for good or for evil, was committed to that
active intervention in Malay affairs from which
it had shrunk with almost morbid dislike for a
century. It was not without trepidation that
Sir Andrew Clarke reported what he had done
to the Colonial Secretary. " I am perfectly
aware," he wrote, " that I have acted beyond
my instructions, and that nothing but very
urgent circumstances would justify the step I
have taken, but I have every confidence that
her Majesty's Government will feel that the
circumstances at the time — the utter stoppage
of all trade, the daily loss of lite by the
piratical attacks on even peaceful traders and
by the fighting of the factions themselves, and
the imminent peril of the disturbances ex-
tending to the Chinese in our own settlement —
justified me in assuming the responsibility I
have taken." The Governor did not lack
backing at this important juncture. The Straits
Settlements Association addressed a communi-
cation to the Colonial Secretary on March 6,
1874, expressing entire satisfaction with the
proceedings and intimating that they con-
sidered the negotiations so successfully carried
out by Sir Andrew Clarke as constituting " the
most important step that has for many years
been taken by the British Government in the
Straits of Malacca " — for they were not only
valuable in themselves, but involved principles
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
101
" capable of a wide and beneficent extension in
the neighbouring territories."
It now remained to give effect to ' tlie
arrangements whicli Sir Andrew Clarlie had
made under cover of the general instructions
given to him by Lord Kimberley. The task
was not an easy one, for the country had been
so long under the domination of the fomenters
of disorder that it was diflicult for a mere
handful of Englishmen, backed by no physical
force, or very little, to win it over to the paths
of peace. However, the Commissioners, three
women and children, and finally crossed the
defile between the Larut and Perak valleys,
reached the bank of the Perak river at Kuala
Kangsn, secured a country boat, and in her
paddled a hundred miles down the Perak
river to the village of Sultan Abdullah, where
they found their steamer and returned to
Pinang, having completely accomplished their
mission."
About the same period as the Commission
was prosecuting its investigations a portion of
the China Fleet, under the Admiral, Sir Charles
the Sultan's village in his yacht and invited the
chief to visit him to talk matters over. The old
fellow obeyed the summons, and proved a
most interesting, and, in some respects, enter-
taining guest. Mr. Irving, who saw him at the
time, described him as "an elderly-looking
gentleman of fifty or sixt\' years of age, an
opium-smoker, but not to excess, having his
senses perfectly about him, and quite able to
manage his affairs if he pleased ; but from
indolence he had got into the habit of not
himself interfering so long as he was left at
A GROUP OP BRITISH OFFICIALS WHO WERE CONCERNED IN ENFORCING THE PROVISIONS OP THE TREATY OP
PANGKOB, BY WHICH THE FEDERATED MALAY STATES CAME UNDER BRITISH PROTECTION.
(The photo was taken at Paiigkor, in the Dindings.)
Sir Wm, Drummond Jervois, the Governor of the Straits Settlements, is seated in the middle of the group. Standing on his left, with his hand upon a sword, is Mr. J. W. Birch,
the first British Resident of Perak, who was murdered in 1875 ; while the youthful figure leaning upon the banister on the extreme right of the picture is Mr. (afterwards
Sir) Frank Swettenham. On the Governor's immediate right is Lieut, (now Sir) Henry McCallum, then Assistant Colonial Engineer of the Straits Settlements, and next to
him is Captain Innes, R.E., who was killed at the attack on the stockade at Pasir Salak in 1875. The tall bearded ofiicer standing upon the steps is Captain Speedy,
of .\byssinia fame.
British officials and a Chinaman, the head of
the See Kwan faction, embarked upon their
duties with a resolute determination to succeed,
if success were possible. Sir Frank Swetten-
ham, who was one of the trio of officials,
gives in his book a moving picture of the
obstacles encountered by the Commissioners in
what were then the almost impenetrable vifilds
of Larut.- "The Commission," he says in
summarising their proceedings, " visited many
out-of-the-way places in the Larut, Krian, and
Selama districts, in search of the captive
Shadwell, was demonstrating off Selangor the
determination of the Government to suppress
once for all the ph-acy which was rife off that
coast. The incident which had led to this dis-
play of power was the pirating of a large
Malacca boat at the entrance of the Jugra
river, a tidal creek communicating with the
Langat river. The case was a bad one, and
it lost nothing of its gravity in the eyes of the
British authorities from the circumstance that
the Sultan's sons were implicated in it. Sir
Andrew Clarke went up the Langat river to
peace to enjoy himself in his own way — a rather
careless heathen philosopher, who showed his
character in one of the conversations on the
subject of piracy, when he said, " Oh ! those
are the affairs of the boys " (meaning his sons).
"I have nothing to do with them." Sir Frank
Swettenham knew the Sultan intimately, and
he gives a sketch of him which tallies with
this description. The Sultan was supposed, he
said, to have killed ninety -nine men with his
own hand, and he did not deny the imputa-
tion. He was " a spare, wizened man, with a
E *
102
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
kindly smile, fond of a good story, and with
a strong sense of humour. His amusements
were gardening (in which he sometimes
showed remarkable energy), hoarding money
and tin, of which he was supposed to have a
very large store buried under his house, and
smoking opium to excess."
Sir Andrew Clarke took the old fellow in
hand, and gave him a thoroughly undiplomatic
talking to on the disgraceful state of affairs in
his State. The Sultan, so far from resenting
this treatment, entered quite into the spirit of
the Governor's plans, and promised to do his
utmost to forward them. He was as good as
his word ; and when in due course the
prisoners had been tried by the Viceroy and
sentenced to death, he sent his own kris for
use at the execution. The episode had a most
salutary effect upon the pirates of the locality.
There was plenty of trouble afterwards in the
State itself, but piracy did not again raise its
head in a serious form. Meanwhile, affairs
were proceeding satisfactorily in I^arut. Mr,
Birch, the Colonial Secretary, who made a
tour of the area early in 1874, was greatly
impressed with all he saw. He found the
Resident busily engaged in laying out streets and
building lots, and was surprised to find many
respectable and substantial houses already
constructed. All around was an animated
scene of industry and good-fellowship, where
only a few weeks before there was nothing
but misery, ruin, and bloodshed. The road to
the mines, which had been given over to the
Go Kwan Chinese, was in very fair order for
carts along eight miles of its length, shops
were rapidly being opened, and large bodies
of men were engaged in reopening the mines.
Mr. Birch added these details, which are of
interest as an indication of the whole-hearted
way in which the settlement arranged b}' Sir
Andrew Clarke had been accepted :
" The See Kwan mines are situated about two
miles further, and here also a small township
was forming rapidly, and it is anticipated that a
few months hence this road also will be com-
pleted. The miners here are already at work,
and although a short time ago a deadly feud
of some years' duration existed between these
two factions, the See Kwan miners are now
to be seen daily bartering at the shops and
feeding at the eating-houses in the Go Kwan
town. The Chinese have already opened
gardens, and even in these few weeks a fair
supply of vegetables was available.
" The results of the tour may be considered
to be satisfactory. The greatest courtesy and
kindness were exhibited by the chiefs and in-
habitants of all the villages except Blanja ;
and in the interior a good deal of curiosity
was evinced by the natives, some of whom
had never seen a white man before. The
whole country traversed was at peace, and
there is reason to anticipate that the appoint-
ment of British Residents will foster the
feeling of security that now prevails, and thus
tend to develop the resources of the peninsula."
Unhappily, these sanguine expectations were
not realised ; but it was so generally believed
that the Residential principle would cure once
for all the grievous malady from which the
Malay States were suffering, that when, on
September 15, il<74, the Government of the
Straits Settlements had occasion to seek sanc-
tion for an expenditure of 54,000 dollars on
account of the expenses incurred in putting
the new arrangements into operation, the grant
was made by the Legislative Council with
unanimity, and even enthusiasm.
CHAPTER IX.
The Development of the Residential
System — Murder of Mr. Birch.
A\'hen the Residential system was introduced
into the Malay States by Sir .Andrew Clarke in
the circumstances described in the previous
chapter, it was hoped that at last a remedy had
been found for the misgovernment and anarchy
under which the country had been groaning
for generations. Neither the authorities on the
spot nor the Government at home had, how-
ever, made sufficient allowance for the tenacity
of the evil system which it was hoped to
obliterate by moral suasion exercised by a few
British officials. Too much reliance was prob-
ably placed on the successful working of the
Residential system in India. It was forgotten,
or at least overlooked, that the conditions under
which this form of supervision was exercised
in that country were totally different to those
existing in the Malay States. In India the
native chiefs had been accustomed by gene-
rations of usage to regard the British official
placed in their midst as an authoritative ex-
ponent of the views of the suzerain Power.
Experience, oftentimes bitter, had taught them
that it was useless to kick against the pricks,
and they knew that though an official might
be changed the system would exist, dislike it
as they might. Quite different was the position
in Malaya, where a sturdy race, with marked
independence of character, and with their
naturally pugnacious qualities sharpened by
generations of incessant strife, had to be
brought to the realisation of the existence of
a new influence which meant for many of
them the loss of much that went to make life,
if not enjoyable, at least interesting. It was
the old story of Britain trying to accomplish
a great work with inadequate means. The
Government wanted to bring the Malay States
under their control, and they foolishly, as it
seems to-day, as it ought to have appeared even
then, expected they could achieve the desired
result by simply placing their agents at par-
ticular points to direct the perverse Malay
character into the paths of peace rather than
into those of rapine and demoralising inter-
necine war. A rude awakening awaited the
authorities before the new arrangements had
been long in operation.
The new regime was ushered in by a pro-
clamation issued by Sir Andrew Clarke in
Xovember, 1874, announcing the introduction,
with the sanction of the Secretary for the
Colonies, of arrangements for the control of
the Malay States, and intimating that the
Government would hold those concerned to
the strict observance of their engagements.
At the same time the following appointments
were made public : Mr. J. W. Birch, Resident
of Perak on a salary of ^2,000 a year, with
Captain Speedy as Assistant-Resident at Larut
on ;£i,5oo a year ; Mr. J. G. Davidson, Resident
of Selangor (attending on the Viceroy Tunku
Dia Oodin) on £1,500 a year, with Mr. (after-
wards Sir) F. A. Swettenham as Assistant on
.£750 a year. Captain Tatham, R.A., was
appointed, as a temporary measure, Assistant-
Resident of Sungei Ujong. At the outset all
seemed fairly plain sailing. The Residents'
authority was outwardly respected, their advice
was listened to, and the revenue in Larut,
which under the Treaty was to be collected
by the British, was got in without trouble.
But beneath the surface there was a smoulder-
ing discontent ready to burst into flame, given
the proper amount of provocation. And the
provocation was not wanting. It was forth-
coming in numerous ways from the moment
that the British officials, with their notions of
equity and justice and their direct methods of
dealing, came into contact with the life of the
States. The collection of revenue in Larut
touched the Mantri on a raw spot, and the
Mantri was an influential personage whose ill-
will meant much in a situation such as that
which existed at the time. He was not alone
in his dissatisfaction at the turn of events.
Raja Ismail resented Abdullah's recognition
as Sultan, and the people generally sided with
him. Raja Yusuf was, if anything, more
inimical to the new regime. He did not even
trouble to conceal his intention to upset it if he
could. Sultan Abdullah himself fretted under
the chains which the new dispensation im-
posed upon his ill-regulated methods of what,
for want of a better term, we may call govern-
ment. While there was this disaffection
amongst the chiefs, there were influences in
operation disturbing the minds of the general
body of the population. Mr. Birch, with the
honest Briton's hatred of oppression, interested
himself energetically in the righting of wrongs,
of which Perak at that period furnished abun-
dant examples. One practice against which he
set his face resolutely was the custom of debt
slavery, under which individuals — even women
and children — were held in bondage to their
debtors for payments due. How this degrading
usage worked is well illustrated by a story told
by Captain Speedy in one of his early reports.
One day a Malay policeman asked him for the
loan of 25 dollars. On inquiring the reason
for this request, Captain Speedy was told that
the money was required to secure the libera-
tion of an aunt who was a slave debtor to a
man in a certain village. She had fallen into
slavery under the following circumstances.
Some six months previously the woman was
passing by a village when she met an acquain-
tance and stopped to converse with her. Taking
a stone from the roadside, the man's aunt
placed it on the pathway, and sat down to rest
meanwhile. When she departed she left the
stone on the path. About an hour afterwards
a child from the village came running along
the path, and her foot catching against the
stone, she fell, and slightly cut her forehead.
Inquiries were made as to how the stone came
in the path, and the fact of the aunt having
placed it there becoming known, she was
arrested, and sentenced to pay 25 dollars.
Being poor and totally unable to pay, she
and her children became, according to the
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF RRITISH MAI>AYA
103
Malay phrase, " bar-utang " — or slaves — to the
father of the child who had been hurt. Cap-
tain Speedy paid the fine, and secured the
release of the woman and her children, but
not without considerable difficulty. Such a
system, of course, was utterly subversive of .
all personal rights, but it was a usage which
had immemorial sanction amongst the Malays,
and they adhered to it with a tenacity charac-
teristic of a people who are deeply attached
to their national habits. Mr. Birch's efforts to
suppress it, persistently and resolutely prose-
cuted, were bitterly resented, and by none
more than by the chiefs, who were amongst
the worst offenders. The almost natural
results followed. " The chiefs of every grade,"
says Sir Frank Swettenham, " made common
cause against a Resident who scoured the
country, inquired into and pushed home their
evil deeds, and endeavoured to put a stop to
them. Therefore, some began to conspire to
compass his death or removal, and others
looked idly on, conscious of what was brew-
ing, but not anxious to take a hand if they
could avoid it. Only the poor and oppressed
recognised and were grateful for all the many
kindnesses they received from the Resident ;
for when he was not busy finding out all about
the country and its resources, or writing in-
structions and suggestions for its development
and administration, he was tending the sick or
giving generous help to those most in need of
it. Unfortunately, he did not speak Malay or
understand the customs and prejudices of the
people, and to this cause more than any other
his death must be attributed."
Before the circumstances under which Mr.
Birch was killed are narrated, it is necessary
to make a survey of the general position as it
existed in the months immediately preceding
the deplorable event. When Sir W. F. D.
Jervois arrived in Singapore as the successor
to Sir Andrew Clarke at the end of May,
187s, he found himself confronted with reports
from the Residents revealing a very unsatis-
factory state of affairs in the Malay States.
There was considerable unrest and an in-
creasing disposition on the part of the chiefs
to oppose the Residents. The new Governor
set himself to study very carefully the problem
with which it was obvious he would soon have
to deal — the problem of harmonising British
supervision of the States with a proper regard
for native rights and susceptibilities. He came
to the conclusion, after several months' investi-
gation, that it would be wise for him to examine
the situation on the spot, with the help of those
best in a position to give him advice and assis-
tance. Accordingly he proceeded to Perak,
interviewed Sultan Abdullah, Raja Ismael,
and Raja Yusuf, conferred with Mr. Birch
and Mr. Davidson, and then returned to Singa-
pore. The impression he obtained from his
journey was that the arrangements made by
his predecessor had broken down, and that a
change in methods was imperatively de-
manded. He therefore determined on his
own authority to make a new departure of a
rather striking kind. He decided to convert
the Residents into Commissioners, and to give
them with the new title a more tangible status
as advisers in the States. A proclamation em-
bodying the Governor's views was drawn up.
and the Sultan Abdullah was required to sign
documents accepting the new policy. He
resolutely declined for a time to do what was
required, but with the exercise of considerable
pressure, and after he had received not obscure
hints that he would be deposed if he did not
yield, he appended his signature. In adopting
the course he did Sir Wm. Jervois was doubtless
actuated by the best motives, but it must be
acknowledged that he took to himself an
astonishing amount of liberty, having regard
to the grave issues involved. At least it might
have been expected that he would have in-
formed the Government at home by cable of
the fact that he had been driven to inaugurate
changes. He, however, failed to do so, and
later, as we shall see, drew upon himself an
uncommon measure of rebuke for his inde-
pendent action.
When the proclamations had been fully
prepared, arrangements were made for their
distribution in the districts concerned as an
outward and visible token of the determination
of the Government to make their supervision
of the States a reality. Mr. Swettenham took
SIR WILLIAM JERVOIS.
with him from Singapore a bundle of the docu-
ments and handed them over to Mr. Birch at
Bandar Bharu. " I found him,'' writes the
gifted administrator (whose vivid narrative of
this tragic episode in the history of the Malay
States is the best account of the occurrences
extant) " suffering from a sprained ankle and
only able to walk with the help of crutches.
Lieut. Abbott, R.N., and four bluejackets were
with him, and on the night of my arrival the
sergeant-major of Mr. Birch's Indian guard
(about eighty Pathans, Sikhs, and Punjabis)
behaved so badly that he had to be confined
in the guard-room, while his men were in
a state bordering on mutiny.
" It was then arranged that I should go up
river to a village called Kota Lama, above
Kuala Kangsa, a village with the worst repute
in Perak, and distribute the proclamations in
the Upper Country, returning about the 3rd of
November to meet Mr. Birch at Pasir Salak,
the village of the Maharaja Lela, five miles
above Bandar Bharu. Mr. Birch, meanwhile,
was to go down river and distribute the pro-
clamations amongst Abdullah's adherents,
where no trouble was expected, and we were
to join forces at Pasir Siilak because the
Maharaja Lela was believed to have declared
that he would not take instructions from the
Resident, and it was known that he had built
himself a new house and had recently been
protecting it by a strong earthwork and
palisade. Therefore, if there was to be
trouble it would probably be there. What
was only disclosed long afterwards was that,
as soon as he had consented to the new
arrangement, Abdullah summoned his chiefs
(including the Maharaja Lela and the Dato'
Siigor, who lived at Kampong Gajah, on the
opposite bank of the river to Pasir Salak) and
told them that he had handed over the
government of the country to Mr. Birch. The
Maharaja Lela, however, said that he would
not accept any orders from the Resident, and
if Mr. Birch came to his Kampong he would
kill him. Asked whether he really intended
to keep his word, he replied that he certainly
meant it. The Dato' Sagor also said that he
was of one mind with the Maharaja Lela.
The meeting then broke up and the members
returned to their own villages. Later, when
the proclamations arrived, the Sultan again
sent for the chiefs, showed them the papers,
and asked what they thought of them. The
Laksamana said, ' Down here, in the lower
part of the river, we must accept them.' But
the Maharaja Lela said, ' In my Kampong, I
will not allow any white man to post these
proclamations. If they insist, there will cer-
tainly be a fight.' To this the Sultan and the
other chiefs said, 'Very well.' The Maharaja
Lela immediately left, and, having loaded his
boats with rice, returned up river to his own
Kampong."
Mr. Swettenham left Bandar Bharu at noon
on October 28th, and as he went up stream
Mr. Birch was proceeding down. The further
Mr. Swettenham went up the river the more
threatening became the talk. He, however,
posted his proclamations at various points
without encountering any overt act of hostility.
On November 4th, his work being done, he
started down river, intending to spend the night
at Blanja ; but on arriving there he was told that
Mr. Birch had been killed by the Maharaja
Lela's people at Pasir Salak on November 2nd.
The news induced him to continue his journey,
and though he had been informed that the river
had been staked at Pasir Salak with the object of
intercepting him, his boats passed that danger
point without being challenged. At daylight
the next morning he returned up the river to
Bandar Bharu and there and afterwards heard
the details of Mr. Birch's assassination.
He had done his work in the low country
more quickly than he expected, and reached
Pasir Salak at midnight on November 1st
with three boats, containing the Resident,
Lieut. Abbott, R.N., a guard of twelve Sikhs,
an orderly, a Malay interpreter, and a number
of boatmen. In all the party numbered about
forty men, and they had plenty of arms and
anununition. They anchored in midstream for
the night, and at daylight hauled to the bank,
when Mr. Abbott crossed to the other side of
the river to shoot snipe, and Mr. Birch sent a
message to the Maharaja Lela to say that he
would be glad to see him, either at the boats
104
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
or in his own house. To the interpreter who
carried the message the chief said, " I have
nothing to do with Mr. Birch."
" Some days earlier the Maharaja Lela
had summoned all his people and told them
that Mr. Birch would shortly come to Pasir
Salak, and if he attempted to post any notices
there the orders of the Sultan and the down-
river chiefs were that he should be killed. The
people replied that if those were the orders
they would carry them out, and the Maharaja
Lela then handed his sword to a man called
Pandak Indut, his father-in-law, and told the
people to take Pandak Indut's directions as
though they were his own. Directly Mr.
Birch arrived messengers were sent out to
collect the people, and, before the sun was hot,
there were already about seventy armed men
on the bank above Mr. Birch's boats. The
Dato' Sagor had come over from the other side
(in the boat which had taken Mr. Abbott
across), and he had seen and spoken to Mr.
Birch and was now with the Maharaja Lela.
By Mr. Birch's orders the interpreter posted a
proclamation on the shop of a Chinese gold-
smith, close to the bank, and this paper was
torn down by Pandak Indut and taken to
the Maharaja Lela, the occurrence being at the
same time reported to Mr. Birch. The crowd
on the bank were showing distinct signs of
restiveness ; but the boatmen began to make
fires to cook rice, and Mr. Birch went to take
his bath in a floating bath-house by the river
bank, his Sikh orderly standing at the door
with a loaded revolver. The interpreter was
putting up another copy of the proclamation
when Panduk Indut tore it down, and as the
interpreter remonstrated, Pandak Indut thrust
a spear into him and cried out, ' .^mok !
amok ! ' The crowd instantly rushed for the
bath-house, and attacked the boatmen and any
of the Resident's party within reach. Spears
were thrust through the bath-house, and Mr.
Birch sank into the river, coming to the surface
just below the bath-house, when he was im-
mediately slashed on the head with a sword
and was not seen again. Mr. Birch's Sikh
orderly had jumped into the river when the
first rush was made at the bath-house, and he
swam to a boat, taking great care to save the
revolver, which he had not fired, from getting
wet ! The interpreter struggled to the river,
and was helped into a boat by two of Mr.
Birch's Malays, but he died very shortly after-
wards. A Sikh and a Malay boatman were
also killed, and several of the others were
wounded ; but the rest with great difficulty got
away. Mr. Abbott, on the other bank, was
warned of what had occurred, and managed to
get a dugout and escape, running the fire from
both banks.
"Then the Maharaja Lela came out and asked
who were those who had actually had a hand
in the killing. Pandak Indut and the others at
once claimed credit for the deed, and the chief
ordered that only those who had struck blows
should share in the spoils. Then he said, ' Go
and tell the Laksamana I have killed Mr.
Birch.' The message was duly delivered, and
the Laksamana said, ' Very well, I will inform
the Sultan.' The same evening the Maharaja
Lela sent Mr. Birch's boat to Blanja, with the
letter to ex-Sultan Ismail describing what he
had done. Ismail was much too clever to keep
the boat, so he sent it back again. All the
arms and other property were removed to the
Maharaja Lela's house, and orders were given
to build stockades, to stake the river, and to
amok the Resident's station at Bandar Bharu.
The party sent on this last errand returned
without accomplishing their object ; for when
they got near the place it began to rain, and
the people in the house where they took shelter
told them that they would get a warm recep-
tion at Bandar Bliaru, and it would be quite
a different thing to murdering the Resident."
By the help of a friendly Malay, a foreigner,
Mr. Birch's body was recovered and buried at
Bandar Bharu on November 6th.
The news of Mr. Birch's assassination
speedily reached Singapore and created a pain-
ful sensation. There had often been trouble
with the Malays, but in the whole history of
British dealings with the race, from the time that
British power had become firmly established
in the Straits, there had never been previously
a case in which a leading official had been put
to death in the treacherous circumstances
which marked this incident. Sir William
Jervois took immediate steps to strengthen
the British forces in the disturbed area. A
detachment consisting of two officers and
60 men of the loth Regiment was sent
immediately from Pinang, and arrangements
were made for further reinforcements. The
Governor believed at the time that the murder
was an isolated incident which might be dealt
with without difficulty, and he cabled to the
Government at home in that sense. But he
was speedily disillusioned. The Pinang de-
tachment, reinforced by four bluejackets and a
small body of Sikhs, on attempting to carry
Pasir Salak, failed. Meanwhile ominous
rumours were daily coming in of serious
trouble in Selangor and the Negri Sambilan.
In the circumstances Sir Williain Jervois
deemed it wise to make a requisition on the
home Government for a considerable force
of white troops to overcome the disaffected
elements in the States and restore British
prestige. The demand seriously disturbed the
equanimity of the authorities in Downing
Street, whose natural dishke of " little wars "
in this instance was accentuated by a belief
that the trouble had been brought on by the
high-handed policy of the Governor. Lord
Carnarvon peremptorily cabled out for informa-
tion and wanted to know why a force of 1,500
bayonets, with artillery, 50 miles of telegraphic
apparatus, and a million of cartridges — the
specific requisition made — should be required
to deal with an " isolated outrage."
Sir William Jervois was absent from Singa-
pore directing the preparations for the sup-
pression of the disturbances when the message
arrived. Receiving no reply, the Secretary for
the Colonies telegraphed again in urgent terms,
intimating that the Government disapproved
altogether of the Governor's policy, and that
the troops which were being sent " must not
be employed for annexation or other political
objects." " Her Majesty's Government," the
message proceeded, " cannot adopt the prin-
ciple of the permanent retention of troops
in peninsula to maintain Residents or other
officers ; and unless natives are willing to
receive them on footing originally sanctioned
of simply advising the ruling authorities I
doubt whether their continuance in the country
can be sanctioned." Lord Carnarvon followed
this communication with a despatch by post
in which he referred severely to "the grave
errors of policy and of action" which had
marked the Governor's policy. Sir William
Jervois explained by cable that the large body
of troops asked for was required for the re-
assertion of British authority, and to prevent
the spread of the disturbances in adjoining dis-
tricts. At a later period Lord Carnarvon
again, and at much greater length, addressed
Sir William Jervois, the despatch being a
review of the latter's own despatch of October
l6th previously, in which he for the first time
described the new policy which he was in-
augurating. The Secretary for the Colonies
referred particularly to a passage in this
despatch in which the Governor said that
before his interviews with the chiefs he had
inclined to the opinion that the best course
to adopt would be to declare Perak British
territory ; but that on weighing well the im-
pressions conveyed by the interviews with the
chiefs, it did not appear to be expedient at
present that this course should be adopted,
and he had therefore determined, if the Sultan
could be induced to agree, to adopt the policy
of governing Perak by British oflicers in his
name. Commenting on this. Lord Carnarvon
acridly remarked that he did not know how
far this middle course differed from an as-
sumption of actual sovereignty, but what had
been done constituted " large and important
changes as to which you had no ground for
supposing that her Majesty's Government
would approve a very material departure from
the policy which had been previously sanc-
tioned as an experiment." It would, of course,
have been right and proper, if he were con-
vinced of the inefficacy of the existing
arrangements, if he had laid his proposals
before Government. But instead of doing
that he at once issued a proclamation which
altered the whole system of government and
affected in a more or less degree avast number
of individual interests, provoking apparently
the crisis with which they had now to contend.
The despatch suggested that if it had been
found necessary to introduce a change of
policy the telegraph ought to have been used.
" I am altogether unable to understand how
you came to omit this obvious duty," proceeded
Lord Carnarvon. " I can only conclude that,
being convinced of the soundness of your own
judgment, you acted in lamentable forgetful-
ness of the fact that you had no authority
whatever for what you were doing." Sir
William Jervois's reply to these strictures
cannot be described as con\incing. He argued
that he had not really changed the policy of
dealing with the States. The action he had
taken was, he said, merely a natural develop-
ment of the policy introduced by Sir Andrew
Clarke with the sanction of the Government.
With more force he maintained that the con-
dition of disorder into which the States had
fallen could not have been allowed to continue
without serious detriment to British interests
immediately, and possibly creating a situation
later vt-hich would menace the stability of the
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
105
British possessions themselves. Lord Carnar-
von, in aclcnowledging the despatch, reaffirmed
his views, and gave emphatic instructions that
no step affecting the political situation was to
be taken by the Straits Government pending
the consideration of the question of future
policy by the Home Government. On June i,
1876, Lord Carnarvon wrote sanctioning the
continuance of the Residential system, and
also approving the institution of Councils of
State in the protected States. The despatch
strongly insisted upon the exercise of caution
in the execution of this policy.
While this angry controversy was proceed-
ing a strong British force was operating in the
disturbed area. At quite an early stage in the
little campaign the local troops, reinforced by
a naval brigade, had wiped out the initial
failure at Pasir Salak, in which Captain Innes,
R.E., had been killed, and two officers of the
loth Regiment severely wounded, by carry-
ing the stockade at that point, and burning the
villages of the Maharaja Lela and the Dato'
Sagor. But the country by this time was
thoroughly aroused, and the expeditionary
force proved none too large for the work in
hand. The troops consisted of the 3rd (Buffs)
Regiment, 600 strong, 300 officers and men of
the 8oth Regiment, 200 officers and men of the
loth Regiment, a battery and half of Royal
Artillery, the 1st Gurkhas, 450 strong, and a
party of Bengal sappers numbering 80 men.
There was also a strong naval brigade, drawn
from H.M.'s ships Mocieste, Thistle, Philomel,
Ringdove, and Fly. The whole were under the
command of Major-General the Hon. F. Col-
borne, C.B., and Brigadier-General John Ross.
With the headquarters of the China troops
established at Bandar Bharu, and with the
Indian troops based at Kuala Kangsa, a series
of expeditions was organised against the dis-
affected Malays under the Maharaja Lela,
the Dato' Sagor, and the ex-Sultan Ismail.
Transport difficulties hampered the movements
of the troops considerably, but eventually the
Maharaja Lela was driven' across the border
into Kedah, and the country settled down.
Perak continued to be occupied by British
troops for some little time after the restoration
of peace. Their presence had a good effect in
convincing the natives that the old order had
been changed irrevocably, and when at length
they were replaced with a police force, the out-
look was perfectly peaceful. Meanwhile, how-
ever, the situation in the Negri Sambilan was
causing a good deal of anxiety. An attack on
a survey party, despatched from Sungei Ujong
across the border into Terachi, led up to a series
of military operations of a somewhat arduous
character. The Malays fought with determi-
nation, and it required a very considerable
force to dispose of them. They were ultimately
driven off, thanks to the courageous action of
Captain Channer, who, with a party of Gur-
khas, rushed a stockade which commanded the
rest of the position. For this gallantry Captain
Channer was awarded the Victoria Cross — a
decoration which he had richly earned, for his
act was not only a singularly brave one, but it
was the main factor in bringing to a successful
conclusion what might have been a long,
wearisome, and costly business.
On the termination of the military operations.
it only remained to mete out justice to those
who had been directly concerned in Mr.
Birch's assassination. Information collected
by a Commission specially appointed to in-
vestigate the troubles plainly pointed to the
Sultan Abdullah, the Mantri, the Dato' Laksa-
mana, and the Dato' Shabandar as the accom-
plices of the Maharaja Lela and Pandak Indut
in the crime. The four first mentioned were
all exiled to the Seychelles at a comparatively
early period of the investigation. The Maha-
raja Lela and others, after eluding pursuit for
several months, in July, 1876, gave themselves
up to the Maharaja of Johore, and by him
were handed over to the British authorities.
They were tried at Larut by a special tribunal
composed of Raja Yusuf and Raja Husein,
with Mr. Davidson and Mr. W. E. Maxwell as
British assessors. They were found guilty and
condemned to death. The Maharaja Lela,
the Dato' Sagar, and Pandak Indut were
executed. In the case of the other prisoners
the sentences were commuted to imprisonment
for life. Thus was a foul crime avenged. The
punishment, though severe, was necessary to
SIR W. C. F. ROBINSON.
bring home to the population of the Malay
States the determination of the British Govern-
ment to protect its officials, and the certainty
of retribution in cases in which injur}' was
done to them. Tlie Malays recognised the
substantial justice of the sentences. The more
influential of them took the view expressed by
the two Rajas in announcing their judgment —
that the accused had not only been guilty of
murder, but of treason, since they had taken
upon themselves to assassinate one who had
been invited to the State by the responsible
chiefs, and was in a sense the country's guest.
Politically the trial and its sequel had a great
and salutary influence throughout the penin-
sula. It was accepted as a sign that the
British Government now really meant to
assert itself, and would no longer tolerate
the conditions of misgovernment which had
for generations existed in the States. Opposi-
tion there continued to be for a good many
years, as was natural, having regard to the
Malay character, and the immensity of the
change which the new order made in
the national system of life. But there was
no overt act of hostility, and gradually, as the
benefits of peace and unhampered trade were
brought home to them in tangible fashion, the
inhabitants were completely won over to the
side of progressive administration. Thus Mr.
Birch, as Sir Frank Swettenham aptly says,
did not die in vain. " His death freed the
country from an abominable thraldom, and
was indirectly the means of bringing inde-
pendence, justice, and comfort to tens of
thousands of sorely oppressed people."
Lord Carnarvon's instructions that the Resi-
dential system was to be reintroduced with
caution were interpreted very literally by the
Singapore authorities. They dealt with crush-
ing severity with an official who seemed to
them to go a little beyond the strict letter of
his instructions. The offender was Captain
Douglas, the Resident of Selangor. In the
early part of 1878 a report was made to him
that Tunku Panglima, the Panghulu of Kau-
chong, near the entrance of the Jugra river, a
member of the Mixed Council on 50 dollars a
month, had offered a bribe of 40 dollars to
Mr. Newbrunner, the Collector and Magistrate
of the district, to influence him in a judicial
proceeding. Captain Douglas had the peccant
chief arrested, and subsequently ordered his
removal from the Council and the reduction of
his allowance by half to bring home to him
the enormity of his offence. The matter was
reported in due course to headquarters at
Singapore, with results little anticipated by the
Resident of Selangor. The Executive Council
same to the unanimous resolution that the
action of the Resident " was uncalled for and
extra vires, and that he should be instructed to
advise the Sultan to reinstate the Panglima
Raja as a member of Council." Not content
with this drastic measure. Sir W. C. F. Robinson,
who in 1877 had succeeded Sir William Jervois
as Governor on the tatter's appointment to
report on the defences of Australia, issued the
following "Instructions to Residents ': "His
Excellency desires that you should be reminded
that the Residents have been placed in the
native States as advisers and not as rulers, and
if they take upon themselves to disregard this
principle they will most assuredly be held
responsible if trouble springs out of their
neglect of it." Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, the
successor of Lord Carnarvon as Colonial Secre-
tary, took a very tolerant view of Captain
Douglas's lapse. He approved the action of
the Governor, as he was bound to do, having
regard to the instructions issued from Downing
Street by his predecessor, but he spoke of
Captain Douglas's action as an " error of judg-
ment," and indulgently remarked that he fully
recognised the delicacy of the task imposed
on the Residents, and was aware that much
must be left to their discretion on occasions
when prompt and firm action was called for.
Sir Michael Hicks-Beach's broad way of look-
ing at this episode, we may assume, was not
without its effect upon the Government at
Singapore and the Residential officials. It
was, at all events, in the spirit of his despatch
rather than in consonance with the letter of the
" Instructions to Residents " that the administra-
tion of the Malay States proceeded during the
next few years. It was well that it was. so, for
a lack of courage at the outset — indecision on
vital matters of principle — would have militated
E * ■'■
106
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
seriously against the success of the work in
hand. Indeed, it may be questioned whethei-
the magnificent result which we see to-day
would have been possible if British officials of
those early days, when everything was in the
melting-pot, had stood idly by while the native
chiefs were manipulating the alloys after their
own fashion. The Residents, who were all
officials selected for their special knowledge
of Malays, were not the type of men to accept
a role of this sort. They knew that British
administrative capacity and even the national
prestige was at stake ; they knew further that
here vi^as a splendid heritage for the Empire to
be had only for the asking ; so, nothing fearing,
they kept steadily on their course. They were
not " rulers," but they were pre-eminently the
power behind the throne. The ship of State
was directed whither they wished it to go, and
they wished it go along the path -of good
government, which was also the high-road
to commercial prosperity.
One of the earliest developments of the re-
constituted Residential system was the estab-
lishment of advisory Councils of State. This
was a very astute move, for it did more to
secure the support of influential Malays and
reconcile them to the new regime than any
other step taken in these early days. The
Councils, on which there was a mixed repre-
sentation of chiefs, local officials, and leading
men, transacted the ordinary business of an
executive council. They discussed and passed
legislative enactments, considered revenue ques-
tions, and the civil and pension lists, and con-
ferred with the Resident on important matters
affecting the welfare of the State. The first of
these Councils was established in Perak, and
was an immediate success owing to the intelli-
gent co-operation of the Malay chiefs and the
general goodwill of the leaders of the foreign
native community. Selangor later was en-
dowed with a Council, and the other States,
after further intervals, followed on the same
path. "The institution," Sir Frank Swettenham
says, " served its purpose admirably. The
Malay members from the first took an intelli-
gent interest in the proceedings, which were
always conducted in Malay, and a seat on the
Council is much coveted and highly prized. A
tactful Resident could always carry the majority
with him, and nothing was so useful or effective
in cases of difficulty as for those who would
have been obstructive to find that their opinions
were not shared by others of their own class
and nationality."
Perak, as the chief seat of the troubles which
led to British intervention, was watched anxi-
ously by the authorities in the period following
the cessation of hostilities. Happily in Mr. (after-
wards Sir) Hugh Low the State had an adviser
of exceptional ability and strength of character.
His previous service had been in Borneo,
but he thoroughly understood the Oriental
character and quicklj' adapted himself to the
special characteristics of the Malay. His was
the iron hand beneath the velvet glove. Firm
and yet conciliatory, he directed the ship of
State with unerring skill through the shoals
and quicksands which beset its course in those
early days when the population, or an influ-
ential part of it, was smarting under the sense
of defeat. Perhaps his tactfulness was in no
direction more strikingly shown than in his
treatment of the delicate question of debt
slavery. It was obvious from the first that the
system was incompatible with British notions
of sound and just administration. But to in-
augurate a change was no easy task. The
practice was, as we have said, a cherished
Malay custom, and cut deeply into the home
life of the people. Moreover, abolition meant
money, and the State at that time was not
too well endowed with funds. The masterful
Resident, however, was not to be deterred by
these considerations from taking up the ques-
tion. He worked quietly to secure the good-
will of the chiefs, and having done this, formu-
lated a scheme by which the State should
purchase the freedom of all bond slaves, paying
to their masters a maximum sum of 30 dollars
for a male and 60 dollars for a female slave.
The proposals were duly laid before the Perak
Council, and after discussion unanimously
SIB HUGH LOW.
adopted, December 31, 1883, being fi.xed as
the final date for the continuance of the state
of slavery. The emancipation measures were
attended by some interesting results. Very
few freedmen consented to leave their masters
or mistresses, while the latter on their part
almost universally said that they set the slaves
free '• for the glory of God," and refused to take
the State's money. " How can we take money
for our friends who have so long lived with us,
many of them born in our houses ? W'e can
sell cattle, fruit or rice, but not take money for
our friends." "Such e.xpressions," Sir Frederick
Weld wrote in a despatch dated May 3, 18S3,
"have been used in very many cases in
different parts of Perak. Many slave children
whose own mothers are dead always call their
mistresses 'mother,' and the attachment is
reciprocal. In fine, this investigation has
brought into notice many of the fine qualities
of a most interesting and much maligned race.
and affords conclusive proof that the abuses
which are sure to co-exist with slavery could
not have been general, and bore no comparison
with those formerly often accompanying negro
slavery in our own colonies."
A rather unpleasant incident, which threatened
at one time to have very serious consequences,
arose out of the edict for the manumission of
slaves. Soon after the arrangements had been
put in force the inhabitants of the sub-district
of Lomboh, on the Perak river, a centre in
close proximity to the scene of Mr. Birch's
murder, declined to pay taxes, giving as one of
their reasons the abolition of slavery. They
refused to meet the Resident excepting by
proceeding as an armed bod5' to Kuala Kangsa,
and declared that if they were defeated they
would disperse in small bands and harry the
country.
Everything was done by the British officials
and the Malay chiefs to bring the malcontents
to reason, but they stubbornly refused to listen,
and when approached, beat the mosque drum
as a call to the inhabitants to arms. In the
circumstances Mr. Low, the Resident, had no
alternative but to make a display of force, for,
as Sir Frederick Weld, the Governor, remarked
in his despatch to the Secretary of State on the
subject, " to have yielded to threats would have
destroyed all the good work we have done in
civilising and pacifying the country." He there-
fore ordered a force of 100 armed police and
two guns to proceed down the river from
Kuala Kangsa, and himself proceeded up the
river from Teluk Anson with 40 men. The
Lamboh people, seeing the Resident's deter-
mined attitude and impressed by the proximity
of his highly disciplined and effective force,
made a complete submission. They now
willingly paid their tax, and, expressing deep
contrition, promised most humbly never to
repeat the offence, but to petition in a quiet
way if they had a grievance. Accepting their
plea that they were " poor ignorant jungle
people," Mr. Low withdrew his warrant for
the arrest of the ringleaders, and so terminated
happily an episode which might with less
skilful handling have set the whole peninsula
aflame once more.
In 1884, on Sir Hugh Low's retirement from
the Residency of Perak, Sir Cecil Smith, the
officer administering the government of the
Straits Settlements, reviewed the work done in
the State since the introduction of British
supervision. In 1876 the revenue of Perak
amounted to 2 1.3,419 dollars, and the expendi-
ture to 226,379 dollars. In 1883 the revenue
had reached a total of i, 474,330 dollars, while
the expenditure had grown to 1,350,610 dollars.
During the period of Sir Hugh Low's adminis-
tration debts to. the amount of 800,000 dollars
incurred in connection with the disturbances
had been paid off, and the State was at the
period of the review entirely free from such
liabilities. There was a cash balance at the
close of the year of 254,949 dollars. As to
trade, the value of the imports was calculated
in 1876 at 831,375 dollars, and the exports at
739,970 dollars. Similar returns for 1883 showed
the imports to have been valued at 4,895,940
dollars, and the exports 5,625,335 dollars. Put
in sterling, the aggregate value of the trade
was ;^r2, 000,000.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MAI.AYA
107
Sir Hugh Low in his farewell report himself
summarises the results of his administration
in these graphic sentences : " When I first
entered upon the duties of the position of
adviser to the State there was only one steamer
trading between Pinang and Larut, which was
subsidised by the Government and made the
voyage once in five or six days. There are now
twelve steamers trading between Pinang and
Perak, two or three of which arrive at and
depart from Larut daily;, there are others
plying to and fro between Pinang and Singa-
pore, calling at the intervening ports, so that,
as is also shown by the returns, the trade has
undergone a large development. The country
has been opened up by excellent roads in the
most important positions, and by a very exten-
sive system of bridle paths in places of less
consequence. Progress has been made in
rendering rivers more navigable. A military
police, consisting of infantry, artillery, and
cavalry, second to none in the East, has been
which has a most abundant supply of excellent
water conveyed to it in three miles of 8-inch
pipes, is lighted with kerosene lamps, and in
process of being connected with a new port bj'
a metre-gauge railway eight miles in length.
Very excellent barracks, large hospitals, courts
of justice, commodious residences for all ofticers
except the Resident, and numerous police
stations and public buildings have been erected
at the chief stations ; a museum with a scientific
staff and experimental gardens and farms
established ; the nati\'c foreign Eastern popu-
lation conciliated ; ancient animosities healed
up, and all causes of disquietude removed. As
compared with 1876, when3i2,872 dollarswere
collected, the revenues of the State are now
more than quadrupled, and the Treasury,
rescued from insolvency, now contains a large
balance available for further development of
the resources of the Stale."
Sir Frederick Weld, who was Governor of
the Straits Settlements from 1879 to 1887, took
made. It was his practice during his term of
office to be continually on the move through
the States, seeing for himself the needs of the
territory and keeping constantly in touch with
SIR HUGH LOW AND THE SULTAN OF PERAK.
(From a photograph taken during Sir Hugh Low's term of office as Resident of Perak.)
recruited, disciplined, and most fully equipped,
and also supplies a most efficient fire brigade
for the town of Taiping. Two considerable
and prosperous towns have been built, one of
a deep interest in the development of the
Malay States, and to his energetic initiative
and persistent advocacy was due in large
measure the steady uninterrupted progress
SIR FREDK. A WELD, K.C.M.G.
local opinion. He not only informed himself,
but he took good care to keep the authorities
at home thoroughly posted on all matters of
importance. Bright little descriptions of his
journeyings were sent to the Colonial Office, and
the staid officials there, amid details of official
receptions, read gossipy accounts of camp in-
cidents or adventures with wild beasts. .\ few
excerpts from these despatches may be appro-
priately introduced, as they give a sketch of the
early administration of the States which is
both lively and informing. Writing of a tour
made in March, 1883, Sir Frederick Weld
furnishes an interesting description of Kuala
Lumpor. " The improvement in the town,"
he says, " was marked. The main road has
been improved ; neat, inexpensive police
stations and good bridges have replaced de-
cayed old ones, whilst several new buildings
are in progress." A visit paid subsequently to
Larut and Lower Perak was productive of an
equally favourable impression. " At Teluk
.inson, the headquarters of the last named
district, I found great changes in progress.
Many good buildings have been erected and
the streets are well laid out. The canal, which
saves eight miles of river navigation, is likely
to be a success, and is nearly finished. The
hospital is commodious and in good order."
Later in the year Sir Frederick Weld was
again in Selangor, and he makes these refer-
ences to his visit : " At Kanching, about 15
miles north of Kuala Lumpor, we passed
through and by a considerable forest of
camphor trees, many of them 200 feet high.
This tract occupied by camphor trees is the
largest of the kind known in the peninsula,
and the only one on the western side of the
range. The Malays fear to cut the trees, as
they say the smell gives them fever. Mr.
Gower, who is putting up tin-mining machinery
in the neighbourhood, got seven Japanese to
attempt cutting a tree, and they all actually did
get fever. This is very remarkable, as camphor
is usually considered to be a febrifuge. This
forest must become of enormous value, and I
108
TWENTIETH CEXTUJRY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
have directed that it be reserved to the State
and preserved.
" In the inhabited districts all the villages
were decorated, always tastefully and some-
times very beautifully. I was welcomed with
dancing and singing ; they emulated their
ancient legends of the programme of the pass-
age of certain great Rajas in ancient times, and
there is little doubt but that I had at least the
advantage in the heartiness of the welcome.
Even the wild Sakais and Semangs, the
aborigines, came down from the mountains,
bringing with them their women and children
to meet me. They one and all assured me
that under our rule the Malays have ceased to
molest them, and one said that if they did
he should go straight off to find a European
magistrate and the police. They themselves
are a most harmless, kindly, and good-tempered
race."
CHAPTER X.
Continued Progress — Federation — Magni-
ficent Results of British Interven-
tion— Conclusion.
What Sir Hugh Low accomplished in Perak
was done in a minor degree in the other States.
In the Nine States progress was for a time
retarded by the mutual jealousies of the chiefs
and the slumbering resentment of the popula-
tion, who did not take too kindly to some of
the changes wrought by British supervision.
Owing largely to these causes the inevitable
federation of the group of States was delayed.
In 1876 six of the nine States united, agreeing
to work together under the headship of Tunku
Antar, who was given the title of Yam Tuan of
Sri Menanti. The dissenting States, Sungei
Ujong, Rembau, and Jelebu, after a few years'
independent life, thought better of their
refusal, and entered the federation, the formal
act being registered in an agreement under
which they acknowledged Tunku Muhammad,
C.M.G., the successor of Tunku Antar, as their
Raja, with the title of Yang-di-Pertuan of Negri
Sambilan. In Selangor, first under Mr. David-
son and later under Mr. Swettenham, rapid
progress was made when once the country had
settled down. The revenue grew from 193,476
dollars in 1876 to 300,423 dollars in 1882. The
next year there was a further advance to
450,644 dollars. After the lapse of another five
years the receipts had grown to the large
figure of 1,417,998 dollars. Thus in twelve
years the revenue of the State had increased
sevenfold. The expenditure kept pace with
the receipts, because at the outset there were
heavy liabilities to be liquidated, and through-
out the period there were demands ever grow-
ing for public works absolutely essential for
the development of the territory. The general
situation of the States in these early years is
illustrated by these figures showing the total
receipts and expenditure of Perak, Selangor,
and Sungei Ujong at particular periods from
1876 to 1888 :
Year. Revenue. Expenditure.
1876 8560,997 »585,i89
1880 881,910 794,944
1884 2,148,155 2,138,710
1888 3,657.673 3,013,943
The revenue system adopted in the States
under British supervision differed materially
from that of the British settlements. Its lead-
ing features at the outset were an import duty
on opium, spirits, and tobacco, a farm of the
sole right to open gambling houses, various
licence fees, quit rents, &c., an export duty of
10 per cent, ad valorem on all jungle produce
and salt fish, and an export duty on tin. The
last-named import was the backbone of the
system. To it is mainly due the remarkable
development of the States. Without the steady
and increasing flow to the exchequer of the tin
receipts, the magnificent public works which
are the most conspicuous feature of the fede-
rated area would have been luxuries beyond
the attainment of the administration. Refer-
ences to these works are made elsewhere in
this volume, and it is only necessary to touch
lightly upon the subject here. The earliest
works undertaken were almost exclusively con-
cerned with the improvement of communica-
tions. As was stated at the beginning of this
hibtorical sketch, when the British first inte-
rested themselves in the concerns of the Malay
States they found a practically roadless
country. About the mines in Larut a few
miles of ill-kept track, dignified by the name of
road, served for purposes of transporting the
tin to the coast, but this was an isolated
example of enterprise. Communications, such
as they were, were carried on for the most
part by the numerous rivers and waterways in
which the coast abounds. The British Resi-
dents quickly realised that if the States were
to prosper there must be a good system of
internal and ultimately of inter-State communi-
cation established. The efforts were directed
to two ends — the improvement of the water-
ways by the clearing of channels, and the
construction of roads. The former was a com-
paratively easy task, as in many cases all that
was required was the expenditure of moderate
sums on labour with the object of removing
vegetation, which had accumulated to such an
extent as to render the streams useless for
navigation. The roads, on the other hand, had
to be driven for the most part through virgin
forest land, and the work was a troublesome
and costly business. The Resident of Selangor
in 1882-83, in order to meet the demand for
increased means of communication without
putting too heavy a strain upon the public
resources, hit upon the expedient of making
the initial roadway a bridle-path 6 feet wide
without metalling and with very simple and
cheap bridges. Traffic arteries of this type
were constructed at the low cost of ;^i5o a
mile, and they served all reasonable needs
until the period when the growth of the State
revenue justified the heavier expenditure in-
volved in the provision of a macadamised road
with permanent bridges. This plan was finally
adopted in all the States with markedly
successful results. The bridle-paths attracted
settlers to the districts through which they
passed, and soon a thriving population was to
be found in districts which previously had
been an uninhabited waste. When the popula-
tion was large enough to justify the expendi-
ture, and fvmds permitted, the permanent road
was provided. In this way, bit by bit, was
created a network of splendid roads, the like
of which is not to be found anywhere in Asia,
excepting perhaps in India. Side by side with
road construction the Government prosecuted
measures for the settlement of the country.
" Efforts," says Sir Frank Swettenham in his
work, " were made to encourage the building
of villages all over the country, and round the
headquarters of every district settlers congre-
gated, small towns were laid out, shops and
markets were built, and everything was done
to induce the people to believe in the perman-
ence of the new institutions. The visitor who
now travels by train through a succession of
populous towns, or who lands at or leaves busy
ports on the coast, can hardly realise the
infinite trouble taken in the first fifteen years
to coax Malays and Chinese and Indians to
settle in the country, to build a better class of
house than the flimsy shanties or adobe struc-
ture hitherto regarded as the height of all
reasonable ambition. As the villages grew and
the roads joined up the various mining fields
and scattered hamlets, village councils, styled
Sanitary Boards, were instituted to regulate the
markets, sanitation, slaughter houses, laundries,
water supply, and the hundred and one
improvements of rapidly growing centres of
population. Every nationality is represented
on these boards, and the members take an
intelligent interest in municipal administration."
The construction of railways was an inevitable
accompaniment of the commercial development
of the States. The pioneer scheme was a line
eight miles long between Taiping, the chief
mining town in Larut, and Port Weld, on a
deep-water inlet of the Larut river. Another
and more ambitious scheme undertaken some
little time before the line was opened for traffic
in 1884 was a railway between Kuala Lumpor
and Klang in Selangor, a distance of 22 miles.
Funds for this work were lent by the Straits
Settlements Government, but the loan was re-
called long before the work was completed, and
the State authorities had to get on as best they
could without external aid. Fortunately the
revenue at the time was in a highly satisfactory
condition, and no great difficulty was experi-
enced in financing the venture out of current
income. The line was an immediate success.
In the first few months of working it achieved
the remarkable result of earning a revenue
which yielded a profit equal to 25 per cent, on
the amount expended. From these compara-
tively small beginnings grew the great railway
system which already has linked up the western
districts of the peninsula, and which is destined
probably in the not remote future to be the
important final section of a great continental
system of railways.
On the purely administrative side the work
of supervision was not less effective than in the
practical directions we have indicated. A
judicial system was built up on lines suited
to the needs of the population, educational
machinery was started with special provision
for the principal racial sections of which the
inhabitants were composed, a land settlement
system was devised, hospitals and dispensaries
were started, and a magnificent police force —
partly Indian, partly Malay — was created. In
fine, the States were gradually equipped with
all the essential institutions of a progressive
comraunitj'. The story of liow these various
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
109
departments of the Federated Malay States
Government grew may be left to be told by
other writers. It is sufficient here to say that,
with trivial exceptions, the work has been
marked by a measure of successful achieve-
ment which is worthy of the most brilliant
examples of British administration.
In 1888 the British responsibiHties in the
peninsula were increased by the addition of
Pahang to the list of protected States. This
State stood suspiciously apart when the other
States were brought into the sphere of British
influence, and it resolutely repelled all over-
authorities at Singapore, who saw in it only
another indication of the perverse indepen-
dence of the chief. They had, liowever, only
to wait for an opportunity for intervention. It
came one day when a more than usually brutal
outrage was perpetrated upon a British subject
with the connivance of the ruler. Satisfaction
was demanded by Sir Clementi Smith, the then
Governor of the Straits, and was refused. The
position was becoming critical when the chief,
acting mainly on the advice of the Maharaja of
Johore, expressed regret for what had occurred
and asked for the appointment of a British
the adjoining Stales, there to be either killed or
captured by the Siamese. Pahang has never
had reason to regret the decision taken by its
chief to join the circle of protected States. In
the seventeeji years ending 1906 which followed
the introduction of the Residential system, its
revenue increased tenfold and its trade expanded
from an insigniiicant total to one approximating
five million dollars in value.
The remarlcable progress made by the pro-
tected States and the consequent widening of
the administrative sphere brought into promi-
nence the necessity of federation in order to
GROUP TAKEN AT GOVERNMENT HOUSE, SINGAPORE, DURING SIR F. WELD'S ADMINISTRATION.
The figure in the centre is Sir F. Weld ; seated on his left are Sir Hugh Low and the Sultan of Perak.
tures. On one occasion the Straits Government
had to bring the chief to reason by a bombard-
ment of his capital. After that there was little
or no intercourse, until one day a British war
vessel dropped into harbour to see what was
doing in that part of the world. The captain
landed to pay his respects, and on being ushered
into the presence of the chief, found him seated
on a pile of cannon balls which had been fired
from the British warships on the occasion of
the bombardment. The humour of the situa-
tion appealed to the British representative, but
the incident was not so much relished by the
Resident. The amende was accepted, and Mr.
(now Sir) J. P. Rodger was appointed Resident,
with ;Mr. Hugh Clifford as Assistant. The new
order was not accepted peacefully by an im-
portant section, represented by a group of petty
chiefs. These resented the British intrusion
and all that it implied in ordered administration
and restraints on oppression, and they took up
arms. A long and expensive campaign was
involved in the suppression of this rising ; but
eventually, thanks largely to Mr. Hugh Clifford's
exertions, the revolting element was ■ either
hunted down or driven across the border into
deal more effectually with questions of common
interest which were continually arising. In
1893 Sir Frank Swettenham, who since the
conclusion of the military operations in Perak
had filled the post of Secretary for Malay Affairs
to the Straits Settlement Government, drew up
a scheme for the federation of the four States,
and this in due course was forwarded to the
Colonial Secretary. \Mien Sir Charles Mitchell
was appointed to the government of the Straits
Settlements in succession to Sir Clementi Smith,
in i8g6, he carried with him instructions to
report upon the desirability and feasibility of
no
TWEXTIETH CEXTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
the project. Sir Charles Mitchell, after mature
consideration of the question, forwarded a re-
commendation in favour of the scheme, subject,
however, to its receiving the approval of the
ruling chiefs. Mr. Chamberlain in his turn
gave conditional sanction to the federation idea
SIR CECIL CLEMENTI SMITH, G.C.M.G.
on these lines, and Sir Frank Swettenham was
entrusted with the duty of securing the adhesion
of the Residents and chiefs to his plans. His
mission was entirely successful. The Resi-
dents welcomed the scheme, though it made a
striking change in the system of government
by putting over them a Resident-General, who
was given executive control under the direction
of "the High Comm'ssioner for the Federated
Malay States," otherwise the Governor of the
Straits Settlements. The chiefs also gave the
project their cordial approval. They were in-
fluenced in its favour. Sir Frank Swettenham
says, because it did not touch their own status
in any way, and because they believed that as
a federation they would be stronger and more
important, and that their views would be
more likely to receive consideration should a
day come when they found themselves at
variance with the supreme authority, be it
High Commissioner at Singapore or Secretary
of State in England. A further consideration
was the financial advantage which would
accrue from the change. " Two of the States,
Perak and Selangor, were then very rich ;
Negri Sambilan had a small debt, but was
financially sound ; while Pahang was very
poor, owed a large sum to the colony, and,
though believed to be rich in minerals, had no
resources to develop the country. By federa-
tion the rich States were to help the poor ones ;
so Pahang and Negri Sambilan hoped to gain
by the arrangement, while the rulers of Perak
and Selangor were large-minded enough to
welcome the opportunity of pushing on the
backward Stales for the glory and ultimate
benefit of the federation. Further, they wel-
comed federation because it meant consistency
and continuity of policy. It meant the abolition
of inter-State frictions and jealousies, and the
power to conceive and execute great projects
for the benefit of the partnership without refer-
ence to the special interests of any partner.
Above all, they not only accepted but desired
federation, because they believed that it would
give them, in the Resident-General, a powerful
advocate of their needs and their views, a friend
whose voice would be heard further and carry
more weight than that of any Resident, or of all
the Residents acting independently."
The new system was formally introduced
on July I, i8g6, with Sir Frank Swettenham as
the first Resident-General. Kuala Lumpor
was selected as the headquarters of the federal
departments, and here gradually grew up a
series of fine public buildings in keeping with
the importance of the federated area. Now,
with an important trunk railway running
through it, a network of roads radiating from
it to all important points, and a considerable
residential population, it vies in dignity and size
with the chief towns of many Crown colonies.
In matters of government the fruits of the
federation were quickly seen in various direc-
tions. A Judicial Commissioner (Mr. Lawrence
Jackson, Q.C.) was appointed to try capital
charges and hear appeals from the magisterial
courts. Simultaneously there was a reorganisa-
tion of the magisterial system, and counsel for
the first time were admitted to plead in the
Malay State Courts. At a later period the
judicial bench was strengthened by the addition
of two Assistant Commissioners, and a Public
Prosecutor was appointed to facilitate criminal
procedure. Other changes were the appoint-
ment of a Financial Commissioner, and the
reorganisation of the whole financial system,
the amalgamation of the police forces and
the Public Works Departments of the several
States, and the institution of a Railway Depart-
ment, with a General-Manager as head of the
entire system. Further, a regiment known as
the Malay States Guides was constituted for
purposes of defence. This is a splendid
force, 900 strong, recruited from the war-
like Indian races and officered by officers
seconded from the British Army. Finally, an
elaborate trigonometrical survey has been set
on foot on a uniform system, a department for
the conservation of forests has been created,
Geological and Agricultural Departments estab-
lished, and an institute for medical research
under the direction of a highly-trained patho-
logist provided.
This was the practical outcome of federa-
tion as it affected the administration. In less
tangible ways it has worked a great change in
the States. One of its most notable influences
has been the tightening of the bonds of sym-
pathy between the various parts of the federated
area and the creation of a sentiment of pride
in the prosperity and greatness of the common
country. This phase of federation was brought
out very strongly in July, 1897, when a Con-
ference of Malay rulers, members of State
Councils and chiefs was held at Kuala Kangsa,
the seat of the Sultan of Perak, to celebrate the
introduction of the new system. Every chief
of importance was present, and the proceedings
were marked by absolute harmony and even
enthusiasm. Sir Frank Swettenham, in his
official report, summed up the results of the Con-
ference in the following interesting fashion ;
" From every point of view the meeting has
been an unqualified success, and it is difficult to
estimate now the present and prospective value
of this unprecedented gathering of Malay
Sultans, Rajas, and chiefs. Never in the history
of Malaya has any siich assemblage been
even imagined. I doubt whether anybody has
ever heard of one ruler of a State making a
ceremonial visit to another ; but to have been
able to collect together in one place the
Sultans of Perak, Selangor, Pihang, and the
Negri Sambilan is a feat that might well have
been regarded as impossible. People who do
not understand the Malay cannot appreciate the
difficulties of such a task ; and I confess that
I myself never believed that we should be able
to accomplish it. It was hardly to be expected
that a man of the great age of the Sultan of
Selangor could be induced to make, for him, so
long and difficult a journey, and to those who
know the pride, the prejudices, and the sensi-
tiveness of Malay Rajas, it was very unlikely
that the Sultan of Pahang would join an
assemblage where he could not himself dictate
the exact part which he would play in it. It is
not so many years since the Governor of the
Straits Settlements found the utmost difficulty
in getting speech with Malay Rajas in the
States which are now federated ; Sir Frederick
Weld, even though accompanied by the present
Sultan of Perak, by Sir Hugh Low, and the
present Residents of Selangor and Pahang, all
officers accustomed to deal with Malays, had to
wait several hours on the bank of the Pahang
river before any one could persuade the Sultan
of Pahang to leave a game of chance in which
he was engaged with a Chinese in order to
grant an interview to his Excellency. It is
difficult to imagine a greater difference than
between then and now, and, though the Sultan
of Perak has been far more nearly associated
with British officers than any other of the
Sultans, he has always been extremely jealous
of his rights as a ruler. I was, therefore, sur-
SIR FRANK SWETTENHAM, K.C.M.R.
prised to hear the frank way in which, at the
Council, he spoke of British protection, which
he did not hesitate to describe as control.
"The deliberations of the Council were both
interesting and useful, and there is no doubt
that, in some respects, we could not have
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
111
arrived at the same ends by any otlier means
than the meeting of the Rajas of the Federated
States and their responsible advisers. All the
proceedings of the Council were conducted in
the Malay language, and I am convinced that, if
ever it were necessary to introduce interpreta-
tion, no such successful meetings as those just
concluded could ever be held. The Sultans
and all their chiefs spoke on all the subjects
which interested them, without either hesita-
tion or difficulty, and on matters concerning the
Mahammadan religion, Malay customs, and
questions which specially touch the well-being
of Malays, it would be impossible to find else-
where such knowledge and experience as is
possessed by those present at the recent
meetings. Nothing can be decided at the
Council, which is only one of advice, for no
Raja has any voice in the affairs of any State
but his own. This was carefully explained
and is thoroughly understood. But it is of
and depicting the gradual change in the
feelings of the people, an attitude of distrust
and suspicion of British officials giving place
to one of confidence and regard. In these
Conferences we have the crowning triumph
and vindication of British intervention. They
may be regarded as the coping-stone of the
edifice of administrative efficiency and pro-
gress reared on the blood-stained ashes of the
old anarchical regime which once made the
name Malaya a byword for ruthless bar-
barism and the cruellest despotism.
Figures are usually dull things, but only
figures can properly bring home to the under-
standing the immensity of the change which
has been worked in the peninsula imder British
direction. We make no excuse, therefore, for
introducing the following official table, which
illustrates the position of the Federated States
from the year i88g, when Pahang came under
British protection.
perusal of the table. If they study it with even
a moderate disposition to be fair, they will
arise from the exercise with minds attuned to
a new view of the capacity of their fellow-
countrymen who are bearing the white man's
burden in distant regions, and of the material
advantages which accrue from the wise ex-
tension of British influence. And the glory of
the success is that it has been won, not by the
sword, but by peaceful methods directed with
the aid and co-operation of the most influential
elements of the native community. The power
has been there, but it has been sparingly used.
Moral suasion is the force which has worked
the transformation from a territory weltering
in the most ferocious form of internecine war,
with trade paralysed and agriculture neglected,
to a land of plenty, with mineral and agricul-
tural wealth developed to the highest extent,
and with a twenty-fold larger population living
a contented and law-abiding existence. In
FEDERATED MALAY STATES.
Special General Return.
Trade.
Forest
Revenue.
Postal
Railway
Receipts.
Population.
Year.
Revenue.
Expenditure.
Duty on
Tin.
Land
Revenue.
and Tele-
grapli
Negri -
Sambilan.
Year.
*
Imports.
Exports.
s
*
Revenue.
•*
«
Perak.
Selan.gor.
Pahang.
Total.
$
s
%
S
1889
S,oi3,ooo
4,091,078
15.653.456
19,720,689
1,750,008
190,538
—
26,027
359,025
—
—
—
—
—
1889
1890
4,840,065
5.237.275
15,443,809
17,602,093
1,609,401
166,054
—
37.742
406,032
—
—
—
—
—
1S90
1891
4,572,310-
5.554.800
14,889,942
18,495,554
1. 573.441
199,680
—
44,286
414,889
214,254
81,592
70.730
57,642
42^,218
iSgif
1892
5,347,189
5,883,407
19,161,159
22,662,359
2,097,274
300,680
—
53,630
537.1 1 1
—
—
—
—
—
1892
1S93
6,413.134
6,797,538
21,896,117
27.373.760
2,602,380
347,600
—
73.941
723.934
—
—
—
—
—
1893
1894
7,511.809
7,162,396
24,499,615
32,703,147
3,238,000
457,262
—
89,790
986,617
—
—
—
—
—
1894
1895
8,481,007
7,582,553
22,653,271
31,622,805
3,379.813
468,239
—
110,793
1,294,390
—
—
—
—
—
1895
1896
8,434,083
8,598.147
21,148,895
28,395,855
3,126.974
511,237
—
140,230
1,344,994
—
—
—
—
—
1896
1897
8,296,687
8.795.313
25,000,682
31,148,340
2,716,263
636,054
—
141,328
1. 294.139
—
—
—
—
—
1897
1S98
9,364,467
11,110,042
27,116,446
35,241,003
3,210,699
636,927
—
173.709
1,394,720
—
—
—
—
1898
1899
13,486,410
11,499.478
33.765,073
54,895,139
6,181,542
639,899
—
166,838
1.722,47s
—
—
—
—
—
1899
1900
15,609,807
12,728,930
38,402.581
60,361,045
7.050,382
712,898
—
191.525
2,254,742
—
—
—
—
— 1 1900
1901
17,541,507
17,273,158
39,524,603
63,107,177
6,968,183
626,114
287,548
202,121
2,377,040
329,665
168,789
96,028
84,113
678,595
igoit
1902
20,550,543
15,986,247
45,757,240
71.350,243
S.438,775
661,668
288,053
241,944
2,856,640
—
—
—
—
—
1902
1903
22,672,567
16,219,872
47,790.059
80,253,944
9.590.505
721,304
514,657
278,715
3,608,054
381,500
216,920
117,820
85,000
801,240
1903 1
1904
22,255,269
19,318,768
46,955.742
77,620,084
8,814,688
S01.959
589,707
317.639
3,605,029
400,000
234.404
118,747
85,000
838,151
IQ04t
190S
23,964,593
20,750,395
.50,575,455
80,057,654
9,249,627
887,593
622,009
296,323
3.940,599
400,000
240,546
119.454
100,000
860,000
1905 1
*i9o6
27,223,476
18,899,425
50,926,606
80,832,325
10,036,798
1.437,753
598,999
437,487
4,564,100
413,000
283,619
118,408
100,000
915,027
1906
Note. — Tlie total Revenue and the total Expenditure of Perak. Selangor, and Negri Samb'ilan in 1875 were respectively $409,394 and §436,872.
appear in i88g. Federation dates from Julj' i, 1896.
Revenue. Expenditure.
Figures for Pahang iirst
» Perak
Selangor
Negri Sambilan
Pahang
$r4, 282.484
9,803,184
2 487,090
650,718
^,776478
6,414,257
2,274.337
1,434,353
■f- A census of the population was taken in 1891 and in 1901. The population of Perak in 1879 was estimated at 8i,o8:|, and in 1889 at 194,801 ; that of Selangor in 1884
at 46,568 and in 1887 at 97,ic6. No figures for the other States are given prior to 1891.
X Estimated for 1903, 1904, and 1905.
great value to get together the best native
opinions and to hear those qualified to do so
thoroughly discuss, from varying points of
view, questions which are similar in all the
Federated States. On several important
subjects the members of the Council expressed
unanimous views, and it now only remains to
take action in the various State Councils to
secure identical measures embodying the
opinions expressed."
There was a second Conference on similar
lines at Kuala Lumpor in July, 1903. It was
equally as successful as the initial gathering.
One striking feature of the proceedings was a
notable speech by the Sultan of Perak, dwelling
upon the enormous advantages which had
accrued to the States from British intervention.
If there is romance in statistics it is surely to
be found in this wonderful table. Where in
the history of modern government can the
progress revealed by it be paralleled ? In
India, British government has worked mar-
vellous changes ; in Ceylon a splendid suc-
cess has been achieved ; even in the Straits
Settlements themselves we have an example of
the genius of the race for the government of
alien communities. But we may ransack the
Imperial records in vain for an instance in
which in so short an interval a great possession
has been built up. Those pessimists who
bewail the national degeneracy, equally with
the section of political extremists who are for
ever decrying the achievements of the British
Colonial official, may be commended to a
this fact lies the highest justification of the ex-
periment reluctantly and timidly entered upon
less than forty years ago. In it is to be
found the most splendid testimony to the
ability of the British administrators who have
been concerned in this most striking example
of Empire-building.
SUPPLEMENTARY.
The Peninsular States.
Perak. — The history of Perak inay be divided
into four periods. Of the first period (during
which the seat of government was at Bruas, in
112
T^VEXTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
the Bindings) we know next to notliing. A
few carved tombstones represent all that is left
uf this very ancient capital — and even these
are of late Achinese make and throw no light
whatever on the early history of the country.
It Malay tradition is right in saying that the
great arm of the sea at the Bindings was once
an outlet of the Perak river, we can easily
understand the importance of Bruas, combining
as it did the advantages of a perfect landlocked
harbour with a commanding situation at the
mouth of the greatest waterway in the western
half of the peninsula. Although Bruas was
powerful — the " Malay Annals " tell us — before
even the mythical ancestors of the Malacca
dynasty appeared on the famous hill of Sigun-
tang, it had begun to decline as the river silted
up. In the days of Sultan Mahmud (a.d. 1500)
Bruas had so far fallen that its King did homage
to Malacca in mere gratitude for assistance
against a petty rival village. After the Achi-
nese invasion the place entirely disappears
from history.
The second period of Perak history stretches
Kings, down to the extinction of his direct
male line in the wars with Achin. This period
covers a century — from 1530 to 1630 A.D. — and
is marked by the reigns of nine Sultans :
younger brother, Alaedin Riayat Shah II. It
goes on to tell us that this disinherited Prince,
after having first settled in Selangor, was
invited to fill the throne of Perak, and that he
MuDZAFAR Shah I.
(First Sultan)
Mansur Shah I.
(Second Sultan)
Mansur Shah
(Sultan of Achin)
Tajuddin Shah
(Third Sultan)
I
Raja Kechil
I
Taj-ul-arifin Shah
(Fourth Sultan)
A daughter
Alaedin Shah
(Fifth Sultan)
Mansur Shah II.
(Seventh Sultan)
A daughter
(m. the tenth Sultan)
Mukadam Shah
(Sixth Sultan)
Mahmud Shah I.
(Eighth Sultan)
Selaheddin Shah
(Ninth Sultan)
Perak tradition identifies its first Sultan, Mud-
zafar Shah, with a sou of Sultan Mahmud I.
(of Malacca), who was born about a.d. 1505,
THE REGALIA OP THE SULTAN OF PERAK.
from the coming of Mudzafar Shah I., the
reputed founder of the long line of Perak
and was at one time heir to the throne of
Johore, but was passed over in favour of his
reached his new kingdom after various adven-
tures, such as the slaughter of the great serpent,
Si-Katimuna, with the sword Chura Si-
Mandong Kini. As will have been seen, the
Perak tradition does not hesitate to borrow
from the legend of Sang Sapurba. Mudzafar
Shah was succeeded by his son, Mansur Shah.
After the death of this latter Prince, his widow
and children were taken prisoners by Achi-
nese invaders and carried off to Kota Raja,
where fortune favoured them in that the eldest
son — another Mansur Shah — succeeded in
marrying the Queen of Achin.
After restoring his brothers to Perak, this
.Achinese Mansur Shah perished in a revolu-
tion in a.d. 1585. Early in the sixteenth
century the great Iskandar Muda or Mahkota
Alam, Sultan of Achin, subjugated Perak and
led ruler after ruler to captivity and death, until
the direct male line of Mudzafar Shah had
completely died out and Perak had become a
mere province of his empire. About the year
1635 Mahkota Alam died, and his successor,
Sultan Mughal, sent a certain Raja Sulong
(who had married a Perak Princess) to
govern Perak as a tributary Prince under
the name of Sultan Mudzafar Shah II. This
event begins the third period of Perak
history.
As regards the truth of this story, there seems
very little doubt that there was a Raja Mudza-
far who was disinherited by Sultan Mahmud
Shah in the manner described by Perak
tradition. It is also true that this Raja Mudza-
far married Tun Trang and had a son Raja
Mansur, as the Perak tradition tells us. It also
seems true enough that the Achinese invaded
and conquered Perak. The only evidence
against the truth of this story is negative
evidence. The " Malay Annals " are absolutely
silent as to Raja Mudzafar having gone to
Perak, though Ihey give an account of the
second Mudzafar Shah, who was unquestion-
ably Sultan of Perak and who may possibly
have been confused with the first.
The third period of Perak history begins
with the accession of Mudzafar Shah II.
(a.d. 1635) and goes down to the death
of Mudzafar Shah III. (a.d. 1765). The
Sultans with whom tradition fills up this
period of 130 years are given in the following
table :
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
113
MuDZAFAR Shah II.
(Tenth Sultan)
Muhammad Iskandar Shah
(Eleventh Sultan)
I
Alaedin Riayat Shah
(Twelfth Sultan)
I
Mudzafar Shah III.
(Thirteenth Sultan)
Muhammad Shah
(Fourteenth Sultan)
It should be added that the eleventh Sultan is
said to have reigned for iii years, and that the
next three Sultans were his nephews bj' birth
and his sons by adoption.
This period presents great difficulties. Raja
Sulong, who married a Perak Princess and was
sent by the King of Achin to rule over Perak,
is a real figure in history. His mother was
a daughter or niece of the author of the "Malay
Annals." But (if we are to believe the " Malay
Annals") this Mudzafar Shah II. was succeeded
by Raja Mansur "who is reigning now." The
Perak account itself speaks of the twelfth,
thirteenth, and fourteenth Sultans as grandsons
of a certain Mansur Shah, who is not given in
the pedigree. The Perak account also states
that the Bugis chiefs, Klana Jaya Putra and
Daeng Chelak, invaded Perak in the days of
Alaedin Riayat Shah. As the Klana died in
A.D. 1628, the Ill-year reign seems to need
some modification. Again, the Bugis Raja
Lumu is said to have been cheated Sultan of
Selangor by Sultan Mahmud Shah of Perak in
A.D. 1743 ; who is this Mahmud Shah ?
Putting aside these questions of royal
descent, we know that this period (a.d. 1655-
1665) was one of extreme turbulence, and
probably of civil war. In A.D. 1650 the Dutch
opened a factory on the Perak river ; in a.d.
165 1 the factory was destroyed and its inmates
massacred. Hamilton, writing in a.d. 1727,
speaks of Perak as "properly a part of the
kingdom of Johor, but the people are untract-
able and rebellious, and the government
anarchical. Their religion is a sort of
heterodox Muhammedanism. The country
produces more tin than any in India, but the
inhabitants are so treacherous, faithless, and
bloody that no European nation can keep
factories there with safety. The Dutch tried
it once, and the first year had their factory cut
off. They then settled on Pulau Dinding,
but about the year 1690 that factory was also
cut off. The ruins of the blockhouse on the
island of Pangkor are still to be seen." In
justice to the Malays, it should be added that
the Dutch, in their anxiety to secure a trade
monopoly, treated the selling of tin to any one
but themselves as a serious offence, and even
as a casus belli. It is not therefore surprising
that disputes were frequent and sanguinary.
The first half of the eighteenth century in
Perak was marked by internal anarchy and
foreign invasions. There were three Kings in
the land — the Sultan of Bernam, the Sultan of
Perak, and the Regent ; the chiefs were at war
with each other, and the Bugis kept raiding
the country. About A.D. 1757 things had so far
settled down that the Dutch were able to
establish a factory at Tanjong Putus on the
Perak river. They subsequently sent a mission
to Sultan Mudzafar Shah about a.d. 1764, and
concluded a treaty with his successor, Muham-
mad Shah, in a.d. 1765.
The exact position of the next four Sultans in
the Perak pedigree is a matter of doubt, but
they seem to have been either brothers or
cousins of one another, and to have belonged
to the generation immediately following
Mudzafar Shah III. and Muhammad Shah.
From the eighteenth Sultan onwards the pedi-
gree is officially stated to have been as follows :
seems to have taken rather more of this
revenue than the local chiefs would willingly
have given him, Raja Jumaat, the principal
Lukut chief, succeeded at Sultan Muhammad's
death in diverting the succession from the
Sultan's son to a weak nominee of his own,
who belonged to another branch of the family.
The new ruler, Sultan Abdul-Samad, did not
interfere with the Lukut Princes, but he allowed
himself to be infiuenced by a stronger will
than his own, and ultimately surrendered all
true power into the hands of his son-in-law,
the Kedah Prince, Tengku Dzia-ud-din. He
thereby exasperated many of his subjects, who
did not like to see a foreigner become the real
ruler of the country.
Politically the State of Selangor has never
Ahmadin Shah
(Eighteenth Sultan)
I
.\bdul Malik Mansur Shah
(Nineteenth SuUan)
Abdullah Muadzam
(Twentieth Sultan)
r
I
Raja Ahmad
I
Raja Inu
Shahbudin
(Twenty-first Sultan)
Jafar
(Twenty-third Sultan)
I
Abdullah
(Twenty-sixth. Sultan)
Raja Alang
Iskandar
I
Sultan Idris
(now reigning)
All
(Twenty-fourth Sultan)
I
Raja Abdurrahman
Abdullah Muhammad
(Twenty-second Sultan)
Yusuf
(Twenty-seventh Sultan)
The special interest of this table lies in its
illustration of the curious law of succession
under which the three branches of the royal
house take it in turn to provide the reigning
Sultan.
Selangor. — The present reigning dynasty of
Selangor traces its descent to Raja Lumu, son
of Daeng Chelak, one of the Bugis chiefs who
overthrew the old State of Johore in a.d. 1722,
It should be added, however, that Raja Lumu
appears to have become Raja of Selangor
through his mother and not through his father.
In any case, he was recognised as Sultan of
Selangor in A.D. 1743. He maintained a close
alliance with his Riau relatives and with the
Bugis of Kuala Linggi. In a.d. 1756, and
again in a.d. 1783, the combined Bugis forces
attacked Malacca, but were repulsed with
heavy loss. On the second occasion the Dutch
followed up their success by attacking Kuala
Selangor and ultimately forcing the Sultan to
come to terms.
There have been five Sultans of Selangor ■
Sultan Selaheddin, who founded the dynasty ;
Sultan Ibrahim, who made the treaty with the
Dutch in a.d. 1786 ; Sultan Muhammad, who
reigned from a.d. 1826 to 1856 ; Sultan Abdul-
Samad, who accepted British protection, and
Sultan Sulaiman, the present ruler. The prin-
cipal events in the history of this State during
the last century were the development of
Lukut as a mining centre and the civil wars
between Raja Mahdi and Tengku Dzia-ud-din.
The Lukut mining led to a great influx of
Chinese immigrants, who paid a poll-tax to the
Bugis chiefs for their protection, and who
were kept in order by the splendid old fort
on the hills near Port Dickson. As the Sultan
been interesting. Piratical and anarchical, it
never developed any organised system of
government, nor did the authority of the Bugis
chiefs ever extend very far beyond their own
little settlements on the rivers or near the mines.
Negri Sambilan. — About the middle of
the seventeenth century, after the decline of
Achin and before the coming of the Bugis
pirates, a large number of Menangkabau
Malays migrated in small detachments from
Sumatra into the peninsula, where they founded
the little confederacy of States now known as
the Negri Sambilan. Extremely proud of their
origin, for Menangkabau is the purest-blooded
kingdom of Malaya, the descendants of these
immigrants still speak of themselves as " we
sons of Menangkabau, who live with the
heavens above us and the earth beneath our
feet, we who once dwelt on the slopes of the
mighty volcanoes as far as the Great Pass,
through which we came down to the plains
of Sumatra in the isle of Andalas." The early
settlers taught this formula to their children so
that their history might never be forgotten.
But they taught more. These sons of Me-
nangkabau were passionately devoted to the
old legal sayings, in which is embodied a most
extraordinary old system of matriarchal law.
Tliey are the most conservative people in
Malaya. To their everlasting honour it should
be added that they most loyally observed the
covenants by which they first obtained posses-
sion of their lands, and that to this day,
although all real power has long since passed
out of the hands of the aborigines, the proud
"sons of Menangkabau" acknowledge as ruling
chiefs in Rembau and Johol men who are
avowedly the representatives of the humble
114
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Sakai race. The migrations seem to hiave been
peaceful. Ttie first comers occupied tlie nearest
lands in the district of Xaning ; the next
arrivals settled in Rembau ; the latest settlers
had to go further afield — to Sri Menanti, to
Inas, to Sungei Ujong, and to Jelebu. In the
development of their peculiar systems of con-
stitutional law and statecraft, treaties or con-
ventions (mitafakat) probably played a great
part. In Naning succession to the chieftaincy
went by descent in the female line ; a Dato' Sri
Maharaja was succeeded by his eldest sister's
son. This little State has been absorbed into
the settlement of Malacca, but the representa-
tives of the old rulers still receive a great deal
of popular respect and were even given a small
allowance of about £:ip a year by the British
Government up to a few years ago, when the
allowance was withdrawn because the then
" Dato' of Naning " omitted to call on Sir
William Maxwell when that officer was passing
through the district.
Next in antiquity to Naning comes Kembau.
Tradition has it that the first settlers in Rembau
were headed by two chiefs, Dato' Laut Dalam
and Dato' Lela Blang. These men, though
they settled in different localities, made an
alliance and arranged that their descendants
(in the female line) should take it in turn to be
rulers of the country. With the craving for
high-sounding names that is so striking a
feature of Malay character, these two chiefs
sought and obtained from the then Sultan of
Johore the titles that their descendants still bear.
The present ruler is the thirteenth Dato' of
Rembau and the seventh " Dato' Sedia Raja,"
the other six being " Dato' Lela Maharaja."
The founders of the State of Rembau were
followed to the Negri Sambilan by many other
headmen of small immigrant parties, until at
last a whole aristocracy of petty dignitaries
was established in the country. Far from
their homes in Sumatra and surrounded by
possible foes, the early settlers had looked to
Johore for protection and recognition ; but the
last comers, finding themselves strong and
Johore weak, began to seek for a Prince of their
own from the royal line of Menangkabau. In
their own words :
"The villager owes obedience to the village
elders.
The village elders to the district chief,
The district chief to the provincial chief.
The provincial chief to the ruler of the State."
This ruler of the State was the Yamtuan Besar
of Sri Menanti. He occupied a position of
great dignity, but of very little real authority
over great provincial chiefs like the Dato' of
Rembau ; but of late years he has had his
office strengthened bj' British support. The
principal provincial chiefs are :
The Dato' Klana of Sungei Ujong,
The Dato' Akhirzaman of Jelebu,
The Dato' Johan Pahlawan of Johol,
The Dato' of Rembau,
The Dato' Bandar of Sungei Ujong,
The Ruler of Tampin, and
The Dato' Muda of Linggi.
Pahang. — The early history of the State of
Pahang — as usually given — is brief and in-
accurate. Even so authoritative a work as the
present edition of the official " Handbook of
the Federated Malay States " sums it up in two
statements, both of which are incorrect. It
says : " The first ruler of Pahang of whom
there is any record was a son of the Sultan
Mahmud, who fled to Pahang from Malacca
after the capture of that town by the Portuguese
in A.D. 1511. A reputed descendant of his was
Bendahara All, who died in the year 1850 or
thereabouts."
We know from Portuguese as well as Malay
sources that when Albuquerque arrived at
Malacca he found the city engaged in festivities
over the marriage of Sultan Mahmud's daughter
to a Sultan of Pahang. The statement in the
"Handbook "is, therefore, singularly unfortun-
ate, since "a son of Sultan Mahmud" is obviously
the only thing that the Sultan could not have
been. There is, however, no mystery about
the origin of the old line of Sultans of Pahang.
The country was conquered by Mansur Shah
or Mudzafar Shah, and was first created a
separate sultanate by the former ruler, who
bestowed it upon his eldest son. This family
continued to reign over Pahang till 1699, when
Mahmud Shah 11., the latest Prince of the line,
was murdered by his Bendahara. Mahmud
Shah II, was succeeded as Sultan of Johore and
Pahang by this Bendahara, who took the title
of Abdul Jalil Riayat Shah. As after the Bugis
conquest of Linggi the Sultans were practi-
callv hostages and had to reside at Riau, they
deputed their principal ministers to gOvCrn in
their name, the Bendahara in Pahang and the
Temenggong in Johore. These ministers con-
tinued, however, to visit Riau from time to
time, and to take part in the decision of im-
portant matters, such as questions of succession
to the throne. At the death of Sultan Mahmud
Riayat Shah (a.d. 1812), the Bendahara came
up from Pahang and seems to have accepted
Sultan Abdurrahman as his suzerain, though
he must have personally favoured the other
candidate, Tengku Husain, who was his own
son-in-law. When the Riau family divided
into the Singapore branch under British pro-
tection and the Linggi branch under Dutch
control, the Bendaharas of Pahang acknow-
ledged the Linggi rulers, while the Temeng-
gongs of Johore threw in their lot with the
English. In time, however, both of these
great feudatories began to pay less attention
to their titular suzerains and to assume the
position of independent Princes, until at last
the British Government recognised the real
position by converting the Bendahara into a
Sultan of Pahang and the Temenggong into a
Sultan of Johore.
Malay history is a record of great vicissitudes
of fortune. Time after time the connecting
link between one period and another is a
mere band of fugitives, a few score refugees.
Such was the case in 151 1, in 1526, in 1615,
in 1673, and in 1721. It should not, there-
fore, be imagined that the new States that
were built up after each successive disaster
were made up entirely — or even largely- -of
men of true Malay blood. The bond connect-
ing the peninsular States is imity of language
and religion more than unity of blood. The
Northern Malay is physically unlike the Southern
Malay ; the one has been compared to a cart-
horse and the other to a Batak pony. The
Malay population of Perak, Pahang and the
Negri Sambilan must be largely Sakai, that of
Selangor is Sakai or Bugis — where it is not
made up of recent immigrants. Moreover, the
Malays have accepted many of the traditions
and beliefs of the people who preceded them
in the possession of the land ; they still worship
at the hol\- places of the people of the country
and believe in the same spirits of disease. Any
one who is a Mahomedan and speaks the Malay
tongue is accepted as a Malay, whatever his
ancestry ; there is no real unity about Malay
tradition. Still, there are three systems of
government that are essentially Malayan. The
first is what one may call " river " government.
The State was a river valley ; the Sultan hved
near the mouth and levied toll on all the
produce that travelled up and down the great
highway of communication. Such a State
could be controlled with comparative ease,
since the great feudal chiefs who governed
the reaches and the tributaries of the main
stream were dependent for their imports and
exports on the goodwill of the King. Pahang,
Trengganu, Kelantan and Perak all furnished
good examples of this type of feudal govern-
ment. The second type of Malay kingdom
was the predatory State— a Malay Sultan with
a sort of military aristocracy living on the
foreign settlers in his own country or terroris-
ing smaller Malay communities into paying
blackmail or tribute. Malacca, Johore Lama,
Achin, Riau and Pasai were instances of this
type of predatory rule ; the Larut and Lukut
settlements in the nineteenth century show how
it could be applied to comparatively modern
conditions. The third type is represented by
the matriarchal communities of Menangkabau
or Negri Sambilan. Self-sufficing, independent
of trade, and rather averse to war, a Negri
Sambilan village might be established at some
distance from any navigable river, and was
not usually amenable to the control of central
authorities. It led to the evolution of a most
interesting and successful type of government
that one might almost call constitutional.
But annalists do not, as a rule, take much
interest in the humble politics of village com-
munities, nor do they care much about the civil
wars of river States. It is always the lawless
predatory government that makes most noise
in the world. The great names of Malay
history are those of men like Mansur Shah of
Malacca and Mahkota Alam of Achin. None
the less, the best political work of the Malay
race was done in the little villages that have
no history — the matriarchal communities in
the highlands of Sumatra and in the valleys
of the Ne.ari Sambilan.
CHRISTMAS ISLAND, THE COCOS-KEELING ISLANDS,
AND LABUAN
SSOCIATED in an ad-
ministrative sense with
tlie Straits Settlements,
tiiougli geograpliically
somewhat remote {rom
the chief centres of
authority in British
iMalaya, are a number
of islands in the Indian
Ocean, which, though of small area, present
many points of interest. These outposts of
the Straits Settlements are Christmas Island,
an isolated islet off the coast of Java, and a
group of coral atolls known as the Cocos-Keel-
ing Islands, a considerable distance to the
south, about midway between Java and Aus-
tralia. Held under leases from the Govern-
ment, these islands are centres of considerable
commercial activity, and contribute in a modest
way to the prosperity of the Straits Settlements
as a whole.
Christmas Island came conspicuously before
the public eye in the United Kingdom a few
years ago as the result of a scientific expedition
sent out, in igoo, to investigate the flora and
fauna and geological characteristics of the
place. IVTr. Charles \V. Andrews, B.A., B.Sc,
F.G.S., of the British Museum, the chief mem-
ber of the expedition, on his return prepared
an elaborate monograph embodying the results
of the investigations of the party, and this was
officially published. The work, besides giving
a mass of valuable scientific facts, supplies
much information relating to the history of the
island. From it may be extracted some details
which are of general interest. The island lies
in the eastern part of the Indian Ocean in
S. latitude io° 25', E. long. 105° 42'. Java, the
nearest land, is about igo miles to the north,
while some 900 miles to the south-east is the
coast of North-west Australia. A little to the
south of west, at a distance of 550 miles, are
the two atolls of Cocos and North Keeling,
and to the north of these Glendinning Shoal.
The submarine slopes of the island are very
steep, and soundings of upwards of 1,000
fathoms occur within two or three miles of the
coast. To the north is Maclear Deep, in which
3,200 fathoms were found, and to the south and
south-west is the more extensive Wharton
Deep, with upwards of 3,000 fathoms. The
island, in fact, forms the summit of a sub-
marine peak, the base of which rises from the
low saddle which separates these two abysses,
and on the western end of which the Cocos-
Keeling Islands are situated. The first men-
tion of Christmas Island occurs in a map by
Pieter Goos, published in Holland in 1666, in
which it is called Moni. In subsequent maps
this name and that of Christmas Island are
applied to it indifferently, but it is not known
by whom the island was discovered and named.
Dampier landed at the island in 1688, and a
description of it is to be found in his
"Voyages." Next the island was visited in
1718 by Captain Daniel Beckman, who in a
book he wrote on the subject gives a sketch of
THE ISLAND OF CHRISTMAS.
(From Captain Beckman's "Voyage to Borneo,")
the island "in which the heights are ridicu-
lously exaggerated." In 1771 the Figot, East
Indiaman, attempted to find an anchorage but
failed. The crews of this and other passing
vessels reported the occurrence of wild pigs,
coconut palms, and lime-trees, none of which
really existed. The first attempt at an explora-
tion was made by the frigate Amethyst m 1857.
From this vessel a boat's crew was landed
with the object of attempting to reach the
summit, but the inland cliffs proved an insu-
perable obstacle, and the ascent was aban-
doned. In 1886 the surveying vessel Flying
Fish (Captain Maclear) was ordered to make
an examination of the island. A number of
men were landed, and collections of the plants
and animals were obtained, but since the island
seemed of little value no serious attempt at
exploration was made. In the following year
H.M.S. Eoi-ria (Captain Pelham Aldrich) called
at the island and remained about ten days.
Captain Aldrich and his men cut a way to the
top of the island, and sent home a number of
rock specimens obtained on the wa\', and Mr.
J. J. Custer, who accompanied the expedition
as naturalist, made e.xtensive collections both
of the fauna and flora, but had not time to
penetrate to the middle of the island. The
island was formally annexed by H.M.S. Iin-
pcriciisc in June, 1888, and placed under the
Straits Settlements Government. In 1890 H.M.S.
Kedfolc called at the island for a few hours,
and Mr. H. N. Ridley, of the Singapore Botani-
cal Gardens, who was on board, collected a
number of plants not previously recorded. It
seemed desirable that a more complete exami-
nation of the spot should be undertaken, and
in 1896 Sir John Murray generously offered to
pay the expenses of an expedition. Mr. C. W.
Andrews, author of the monograph already
referred to, obtained leave from the trustees of
the British Museum to join the expedition. Mr.
Andrews left England in the beginning of May,
1897, and arrived off the island on July 29th.
His sojourn extended over ten months, and
during that period he and his companions
accumulated a most valuable series of natural
history and geological specimens, which now
form a part of the national collections at South
Kensington.
Mr. Andrews describes the climate of the
island as both pleasant and healthy. Durin"
the greater part of the year, he says, the
weather is much like that of a hot drv English
summer, tempered nearly always by a steady
sea breeze from the ESE., which is generally
fairly cool and keeps the temperature very
even day and night. Except for showers at
night, almost the whole rainfall occurs from
December to May inclusive. During these
months there are sometimes heavy downpours
lasting several days, but as a rule the mornings
are fine. In the dry season (May to December)
the vegetation is kept fresh by very heavy dews
and occasional showers at night.
The soil is a rich brown loam, often strewn
with nodules of phosphates, and here and
there with fragments of volcanic rock. One of
116
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
the most notable features about the island is the
depth to which in man}' places the soil extends.
A well was sunk by Mr. Ross for 40 feet without
reaching the bed-rock. Mr. Andrews surmises
that this great depth of soil is accounted for by
the decomposition of volcanic rock.
At the time of the visit by H.M.S. Egciia in
1887 the island was totally uninhabited. In
November, 1888, following upon the annexa-
tion of the island, a settlement was established
at Flying Fish Cove by Mr. G. Clunies Ross, of
Cocos-Keeling Islands, and since that date this
gentleman's brother, Mr. Andrew Clunies Ross,
with his family and a few Cocos Island Malays,
has resided there almost continuously. By
them houses were built, wells were dug and
small clearings for planting coffee, coconut
palms,' banams and other plants were made in
the neighbourhood of Flying Fish Cove. In
February, 1891, Sir John Murray and Mr. G.
Clunies Ross were granted a lease of the island
by the British Government, and in 1895-96 Mr.
Sidney Clunies Ross made explorations in the
higher part of the island, resulting in the dis-
covery of large deposits of phosphate of lime.
Finally, in 1897, the leaseholders sold their
lease to a small company^ in the possession of
which the island still remains.
Writing on the flora and fauna of the island,
Mr. Andrews says that they are on the whole,
as might be expected, most nearly related to
those of the Indo-Malayan islands, but of this
there are some exceptions in the case of certain
groups. " Of the 319 species of animals re-
corded 145, or about 45 per cent., are described
as endemic. This remarkably high percentage
of peculiar forms is, however, no doubt largely
due to the fact that in some groups, particulai ly
the insects, the species inhabiting Java and
the neighbouring islands are still imperfectly
known, and many now described for the first
time from Christmas Island will probably be
found to exist in other localities."
The main group of the Cocos-Keeling Islands
is situated between 12° 14' and 12° 13' S. and
96° 49' 57" E. A smaller island belonging to
the group is in n° 50' N. and 91° 50' E. The
islands were discovered in 1609 by Captain
Keeling on his voyage from Batavia to the
Cape, and until quite recent times had an inde-
pendent existence as an outlying possession of
the Crown. In 1878, following upon their
occupation for commercial purposes, they were
attached to the Government of Ceylon. Four
years later the supervision of the group was
handed over to the Straits Settlements Govern-
ment, who were rightly regarded as being
better placed to discharge the not too exacting
duties required. At different times the islands
were visited by scientific travellers making a
tour of investigation. The most distinguished
of these visitors was Charles Darwin, who
during the famous voyage of the Beagle put in
at the islands in 1836 and remained there some
little time. It was from observations made
during his sojourn in the group that he formed
his famous theory of the formation of coral
reefs — a theory which it may be remarked
is discredited by subsequent investigations and
experience on the same spot.
The islands are held under a lease from the
Ci'own of one thousand years by Mr. George
Clunies Ross, and this gentleman, with the
members of his family, carry on a lucrative
trade mainly in the produce of the coconut
tree, which flourishes in the islands. Only
three of the islands — Settlement, West, and
Direction islands — are inhabited. The total
population of the group in 1903 was 669,
of whom 567 are Cocos born, the remainder
representing Bantamese coolies and other im-
ported labour. The entire population is en-
gaged under Mr. Ross's direction in the
cultivation of the coconut and the preparation
of copra for export. In the Government report
on the islands for 1901 the number of coconuts
gathered on the islands was given at seven
millions. But in the early part of 1902 a severe
cyclone swept across the group, uprooting no
fewer than 300,000 trees. This was a severe
blow to the trade of the islands, and it will be
years probably before the mischief is entirely
repaired.
Long completely isolated, the islands have
been quite recently brought into intimate
touch with the rest of the world by the estab-
lishment of a station of the Eastern Telegraph
Company on Direction Island. This link with
civilisation was forged as the result of the
sittings of the Cables Communication Com-
mittee, which, in its report issued in 1902,
recommended the construction of a cable
from Rodriguez to Perth in Western Australia
via the Cocos Group. The station is equipped
with the latest appliances in telegraphy, and
a speed of 120 letters a minute can be
maintained on either cable without risk of
error from indistinct signals. It is hoped that
some day a cable from the islands will be con-
structed to Ceylon and an "all-British route"
thus provided. Meanwhile, there is reason to
believe (says Mr. A. S. Baxendale, of the Feder-
ated Malay States service, in his official report
on the islands for 1903) that the islands will
soon become an important signalling station
for vessels steaming between Colombo and
Fremantle. "The islands lie directly in the
track of these vessels, and sometimes — as for
instance occurred in April in the case of the
Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Com-
pany's steamship Himalaya — the name of the
passing mail steamers can be read from the
shore. It is probable that if the steamship
companies concerned desired that their vessels
should be afforded facilities for communicating
by means of wireless telegraphy with the Cable
Company's office, the company would be will-
ing to establish on Direction Island a station on
the Lodge-Muirhead system."
Besides the islands referred to above, the
Straits Settlements Government has since 1906
been associated with the administration of
Labuan, an island lying about six miles from
the north-west coast of Borneo in the Malay
Archipelago. The island, from 1890 until the
period of its transfer to the Straits Settlements,
was under the government of the British North
Borneo Company. Though not large — the total
area is only 30J square miles — the territory
is one of some commercial promise. It has
rich coal deposits, and there is considerable
scope for planting enterprise. The trade at
present, apart from coal, is largely in sago,
gutta percha, indiarubber, wax, &c., imported
from Borneo and other islands and exported
to Singapore. The population in 1901 was
estimated at 8,411. It consisted chiefly of
Malays from Borneo, but there was a consider-
able Chinese colony, and there were also thirty
European residents. The- capital of the island
is a settlement of 1,500 inhabitants to which the
name Victoria has been given. The trade of
the island amounted in 1905 to ;^'I30,I35 in
exports and ;£io8,766 in imports, as compared
with £153,770 exports and £' 157,068 imports in
the previous year. The tonnage entered and
cleared in 1905 was 321,400, against 311,744 in
1904. The great bulk of the trade being with
Singapore, the trade with the United Kingdom
direct is infinitesimal. The revenue of the place
is derived from retail licences and customs
duties on spirits, wine, tobacco, &c. The tiny
colony is in the happy position of having no
public debt. It also possesses the advantage of
direct communication with the outer world, as
the cable from Hongkong to Singapore touches
on its shores, and there is also telegraphic com-
munication with the mainland.
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'^<^
THE PRESENT DAY
O R L D - W I D E as the
colonising influence of
the United Kingdom
lias been, it is doubtful
whether its beneficent
results have ever been
more stril^ingly manifest
than in British Malaya.
The Straits Settlements
can look back over a century of phenomenal
prosperity under British rule, and the prospect
for the future is as bright as the record of the
past. Pinang and Singapore have been the
keys which have unlocked the portals of the
Golden Peninsula, so that its wealth in well-
laden argosies has been distributed to the four
corners of the earth. And by a natural process
the spirit of enterprise and progress has com-
municated itself to the Hinterland, which is
being rapidly opened up and bids fair to
become a veritable commercial El Dorado.
From this territory the world derives no less
than two-thirds of its total supply of tin, while
vast areas of land are being placed under
cultivation for rubber, which promises to
become a great and increasing source of
revenue year by year.
Until the early part of 1907 the Straits Settle-
ments were in the happy position of having a
balance of 3,200,000 dollars to their credit. In
the opening months of the year, however, they
raised a loan of £7,861,457 for the purpose of
acquiring the Tanjong Pagar Docks and
improving the Singapore harbour. The sum
paid for the docks amounted to about three
millions and a half sterling, and in respect of
this the undertaking will be called upon to pay
4 per cent, per annum. For the expenditure
upon the harbour the Government will be in
some measure reimbursed by the sale of
reclaimed land, which is expected to produce
a large sum. The revenue of the colony has
increased from 7,041,686 dollars in igoi to
9,631,944 dollars in 1906, while the expenditure
within that period has grown from 7,315,000
dollars to 8,747,820 dollars. More than one-
half the total revenue is derived from the opium
traffic.
The financial position of the Federated
Malay States is exceptionally sound. Perak,
Selangor and Negri Sambilan show excess
assets amounting to 36,576,569 dollars, and the
excess liabilities of Pahang, amounting to
5,788,303 dollars, represent only loans advanced
free of interest by the other three States for the
development of the country. The revenue of
the Federated Malay States has increased from
5.013,000 dollars in 1889 to 27,223,476 dollars in
1906. To the latter sum the export duty on
lin contributed no less than 10,036,607 dollars.
The expenditure has risen from 4,091,078
dollars in 1889 to 18,899,425 dollars in 1906.
Except for an excise duty on opium and
alcoholic liquors, all the ports of the colony
are free, and the only charge on shipping is a
light due of a penny a ton in and out. It is
this freedom which in a large measure explains
the pre-eminence of the colony over its older
Dutch rivals, where trade is hampered by
heavy duties on imports. The exports of
merchandise from the colony, excluding inter-
port trade, were valued in 1906 at 281,273 and
the imports at 3 17,851 million dollars. Together
these exceeded by 14,392 million dollars the
return for 1902, when the figures were 273,622
and 3ir, no million dollars respectively. The
gross aggregate trade, including the movement
of treasure, showed, however, a falling off of
about 2,645 million dollars when compared
with the figure for 1902. In order to appreciate
correctly the comparisons instituted, it is
necessary to bear in mind that the value of
the dollar in 1902 was only is. 8Jd., whereas in
1906 it was 2s. 4d.
It is gratifying to observe the increasing
growth of the import trade with the United
Kingdom. The commodities purchased from
the mother country exceeded in value those
from the Continents of Europe and America
by III million dollars during the ten years
1887-96 and by 129'5 million dollars in the
following decade. The exports to the United
Kingdom are worth about double as much as
those to America, which comes next amongst
Western nations as a purchaser of the colony's
products and ranks second only to Germany as
a shipper. The greatest portion of the colony's
trade is with the Malay Peninsula, the United
Kingdom, the Netherlands Indies, British India
and Burma, Siam, Hongkong, China, and the
United States of America in the order given.
In the Federated Malay States the only
import duties are on spirits and opium, except
in Pahang, where tobacco is also taxed. Duties
are collected on all the commodities sent out
of the country. The duty on tin varies accord-
U7
ing to the market price of the metal, while
cultivated rubber, tapioca, gambler, and pepper
pay an ad valorem export duty of 2j per cent.
The value of the exports (excluding bullion)
from the Federated Malay States in igo6 was
79,178,891 dollars as compared with 29,402,343
dollars, ten years previously. To this total tin ore
contributed no less than 7 1, 104, [91 dollars, culti-
vated rubber 1,855,486 dollars, sugar 1,044,625
dollars, and tapioca, coffee, copra, gambler, padi,
pepper, gutta percha, and dried fish 5,000,000
dollars. The equivalent of 331,234 dollars was
exported in gold from the mines of Pahang. The
imports amounted to 44,547, 133 dollars as against
20,074,531 dollars in 1897, and consisted chiefly
of opium, provisions, cotton textiles, hardware,
and iron-ware. The bulk of these exports and
imports are shipped through Singapore and
Pinang.
Shipping is as the breath of life to the Straits
Settlements. Singapore is the seventh port of
the world, and is a port of call for vessels
trading between Europe or India and the
Far East, the north of Australia, and the
Netherlands Indies. Pinang is the emporium
for all the trade for the northern parts of
Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. The total
tonnage of the shipping cleared at Singapore,
Pinang, and Malacca in 1906 was 11,191,776 — an
increase of 466,490 tons over the return for the
previous year. The aggregate tonnage of the
shipping cleared at Singapore, which is a port
of call for most of the shipping of the colony,
was 6,661,549, or 2,667,944 more than in 1896.
During the period under review the tonnage of
British shipping increased from 2,630,472 to
3,602,126 tons, and of German from 484,447 to
974,241 tons. Amongst the smaller competitors
Japan has made the most headway, advancing
from the position of eighth on the list, with a
tonnage of only 54,172 tons, to that of fifth with
a tonnage of 238,454 tons.
At the present time British shipping in the
colony is unfairly handicapped by the immunity
which foreign competitors enjoy from regula-
tions which vessels flying the red ensign are
obliged to observe. Under the existing law
foreign shipping can demand a clearance
though overloaded to the deck-line, and it runs
no risk of detention on the ground that hull,
equipment, or machinery is defective. These
inequalities will be removed by a measure,
framed on the model of the Merchant Shipping
118
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Acts of 1894 and 1906, which is now engaging
the attention of the Attorney-General of the
Straits Settlements. This measure will provide,
also, for the consolidation of the merchant
shipping laws of the colony, which are now
in a state bordering upon chaos, and will
probably contain a clause prohibiting masters
and mates of foreign ships from obtaining local
pilotage certificates.
All the important shipping lines calling at
Singapore and Pinang have combined for
some years past to charge uniform rates for
the conveyance of freight and passengers to
and from the colony. Their practice is to grant
n rebate equal to 10 per cent, per annum to
all shippers who use their lines exclusively,
5 per cent, being paid at the end of the first six
months and another five in respect of that
period six months later. In this way the steam-
ship companies always hold a considerable sum
in hand, and prevent the local shipper from
seeking relief elsewhere. The possibility of
competition being thus precluded, the combine
is in a position to name its own terms, and the
natural consequence has been a considerable
increase in freight rates. In proof of this it
may be mentioned that the charge for carrying
tin has been raised from 6s. 5d. per picul
(133J lbs.) in 1892 to 28s. 4d. in 1906. But
this does not constitute the whole of the
indictment alleged against the combine. A
system of preference is adopted whereby some
local firms benefit at the cost of others. For,
in addition to the rebates already referred to,
a further 5 per cent, on the total freight
carried by the combine is distributed amongst
a limited number of privileged firms or persons.
Again, as all transhipment cargo is excluded
from the tariff, the combine is free to accept at
any rate foreign goods shipped via Singapore
on through bills of lading. The British manu-
facturer is handicapped by the fact that certain
goods, such as tin and gums, can be delivered
in America at a cheaper rate than they can be
placed in any port of the United Kingdom
except London. This is notably the case with
tin, which .costs 5s. a ton more to Swansea
than to New York. These facts are generally
admitted, but it is urged in mitigation of
them that the combine has provided the colony
with better, faster, and more regular shipping
opportunities than existed in the days of
cheaper, but more speculative, freights, and
that this has tended to create easier financial
facilities. On the other hand it is contended
that these advantages are the outcome of a
natural process of evolution. Since the forma-
tion of the combine the shipments from ihe
colony, which were incre.ising, have fallen, and
the matter is engaging the attention of a Royal
Commission.
As has already been stated, the Government
of the Straits Settlements have recently acquired
the Tanjong Pagar Docks, and are carrying out
a number of works for the improvement of
Singapore harbour. A progressive policy is
also being adopted in regard to the port of
Pinang, where, however, some little feeling of
dissatisfaction prevails in consequence of what
is thought to be the preferential treatment of
Singapore. On the Malay Peninsula the
harbours are chiefly interesting by reason of the
possibilities which they offer for future develop-
ment. It seems to be generally agreed that
Port S wettenham is destined to outstrip its rivals,
the intention of the Government being appa-
rently to concentrate there the shipping of the
central and southern portion of the Federated
Malay States, by developing to the utmost the
natural advantages of the port. The east coast,
the navigation of which is attended with much
danger to small shipping during certain seasons
of the year, is singularly destitute of accommo-
dation for shipping, but at the mouth of the river
Kuantan, in Pahang, there is a deep-water front
extending for some considerable distance.
Steps are being taken to remove the sand-bar
at the mouth of the river, and these may be
followed by the construction of a groyne to
prevent further silting.
Opium is a very fruitful source of revenue to
the Straits Settlements, contributing no less a
sum than five or six million dollars, or rather
more than one-half of the total revenue of the
colony. In the Federated Malay States, also,
the Government derives about two and a half
million dollars annually from the drug. The
quantity imported into the Federated Malay
States, however, is three times as great as in
the Straits Settlements. The difference in the
sum yielded is attributable to several causes.
In the colony the exclusive right to import,
manufacture, and sell opium is farmed out to
the highest bidder, but in the Federated Malay
States, except in the coast districts — a com-
paratively small area — anyone may import
opium on payment of the import duty, which
nou' stands at 560 dollars a chest. Again, the
miners in the Federated Malay States are paid
to a considerable extent in kind, including
opium, and the opium smokers are more ex-
travagant than in the Straits Settlements, where
the drug is a much more expensive luxury. It
must be remembered also that the figures of
opium consumption in the Straits Settlements
are those of the drug imported by the farmers ;
but it is a well known fact that thousands of
dollars' worth of opium — much of it from the
Federated Malay States — are smuggled into the
colony, and this cannot well be stopped, as
there is no Customs department in the Straits
Settlements. In the Federated Malay States
there is a Customs department, and there is less
inducement to smuggle owing to the low price
at which the drug is retailed there.
The Chinese are inveterate gamblers, and
recognising this fact, the Federated Malay
States Government have legalised gambling in
properly licensed premises. The monopoly of
conducting these gambling houses is farmed
out, after being submitted to tender. A sub-
stantial revenue accrues to the Government
from this source. In the Straits Settlements,
however, gambling is prohibited, and the law
is enforced by severe penalties.
The tin raining industry in the Federated
Malay States provides employment for 212,660
labourers, the greater proportion of whom work
upon the "tribute" system, under which their
earnings are to some extent dependent upon the
success or failure of the mine. The total area
of land alienated for mining purposes at the
close of igo6 was 263,800 acres, more than one-
half of which area is in the State of Perak.
Upon only a small portion of this acreage, how-
ever, are mining operations actually in progress.
The primitive methods adopted by the Chinese
for the winning of tin ore are now being
superseded largely by more modern systems,
which have been rendered necessary by the ex-
haustion of the more easily won tin-bearing
deposits. It seems almost certain that the
future of the tin mining industry in the Fede-
rated Malay States will depend upon the
economical development, on a large scale, of
low-grade propositions. The methods of work-
ing in vogue fall into three classes — the open-
cast system, the underground workings, and the
alluvial washings known as "tampans." In
not a few instances also the pay-dirt is washed
down from the sides of the hills by hydraulic
pressure, the water being sometimes brought
from great distances in order to secure a suffi-
cient head. After the "karang" has been
washed down it is treated in the ordinary way
by means of wash-boxes or riffles.
Next to the tin industry, and promising soon
to outrival it in importance as a commercial
and revenue producing factor, is the great
rubber-planting industry. Though quite in its
infancy it is already taking a prominent posi-
tion in the finances of the federated territory,
as will be seen from the figures given else-
where. A simple statement of fact will bring
home to readers the truly remarkable develop-
ment which the States are undergoing as a
result of the rise of rubber. At the end of 1905
there were in the States 40,000 acres under
rubber ; twelve months later the area under
cultivation was 100,000 acres. Xor is the end
yet by a long way. Immense areas still await
the attention of the pioneering planter, and
without doubt they will receive it. Thus a
splendid future awaits planting enterprise in
the Federated States unless some great calamity
occurs, or, what at the moment seems highly
improbable, some efficient substitute for rubber
is discovered.
Owing to the difficulty which has been
experienced by certain estates in the Federated
Malay States in obtaining an adequate supply
of labour, the Government have decided to
levy a poll-tax, not exceeding five dollars per
coolie, on all employers of this class of labour,
for the purpose of forming a fund for the estab-
lishment of a labour recruiting agency. From
this source mine managers and estate agents
will be able to obtain all the labour they require
for the development of their properties, without
incurring the expenditure of bringing over from
India Tamils who frequently abscond in order
to take up temporary employment of a more
remunerative nature before they have repaid
the sums advanced to them for the cost of
transit, &c.
The Government of the Federated Malay
States have not failed to keep pace with private
enterprise. The country is intersected with
excellent roads, which are being rapidly ex-
tended, and a well-equipped railway runs from
Prye, the northern extremity of Perak, opposite
Pinang, to the borders of Johore, with branch
lines to the various ports on the seaboard. This
railway was constructed entirely out of the
revenue of the States, and has already paid
dividends equal to 40 per cent, of the capital
expenditure. Several extensions of the system
are under consideration, and it is almost certain
that before long a line will be carried into
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
119
Pahang, the least-developed of the four Slates
comprised in the Federation. At the time of
writing, a line of 120 miles in length is being
constructed through the independent State of
Johore with money advanced by the Federated
Malay States. When this project is completed,
some time in 1909, it will be possible to travel
by rail from Singapore to Prye, and it is con-
sidered probable that some day in the future
connection may be established with Calcutta by
means of a trunk line through the intervening
territory.
Scarcely any steps were taken by the Govern-
ment to provide education in the colony until
1872, in which j'ear the Education Department
was formed. In 1906 the Education Depart-
ments of the colony and the Federated States
were amalgamated under one head, and Mr.
J. B. Elcum, B.A. Oxon., was appointed
Director of Public Instruction. It is hoped
shortly to assimilate entirely the educational
systems in the two territories. The codes now
in force, though very similar, contain certain
important differences, and the methods of
administration show even greater differences.
In igo6 there were in the Straits Settlements
35 English-teaching schools and 174 vernacu-
lar schools, while in the Federated Malay
States the numbers were 22 and 263 re-
spectively. All the vernacular schools, except
a few in which Tamil and Chinese are
taught, are purely Government schools for
the teaching of Malay. The ISnglish schools
and the Chinese and Tamil vernacular
schools receive a grant-in-aid from the Govern-
ment based on attendance, merit, organisa-
tion, and discipline. Apart from expenditure
upon school buildings, the net cost of education
during 1906 was in the Straits Settlements
328,635 dollars, or 15.42 dollars per pupil,
and in the Federated Malay States 263,876
dollars, or 15.45 dollars per pupil.
The total average number of children in
the Government schools of all kinds has
materially increased of late years. In igo6 it
was approximately 38,380, but exact figures
are not available for Pahang, where educa-
tion is still very backward. The average
attendance of pupils was 83-6 per cent.
These figures appear small in comparison
with the population, but it must be remem-
bered that only among the Eurasians and
Malays, who alone are settled under normal
conditions, is the proportion of children to
adults as large as in most countries. The
cause of education is severely handicapped,
too, by the fact that the Malays and Chinese
are almost indifferent as to the instruction of
their female children ; the Chinese, however,
are very much alive to the advantage of an
English education for their sons. Thus it
happens that, although nearly half the
children of school-going age are girls, only
4,260 girls attended school in 1906, as com-
pared with 34,120 boys.
At all the large and important English
schools there are classes for the continued
instruction of boys who have passed Standard
VII., and generally between loo and 200
candidates are presented each year at the
Cambridge Senior and Junior Examinations
held at Singapore and Pinang. These
examinations were dropped in the Federated
Malay States for a few years, but Kuala
Lvunpor was again made a centre in 1907.
The great inducement to take up secondary
work in the Straits Settlements has been the
Queen's Scholarship, of the value of ;f25o
per year, tenable for not more than five
years at an English University. Hitherto
two of these scholarships have been awarded
each year, but it is now proposed to dis-
continue one and devote the money to the
improvement of local education. An occa-
sional scholarship on the same lines has also
been given in the Federated Malay States.
Special grants and prizes are offered for boys
who are trained in a commercial class in
shorthand, typewriting, bookkeeping, and
composition, but, so far, very little advantage
has been taken of these offers in the
Federated Malay States. Attempts to provide
technical instruction have not proved popular,
but a large and satisfactory science class has
been estabhshed at Raffles Institute, Singapore.
The Straits Settlements are administered by
a Governor, an Executive Council, composed
entirely of officials, and a Legislative Council
containing a minority of representatives of the
general community appointed by the Governor.
The germ of the principle of popular election
is seen in the privilege accorded to the Singa-
pore and Pinang Chambers of Commerce of
each nominating a member for the Legislative
Council, The Governor of the Straits Settle-
ments is also High Commissioner of the
Federated Malay States. Subordinate to him
are the Resident-General and four British
Residents — one for each of the States com-
prised in the Federation. The system of
government is tantamount to a bureaucracy,
and the territory is for all practical purposes
as British as the neighbouring colony itself.
The Sultans rule but do not govern, and
although it is provided that no measure can
become law until it has been passed by the
Council of each State to which it applies,
these bodies are, in reality, merely advisory.
As regards local government there are in
Singapore, Pinang, and Malacca Municipal
Commissions, with powers very similar to
those .possessed by Urban District Councils in
Great Britain. The members are partly nomi-
nated by the Governor and partly elected by
popular vote. This vote is limited to adult
male British subjects occupying or possessing
property of a certain rateable value. In the
Federated Malay States the chief centres of
population are administered by Sanitary
Boards, consisting of civil servants and an
unofficial minority chosen by the Government.
The trend of things at the present day is,
undoubtedly, in the direction of extending the
principle of federation. Each year similar
departments, which formerly existed inde-
pendently of one another in each of the States,
are being amalgamated, in order to establish
uniformity and promote efficiency. At the
present time the Public Works, Railways,
Post Office, Land and Survey, Mines, Forests,
Agriculture, Fisheries, Finance, Police, Prisons,
Trade and Customs, Immigration, Education,
Museum, and Printing Departments are each
under one head. The Judiciary, the military
forces, and the Chinese Secretariat are also
Federal institutions. By an elaborate system
of bookkeeping an attempt is made to keep
the finances of the different States distinct
from one another, but their interests are so
very closely interwoven that it is only
possible to appear to do this on paper. It is
probably only a matter of time before even
this attempt will be abandoned, and, con-
temporaneously with this, one may expect to
see the establishment of a system of Federal
Government, something on the lines of the
Executive and Legislative Councils in the
Straits Settlements. The mining and planting
communities, to whom, of course, the pros-
perity of the Federated Malay States is mainly
due, appear to think that they are entitled
to some more effective voice in the manage-
ment of the country than they possess under
the existing system. But the principle of
unification seems not unlikely to spread
even beyond these limits. Not only is the
Governor of the Straits Settlements High
Commissioner for the Federated Malay States,
but quite recently a Director of Education,
an Inspector-General of Hospitals, a Con-
servator of Forests, and a Secretary for
Chinese Affairs have been appointed for the
Straits Settlements and Federated Malay
States conjointly. An arrangement, too, has
been made whereby the Puisne Judges of the
Straits Settlements and the Judicial Commis-
sioners of the Federated Malay States will
be interchangeable. Gradually the colony and
the Federated Malay States, with their mutual
commercial interests and interdependent
business relationships, are being drawn more
and more closely together for administrative
purposes to their common advantage.
"^10
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GOVERNORS OF THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS
IPPENDED is a list of
tiie Governors and Ad-
ministrators of the
Straits Settlements since
these were taken over
by the Colonial Office
in 1867 :
Colonel Harry St. George Ord, R.E., C.B.,
April I, 1867, to March 3, 1871.
Lieut. -Colonel Archibald Edward Har-
BORD Anson, R.A., Administrator,
March 4, 1871, to March 22, 1872.
Major-General Sir Harry St. George Ord,
C.B. (G.C.M.G.), March 23, 1872, to
November 2, 1873.
Lieut. -Colonel Archibald Edward Harbord
Axson, R.A., Administrator, November 3,
1873, to November 4, 1873.
Colonel Sir Axdrew Clarke, K.E., K.C.M.G.,
C.B., November 4, 1873, to May 10,
1875-
Colonel Sir Willi.am Francis Drummond
Jervois, R.E., K.C.M.G., C.B. (Major-
General, G.C.M.G.), May 10, 1875, to
April 3, 1877.
Colonel Archibald Edward Harbord Anson,
R.A., C.M.G., Administrator, April 3,
1877, to October 29, 1877.
Sir William Cleaver Francis Robinson,
K.C.M.G., October 2g, 1877, to February
10, 1879.
Major-General Sir Archibald Edward Axsox,
R..A., K.C.M.G., Administrator, February
10, 1879, to ^lay 6, 1880.
Frederick Aloysius Weld, C.M.G., Adminis-
trator, May 6, 1880, to March 28, 1884.
Cecil Clemexti Smith, C.M.G., Administrator,
March 29, 1884, to November 12, 1885.
Sir Frederick Aloysius Weld, K.C.M.G.,
November 13, 1885, to May 13, 1887.
John Frederick Dickson, C.M.G., Adminis-
trator, May 14, 1887, to June 19, 1887.
Sir Frederick Aloysius Weld, G.C.M.G.,
June 20, 1887, to October 17, 1887.
Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, K.C.M.G., October
20, 1887, to Acril 8, 1890.
Sir J. F DERick „iCKSON, K.C.M.G., Aamin-
istrator, April 8, 1890, to November 11,
1S90. ^^
Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, WC.M.G.
(G.C.M.G.), November 12, 1890, to
August 30, 1893.
William Edward Maxwell, C.M.G.
(K.C.M.G.), Administrator, August 30,
1893, to January 31, 1894.
Lieut. -Colonel Sir Charles Bullex Hugh
Mitchell, K.C.M.G. (G.C.M.G.), Feb-
ruary I, 1894, to March 27, 1898.
Sir James Alexander Swettenham, K.C.M.G.,
Administrator, March 28, 1898, to Decem-
ber 29, i8g8.
Lieut. -Colonel Sir Charles Bullen Hugh
Mitchell, G.C.M.G., December 30, i8g8,
to December 7, 1899.
Sir James Alexander Swettenham, K.C.M.G.,
Administrator, December 8, 1899, to Feb-
ruary 18, 1901.
Sir Frank Athelstaxe Swettenham,
K.C.M.G., Administrator, February 18,
1901, to September 25, 1901.
Sir Fraxk Athelstane Swettenham,
K.C.M.G., September 26, 1901, to October
12, 1903.
William Thomas Taylor, C.M.G., Adminis-
trator, October 13, 1903, to April 15, 1904.
Sir John Anderson, K.C.M.G., April 15, 1904,
to March I, 1906.
Sir William Taylor, K.C.M.G., Administrator,
March 2, 1906.
Sir John .\ndersox, K.C.M.G., present time.
CONSTITUTION AND LAW
THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.
HE history of the con-
stitution and law of our
Straits Settlements is
like the history of the
British Empire itself in
this respect — that it is
one of gradual growth
and accretion, of a sub-
stantial superstructure
built upon small but sound foundations bor-
rowed from those massive and enduring
pedestals upon which tower the might and
consequence of Greater Britain. From being
originally an appanage of the Honourable the
East India Company, the Straits Settlements
have come to be a leading Crown colony of
the Empire. Passing, with the demise of
" John Company," under the control of our
Indian Government, the Straits Settlements
were finally transferred to the care of the
Secretary of State for the Colonies by an
Order in Council dated April i, 1867.
The seat of government is the town of
Singapore, on the island of the same name,
and the Government consists of a Governor,
with an Executive and a Legislative Council.
This latter body is composed of nine official
and seven unofficial members, of whom two
are nominated by the Singapore and Pinang
Chambers of Commerce. The nine official
members constitute the Executive or Cabinet.
In each of the settlements there are also muni-
cipal bodies, some of the members of which
are elected by the ratepayers, while others are
appointed by the Governor.
To make matters clear, it may be well to out-
line briefly the colony's general history, with
which is seen the gradual development of her
constitution and law. At the present time the
colony consists of the island and town of
Singapore, the province of Malacca, the island
and town of Pinang, the Dindings, Province
Wellesley, the island of Labuan, the Cocos
Islands, and Christmas Island — the two last
having been acquired in 1886 and 1889 respec-
tively. Pinang was the first British settlement
on tire Malayan peninsula, being ceded to the
British by the Raja of Kedah in 1785. Malacca,
which had been held successively by the Portu-
guese and the Dutch, was acquired by Great
Britain under treaty with Holland in 1824,
though it had been held previously by the
English from 1795 till 1818. The founding of
Pinang led to a transference of most of the
trade which had previously gone to Malacca.
In 1819 Singapore was acquired, and in 1826
this settlement, together with Malacca, was
incorporated with Pinang under one govern-
ment, of which Pinang remained the centre
of administration until 1830, when Singapore
became the headquarters of the Government.
With the systems of administration which
obtained in Pinang and Malacca before that
date we need trouble ourselves but little.
Malacca had been held by European nations
since 1511, and Pinang had been under the
East India Company since its acquirement in
1785 ; but it was not until the fusion of the
three settlements under one head that the con-
stitution and law of the colony became concrete
and solidified. At the time of the British
occupation of Singapore, Pinang and Malacca
were administered by a Governor appointed by
the Governor-General of India. There was
also a Lieutenant-Governor (Sir Stamford
Raffles) at Bencoolen, and it was under his
regime that Singapore was first placed, when it
became a British settlement, with Major Far-
quhar as Resident. In those days the govern-
ment of a people or community in the Malayan
archipelago was carried out very much by rule
of thumb. The Resident or Governor was
absolute, and a free application of the Mosaic
law was considered adequate to meet such
cases as came up for adjudication. As the Straits
Settlements grew in population and importance,
however, properly constituted courts of law had
to be established, and the laws as applied in
India were adopted generally, with adaptations
to meet local requirements. In 1819 the Resi-
dent of Singapore performed the dual duties
of Magistrate and Paymaster, his only official
colleague being the Master Attendant, who had
also to act in the capacity of Keeper of Govern-
ment Stores. A few years later, however, the
Governor appointed a number of civil magis-
trates to administer the laws of the infant
settlement.
Only a year after Singapore was founded
there arose a difference of opinion between the
Governor and the Resident in respect of a
matter which has been a fruitful source of
controversy ever since — namely, the opium and
spirit traffic. The Resident proposed to establish
farms for these commodities. Sir Stamford
Raffles wrote from Bencoolen that he con-
sidered this proposal highly objectionable
(though there were such farms at Pinang and
Malacca), and inapplicable to the principles
upon which the establishment at Singapore
was founded. But the leases of the farms were
sold, nevertheless, and rents were exacted
from the opium and arrack shops and
gaming tables. Law and order in the settle-
ment were now maintained by a superintendent
of police with less than a dozen native con-
stabulary, which body in 1821 was augmented
by a force of ten night watchmen paid for by
the merchants of the place.
Two of the civil magistrates sat in the court
with the Resident to decide civil and criminal
cases, and two acted in rotation each week to
discharge the minor duties of their office.
Juries consisted either of five Europeans, or
of four Europeans with three respectable
natives. Indiscriminate gambling and cock-
fighting were strictly prohibited. In 1823,
owing to the Resident having been severely
stabbed by an Arab who had " run amok," the
carrying of arms by natives was abolished. In
a memorable proclamation which he issued in
the same year regarding the administration of
the laws of the colony. Sir Stamford Raffles
pointed out how repugnant would be the direct
application, to a mixed Asiatic community, of
European laws, with their accumulated pro-
cesses and penalties, adding that nothing
seemed to be left but to have recourse to first
principles. The proclamation proceeded :
Let all men be considered equal in the eye
of the lavsr.
Let no man be banished the country without
a trial by his peers, or by due course
of law.
Let no man be deprived of his liberty without
a cause, and no man detained in confine-
ment beyond forty-eight hours without a
right to demand a hearing and trial.
Let the people have a voice through the
magistracy by which their sentiments may
at all times be freely expressed.
This last clause of Raffles's pronouncement
embodies the first recognition of popular con-
trol, or the municipal idea, as it might more
properly be called, which is now seen in its
more developed form in the ratepayers' re-
presentation on the Municipal Board and
the unofficial element on the Legislative
Council.
The proposed abolition of the Gambling
Farms furnished a subject round which waged
a fierce war of opinions for several years.
On the one hand the continued existence of
the farming system was advocated as a moral
duty leading to good regulation of an ad-
mittedly immoral practice ; and on the other
hand it was discountenanced on sentimental
grounds. It was formally abolished by decree
in 1829, but this led not only to surreptitious
gambhng but also to corruption of the police,
and, however much the latter of these two
regrettable results has been minimised, the
former is as much an established fact to-day
in Singapore as it was in those early years
of the colony's history.
In the Protected Native States there are
122
TWENTIETH CEXTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MAI.AYA
Gambling Farms now, as there always have
been, the principle underlying these institu-
tions being that the vice may be controlled
through a Farm, because it is then necessarily
conducted in public, and the farmers (like the
opium and spirit farmers, who still exist in
the colony) will prevent private gaming in
their own interests. It is recognised, too, that
the evil cannot be suppressed by an inefficient
force of police who are exposed to unlimited
corruption.
In consequence of a report received from
the Resident complaining of the great incon-
venience arising from the want of a resident
Judge at Singapore, the Court of Judicature of
Pinang, Singapore, and Malacca was estab-
lished by Letters Patent on Xovember 27, 1826.
On March 6th in the following year it was
opened by notification of Government, the
Resident's Court was closed, and suits for sums
above 32 dollars were removed to H.M. Court. Sir
John T. Claridge took up his office as Recorder
in August, and arrived from Pinang on the
4th of September. At about the same time
Courts of Requests were established in the
settlements. In 1828 the first Criminal Sessions
were held in Singapore and Malacca. During
all these years the administration of the affairs
of the colony was vested entirely in the
Governor, subject to the Court of Directors
of the East India Company ; while municipal
assessments, &c., were left in the hands of
the Court of Magistrates, official and non-
official, whose findings were subject to the
Governor's approval.
In 1832, about the month of December, the
seat of government was transferred from
Pinang to Singapore, which had become the
most important of the three settlements. A
Resident Councillor was appointed for each
of the thi'ee towns, and the Governor visited
each in turn to assist in the administration
of justice and in any other matters requiring
his attention. Meanwhile the Recorder system
continued in the Court of Judicature. In 1855
two Recorders were appointed. This arrange-
ment was still in force in 1867, when the
government of the Straits Settlements was
made over from the Indian Administration
to the Colonial Office. The intervening years
from 1830 to 1867 show no change in the
governmental or judicial systems except such
as are incidental to the remarkable growth
and development of the colony's trade and
population. The civil establishment had, of
course, to be increased, and the scope of the
judicial courts extended from time to time
to meet the needs of the community.
For many years before the latter date there
had been a growing agitation against the colony
remaining under the dominance of the Indian
Government, who, it was held — and rightly
so — had not done justice to the Straits Settle-
ments, but had administered them in ignorance
of their requirements and vastly enhanced im-
portance. After long and tedious delays the
Home Government at length sanctioned the
transfer to the Colonial Office, and it was
finally effected on April I, 1867, on which
date the Straits Settlements were advanced
to the dignity of a Crown Colony, with Colonel
Harry St. George Ord as first Governor and
a fully constituted Executive and Legislative
Council. From that date up to the present
time there has been no change in the form
of administration.
The Executive Council consists of the senior
military officer in command of the troops (if
not below the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel)
and the persons discharging the functions of
Colonial Secretary, of Resident Councillor in
any of the settlements, of Attorney-General,
of Treasurer, of Auditor-General, and of Colonial
Engineer. The Governor must, in the exercise
of all his powers, consult with the Council
unless, in his opinion, the public service would
sustain " material prejudice " thereby, or the
matter to be decided is too unimportant to
require the Council's advice or too urgent
to admit of its being taken. In any such case,
the Council must be made acquainted with all
the circumstances at the earliest opportunity.
The Council cannot meet unless summoned by
the Governor, who may call a meeting in any
settlement in which he may happen to be. A
quorum consists of the President and two other
members. The Governor is alone empowered
to submit questions for consideration, but it is
competent for any member to make written
application for a subject to be discussed, and,
in the event of his Excellency withholding his
permission, to require the application and the
ground of its refusal to be recorded in the
minutes, which are transmitted to the home
authorities every six months. The Governor
may, if he think fit, disregard the advice of
the Council, but the circumstances under which
he does so must be reported to the Home
Government at the first convenient oppor-
tunity.
The Legislative Council is composed of the
nine members of the Executive, together with
five gentlemen nominated by the Governor
from the general community and two members
appointed by the Governor on the nomination
of the Singapore and Pinang Chambers of
Commerce — all seven of whom hold office
for three years each. A majority of "official"
members is thus always assured. The Council
has full power " to establish all such laws,
institutions, and ordinances, and to constitute
such courts and offices, and to make such
provisions and regulations for the proceedings
in such courls, and for the administration of
justice, and for the raising and expenditure
of the public revenue as may be deemed
advisable for the peace, order, and good
government" of the settlements. It is com-
petent for any three members, including the
Governor or member appointed by him to
preside, to transact business. Every member
is entitled to raise for debate any question
he may think fit, and, if it be seconded, it must
be decided by a majority of votes. The re-
servation, however, is made that all propositions
for spending money must emanate from the
Governor, and that his Excellency's assent
must not be given, save in very extreme cases
and then only under certain conditions, to —
1. Any Ordinance for the divorce of persons
joined together in holy matrimony.
2. Any Ordinance whereby any grant of
land or money, or other donation or gratuity,
may be made to himself.
3. Any Ordinance whereby any increase or
diminution may be made in the number, salary,
or allowances of the public officers.
4. Any Ordinance affecting the currency of
the settlements or relating to the issue of bank-
notes.
5. Any Ordinance establishing any banking
association, or amendirig or altering the con-
stitution, powers, or privileges of any banking
association.
6. Any Ordinance imposing differential
duties.
7. Any Ordinance the provisions of which
shall appear inconsistent with treaty obliga-
tions.
8. Any Ordinance interfering with the dis-
cipline or control of the Imperial forces by land
or seai
g. Any Ordinance of an extraordinary nature
and importance, whereby the prerogative of
the Crown, or the rights and property of
British subjects not residing in the settlements,
or the trade and shipping of the United
Kingdom and its dependencies, may be pre-
judiced.
10. Any Ordinance whereby persons not of
European birth or descent may be subjected or
made liable to any disabilities or restrictions to
which persons of European birth or descent are
not also subjected or made liable.
II. Any Ordinance containing provisions to
which the assent of the Crown has been once
refused, or which have been disallowed.
Under the standing orders of the Council
Bills are read three times, but in cases of emer-
gency, or when no important amendment is
proposed, a measure may be carried through
all its stages at one sitting with the approval of
a majority of the members present. All Ordi-
nances are subject to the veto of the Home
Government.
The law administered in the colony consists
of local Ordinances passed by the Legislative
Council and not disallowed by his Majesty,
together with such Acts of the Imperial Parlia-
ment and of the Legislative Council of India as
are applicable, a Commission having decided
which of the Indian Acts should continue in
force in the colony. The Indian Penal Code
and Code of Criminal Procedure have in the
main been adopted and from time to time
amended. The Civil Procedure Code is based
on the English Judicature Acts. Peculiar to
the locality are the anti-gambling laws, which
are very stringent, as must necessarily be the
case where a race so addicted to the vice as the
Chinese is concerned ; the opium laws, under
which the traffic in opium is " farmed out " to
the highest bidder for a term of years, thus
relieving the Government of the responsibility
for preventive measures against smuggling and
other incidental abuses ; and the Indian and
Chinese immigration laws, by which are regu-
lated the immense army of coolies who come
to the colony every year en route, mostly, for
the Federated Malay States and the Dutch
islands of the archipelago.
The courts for the administration of the civil
and criminal law are the Supreme Court, the
Court of Requests, Bench Courts (consisting of
two magistrates), Coroners' Courts, Magis-
trates' Courts, and the Licensing Court, con-
sisting of Justices of the Peace. The Supreme
Court consists ot a Chief Justice and three
Puisne Judges. It sits in civil jurisdiction
throughout the year ; and, as a small-cause
court with jurisdiction up to 500 dollars, it
holds a weekly session in Singapore and
Pinang. Assizes are conducted every two
months in Singapore and Pinang, and every
quarter in Malacca, when civil work is also
taken. The Supreme Court is also a Vice-
Admiralty Court and the final appeal court
of the colony.
In the Courts of Requests a magistrate sits
as Commissioner in causes for sums not exceed-
ing 100 dollars. Magistrates' Courts hear and
determine cases within their jurisdiction in a
summary way. Justices of the Peace and
Coroners are appointed by H.E. the Governor.
The expenses of the Civil Establishment of
Singapore when Sir Stamford Raffles left in
1823 amounted to 3,500 dollars a month, the
Resident drawing 1,400 dollars, the Assistant
Resident 300 dollars, and the Master Attendant
300 dollars. The present Governor receives
^6,000 per annum ; the Colonial Secretary
£1,700 ; the Resident Councillors of Pinang
and Malacca 9,600 dollars and 7,800 dollars
respectively ; and the Master Attendant £^%o.
It may be mentioned in conclusion that the
direct administraiion of Labuan by the Govern-
ment of the Straits Settlements was only re-
sumed on January 1, 1906, after having been in
the hands of the British North Borneo Com-
pany since 1890. Labuan was ceded to Great
Britain by the SuUan of Brunei in 1846, and
taken possession of in 1848. It is situated off
the north-west coast of Borneo, from which it
is distant about six miles, and has an area of
30J square miles. It is the smallest British
colony in Asia, the white population numbering
only about forty or fifty. The island produces
about 14,000 tons of coal annually.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
123
THE FEDERATED MALAY STATES.
WHEN Great Britain obtained a footing
on the Malay Peninsula by securing
the territories of Malacca and Province Welles-
ley, she came into violent contact with the
neighbouring native States, which were then
seething with turbulence and anarchy. It was
not, however, until 1873 that the perpetual
tribal quarrels became so acute as to call for
the active interference of the Imperial Govern-
ment. In that year the disturbed condition of
the country was accentuated by troubles among
the Chinese in the Larut district, who divided
themselves into two camps and engaged in
organised warfare. After much bloodshed the
defeated party betook themselves to piracy,
with the result that for a long time the coast
was virtually in a state of blockade, and even
the fishermen were afraid to put to sea.
In this crisis, Lieutenant-General Sir Andrew
Clarke, Governor of the Straits Settlements,
arranged a meeting with the Perak chiefs with
a view to settling definitely the disputed suc-
cession to the Sultanate. He pointed out to
them the evils of maladministration from which
the State was suffering ; showed that tran-
quillity, trade and development were the chief
desiderations ; and held out prospects of peace
and plenty under British protection in place of
slrife and irregular revenues. The assistance
of British advisers at Perak and Larut was
offered and accepted on the understanding that
the sovereign powers of the chiefs would not
thereby be curtailed. A similar arrangement
was also concluded with the Sultan of Selangor.
Such great success attended the introduction of
this new system that the example set by Perak
and Selangor was followed a few years later by
the adjoining State of Negri Sambilan, and in
1888 by Pahang.
Under this regime the affairs of each of the
four States were independently administered
on behalf of the Sultan by the British Resident
and the usual staff of Government officials, act-
ing under the direction of the Governor of the
Straits Settlements. By a treaty signed in July,
1895, the States were federated for administra-
tive purposes, and a Resident-General was
appointed with an official residence at Kuala
Lumpor, which was chosen as the federal
capital. The terms of the treaty stipulated
that the native Rulers were " to follow the
advice of the Resident-General in all matters
of administration other than those touching the
Mahomedan religion," and "to give to those
States in the Federation which require it such
assistance in men, money, or in other respects,
as the British Government, through its duly
appointed officers, may require." At the same
time it was explicitly stated that the " obliga-
tions of the Malay Rulers towards the British
Residents " would not in any way be affected by
this arrangement.
Subject, therefore, to the direction of the
Resident- General, who is subordinate to the
High Commissioner, the administration of each
of the four States proceeds upon nearly the
same lines as were formerly followed. The
supervision of finance, forests, mines, police,
prisons, and railways is vested in the federal
officials, but all other matters are dealt with in
each State by the State Council, which consists
of the Sultan (who presides), the British Resi-
dent and his Secretary, the principal native
chiefs, and one, or more, of the most influential
European or Chinese residents. No measure
can become law until it has been passed by the
Council of the State to which it applies, but,
when it is remembered that the proposed enact-
ments often relate to technical subjects, such as
electric Jighting and mechanical locomotion,
of which the native mind has no previous know-
ledge, it will readily be understood that the
legislative powers of the Council are more
apparent than real. Every member is entitled
to raise any question with the approval of the
president, and, of course, to offer any sugges-
tion for the consideration of the Resident. A
privilege highly valued by the native members
of the Council is that of travelling free of charge
over the railway system.
In the raising of revenue and the expenditure
of money the State Council has no voice. A
separate account is kept for each State, and
federal expenditure and revenue are appor-
tioned on an equitable basis. Each of the
States, except Pahang, has a large surplus,
which is invested in Indian Rupee Paper, Tan-
jong Pagar Dock shares, the municipal stock of
the neighbouring colony, the Federated Malay
States and Johore railway system, and in other
sound securities that are from time to lime sug-
gested by the High Commissioner, who is the
Governor of the Straits Settlements. P'ixed
allowances, varying in amount in each State,
are guaranteed to the Sultans out of the public
funds bj' the British Government. An annual
sum is voted for the upkeep of a regiment of
Malay States Guards, which, in the event of
war breaking out between Great Britain and
any other Power, may be requisitioned by the
Governor for service in the Straits Settle-
ments.
Each State is divided into districts, varying
in size according to the'r industrial importance
and population. These districts are presided
over by district officers, who are directly
responsible to the British Resident. Each
district again is subdivided into Mukims or
parishes, which are under the supervision of
Malay officials styled Penghulus, who render
assistance to the Land Office and act in the
capacity of minor magistrates and go-betweens
in matters of domestic dispute among natives.
The Penghulus are generally relatives of the
chiefs of the States in which they act, and
they are appointed by the Sultan in Council,
subject to the veto of the Resident. In the
chief centres of population there are sanitary
boards, composed of State officials and a
nominated unofficial element.
Originally the Resident was the head of the
Judicial, as well as of the Administrative,
Department in each State. But when the
States were federated in i8g6 a Judicial
Commissioner was appointed, and that change
was accompanied by the admission of prac-
titioners at the Bar, consisting of persons
possessing legal qualifications recognised in
the United Kingdom, of advocates and solici-
tors in the Straits Settlements, and of persons
who passed the prescribed local examination
in law.
Until the Courts Enactment of 1905 came
into operation, the Judicial Commissioner tried
only capital charges and appeals from the
court of the senior magisti-ate in each State.
The senior magistrate, who did not necessarily
possess a legal diploma, was supposed to be a
quasi-executive officer invested with extensive
powers to review the actions and decisions of
other magistrates. The office has now been
abolished, and two additional Commissioners
have been appointed, the Judicial Commis-
sioner of former days being now styled the
Chief Judicial Commissioner. He and one
other Judicial Commissioner reside at Kuala
Lumpor, and hold frequent assizes in the Negri
Sambilan and Pahang. The third Judicial
Commissioner resides at Ipoh, in Perak.
The coiu't of a Judicial Commissioner exer-
cises full jurisdiction in all civil and criminal
matters, divorce only excepted, and hears
appeals from the lower courts. In hearing
appeals from the native courts a Judicial Com-
missioner is required to summon to sit with
him " one or more of the principal Mahome-
dans of the State to aid him with advice."
Attached to the court of a Judicial Com-
missioner there is a Registrar, and, in some
cases, a Deputy Registrar, who discharges
duties ordinarily performed in England by a
Master in Chambers, a Registrar of the
Supreme Court, or a Clerk of a Criminal
Court.
In all cases where the punishment of death
is authorised by law the accused is tried with
the aid of two assessors, selected from the
most prominent members of the heterogeneous
community. In the event of both assessors
taking a different view from the judge, a new
trial is ordered. Until the end of the last
century the jury system was in vogue, but it
was then discontinued owing to the difficulty
of securing men to serve whose intelligence
and integrity could be relied upon to do justice
between the prisoner and the State.
The Supreme Court of Appeal consists of
two or more Judicial Commissioners. Death
sentences, even when confirmed by this court,
are reviewed by the Council of the State in
which the capital charge was originally pre-
ferred. In a civil action involving a sum of
not less than £500, a final appeal may be made
to his Britannic Majesty in Council.
In all the principal centres in the States there
are magisterial courts, and these are of two
grades. A first-class magistrate is empowered to
try cases the maximum penalty for which does
not exceed three years' imprisonment. Until
the end of 1905 he could try cases the penalty
for which did not exceed seven years' imprison-
ment. His maximum power of punishment,
however, has been throughout limited to a
sentence of one year's imprisonment or a fine
not exceeding 500 dollars. Cases beyond his
jurisdiction, or for which he deems his power
of punishment inadequate, are committed to the
Supreme Court. A first-class magistrate may
hear and determine civil suits when the value
in dispute does not exceed 500 dollars. A
second-class magistrate is empowered to im-
pose a sentence of three months' imprison-
ment or a fine not exceeding 250 dollars,
which sum is also the limit of his civil
jurisdiction.
There are two native tribunals, called re-
spectively the Court of a Kathi and the Court
of a Penghulu. The first is an ecclesiastical
court for the trial of minor Mahomedan
causes. The second deals with petty offences
or disputes. Each can inflict a fine up to
10 dollars.
The Bench of the Supreme Court of the
Federated Malay States is becoming practi-
cally identified with that of the Straits Settle-
ments, for arrangements are now being made
under which the Puisne Judges of the settle-
ments and the Judicial Commissioners of the
Federated States will be interchangeable.
The general law of the States is codified in a
large number of enactments. The Criminal
Procedure Code is adapted from that of the
Straits Settlements, while the Civil Procedure
Code closely follows that of India, which was
formerly accepted as law, so far as it was
applicable, in most parts of the Federated
Malay States.
H.E. THE GOVERNOR.
His Excellency Sir John Anderson, K.C.M.G.,
had had no previous governmental experience
when he was appointed Governor of the Straits
Settlements and High Commissioner of the
Federated Malay States in 1904, at the com-
paratively carh- age of forty-six. He had, how-
124
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
ever, had a distinguished academic and official
career.
The only son of the late Mr. John Anderson,
superintendent of the Gordon Mission, Aber-
deen, Sir John was born at Gartly, Aberdeen-
shire, In 1858. Before he was twenty he
graduated M.A. at Aberdeen University, gain-
ing a first-class in mathematics and being
awarded the gold medal for the year. Two
years later he entered the Colonial Office as a
second-class clerk. In 1887 he was Bacon
Scholar of Gray's Inn, and in the following
year he was the Inns of Court student. He
proceeded with Sir John F. Dickson in i8gi to
Gibraltar, in order to inquire into matters
connected with the Registry of the Supreme
Court there. He was next appointed private
secretary to Sir R. Meade, Permanent Under-
Secretary of State for the Colonies, and in
1892 he saw service on the staiif of the British
Agent for the Behring Sea Arbitration, the
proceedings taking him from London to Paris.
This work occupied the greater part of 1892
and 1893. At the end of seventeen years'
service he attained first-class rank. From 1883
to 1897 he edited the Colonial OfBce List, and
in the latter year was appointed principal
clerk. As secj-etary to the Conference be-
tween Mr. Chamberlain and the Colonial
Premiers in that year he had considerable
opportunities of gaining an intimate know-
ledge of the feelings of the self-governing
colonies. For a second time he was des-
patched to Gibraltar — on this occasion to
inquire into the rates of pay of the Civil Service
there. He was back in London in the same
year (1899) and remained until in 1901 Mr.
Chamberlain chose him as Colonial Office
representative to accompany T.R.H. the Prince
and Princess of Wales, then the Duke and
Duchess of York, on their famous tour round
the British Empire in the Ophir. It was
during that trip that Sir John saw for the first
time the colony over which he now presides.
In 1902 he again acted as Secretary to the
Colonial Conference, and in 1903 he received
the thanks of the Canadian Government and
the Confederation medal for services rendered
in connection with the Alaska Boundary
question and other matters. Sir John was
decorated with the C.M.G. in 1898, and was
advanced to a knight-commandership of the
Order in igoi on the nomination of Mr.
Chamberlain. Quite recently he accepted the
honorary degree of LL.D. from his former
alma mater.
Sir John was appointed to the Governorship
of the Straits Settlernents in succession to Su-
Frank Swettenham on February i, 1904, and
he arrived in Singapore to take up his duties
on April 17th. He was accorded a most hearty
reception, the whole town being decorated in
his honour. After he had been sworn in in
the Council Chamber, Dr. Middleton (Deputy
President of the Municipality), Colonel Penne-
father, and Choa Giang Thye handed his
Excellency an address of welcome from the
Municipal Commission. Next came a deputa-
tion with an address from the Singapore
Chamber of Commerce, and last, but not least
in importance, a representative deputation
(consisting of Mr. Tan Jiak Kim, Syed Mo-
hammed Alsagoif, Mr. Tan Kiong Saik, and
Mr. Tan Chay Yean) bearing an address from
the native community in a handsome casket of
wood and silver. In his reply to these ad-
dresses the new Governor said the principle
upon which the government of the colony was
based was that the highest and best interests of
the community as a whole were in the long
run identical with the best interests of each
section, and that no section should push its
own exclusive claims without regard to those
of other sections and the common good. He
was glad that the various races inhabiting the
colony recognised each other's good qualities
and contributions to the common weal, and it
was his earnest hope that, whatever mistakes
he might make whilst among them, he might
never unwittingly do anything to stir up
divisions among them or in any way to accen-
tuate racial feeling or antagonism.
The success with which Sir John has con-
trived to keep the balance even between all
sections of the mixed population of the colony
during the three years of his governorship
shows how conscientiously and consistently he
has kept before him the ideals which he set up
for himself when entering upon his onerous
duties. Events of the first importance to the
colony have moved rapidly since 1904, and Sir
John has not shrunk from taking his due share
of responsibility for them. Among the most
important issues that have been brought to a
conclusion during his tenure of office are the
fixing of the value of the Straits dollar, the
Tanjong Pagar Dock Arbitration and Expro-
priation, the opening of the railway to the
docks, the taking over of Labuan from the
Borneo Company, and the appointment of
British Consuls to various places in Siam.
Other matters rapidly nearing completion in-
clude the codification of the shipping laws and
the construction of a railway through the
Johore territory, which will serve to open up
and develop the Federated Malay States.
In the discharge of his social duties Sir John
has been materially assisted by his daughter.
Miss Anderson.
Mr. Oliver Marks, private secretary to
H.E. the Governor, is a son of the late Mr.
John George Marks, of Messrs. Misa & Sons,
sherry shippers, London, and a nephew of the
late Henry Stacey Marks, R.A., and of the late
Frederick Walker, A.R.A. He was born on
September 10, 1866, at Beddington, Surrey,
and educated at \\''hitgift Grammar School,
Croydon. In 1887 he went out to Ceylon as a
planter, and in i8gi came to Singapore to take
up the position of private secretary to the
OLIVER MARKS.
(Private Secretary to H.E. the Governor and Secretary
to the High Commissioner.)
Governor and secretary to the High Com-
missioner of the Federated Malay States. He
is a member of the M.C.C. and of the Sports
Club, London ; of the Imperial Colonial Insti-
tute, London ; and of- the Singapore clubs.
His recreations are cricket, tennis, and golf.
Mr. Marks married Violet Catherine, eldest
daughter of the Hon. A. Murray, Colonial
Engineer, in February, 1905, and has one son,
Geoffrey Noel.
Mr. Claud Severn, acting private secretary
to H.E. the Governor, was born in London in
1869, and at an early age went to Australia.
He was educated at St. Peter's College, Adelaide,
and at Selwyn College, Cambridge, where he
graduated. During part of 1891 and 1892 he
was employed in the Librarian's Department
of the Foreign Office, and in 1894 was
appointed private secretary to the then
Governor of the Straits Settlements. In
December of the following year he joined
the Selangor Government service as junior
officer, and in 1897 was promoted Assistant
District Officer at Ulu Langat. After acting
temporarily in a similar capacity at Klang and
as Collector of Land Revenue, Kuala Lumpor,
he became, in 1899, Assistant District Officer at
Serendah. In August, 1903, he was given the
position of Assistant Secretary to the Resident-
General, but did not assume the duties until
September, 1904, acting in the meantime as
Magistrate and Registrar of Courts, Kuala
Lumpor. During a portion of 1905 he acted
as Federal Secretary, and he took Mr. Oliver
Marks's place during the early part of 1906.
Mr. Severn is a keen golf and tennis player
and is a member of most local clubs. He did
good service during 1903 as chairman of the
committee which had charge of the arrange-
ments for the Federal Conference held in that
year.
Captain H. H. F. Stockley, Aide-de-Camp
to H.E. the Governor, was born on October 30,
1878, and educated at Haileybury College. Re-
ceiving his commission as a second lieutenant
in the Royal Marine Light Infantry on January
I, 1897, he was promoted lieutenant in the
following year. He served on H.M.S. Niobe
during the South African War (for which he
received the South African medal with the
Cape Colony clasp) and on the Ophir when
the Duke and Duchess of York made their tour
of the Empire. He received his company in
1903 and was seconded to his present appoint-
ment on March 24, 1904. Captain Stockley
is a member of the Sports Club, London.
Captain F. Hilton, of the Singapore
Volunteer force, and Subadar Major Gurdit
Singh, of the Malay States Guides, are extra
Aides-de-Camp to H.E. the Governor.
THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL,
STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.
The Executive Council of the Straits Settle-
ments is a consultative body called together as
occasion demands by the Governor, who pre-
sides over its deliberations. It is composed of
eight principal officers of the Government.
H.E. the General Officer Command-
ing the Troops at Singapore is Major-
General T. Perrott, C.B. By virtue of his
office he ranks next to the Governor and is a
member of the Executive and of the Legis-
lative Council. Son of the late Mr. S. W.
Perrott, of Fermoy House, County Cork, he
was born in May, 1851, and was educated at
Edinburgh Academy and the Royal Military
Academy, Woolwich. After receiving his
commission in the Royal Artillery in 1870, he
served with the Field Artillery both at home
and in India, and in 1880 was given his com-
pany. From 1885 to 1891 he was Adjutant of
the School of Gunnery and Assistant Superin-
tendent of Experiments at Shoeburyness. He
was promoted major in 1886, lieutenant-
colonel in i8g6, and coloijel in 1900. During
the South African campaign he was in com-
mand of the Siege Train Division of the
Royal Garrison Artillery with Lord Roberts.
He was present at the Paardeburg, Poplar
THE EXECUTIVE AND LEGISLATIVE COUNCILS.
Hon. Dr. D. T. Galloway. 2. Hon. Mr. R. N. Bland. 3 Hon. Mr. A. T. Brvant. 4. Hon. Mr. A. Murray, C.E., M r.C.E. 5. Hon Mr John Trn\i.K
6. Hon. Capt. A. H. Young, C.M.G. 7. H.E. the Governor, Sir John Anderson, K.C.M.G. (President). 8. H.E. the G.O.C, Major-Gex. T. Perrott, C B.
y. Hon. Mr. W J. Napier, D.C.L. 10. Ho.v. Mk. Hugh Fort. ii. Hon. Mr. T. S. Baker. 12, Hon. Mr. W. Evans 13, Hon. Mr. Tan Jiak Kim.
14. Hon. Mr. J. Anderson. 15. Hon. Mr. A. R. Adams. - 16. Hon. Me. E. C Hill.
126
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Grove, and Di-eifontein engagements, and was
mentioned in despatches. For his services he
received the Queen's medal witli four clasps.
Major-General Perrott was also in command
of the Siege Train Division in the China
expedition of 1900. He was created a C.B.
in 1901 ; was promoted Major-General in
December, igo6 ; and has been G.O.C. at
Singapore since March, 1907.
The Colonial Secretary of the Straits
Settlements is Captain Arthur Henderson
Cyprus. For six months in 1895, and for lesser
periods in i8g8, 1900, and 1904, he administered
the government of Cyprus. In 1902 he went
on a special mission to St. Vincent, West
Indies. His present appointment dates from
igo6. Captain Young has always been very
fond of sport. For two years he was in the
Rugby cricket eleven, and he played for Scot-
land against England in the International
Rugby football match at the Oval in 1874.
He is a member of the Army and Navy Club,
CAPTAIN THE HON. ARTHUR H. YOUNG,
(Colonial Secretary, Straits Settlements.)
C.M.G.
Young, C.M.G. Born in 1854, he was edu-
cated at Edinburgh Academy, Rugby, and
Sandhurst. He joined the 27th Inniskillings
as a sub-lieutenant, and entered the Colonial
Service in 1878, his first appointment being
that of Commandant of the Military Police of
Cyprus. The next twenty-seven years he spent
in that colony, holding successively the posi-
tions of Assistant Commissioner at Paphos ;
Commissioner, Paphos ; Commissioner, Faina-
gusta ; Director of Survey and Forest Officer,
and Chief Secretary to the Government of
London ; the Xew Club, Edinburgh ; and the
Singapore Club. His wife, whom he married
in 1885, is a daughter of the late Marquis of
Ailsa and sister of the present Marquis.
The Resident Councillor of Pinang is
the Hon. Mr. Robert Xcirman Bland, B.A. A
son of Major-General Bland, R.E., he was
born at Malta in 1859. He was educated at
Cheltenham College and at Trinity College,
Dublin, where he obtained the degree of B.A.
in 1882. Mr. Bland has had a long and varied
career in the Straits Settlements Civil Service.
Arriving in the colony earl\- in 1883, he was
attached to the Colonial Secretary's OfBce as a
cadet learning Chinese, and in the following
vear he also qualified in Malay. He has served
as private secretary to the Acting Governor,
Collector and Magistrate at Kuala Pilah in the
Negri Sambilan, Assistant Resident Councillor
at Pinang, Collector of Land Revenue at
Pinang and Singapore, officer in charge of
Sungei Ujong, Inspector of Prisons for the
Straits Settlements, Colonial Treasurer and
Collector of Stamp Duties, and Resident
Councillor at Malacca. In 1887 he was en-
gaged in reporting upon a system of Mukim
boundaries in Pinang and Province Wellesley.
He is ex-officio Chairman of the Pinang Com-
mittee of the Tanjong Pagar Board, of the
District Hospital, of the Library, and of the
Gardens Committee, Pinang ; a trustee of St.
George's Church and of St. George's Girls'
School ; and president of the Free Schools
Committee. Mr. Bland raised and commanded
a company of volunteers in Malacca (1902-6)..
He is a member of the Colonial Institute and
of the Sports Club, London, and is enrolled
either as a patron or member of all the local
clubs. His recreations are golf and riding.
He married, in 1895, Laura Emily, eldest
daughter of the late Mr. Thomas Shelford,
C.M.G., head of the firm of Paterson, Simons
& Co., and for some twenty years member
of the Legislative Council of the Straits Settle-
ments. Mrs. Bland is a member of the Straits
branch of the Royal Asiatic Society and of the
Royal Anthropological Institute. She takes a
keen interest in women's work amongst the
Malays.
The Resident Councillor of Malacca,
the Hon. Mr. William Evans, was born on
September 5, i860, and received his education
at the Bradford Grammar School and King's
College, Cambridge. He entered the Straits
Settlements Civil Service as a cadet in 1882.
In 1884 he went to Amoy to study Hokien,.
and after passing his final examination in
that language in the following year he Was
attached to the Chinese Protectorate at Sin-
gapore. Later, he became Acting Assistant
Protector of Chinese at Singapore and at
Pinang, and in 1893 was given the appoint-
ment of Acting Protector of Chinese in the
Straits Settlements (stationed at Pinang), in
which office he was confirmed in 1895-
He has passed the Government examination
in Chinese (Cantonese) and Malay. For
several years he was a Municipal Commis-
missioner at Singapore, and was seconded as
President in 1903. In the same year he was
seconded for special service in the Transvaal,
where he organised all the arrangements for
the reception and management of the Chinese
labourers enlisted for the Rand gold-mines,
and was placed in charge of the Foreign
Labour Department for fifteen months. He
was appointed Treasurer and Collector of
Stamp Duties in the Straits Settlements in
1905 and Resident Councillor of Malacca in
1907.
The Attorney=Qeneral, the Hon. Mr.
W. J. Napier, D.C.L., was previously an
unofficial member of the Legislative Council.
He is a barrister-at-law, and until his Govern-
ment appointment was the senior partner of
the firm of Messrs. Drew & Napier, advocates
and solicitors, Singapore. He lis <i member of
the Singapore and several other local clubs.
The Colonial Treasurer, the Hon. Mr.
Alfred Thomas Bryant, B.A. Oxon., was born
in October, i860, and entered the Straits Settle-
ments Civil Service in 1883. After qualifying
in the Malay tongue, he became first Acting
Third Magistrate and then Acting Collector of
Land Revenue at Pinang. He was appointed
Acting District Officer of Province Wellesley
South in 1889, and of the Dindings a few
months later, being confirmed in the latter
appointment in the following year. He passed
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
127
his final examination in Tamil in 1892, and in
1894 acted as Collector of Land Revenue and
officer in charge of the Treasury at Malacca.
For the ten years ending in 1905 he was Acting
First Magistrate at Pinang, after which he was
transferred in a similar capacity to Singapore.
His present appointment dates from February,
1907.
The Auditor=Qeneral, the Hon. Mr.
Edward Charles Hepworth Hill, is the young-
est son of the late Sir S. J. Hill, C.B., K.C.M.G.,
and was born on July 14, 1854. After being
privately educated he was appointed a cadet in
the Straits Settlements Civil Service in 1875.
For a few months he was Acting Assistant-
Treasurer at Malacca, and, after passing his
final examination in Malay in 1877, he was
successively .Acting-Inspector of Schools and
Acting Deputy Collector of Land Revenue for
Pinang and Province Wellesley. He served
for two or three years in the Northern Settle-
ment as Superintendent of Education and
Acting Magistrate. In 1882 he was confirmed
in the appointment of Inspector of Schools,
and in 1895 he acted as Resident Councillor at
Malacca. His present appointment dates from
April, 1897.
The Colonial Engineer and Surveyor-
Qeneral, Colonel Murray, V.D., C.E. (Glasgow
University), M.I.C.E., was born on January 13,
1850, and educated at Hyde Abbey School,
Wmchester. He entered the Ceylon Civil
Service in 187 1 as Pioneer Officer, Public
Works Department. In 1874 he was made
Chief Assistant at headquarters, in 1876 was
appointed Acting Irrigation Assistant, and in
the following year became a member of the
Commission to Inquire into the Colonial Store
Department. In i885 he was given an appoint-
ment as Provincial Engineer, and four years
later was voted a bonus of five thousand rupees
by the Legislative Council for the invention of
cheap cement concrete sluices for irrigation
purposes. In 1895 he was seconded for special
service in the department of the Attorney-
General, and two years later became Acting
Director of Public Works and Assistant Director
of Public Works respectively. He came to the
Straits Settlements in 1898 as Colonial Engineer
and Surveyor-General and Comptroller of Con-
victs, being sent to Perak to report on the
Krian irrigation scheme. During the same
year he was made a member of the local joint
Naval and Military Defence Committee, In
1899 he was commissioned to inquire into the
Public Works Department at Negri Sambilan,
and in 1903 went on special duty to Ceylon, for
which, in 1904, he received the thanks of the
Secretary of State. As regards his volunteering
career in Singapore, he was appointed Com-
mandant of the local Volunteer Artillery in
1899, Major and Commandant of the Singapore
Volunteer Corps in 1900, and Lieutenant-
Colonel in 1902. To him fell the honour of
commanding the Straits Coronation contingent
in London in 1902. Upon resigning his com-
mand in 1905 he was appointed Colonel, with
permission to retain the rank and wear the
uniform of the corps.
THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL,
STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.
The Legislative Council of the Straits
Settlements embraces all the members of
the Executive Council and seven unofficial
members, two of whom are recommended by
the Chambers of Commerce of Singapore and
Pinang, whilst the remaining five are nomi-
nated by the Governor. The local Ordinances
under which the colony is governed are made
by this body. The Governor presides over the
deliberations of the Council and can veto its
decisions.
The Hon. Mr. John Anderson was born
in 1852 at Rothesay, Isle of Bute. He came to
Singapore when only seven years of age, and
was educated at Raffles Institution. He entered
the Straits Civil Service, but retired in 1871 to
embark upon a mercantile career, with the
result that he is now co-proprietor and head of
the firm of Guthrie & Co., Ltd., of Singapore,
Pinang, London, and Fremantle (W.A.), He
is a Justice of the Peace and Siamese Consul-
General for Singapore. From 1886 to 1888 he
occupied a seat on the Legislative Council,
which he rejoined in 1905. He is a member
of the Bath Club, London, and resides at
"Ardmore," Singapore.
The Hon. Mr. John Turner was born in
Keith, Scotland, in 1854, and completed his
education at Aberdeen University. In 1873 he
emigrated to Demerara, where for sixteen
years he was engaged in sugcfr planting.
Previous to coming to Singapore in 1889 he
spent a year studying the methods of sugar-
planting in vogue in Brazil. At the present
time he has charge of the Pinang Sugar Estates
and of the various estates of the Straits Sugar
Company, and is the adviser for other properties
in Pinang and Province Wellesley. He is an
authority on the immigration and treatment of
native labour, which he has made the study of
his life. He became a member of the Legisla-
tive Council in 1902, and is now serving his
second term of office as the senior representa-
tive of the Pinang Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Turner is president of the Malay Peninsula
Agricultural Association, the Perak Planters'
Association, the Labour Bureau, and the St.
Andrew's Association ; nor does this exhaust
his activities, for he is also a member of the
Immigration Commission, of the Pinang Com-
mittee of the Tanjong Pagar Dock Board, of
the Chamber of Commerce, and of the various
local clubs. He was married in 1876 to K\1?l
Russell, daughter of the late Rev. John Menzies,
of Strathpeford, Scotland.
The Hon. Mr. Hugh Fort, son of the
late Mr. Richard Fort, who was at one time
M.P. for Clitheroe, is a native of Lancashire.
Born in 1862, he was educated first at Win-
chester College and then at New College,
Oxford. He was called to the English Bar in
1887 and was admitted an advocate and solicitor
of the Supreme Court of the Straits Settlements
in 1893.
Dr. David James Galloway, M.D.,
F.R.C.P., Edin., D.P.M.I., a member of the
Legislative Council, was born in Edinburgh
in 1858. He was educated at Daniel Stewart's
College and at Edinburgh University, where
he graduated M.B. in 1884 and M.D. (Gold
Medallist) in 1900. He has practised in Singa-
pore since 1S95. He is a member of the Johore
and Singapore clubs and of all other local clubs.
His principal recreations are fishing, motoring,
and golfing.
The Hon. Mr. Tan Jiak Kim.— A sketch
of the career of the Chinese member of the
Council appears in another section of this
work.
The Hon. Mr. T. S. Baiter, who was
appointed to the Legislative Council in
January, 1907, as the representative of the
Singapore Chamber of Commerce to fill the
vacancy caused by the absence from the colony
of Mr. W. H. Shelford, is the manager of
the Singapore branch of the Hongkong and
Shanghai Banking Corporation, Ltd. He
entered the service of that corporation in
London in 1880, and came East three years
later. He took up his present position at
Singapore in igo6. Mr. Baker, who was
born on March 19, 1858, was privately educated.
He married first, in 1879, Mary Agnes, daughter
of Alfred Tuck, of Ingatestone HaU, Essex, who
died in 1885. His second wife is a daughter of
Richard Speight, ex-chairman of the Victorian
Railway Commission. Mr. Baker is a member
of the London Society of Arts and of the Japan
Society. During his residence in the Far East
he has had conferred upon him the fourth-
class Order of the Rising Sun and the thiid-
class Order of the Sacred Treasure. He is a
member of the Thatched House Club, London,
the Yokohama United Club, and the Singapore
Club.
The Hon. Mr. A. R. Adams.— Public
opinion, expressed through the medium of the
local press, regards Mr. Arthur Robert Adams
as one of the most popular men in Pinang.
The Pinang Chamber of Commerce elected
him to the Legislative Council on the retire-
ment of Mr. E. W. Presgrave at the latter end
of 1907 in recognition of the deep and active
interest which he exhibited in the welfare of the
settlement. He was born on December 13, 1861,
and attended Foster's School at Sherborne. He
was articled in a solicitor's office in that historic
town, and then went to London, where at the
age of twenty-three he was admitted to practise
as a sohcitor in the EngHsh Courts. In July,
1887, he was enrolled as a member of the Straits
Settlements Bar, and ten years later joined the
Bar of the Federated Malay States. In the
Tanjong Pagar Docks Arbitration, in 1905, Mr.
Adams was engaged as counsel by the Govern-
ment. He was. appointed captain and acting
commandant of the Pinang Volunteers on the
formation of the corps in 1899, and was con-
firmed in the command in 1900, on the resig-
nation of Captain J. Y. Kennedy. In 1902 he
went home as second in command of the
Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States
Coronation contingent, and received the King's
Coronation medal. Mr. Adams is a Fellow of
the Royal Colonial Institute ; a prominent
Mason (holding the degrees of P.D.G.W. of the
Eastern Archipelago, P.M., 1893, and trustee
of the Royal Prince of Wales Lodge, Pinang,
No. 1555, and P.Z. Royal Jubilee Chapter,
M.M.M.) ; president of the Pinang Association ;
president of the Pinang Turf Club and Pinang
Swimming Club ; past-president of the Pinang
Cricket Club and Town Club ; a trustee of the
Pinang Club and Pinang Golf Club ; past-
president of the Pinang Bar committee ;
chaplain's churchwarden and trustee of St.
George's Church ; trustee of St. George's Girls'
School, and a member of the Chamber of
Commerce. Mr. Adams sat as a Municipal
Commissioner between 1892-93, 1889-1900
(elected), and 1900-6 (Government repre-
sentative).
THE RESIDENT-GENERAL OF THE
FEDERATED MALAY STATES.
Sir William Thomas Taylor, K.C.M.G., suc-
ceeded Sir WiUiam H.Treacher, K.C.M.G., as
Resident-General of the Federated Malay
States on January 1, 1905, after having held
the acting appointment for four months. Sir
William Taylor, who was born in 1848, has had
a long and varied official career. His first ap-
pointment was that of Collector of Customs and
Excise, Larnaka, Cyprus, in 1879. Three years
later he became Chief Collector of Customs,
and subsequently Receiver-General and Chief
Collector of Customs and Excise. In 1895 he
was transferred to Ceylon, where he held the
position of Auditor-General and acted on four
occasions as Colonial ' Secretary. In June,
1901, he was appointed Colonial Secretary of
the Straits Settlements, assuming the duties of
that office in March of the following year.
From October 13, 1903, till the middle of the
following April he was Officer Administering
the Government and Acting High Commis-
sioner, Straits Settlements and Federated
Malay States, and shortly after relinquishing
these duties he acted as Resident-General for
the Federation. He was confirmed in that
appointment in January, 1905, and was made a
Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael
and St. George by his Britannic Majesty in
recognition of his services. From March 3
to June 7, 1906, he again undertook the duties
of Officer Administering the Government and
128
TWEXTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Acting High Commissioner, Straits Settlements
and Federated Malay States, and then returned
to those of Resident-General. Federated Malay
States, until his departure on leave early in
1907. Sir William, when in Kuala Lumpor,
resides at " Carcosa." During his absence
Mr. Edward Lewis Brockman, Federal Secre-
tary, holds the acting appointment.
Mr. E. L. Brockman. — On the retirement
of Mr. A. R. Venning the post of Federal
Secretary was bestowed on Mr. Edward Lewis
eluded those "of District Officer, Bukit
Mertajam ; Acting Collector of Land Revenue,
Singapore ; Collector of Land Revenue and
Officer in Charge of the Treasury, Malacca ;
Senior District Officer, Province Wellesley ;
Commissioner of the Court of Requests, Singa-
pore ; Acting First Magistrate and Inspector
of Prisons, Singapore ; and Acting Colonial
Secretary during the absence of Sir W. T.
Taylor. Mr. Brockman is acting as Resident-
General and resides at " Carcosa."
'■■^ZS-fy.
HON. MB. E. K. BROCKMAN.
(Acting Resident General, Federated Malay States.)
Brockman, formerly Assistant Colonial Secre-
tary and Clerk of Councils, Straits Settlements.
Mr. Brockman was appointed a cadet by the
Secretary of State in 1886, and when he joined
the Straits Settlements Civil Service he was
attached to the Colonial Secretary's Office.
His numerous subsequent appointments in-
Mr. Ernest Charteris Holford Wolff,
B.A. Oxon., was born in July, 1875, and
entered the service of the Pahang Government
in 1897. He became Secretary to the Resident
of Negri Sambilan in igoi, and in 1904 acted,
in addition, as chairman of the Sanitary Board,
Seremban, In the following year he served as
District Treasurer of Teluk Anson. In May,
1906, he was appointed Acting Assistant
Secretary to the Resident-General, and he is
now acting as Secretary to the Resident-
General. At the last annual prize meeting of
the Selangor Golf Club, Mr. Wolff \vcm the
championship, and subsequently carried off
the "Coronation Cup." He resides in Kuala
Lumpor.
PERAK STATE COUNCIL.
H.H. the Sultan.— The President of the
Perak State Council is his Highness the Sul-
tan, Raja Muda Idris Mersid-el-Aazam Shah,
G.C.M.G., a son of Raja Almarhoum Iskandar
Shah. He succeeded H.H. Raja Muda Yusuf,
who occupied the throne for a brief period in
1887, and was formally installed on April 5,
1889. When in 1901 H.R.H. the Duke of Corn-
wall and York visited Singapore, H.H. Sultan
Idris was one of those upon whom the Duke
conferred the honour of G.C.M.G. The SuUan
is the most enlightened native ruler in the
P'ederated Malay States. He is a Malay
scholar, and is one of the strongest supporters
of the cause of education in the country. Two
visits to England, the last on the occasion of
the King's Coronation, have helped to impress
upon him the truth of the three-word jewel,
" Knowledge is power," and he has shown
practical proof of his sincere regard for the
well-being of his subjects by the interest he
has taken in the Malay Residential School — a
school for the sons of rajas and native chiefs,
to the success of which he has in no small
degree contributed. One of his Highness's
sons has been educated there. His Highness
is of opinion that no boy should leave school
until he has at least passed the seventh
standard — a half-educated boy is worse than
useless. His Highness is also president of the
Committee for the Resuscitation of Malayan
Art Industries. The eldest son of the Sultan is
Raja Bendahara ; another son acts as A.D.C. to
his Highness, whilst a third is Raja Alang
Iskandar, now Assistant Commissioner of Police,
Kuala Lumpor. His Highness, who resides at
Kuala Kangsa, formerly occupied a palace built
by the Government, but he has now had two
palaces erected and lavishly furnished accord-
ing to his own wishes. He is a keen sports-
man and has several big-game reserves — one,
situated at Ulu Plus, is the home of elephants,
seladang, tiger, deer, and of innumerable smaller
varieties of game. A wealthy man, owning
considerable areas of mining land and house
property, his Highness knows how to use his
wealth freely and well, his benefactions being
large and guided by sound principles.
Mr. E. W. Birch, C.M.Q.— The seventh
British Resident of Perak, Mr. Ernest Wood-
ford Birch, C.M.G., is the eldest son of the first
Resident, James Wheler Woodford Birch. He
was born in Ceylon in April, 1857, and at ten
years of age was sent to England to reside
with his grandfather, the Rev. James W. Birch,
Vicar of All Saints, Hertford. Educated
successively at Hertford- Grammar School,
Sidney College, Bath, Elstree School, and
Harrow (Dr. Butler's house) until 1874, he then
went to Oxford and read with a private tutor
for twelve months with a view to entering the
University and afterwards the Indian Civil
Service. Both these schemes were frustrated
by the murder of his father at Pasir Salak, in
Perak, on November 2, 1875. In January,
1876, he was graciously allowed by H.M.'s
Government to enter the Colonial Office,
Downing Street, and worked there until 1878,
when he was appointed a cadet in the Civil
Service of the Straits Settlements. His educa-
tional qualifications were deemed high enough
to allow him to receive this appointment with-
out competition. Upon his arrival in Singapore
he was given a position in the Secretariat under
Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, G.C.M.G., who has
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
129
recently been called of the Privy Council, and
has always been a stavinch friend to Mr. Birch.
His previous experience in the Colonial Office
enabled Mr. Birch to be of special assistance in
the Secretariat, and he acted as secretary of an
important Commission on the Police Force,
held about 1880. In 1881 he had charge of the
Land Office at Malacca for a few months, but
in July he was recalled to take up a similar
appointment at Singapore. In May, 1882, he
was given the position of Acting Second
Assistant Colonial Secretary — an appointment
in which he was confirmed in the following
November, ten days after his marriage. He
was sent on a visit of inspection to the Cocos
Islands in 1885, and made the first official
report on them. Upon his return from fur-
revenue was greatly enhanced during his four
years' stay in the teiTitory. Probably as a
result of this success, Mr. Birch was in 1890
requested by Sir William Maxwell to investigate
the land system of the State of Hclangor, and
he made two reports upon it. For eight
months in 1892 he acted as British Resident of
Selangor, and in January, 1893, he was ap-
pointed Secretary to the Government of Perak.
He was instrumental in introducing a new land
and survey system into Perak and in urging
forward the Krian irrigation scheme, the work
of Mr. F. St. G. Caulfeild, I.S.O., Mr. J. Trump,
and Mr. R. O. N. Anderson. It was completed
in 1906, and has proved a brilliant success. In
May, 1894, Mr, Birch was granted furlough
leave, and he returned to duty in August, 1895.
from the other chiefs, was recognised by
them as the constitutional head of the Negri
Sambilaii. He succeeded in inducing new
capitalists, including Towkay Loke Yew, of
Selangor, and Towkay Yau Tet Shin, of Perak,
to assist in the developnjent of Negri Sambilan,
and during his short administration the State's
revenue grew from 552,000 to 1,085,000 dollars.
A new land and survey system was introduced,
and the public service was greatly strengthened.
In recognition of his valued services, Mr. Birch,
in 1900, had the honour of receiving from
Queen Victoria, at Windsor, the decoration of a
Companion of the Order of St. Michael and
St. George. He became principal representa-
tive of the British North Borneo Company and
Governor of Labuan in 1901, and during the
PERAK STATE COUNCIL.
I. Raja Chulan bin ex-Sultan Abdullah. 2. Mr. R. J. Wilki.\-son (Secretary to the Resident). 3. Hon. Mr. E W. Birch, CM G (British Resident),
4, Towkay Fog Choc Choon, 5. Mr, C, W, H, Cochrane (Assistant Secretary to the Resident, Clerk to the Council),
6. H,H, The Sultan of Perak, Sir Idris Mersiu-el-Aazam Shah. G.CM.G, (President), 7, Towkay Leoxg Fee, 8 Towkay Chung Thye Phin,
9. The Orang Kaya Kaya Sri Adika Raja Shahbandar Muda, Wan Muhambiad S.aleh, I,S,0, 10, Towkay Heah Swee Lee,
lough, in 1887, he reverted to his appointment
as Second Assistant Colonial Secretary, and he
sat upon the Commission appointed to inquire
into the circumstances leading to the murder-
ous attack on Mr. W. A, Pickering, C.M.G,, the
■then Protector of Chinese. The outrage was
traced to the machinations of Chinese secret
societies, and they were suppressed with a
strong hand. In January, 1888, Mr. Birch was
sent to Malacca in the dual capacity of Magis-
trate and Collector of Land Revenue to carry out
the land policy of the late Sir William Maxwell,
K.C.M.G., and to establish the customary
tenure. District offices were established under
Mr. Birch at Alor Gajah and Jasin, and, in spite
of much opposition, he succeeded, by means
■of acquiring an intimate knowledge of the
people, in establishing the new system, and the
On the departure of Sir Frank Swettenham
on leave, almost immediately afterwards, Mr.
Birch was appointed to act as British Resident
of Perak. He called the first meeting of the
State Council, over which he presided, for
November 2, 189S, the twentieth anniversary
of his father's murder, and he reminded the
Sultan and the chiefs assembled of the day and
of the event. In June of the following year he
reverted to his substantive appointment as
Secretary to the Government, and in February,
1897, he went to Negri Sambilan to act as
British Resident in succession to the Hon. Mr,
Martin Lister, Upon Mr, Lister's death he
was confirmed in the appointment, and filled
the office until May, 1900. He arranged the
agreement by which the Yang-di-Pertuan of
Sri Menanti, who had lon.g been estranged
two years and eight months that he served in
Borneo he worked arduously for the welfare of
the country. He travelled over the whole terri-
tory, introduced numerous settlers, built a new-
town at Jessetton, and converted the country
from laudessness to peace. He returned to
England in December, 1903, and in Febi'uary,
1904, was appointed British Resident of Perak,
an office which he still holds. Mr. Birch mar-
ried, in 1882, Margaret, eldest daughter of Mr.
Lawrence Niven, then director of the Botanical
Gardens, Singapore, They have had a familv
of two sons and four daughters, but in 1890
they had the inexpi-essible sorrow of losing
their eldest son by drowning at Tanjong Kling,
Malacca, when he was only seven years of age.
Their other son, Patrick, is now reading in
London for the Indian Civil Service, while
130
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
their eldest daughter assists her mother in
doing the honours of the Residency at Taiping.
Mr. Birch has always been a keen sportsman.
Upon the day of his arrival in Singapore he
was asked to consider himself an honorary life
member of the Singapore Cricket Club, a com-
pliment that was paid in recognition of his
father's services to the institution. He served
on the committee of the club during most of
the time that he was in Singapore, and for ten
years he was a member of the cricket XI.,
captaining the team in most matches. He
visited Hongkong as one of Mr. F. V. Hornby's
XI., and captained the Straits XI. which
defeated both the Ceylon and Hongkong teams
at the Singapore Carnival in 1890-91. In the
Federated Malay States he has continued to
follow the game, and he is captain of the Perak
XI. Formerly he was a devotee of tennis,
and retained the first championship cup after
winning it four times in succession at Singa-
pore. When a light-weight he " coxed " many
" fours " for Singapore regattas, and he has
several cups to remind him of his rowing days.
The quaintest race was when he "coxed" a
•' four " against eight Malay women paddling
in the Straits of Johore for prizes presented by
the late Sultan of Johore, who was a delighted
spectator. For many years he was secretary of
the Singapore Turf Club, and was presented
with a gold watch and chain on his twenty-
eighth birthday in recognition of his services
in that capacity. He is now president of
the Perak Turf Club and of the Ipoh Golf
Club, and is a member of the committee
of the Straits Racing Association. He is
fond of shooting, but though of late he has
not been able to devote much time to it, he
had an unusual experience with the gun in
1893, when he and Mr. Frederick Weld made
what is believed to be a record snipe bag for
two guns by bagging 190J couple at Krian.
Lately Mr. Birch has taken to motoring, and
he was elected first president of Ihe Perak
Motor Union. His wife is president of the
Perak Ladies' Rifle Club and of the local
branch of the Church Work Association. She
shares in the fullest degree her husband's
popularity. At the recent Ladies' " Bisley " at
Taiping, Miss Birch, a novice with the rifle,
won a cup at the 100 yards range by making
33 out of a possible 35, with a score of five
bulls and two inners.
Mr. R. J. Wilkinson, Acting Secretary
to the Resident of Perak, is cx-officio a mem-
ber of the State Council. A brief biography
of Mr. Wilkinson will be found under the
article contributed by him on " Malay Litera-
ture."
The Raja Aluda.— The office of Raja Muda
remains vacant.
The Raja Bendahara is Raja Abdul Jalil,
the eldest son of H.H. the Sultan of Perak.
He is heir presumptive to the throne, in the
event of the office of Raja Muda not being
filled. He resides at Kuala Kangsa.
Raja Chilian, the second son of H.H.
Sultan Abdullah (formerly Ruler of Perak),
was born in 1869 at Tanjong Brombang, near
the mouth of the Krian river. He was
educated at the Raffles Institution, Singapore,
and at the High School, Malacca. Returning
to Perak in i8»6, he was attached to the Secre-
tariat at Kuala Kangsa. In 1889 he visited his
father at Mahe, in the Seychelles Islands, and
travelled also through Mauritius and Bourbon.
Upon his return to Perak in i8go he became
Settlement Officer at Batu Kuran, Larut. He
was transferred to Parit Buntar, Krian, in 1894,
and afterwards to Kinta ; in 1896 he became
Acting Collector of Land Revenue at Kuala
Kangsa, and subsequently Acting District
Officer at Selama, in the Matang District. At
Singapore, in 1901, he had the honour of being
presented to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, and
in 1902 he accompanied H.H. the Sultan of
Perak to England to attend the Coronation,
receiving the Coronation medal. On his re-
turn in the same year he was appointed
District Officer in Upper Perak ; in 1905, on
account of his intimate acquaintance with the
people of that State, he was made Assistant
District Officer in Krian. He is now respon-
sible for the local administration of a district
extending over 240 square miles, with a popu-
lation of 51,000. In 1906 he accompanied the
late Raja Muda of Perak to Singapore to meet
H.R.H. Prince Arthur of Connaught. Raja
Chulan is a Visitor to the Prison and Hospital,
Vice-Chairman of the Krian Sanitary Board, a
member of all Perak clubs, and vice-president
of Krian Club. In 1900 he married Raja
Puteh Kamariah, eldest daughter of Raja Per-
maisuri, wife of H.H. the Sultan of Perak. He
has one son, Raja Zaimul Aznam Shah. His
official residence is at Parit Buntar.
The Raja Ngah Abubakar is a son-in-
law of the Sultan, and in addition to being a
member of the State Council acts as Malay
Magistrate for the Lenggong District.
The Orang Kaya Mentri Paduka Tuan,
Wan Muhammad Isa bin Ibrahim, was born
in 1866, and in i8go was appointed Penghulu
of Bukit Gantang. He became Orang Kaya
Mentri and member of the State Council in
1896, and three years later was appointed
Superintendent of Penghulus at Larut. In
1892 he acted as Officer in Charge of Selama,
and in the following year became Malay
Magistrate of that district.
The Orang Kaya Kaya Sri Adika Raja,
Wan Muhammad Saleh, I.S.O., born in 1861,
entered the service of the Perak Government
at the age of twenty as a Malay writer. In
1892 he was made Orang Kaya Kaya Adika
Raja. He was for a time Superintendent of
Penghulus in the Ulu Kuala Kangsa District,
and towards the end of 1902 he was appointed
Assistant Collector of Land Revenue. Kuala
Kangsa. He is a member of the Committee
for the Resuscitation of Malayan Art Indus-
tries and has a seat on the Kuala Kangsa
Sanitary Board.
The Orang Kaya Kaya Laksamana,
Inche Hussein, another member of the State
Council, represents the Malays of the Teluk
Anson and Ipoh districts.
The Orang Kaya Kaya Stia Bijava di
Raja, Juragan Abdul Shukor, who resides at
Kuala Kangsa, is at present the Malay Secre-
tary to H.H. the Sultan. In addition to occu-
pying a seat on the State Council he is a
member of the Kuala Kangsa Sanitary Board.
The Dato' Panglima Besar is Haji Abdul
Raof , who lives at Kuala Kangsa.
F. D. Osborne. — Mr. F. Douglas Osborne
is a member of the well-known firm of Osborne
& Chappel, of Ipoh, and a reference to his
career will be found in our Mining section.
Mr. Chung Thye Phin commenced his
public career at an early age, and is one of
the best known residents of the Chinese com-
munity of the Federated Malay States and
Pinang. Although quite a young man, Mr.
Thye Phin is a member of the Perak State
Council. He was born twenty-eight years ago
at Taiping, where his father, the late Captain
Chung Keng Kwi, the multi-millionaire, had
extensive mining interests. He is the fourth
son of a family of ten and was educated at St.
Xavier's College, Pinang. Having completed
his education, he was initiated into his father's
business, and had just attained his majority
when he was appointed a member of the Perak
State Council, on which he has been of great
service. Apart from this public appointment
he devotes much time to the public service in a
general way, taking an active interest in all
movements that conduce to communal welfare
and advancement. Mr, Chung Thye Phin is
owner of a large number of tin mines, includ-
ing a deep-shaft mine at Tronoh, adjoining the
famous mine of the same name, and the hy-
draulic mine at Batu Tugoh. Hi.s open-cast
mines are worked on the most modern system,
and to him belongs the credit of being one of
the first Chinese miners to introduce up-to-date
appliances on the mines, under supervision of a
European engineer. He has large interests in
some of the Government monopolies. Mr.
Thye Phin is an enthusiastic sportsman and
hab more than once won the blue ribbon of the
Straits turf, besides many lesser events. In
recent times he has taken to motoring, and
had the honour to drive T.R.H. the Duke and
Duchess of Connaught and Princess Patricia in
his car on the occasion of their recent visit to
Pinang. He is also a good billiard player.
Despite his many business concerns, Mr. Chung
Thye Phin evinces a lively interest in various
philanthropic works, foreign famine funds and
local charities equally benefiting from time to
time from his liberality.
Mr. Leong Fee, the Chinese Vice-Consul
at Pinang, is a member of the Perak State
Council. Born and educated in China, he left
his native land about thirty-two years ago and
came to Pinang, where he remained only six
months, migrating then to Ipoh in Perak. At
that time there were about sixteen compatriots
in the place, and the town itself consisted of a
few attap houses. No proper roads existed,
and stations were situated in the midst of a
dense jungle, provisions being very difficult to
obtain. Ipoh, at that time, could be reached
only by river through Teluk Anson, a seaport.
The river to this day is shallow and unnavi-
gable. Leong Fee started life as a clerk, and
later opened a small kedai. After a year in
business, he turned his attention to tin mining,
working at Ampang on a small scale and
obtaining good returns. Subsequently, in con-
junction with Mr. F. J. W. Dykes, he applied to
the Government of Perak for a concession of
land at Tambun for coffee cultivation. The
venture, however, did not succeed. When Mr.
Dykes entered the Government service, Mr.
Leong Fee purchased that gentleman's moiety
of the property, and, abandoning the coffee
project, prospected the land for tin. The results
obtained were beyond expectations. The pro-
perty, known as the Tambun Mine, comprises
some of the richest land in the State, and from
it Mr. Leong Fee has derived the immense
fortune of which he is the happy possessor.
-At first the land was worked on the Chinese
shaft system, but now it is operated in the open-
face style with modern machinery. Mr. H. F.
Nutter is the manager, and to-day the owners
of the Tambun Mine are Mr. Leong Fee
and his father-in-law, Mr. Cheah Choon
Sen. There are two CItiinese under-managers
— Messrs. Lim Cheng Chew and Geam Sam
Thean. The machinery is controlled by a
European engineer. Mr. Leong Fee was made
a member of the Perak Council in 1895 and
Chinese Vice-Consul for Pinang in 1902.
Whilst in England in igoi he was elected a
member of the Society for the Encouragement
of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce. He
owns many houses and gardens in Perak and
Pinang, and also many smaller mines. His
two large and beautiful residences in Pinang,
where he resides with his family, are built in
the latest European style, as shown in the
photograph which we reproduce elsewhere.
Mr. Foo Choo Choon, proprietor of the
Tronoh Mines and a member of the Perak
State Council, has had a remarkable career.
He is a scion of an ancient family, whose
ancestral home is in Choong Hang, Eng Teng,
Hokien, near Kwantung. His grandfather
emigrated to Pinang many years ago and was one
of the pioneers of the northern settlement. His
father was born in Pinang, but spent most of
his life in China. Mr. Foo Choo Choon was
born on July 30, i860, and at the age of thir-
teen came to Pinang to be educated. After-
wards he entered the employment of an uncle
who had extensive mining rights at Taiping,
and a few years later commenced business on
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
131
his own account. Subsequently tie removed
to Kinta, and settling down at Lahat, was soon
employing several thousand workmen. Ill-
health necessitated a visit to China, and on
returning to the Federated Malay States he
became connected with the Tronoh Mines
owing to the owners abandoning their work-
ings. He visited and examined the place
thoroughly, and subsequently obtained a sub-
lease of the land, upon which he decided to
install extensive modern plant. Although this
decision was not entertained favourably in
many quarters, the results achieved have since
testified to the wisdom of the proprietor. Mr.
Foo Choo Choon's acquisition of wealth has
been accompanied by many philanthropic acts.
On returning to China, during a famine, he
built and supplied several public granaries,
established schools in his native district, and
directed that the revenue from his property
there should be utilised in assisting the poorer
scholars. His generosity during the Shantung
famine was the means of bringing him to the
notice of the Chinese Government, and he
received the honorary title of magistrate, with
the additional privilege of wearing peacock
feathers. Further acts of generosity raised
him to the rank of Taotai, and, finally, to that
of Commissioner of the Salt Revenue. In the
Federated Malay States he has been recognised
always as one of the most advanced Chinese in
educational reform, and towards the movement
he has contributed largely by instituting and
maintaining many Chinese and English schools.
Mr. Foo Choo Choon is a naturalised British
subject, and is a Fellow of the Society of Arts of
England. In addition to the Tronoh Mines, he
is proprietor of the Selangor, Sungei Besi and
other mines, is a director of the Kledang Mines,
Ltd., of the Ipoh Foundry, Ltd., and of the
Tanglin Rubber Syndicate, besides owning
several estates. He employs some 10,000
coolies. He has always identified himself with
public afliairs in the Federated Malay States.
He is president for the Straits Settlements and
Federated Malay States of the Chinese Board
of Education ; of the Perak Mining and Plant-
ing Association, Kinta ; of the Pinang Anti-
Opium Society ; and of the Chinese Widows
and Orphans' Institution, Ipoh. Mr. Foo Choo
Choon is also a member of the State Council of
Perak and of the Chinese Advisory Board for
that State. He founded the Perak Mining and
Planting Association, the Chinese Maternity
Hospital and the Chinese Girls' School at Ipoh,
and the Mandarin School at Lahat. He is a
member of the committee of King Edward
VII. School, Taiping, and is a patron of the
Perak Anti-Opium Society. In igo6 H.I.M.
the Emperor of China, by special command,
ordered the ex- Viceroy Shum of Canton to con-
fer on Mr. Foo Choo Choon the Order of Merit
for his services to his country, and this decora-
tion, together with a gold medal, was sent from
China and presented by a special envoy. Mr.
Cheah Cheang Lim, his cousin, is Mr. Foo
Choo Choon's attorney, and, since 1894, has
managed his business affairs in the native
States.
Mr. Heah Swee Lee, member of the
Perak State Council, is the owner of the Jin
Heng rubber estate, in the Krian district.
Mr. Charles 'VV. H. Cochrane, Acting
Assistant Secretary to the British Resident of
Perak, is c^-officio Clerk to the State Council.
He came to Malaya as a cadet in 1899, and
fifteen months later was Acting Assistant
Secretary to the Resident-General. The fourth
son of the Rev. David Cochrane, of Etwall
Lodge, Derbyshire, he was born in 1876 at
Barrow-on-Trent, and educated at Repton
School and at Merton College, Oxford, where
in 1899 he graduated B.A. In September,
1904, he went to Kuala Kangsa as Acting
Assistant District Officer, and on his return
from long leave in June, 1907, took up his
present appointment. Mr. Cochrane played
football and cricket for his school and college,
and now devotes himself to cricket, golf, and
other games. He is a member of the Sports
Club and the Cigar Club.
SELANGOR STATE COUNCIL.
H.H. the Sultan.— The President of the
Selangor State Council is his Highness Alia
Idin Suleiman Shah, C.M.G., the Sultan of
Selangor. A son of the late Raja Muda Musa,
he was born on September 30, 1864. He
succeeded his grandfather, the late Sultan,
H.H. Sir Abdul Samad, K.C.M.G., and came
to the throne on February 17, 1898. He was
installed as Sultan in November, 1903. He was
educated in Malay, and is a man of enlighten-
ment. He married his cousin, H.H. Tengku
Mahrom, daughter of H.H. Tengku Udin, and
by her had two sons, Tengku Musa and Tengku
Bahdur Shah, who are now being educated at
the Victoria Institute, Kuala Lumpor. The
Sultan has a palace in Klang, provided by the
Government, but prefers to dwell in a private
house. His Highness's staff consists of — Secre-
tary, Inche .A.bdul Razak bin Haji Abdul Gani ;
Penggawa, Haji Ahmad bin Baba ; Maharaja
Hela, Haji Abdul Gani ; Shah Bandar, Haji
Ali ; Bantara Kiri, Mohamed Amin bin Wan
Mohamed Syed : and Bentara Kanan, Soloh
bin Wan Mohamed Syed.
The British Resident. —\\'hen Mr. H.
Conway Belfield, the British Resident of
Selangor, came to the Malay Slates in 1884,
Kuala Lumpor was mostly dense jungle, with a
brick house in the vicinity, attap buildings for
Government offices and courts, with a Chinese
vegetable garden on the site of the existing
cricket ground, and a town composed of a few
Chinese houses. The Acting British Resident
then was Mr. (now Sir) J. Rodger, the present
Governor of the Gold Coast, and Sir Frank
Swettenham the Acting Resident of Perak.
Mr. Belfield is the head of an old Devonshire
family, and was educated at Rugby and at
Oxford. He trained for the Bar, and in 1877
he passed his final examination and entered
the Inner Temple. His first appointments on
coming East were to the magisterial bench at
Kuala Lumpor and to the collectorship of
land revenue in the same town, and Inspector
of Schools for the whole State. In addition to
these duties he also acted as Chief Magistrate
and Judge of the High Court for the whole of
Selangor, and also Commissioner of Lands.
After six years' continuous residence in the
State he returned to England on leave, and on
returning to the native States he was appointed
Senior Magistrate, Perak. This was in i8gi,
and he held the position until the four States
were federated in 1896, when he was appointed
to the Federal office of Commissioner of Lands
and Mines. In the same year he became Chief
Examiner in the Malay language, and in 1897
filled the position of Acting British Resident,
Selangor. He occupied this post intermittently
for different periods til! April, 1901, when he
received the appointment of British Resident of
Negri Sambilan. Owing to his services being
required continually in Selangor, however, he
never assumed the duties. He was given his
present appointment whilst he was in England
on leave in 1902. Mr. Belfield visited Borneo
on a special mission for Government in 1905.
He has travelled extensively in the native
States, is the author of an excellent publication
on the country, and an authority on Malay
matters. He is a landowner and Justice of the
Peace in Devonshire, a keen all-round sports-
man, though unattracted by golf, and a member
of the Junior Carlton, Ranelagh, and Royal
Automobile Clubs.
Mr. Robert Campbell Grey, Secretary to
the Resident of Selangor, is at present acting as
British Resident of the Negri Sambilan. He
entered the service of the State of Perak in
1888 as a junior officer, and a year later was
appointed Assistant Magistrate of Kinta. After
having held other Government posts, he became,
in 1895, Assistant Secretary to the Government
of that State. In 1897 he was appointed
District Officer at Ulu Selangor, being subse-
quently transferred in the same capacity to
Kuala Kaupar in Perak. In 1902 Mr. Grey
acted as District Officer of Kinta, the chief
mining district of the Federated Malay States,
and in 1903 he was appointed Secretary to the
Resident of Selangor. Mr. Grey acted as Secre-
tary to the Resident of Perak in 1904, and for
a short time carried out the duties of British
Resident in addition to those of Secretary. After
having occupied his substantive post in Selangor
for some eighteen months, Mr. Grey was, in
November, igo6, appointed to act as British
Resident of the Negri Sambilan.
The Raja Muda, Raja Laut bin Sultan
Muhammed, son of the late Sultan Muhammed,
was at one time Penghulu of Kuala Lumpor
and a member of the Kuala Lumpor Sanitary
Board. He was made Raja Muda of Selangor
in 1903, and also a member of the State
Council. He resides in the capital, and is
greatly interested in the Malay agricultural
settlement there, being chairman of the com-
mittee of management.
Raja Haji Bot, another member of the
State Council, is a son of Raja Jamaat, ruler of
Lukot, and resides at Klang.
Raja Hassan. — Raja Hassan, a son of Raja
Abdullah, was born in Klang, and is the Peng-
hulu of the district. He is a member of the
Klang Sanitary Board and lakes great interest
in public matters.
Saiyid Mashhor bin Saiyid Muhammad,
another member of the Council, resides at Klang.
Mr. Qeorge Camming, of Kuala Lumpor,
is one of the best known and most popular
residents of Selangor. He came out to the
Federated Malay States in 1888, and his first
appointment was on Messrs. Hill & Rath-
borne's coffee plantation in the Negri Sambilan,
one of the pioneer plantations in the States.
Four years later he entered the service of the
Straits Trading Company in Kuala Lumpor, and
after remaining with them for four years he
commenced mining on his own account. At
present he owns two mines — one at Salak
South, near Sungei Besi, and the other at
Rawang. During the two years the former
mine has been worked considerable develop-
ments have been effected and excellent results
obtained. With 300 coolies employed, together
with a small hauling plant, the mine has been
proved to a depth of 140 feet ; but now that it
has turned out to be so extensive additional
capital is required, and Mr. Gumming intends
to float the concern as a limited liability com-
pany with a view to developing it on a large
scale. Up-to-date plant will then be introduced,
and the opinion is expressed by experts that
the mine will prove to be one of the richest in
that part of the country. About four years ago
Mr. Gumming was appointed to the Selangor
Council of State, being the first European
unofficial member to sit on that body. He is
also president of the Miners' Association. A
keen sportsman and the owner of several race-
horses, he was one of the founders of the Turf
Club, of which he is now vice-president.
Mr. Chan Sow Lin. -One of the pioneers
among the Chinese community in the State of
Selangor is Mr. Chan Sow Lin, a gentleman of
good birth, who, after being brought up in
China, came to the Malay States to seek his
fortune in the early -days of this country's
development. He arrived at Taiping, Perak,
m the year 1867, and entered the service of
Mr. Low Sam, the headman of Larut
district. At the end of a year he transferred
his services to Assam Kubang and was ap-
pointed overseer of the tin mines. A year
later he was recalled by his former employer
to act as overseer of his mines and take charge
132
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
of his various mining interests. He is the
founder of the Xai Chiang system, which
has been extensively adopted by other miners.
When the Si Yap and Chung Loong peoples
were waging war with each other, Mr. Chan
Sow Lin took up arms, and at one time, when
carrying a banner and leading liis men, he
was seriously wounded and carried to Pinang.
After Captain Speedy and the Chinese Pro-
was warmly thanked. In the various engage-
ments at which Mr. Chan was present he
showed himself a man of courage and deter-
mination. After peace had been established
by the intervention of the British, Mr. Chan
rejoined Mr. Low Sara, but a year later he
resigned and started mining on his own
account. At this time Mr. Chan had among
his many friends Mr. Loke Yew, then a rising
H.H. TUNGKU MUHAMAD, C.M.G.
(The Yang-di-Pertuan Besar of Negri Sambilan.J
lector from Singapore had established peace,
the belligerents prepared for war again,
and Mr. Chan arranged a dinner with the
object of bringing them to friendly terms. He
went personally to invite the opposing army,
but they refused to accept for fear that it was a
stratagem to entrap them. Mr. Chan there-
upon gave himself up as a hostage, and the
opposing forces took dinner together and
became friends. For this service Mr. Chan
man and to-day the most successful miner of
the Malay States, and with this gentleman he
was a partner in the General Farm for six
years. -At the end of that time Mr. Loke Yew
and himself moved to Kuala Lumpor, where
both are now resident, and took charge of the
General Farm there. They also engaged in
mining in Selangor and were very successful
in their enterprises. In 1893 Mr. Chan, carry-
ing on business under the chop "Tan Kee,"
leased mining lands at Mukim Serdang and
Sungei Besi from Towkay Loke Yew, and has
since been mining these lands for himself.
The mines are profitable, and are worked to a
depth of 100 feet with up-to-date machinery.
It is said that work will be continued to a depth
of 300 feet, where investigations by boring
have revealed a thick stratum of tin ores. Mr.
Chan leases from the Government mining
lands in the Simpah, Sungei Puteh, Kuala
Kubu, Setapak, Kepong, and Petaling districts,
working some of the mines himself and leasing
the remainder to other miners. Amongst his
various undertakings Mr. Chan Sow Lin
founded the engineering firm of Chan Sow Lin
& Co., Ltd., known as Chop Mee Lee, at present
carrying on business at Kuala Lumpor, and of
which he is managing director. This establish-
ment is remarkable for the fact that none but
Chinese engineers and workmen are employed,
the work they do comparing favourably with
that turned out by any similar European estab-
lishment. As will be seen from photographs
which we reproduce, the works are extensive
and well equipped. In 1906 the Emperor of
China instructed the Viceroy of Canton to send
a Special Commissioner on Education to the
Federated Malay States. This dignitary visited
all the engineering firms as well as the mines,
and when writing his report to the Viceroy of
Canton he highly commended Mr. Chan Sow
Lin for his enterprise in opening up such a
large engineering establishment, and passed
eulogistic remarks on the manner in which his
mines were worked. In recognition of Mr.
Chan's ability, the Viceroy sent him a special
decoration in the shape of a medal. Another
medal was given to Mr. Chan by his Excel-
lency Wong, Ambassador to England, for
charitable and other public work on behalf of
the Chinese. In the year 1902 Mr. Chan was
appointed as Chinese Member of the Selangor
State Council. He is also chairman of the
Selangor Anti-Opium Society, vice-president of
the Selangor Chinese Chamber of Commerce,
chairman of the Selangor Chuan Hoong
Chinese School, one of the trustees of the
Victoria Institution, and a member of the
Visiting Committee of the Selangor Gaol, the
Lunatic Asylum, and the General Hospital.
Mr. A. S. Jelf.— The Assistant Secretary
to the Resident of Selangor is Mr. Arthur
Selborne Jelf, who was born in 1876 and
graduated B.A. at Oxford University. He
entered the Federated Malay States Govern-
ment Service as a cadet in 1899, and became a
passed cadet in 1902. After acting as District
Officer at Kuala Langat he received his present
appointment in 1905, and acts as Clerk to the
State Council by virtue of his office.
NEGRI SAMBILAN STATE
COUNCIL.
His Highness Tunku Muhamad, C.M.G.,
bin al Merhom Tunku Antah, is the Yang-di-
Pertuan Besar of Negri Sambilan and the
hereditary suzerain of the confederation of
Negri Sambilan (Nine States). He lives in
the ancestral home at Sri Menanti, near Kuala
Pilah, and succeeded to his present position
when quite young. He cannot interfere in
the internal affairs of the separate States with-
out being requested to do so by the Undang
(Lawgivers), the chiefs of the States.
Mr. Douglas Qraliam Campbell, the
British Resident of Negri Sambilan, was born
in 1866, and in early life joined the service of
the Selangor Government as a second surveyor
in the Public Works Department. In 1885 he
passed into the Land Office, and from thence
was transferred to Rawang as Assistant Dis-
trict Officer. He filled at various times the
posts of District Officer at Kuala Langat, Ulu
Selangor, and Klang, and has also acted as
Secretary to the Selangor Government, as
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
133
Chairman to the Kuala Lumpor Sanitary
Board, as Commissioner of Lands and Mines,
and as British Resident of Selangor. In Feb-
ruary, 1904, he was appointed British Resident
of the Negri Sambilan, and has held that, sub-
stantive post ever since. In November, 1905, lie
went on a special mission to Brunei, returning
in the middle of the following January. He is
at present away on leave, and his duties are
being discharged by Mr. R. C. Grey, Secretary
to the Resident of Selangor.
Tunku Muda Chik, uncle of his Highness
the Yang-di-Pertuan Besar, lives at Sri Menanti,
where he has much influence.
Dato' Klana Petra, Mamur, chief of the
State of Sungei Ujong and one of the Undang
(Lawgivers) of the Negri Sambilan, is about
twenty-seven years of age. He succeeded to
his present position when a boy.
Dato' Bandar, of Sungei Ujong, Ahmad,
the present chief, is an old man of between
sixty and seventy. ' His title may be rendered
" Chief of the Town," and he is the head of
the " Waris di Ayer." (Water Claiis). Under
Malay rule this officer would have received all
the dues on the merchandise' that passed up or'
down the river Linggi, which flows through
Sungei Ujong.
Dato' Penghulu, of Jelebu, Abdullah, is
chief of the" ytate of Jelebu and one of the
Undang.
Dato' Johol, Wan Omar, is the elected
ruler of the State of Johol and one of the
Undang.
Tunku Besar, of Tampin, Tunku Dewa,
is the hereditary chief of the country near
Tampin.
Dato' Penghulu, of Rembau, Haji Sulong,
has been elective chief of the Rembau tribes
and one of the Undang of the Negri Sambilan
since 1905.
TAM YONG.
(A member of the State Council.)
Dato' Muda, of Linggi, Muhammad
Bastan, an old man, is a minor chief of the
district near the mouth of the Linggi. His
office in former times would have been to
collect the duty on tin which passed out by
the Linggi.
Mr. E. C. H. Wolff holds the substantive
appointment as Clerk of the Negri Sambilan
State Council, but is at present acting as
Assistant Secretary to the Resident-General.
A sketch of his career appears elsewhere.
Mr. E. B. Maundrell, Acting Clerk of the
Council, is a B..4. of Jesus College, Cambridge.
He entered the Negri Sambilan Civil Service
as cadet in 1903, and before taking up his
present position acted successively as Harbour
Master, Port Dickson, and as Assistant District
Officer in chapge of the coast area.
Towkay Tarn Yong.— The fact that Towkay
Tam Yong has for many years represented
Chinese interests in the State Council of the
Negri Sambilan testifies to the high esteem in
which he is held. A native of Canton, he came
to the Federated Malay States some thirty-
three years ago and joined a relative who
had already established himself in business
in that country. His father was a merchant
in the Kwangtung Province of China and
member of a well-known family in the Two
Kwang. During his early stay in the Negri
President of the State Council. A descendant
of the first ruler of Pahang of whom any record
is extant, Che' Wan Ahmad, as he then was,
successfully invaded Pahang in 1865, after
several abortive attempts to seize the country,
first from his brother and then from his
nephew. His rule was characterised by
oppressive taxation of the people and by the
merest travesty of justice, a man's licence
extending to the length of his purse. A
system of debt slavery prevailed, and the
general lot of the peasant was as unen-
viable a one as can well be conceived.
Towards the end of 1887, however, the curb-
chain of a Political and Commercial Treaty
was imposed upon this tyranny, and in the
following year a British Resident was ap-
pointed. To his credit be it said, it is upon
record that the Sultan has never failed to
R. C. GREY.
(Acting British Resident, Negri Sambilan.)
Sambilan, Mr. Tam Yong was very successful
as a merchant. Subsequently he purchased
land and planted it as a coffee estate. Later
on he became proprietor of a brick-kiln, and
undertook several important Government con-
tracts, amongst which was the building of. the
gaol at Seremban. Mr. Tam Yong,' whose
home is in Seremban, became a member- of
the State Council in 1898, and at present is
the only Chinese member of that body. Most
of his business concerns now are in the Negri
Sambilan. He has six sons and six daugliters.
His eldest son was educated in Singapore.
PAHANG STATE COUNCIL.
The Sultan of Pahang. — His Highness
Sir Ahmad Maathan Shah Kbini al Merhum
Ali, K.C.M.G., the present Sultan, is cx-officio
recognise his treaty obligations. His High-
ness, who resides in Pekan, is now well
advanced in years, and his eldest son acts, in
a sense, as his regent, travelling about the
country in his stead. His Highness was in
the. prime of his, life a very keen sportsman,
and even now shoots occasionally.
The British Resident.— Mr. Cecil Wray,
the British Resident of Pahang, who was born
on August 18, 1850, is the eldest son of the
late Mr. Leonard Wray and a brother of Mr.
Leonard Wray, I.S.O., Federal Director of
Museums. In August, 1894, he married Ethel
Maud,' eldest daughter of the late Rev. Richard
Baxendale. Educated at a private school, Mr.
Wray entered the Public Works Department,
Perak, in 1881, as an inspector, and since that
date has filled many positions, chief amongst
them being those of Collector and Magistrate,
Batang Padang and Krian ; Acting Collector
134
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
and Magistrate,- Kinta ; Acting District Magis-
trate, Lower Perali and Kinta ; Acting Senior
Magistrate, Perali, and Ctiief Magistrate,
Selangor. In 1903 lie became District Officer,
Kinta, and in Marcti of tlie following year was
appointed to act as British Resident of Pahaiig.
In this position he was confirmed in September,
1904. He resides at Kuala Lipis. Mr. Wray,
who is well known as an authority upon the
geology and mineralogy of the Federated Malay
States, is a Fellow of the Geological Society,
portions of the State in that capacity. He is
fond of shooting, is a keen naturalist, and
adds a knowledge of photography to his other
accomplishments. He lives at Pekan.
The Tungku Muda. — The second son of
the Sultan — Tunku Ali bin Sultan Ahmad, the
Tungku Muda — also has a seat on the State
Council. He resides at Pekan.
The Ungku Muda, Che' Wan Mansor bin
Bendahara Ali, who lives in Pekan, is a younger
half-brother of the Sultan.
SIB W. H. HYNDMAN JONES.
(Chief Justice.)
and is also a member of the Royal Photographic
Society and a Fellow of the Anthropological
Institute.
The Tungku Besar is Tungku ' Mahmud
bin Sultan Ahmad, C.M.G., who, as his name
implies, is a son of the reigning Sultan of
Pahang. He married Miriam, Tungku Puan
Besar, a daughter of the late and a sister of
the present Sultan of Johore. He is a man of
some education and has travelled in England.
He acts as his father's regent, visiting outlying
Other Members. — The rejnaining mem-
bers of the State Council of Pahang are Wan
Muhammad bin Wan Idris, the Dato' Maha-
raja Perba Jelai, who lives at Bukit Kola ;
Haji Abdul Halim bin Jaafar, the Imam Prang
Indera Mahkota, who resides at Pekan ; Che'
Usuf bin Che' Tukang, the Imam Prang Indera
Stia Raja, of Pulau Tawar ; Saiyid Ali al Jofri,
the Ungku Andak (Tuan Mandak) of Pekan ;
and Husein bin Jedin, the Dato' Shah Bandar,
also of Pekan.
LEGAL AND JUDICIAL.
STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.
Sir W. H. Hyndman Jones, Chief Justice
of the Straits Settlements, is the son of the late
Mr. William Henry Jones, of Upper Norwood,
London, S.E., and Adriana Johanna, daughter
of the late Robert Sample, of Wavertree, Liver-
pool. He was born on August g, 1847, and
was educated at Marlborough and at Trinity
College, Cambridge, where he took the degree
of LL.B. Called to the Bar (Lincoln's Inn) in
1878. he was sent two years later to inquire
into th;; administration and working of the Bar-
badoes police force, and in the following year
was made Acting Judge of the Barbadoes Court
of Appeal. He next became Magistrate of the
first district, St. Lucia, and a member of the
Legislative Council of the Windward Islands.
In the following year Sir William was chosen
as a delegate to the West Indian Telegraph
Conference, and in 1883 he was successively
Chief Justice of St. Lucia and Tobago and
Acting Attorney-General and member of the
Executive Council. Between 1887 and 1896
he was Resident Magistrate of Westmoreland,
Jamaica, St. Thomas Key East, St. Catherine, and
the city and parish of Kingston ; Acting Puisne
Judge, Acting Attorney-General and member
of the Executive Council, and Supernumerary
Resident Magistrate for Jamaica. In 1896 he
was transferred to the Straits Settlements as a
Puisne Judge, and in 1903 he became Acting
Judicial Commissioner for the Federated Malay
States, in which ofBce he was confirmed a year
later. Appointed Chief Judicial Commissioner
on January i, 1906, he was promoted in August
of the same year to the Chief Justiceship, a
knighthood being conferred upon him in the
following November. Sir William is a mem-
ber of the Albemarle Club, London, and a
Fellow of the Colonial Institute. He married,
in 1882, Florence Mary Elizabeth, daughter of
William Jones, of Liverpool.
Mr. Justice Swinford Leslie Thornton
has been the senior Puisne Judge of the Straits
Setllements, resident at Pinang, since igo6.
Born on April 17, 1853, he was educated at
King's School, Canterbury, and at Lincoln
College, Oxford, where he graduated B.A. He
was called to the Bar in i886, and was admitted
to the Bar of the Straits Settlements during
the same year. In 1887 he received the
appointment of Commissioner of the Court of
Requests and Collector of Stamps at Malacca,
and in the following year temporarily acted as
Senior Magistrate at Singapore. He was
Registrar of the Supreme Court and Magis-
trate at Malacca in 1892, and two years later
was transferred from the Straits Settlements
to the West Indies as Attorney-General of St.
Vincent. From 1894 to 1901 he was succes-
sively Acting Administrator, St. Vincent ; Acting
Chief Justice, St. Vincent ; Resident Magistrate,
Jamaica, and Acting Puisne Judge, Jamaica.
He returned to the Straits Settlements as Puisne
Judge in 1904.
Mr. Justice W. 'W. Fisher, Puisne Judge,
is the son of Mr. William Richard Fisher,
barrister-at-law, and Amelia Mary, daughter of
Richard Woodhouse, an East India merchant.
He was born February, 1855, in London,
educated at Harrow, and called to the Bar
at Lincoln's Inn in November, 1877. In 1885
he was appointed Acting Crown Counsel on
the North Circuit in Ceylon, where he succes-
sively held the posts of Acting District Judge^
Matara ; Acting Crown Counsel, Kandy ;
Crown Counsel, North West Province ; sec-
retary to the committee appointed to draft the
Code of Civil Procedure, and Additional Crown
Counsel, North Circuit. In 1891 he was made
President of the District Court of Kyrenia,
Cyprus, and in 1894 became -Acting Puisne
Judge there. In 1895 he was transferred to
a resident magistrateship in Jamaica, and in
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
135
MR. JUSTICE WM. WOODHOUSB
FISHER.
(Puisne Judge.)
1905 came to the Straits Settlements as Puisne
Judge. He is a member of the Reform Club,
London, and of the Garrison Golf Club and
Tanglin Club, Singapore.
Mr. Justice Thomas Sercombe Smith
was appointed a Puisne Judge in 1907. Pre-
vious to that he was for many years in the
Hongkong Civil Service, amongst the positions
he occupied being those of Puisne Judge, Police
Magistrate, Colonial Treasurer, and Acting
Colonial Secretary. In 1874 he was secretary
to the Retrenchment Committee, and assisted
the Attorney-General in the Taipingshan
Arbitration,
Mr. Justice Braddell. — The junior Puisne
Judge, Mr. Thomas de Malton Lee Braddell,
received his appointment in June, 1907. He is
the son of Mr. Thomas Braddell, C.M.G.,
F.R.G.S., F.E.S.L., who married Ida Violet
Nassau, daughter of the late John Roberts
Kirby, J. P., of Esse.x. Born in Province Wel-
lesley on November 25, 1856, he received his
education at Brighton College and at Wor-
cester College, Oxford, and in the Hilary
Term of 1879 was called to the Bar by the
Inner Temple. He came to Singapore in
November, 1879, and from that time down to
the date of his appointment to the Bench he
has practised at the Bar of the Straits Settle-
ments as a member of the firm of Messrs.
Braddell Bros., with the exception of a short
time in 1889 when he acted as Attorney-
General .
The Hon. Mr. W. J. Napier.— A sketch
of the career of Mr. Napier, the Attorney-
General, appears in the Legislative Council
section.
Mr. Percy Julian Sproule, Deputy Public
Prosecutor at Singapore, is the son of Mr. J. H.
FRANKLYN ROBINSON.
(Police Magistrate, Malacca.)
See p. 136.
P. J. SPROULE.
(Deputy Public Prosecutor.)
Sproule, proctor, of Kandy, and was born on
December 4, 1873, at Badulla, Ceylon. While
at St. Thomas's College, Colombo, he won
the Government Scholarship of ^^200 a year for
three years tenable at an English University.
Proceeding to Pembroke College, Cambridge,
he took the B.A. degree in 1894, and in the
following year was called to the Bar (Middle
Temple). In November he entered the Straits
Settlements Civil Service as a cadet. He has
been Deputy Registrar and Assistant Registrar
of the Supreme Court at Pinang, and Acting
Second Magistrate at Singapore. In 1905 he
became Acting Deputy Public Prosecutor, being
confirmed in the appointment in the following
year. Mr. Sproule is an enthusiastic Freemason,
and last year held the position of District Grand
Secretary for the Eastern Archipelago as well
as being Master of St. George's Lodge, Singa-
pore (1152).
Mr. William Qeorge Maxwell, the Soli-
citor-General, was born in 1871, and entered the
service of the Perak Government as a junior
officer in 1891. Since that time he has been
.Assistant District Magistrate and Registrar of
Courts, Kinta ; Acting Assistant Secretarv to
W. C. MICHBLL.
(Senior Magistrate.)
See p. 136.
the Government of Perak ; .Acting Collector of
Land Revenue, Larut ; Registrar of Titles and
Warden of Mines, Perak, North, and Acting
Senior Magistrate, Selangor, Negri Sam-
bilan, and Perak. In 1904 he was transferred
to the Civil Service of the Straits Settlements,
and has been Acting Commissioner of the Court
of Requests, Singapore, and District Officer of
the Dindings. He received his present appoint-
ment in 1906.
Mr. Charles Eugene Velge, Registrar of
the Supreme Court at Singapore, is the son of
Jlr. John Henry Velge, and was born at
Malacca on September 21, 1846. He received
his education at King's College, London, and
became a barrister of the Middle Temple.
C. E. VELGE.
(Registrar.)
136
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Appointed Deputy Registrar of the Supreme
Court in June, 1874, he became Registrar in
May of the following year. He is a member of
the Singapore Club and of the Junior Consti-
tulional Club, London.
Mr. J. O. Anthonisz is the First Magistrate
at Singapore. He was born on January 15,
i860, and after graduating B.A. at Cambridge
University, entered the Straits Settlements Civil
Service as a cadet in 1883. Having spent some
months in Madras for the purpose of studying
Tamil, he became Assistant Emigration Agent
and subsequently Third Magistrate at Singa-
pore. In 1892 he was promoted to class four
and was appointed Second Magistrate at Singa-
pore, and in 189S he acted as First Magistrate.
Two years later, upon elevation to class three,
he became Official Assignee and Registrar of
Deeds, and from 1892 he has held the follow-
ing positions : Acting Colonial Treasurer,
Straits Settlements, Acting Inspector of Prisons,
Straits Settlements, Commissioner of the Court
of Requests and President of the Singapore
Municipal Commission. He received the sub-
stantive appointment as First Magistrate at
Singapore in 1902.
Mr. W. C. Michell, Acting First Magis-
trate at Singapore, is a son of Mr. William
Marvick Michell, of the EngHsh Civil Service.
He was born on August 9, 1864, at Kensing-
ton, and after graduating B.A. at Merton
College, Oxford, in June,"i887, was appointed to
a cadetship in, the Straits Settlements Civil
Service, in which he has held the following
positions : Acting Collector and Magistrate,
Ulu Pahang ; District 'Officer, Balik Pulau ;
Acting District Officer, Dindings ; Deputy
Registrar of the Supi-eme Court, Pinang ;
Second Magistrate, Singapore ; Acting Second
Assistant Colonial Secretary ; Collector of
Land Revenue, Singapore ; Acting Senior
District Officer, Province Wellesley ; Official
Assignee, and Acting Commissioner, Court
of Requests. Mr. Michell is a member of
the Sports Club, London, and of all local clubs.
He is married and has one daughter.
Mr. L. E. P. Wolferstan.— The Acting
First Magistrate at Pinang is Mr. Littleton
Edward Pipe Wolferstan, M.A. Cantab., who
was born in 1866, and has been in the Straits
Settlements Civil Service since 1889. After
being attached to the Colonial Secretary's
Office, he acted successively as private secre-
tary to the Governor and as District Officer
at Bukit Mertajam and Balik Patau. In 1897 he
acted as Second Magistrate at Singapore, and
in 1900 became Sheriff and Deputy Regis-
trar of the Supreme Court. The principal
positions he has held subsequently are Secre-
tar5' to the High Commissioners, Federated
Malay States, and Senior District Officer,
Province Wellesley.
Mr.pranklyn 5. Robinson holds quite a
multiplicity of official appointments in Malacca,
being Chief Magistrate, Deputy Registrar of the
Supreme Court, Sheriff, Commissioner of the
Court of Requests, Registrar of Christian and
Mahomedan Marriages and Chairman of the
Board of Licensing Justices. A son of Mr.
W. H. Robinson, now retired from commercial
business and living in Essex, Mr. F. Robinson
was born on December g, 1878, at Sunderland,
Durham, and received his education at the
North-eastern County School, Barnard Castle,
and at Durham University. He passed the
Eastern cadetship examination in 1902, and
was - appointed to . the' Straits Settlements
service. In the first place Mr. Robinson was
attached to the Land' Office in Malacca, where
he also served as head of the Malay College
and Demarcation Officer. Before receiving his
present appointments he also acted as Superin-
tendent of Educatioii' at Pinang and District
Officer at Jasih. . Mr. , Robinson is a member
of the Oxford and Cambridge Union and of all
local clubs. His recreations are golf, tennis,
and cricket.
FEDERATED MALAY STATES.
Mr. Justice Law. — The Hon. Mr. A.
Fitzgerald Law, M.A.; now on leave, has held
the office of Chief Judicial Commissioner of the
Federated Malay States since August, igo6. He
had a long and varied .experience in Cyprus,
where he was latterly Queen's Advocate,
and in the Straits Settlements, to . which
he came as Puisne Judge in'j893.' He was
the senior Puisne Judge stationed at Pinang
in 1901, and in the same year acted as Chief
Justice of the Straits Settlements. In T894
he was appointed to conduct a special in-
quiry in Perak, and received the thanks of
the Secretary of State for his services. Born
in 1853, Mr. Law graduated at Oriel College,
Oxford, and was called to the Bar by the Inner
Temple in 1879. One of his chief amusements
is golf ; in former days he was a well-known
Rugby footljaller. He is a member of the
Oxford and Cambridge Club and of several local
clubs.
Mr. Justice Innes. — The senior Judicial
Commissioner of the Federated Malay States is
the Hon. Mr. John Robert Innes, who was born
on September 4, 1863, and was educated at
Edinburgh and Brussels Universities. Subse-
quently he was admitted a barrister of Lincoln's
Inn, and in November, 1886, he entered the
Straits Settlements Civil Service as a cadet.
After passing an examination in Malay in 1889,
he became District Officer of South Malacca in
1890, and during the succeeding four years he
remained at Malacca, holding successively the
positions of Assistant Indian Immigration Agent
and Acting Collector of Land Revenue and
Magistrate. He came to Singapore, after passing
in Dutch, in 1894, ^^ Acting Collector of Land
Revenue, and he subsequently acted as Magis-
trate, Official Assignee and Registrar of Deeds,
Assistant Colonial Secretary, Collector of Land
Revenue and Officer in Charge of the Treasury,
Magistrate and-Deputy Registrar of the Supreme
Court (Malacca), Collector' of Land Revenue
(Pinang), Senior District Officer, Province
Wellesley, First Magistrate (Pinang), Inspector
of Prisons, Superintendent of Census, Deputy
Public Prosecutor (Singapore), and Secretary
to the Government of Perak. Just prior to
taking up his present position in 1906 he was
•appointed Acting Attorney-General, Singa-
pore.
Mr. Justice Woodward. — The junior
Judicial Commissioner for the Federated Malay
States is the Hon. Mr. Lionel Mabbott Wood-
ward, M.A., who has held the appointment
since the beginning of 1906. Mr. Woodward,
who is a barrister-at-law of the Inner Temple,
was educated at Harrow and at Trinity Col-
lege, Cambridge. He entered the Straits Settle-
ments Civil Service as a cadet in 1888, and in
the following year was appointed to assist the
Indian Immigration Agent at Pinang. After
holding several magisterial and other appoint-
ments in Singapore, Bukit Mertajam, Province
Wellesley, and Pinang, he became, in 1904,
Deputy Public Prosecutor, Singapore, and later
was detailed for special work in connection
with the Tanjong Pagar Arbitration as junior
counsel for the Straits Settlements Government.
Mr. Woodward is a good cricketer, and takes a
great interest in all other forms of sport, tennis
and golf especially. He resides in Ipoh, where
he has won much popularity. He is a member
of most of the local clubs and of the Consti-
tutional Club, London.
Mr. F. Belfield, M.A. Oxon., barrister-at-
law. Inner Temple, now Acting Chief Judicial
Commissioner for the Federated Malay States,
holds the substantive appointment of Legal
Adviser and Public Prosecutor. He entered the
Civil Service in 1891, and held the positions of
ActingTreasurer, Pahang ; Collector and Magis-
trate, Pekan,and Registrar of Mines for Pahang ;
Magistrate, Kuala Lumpor ; Collector of Land
Revenues, Kinta, and other appointments. The
first Federal office he held was that of Acting
Legal Adviser, in 1901. He was also for a
time Acting Commissioner of Lands and
Mines. Mr. Belfield is fifty-two years of age.
Mr. L. P. Ebden, Inspector of Prisons,
Straits - Settlements, and First Magistrate of
Pinang, is at present acting as Legal Ad-
viser and Public Prosecutor, Federated Malav
States.
Mr. H. J. Noel Wallcer.— The Registrar
of the Supreme Court is Mr. Henry James Noel
Walker, who was born in 1872 and came out
to Perak as a junior officer in 1898. On pass-
ing in Malay he was appointed Acting Secretary
to the Sanitary Board, Taiping, and from that
time till the end of 1902 held various offices in
the State, including those of Collector of Land
Revenue, Batang Padang ; Assistant District
Magistrate, Tanjong Malim, and Acting Assist-
ant District Magistrate, Gopeng.' In 1903 he
was Second Magistrate of Kuala Lumpor, and
towards the end of the same year was removed
to Perak as Acting Chief Assistant District
Officer, Kinta. In January, 1906, he was
appointed Registrar of the Supreme Court.
He is now acting as Assistant District Officer,
Kinta, and resides at Ipoh.
Mr. R. D. Acton.— The Acting Assistant
Registrar of the Supreme Court, Federated
Malay States, Mr. Roger David Acton, is
a son of Mr. W. R. Acton, of Worcester-
shire, and was born in March, 1874,
at Oscott. He was educated at University
College, London, and entered the service of
the Selangor Government in 1806. Two years
later he passed in Malay, and became Acting
Assistant District Officer, Kuala Kubu, and in
1899 he qualified in law. He was afterwards
appointed successively Acting District Officer of
Jelebu ; Acting Collector of Land Revenue,
Lower Perak ; Assistant Secretary to the
Resident, Perak ; Acting Assistant District
Officer, Gopeng ; and Acting Registrar of Courts,
Kinta. Under the Federal Government he was
appointed first to the post of Acting Assistant
Registrar at Ipoh, and then, in March, 1906, to
his present position.
^==ia_
.:2^~
.2:::='
-3^2i>.
STATE FINANCE
STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.
XCEPT for a consump-
tion-tax, on opium and
spirits, ttie Straits Settle-
ments are entirely free
from taxation. On Jan.
I, 1-907, there was prac-
tically no public debt,
for up to that date all
capital expenditure on
public works, including the Singapore and
Malacca Railway, had.been paid out of current
revenue. The only sum which the Straits
Settlements Government owed was 600,000
dollars, borrowed from the F'ederated Malay
States Government for the Pinang pier ex-
tension in 1903-4, and after making provision
for this there remained a credit balance of
3,206,750 dollars. In the early part of 1907,
however, the Legislative Council authorised
the raising of a loan of £^7,86:, 457 in connec-
tion with the harbour improvement scheme
(Tanjong Pagar Dock Expropriation and re-
clamation works). Of this sum £6,363,600
will be spent on works which, according to
a Government paper published at the time,
will be of a revenue-producing character,
whilst the expenditure of ;^i,264,ooo on the
Teluk Ayer moles and quays will yield a
large return from the sale of reclaimed lands,
besides earning revenue. It is estimated that
this will in time repay the capital cost of the
work. The charges for three-fourths of the
loan will fall on the Tanjong Pagar Board
and the Singapore and Pinang municipalities,
for whom the Government make themselves
responsible.
Table A.
Heads of Revenue.
Land and other rents ...
Opium and spirit revenue
Interest ...
Railway receipts
Stamps, Post Office, and fees
Harbour receipts
Sales of land, &c
Sundry receipts
Total
#294,180
3,3i7,69«
120,017
nil
93S,8lo
199,552
4,838
424,462
$5,386,557
1311,895
4,809,551
"9.574
nil
994,190
220,478
185,117
400,881
$7,041,686
#325,678
4,873,670
137,085
559
1,283,602
233,975
348,663
551,501
»7,754,733
$382,648
4,856,161
173,372
135,485
1,328,586
262,922
308,439
510,883
#7,958,496
1396,528
7,820,192
200,832
194,716
1,328,666
277.558
22,486
505,539
1392,328
6,865,397
181,457
201,777
1,253,987
273,919
1,452,606
1,035,953
110,746,517 I #11,657,424
1906.
$417,741
6,650,558
99,392
196,683
1,356,135
276,019
106,181
529,235
#9,631,944
Table B.
He.\ds of Expenditure.
Charges on account of the Public Debt
Pensions
Personal Emoluments
Other Civil Service charges
Charitable allowances ...
Transport ...
Exchange
Interest
Miscellaneous services
Military expenditure
Expenses under the Volunteer Ordinance
Native States
Land and houses purchased
Special expenses ...
Public works, annually recurrent
Roads, streets, bridges and canals, annually recarren
Public works, special services
Roads, streets, bridges and canals, special services
Total
#272,215
2,062,239
1,036,474
13,806
9,983
77,948
90,904
1,283,109
51,028
598
283,001
87,667
142,030
195,898
1,523,065
185,034
#7,315,001
1902.
1903-
1904.
#6,000
#12,000
#316,017
313,421
313,845
2,321,665
2,488,697
2,561,363
1,283,939
1,546,522
1,879,942
15,413
16,428
12,807
15,201
19,262
14,518
116,027
70,558
68,616
87,866
155,086
232,93 I
1,383,830
1,502,616
2,367,354
81,392
53,805
54.747
719
749
iSo
11,870
544,375
156,552
108,182
5,715
4,945
144,212
158,348
162,178
199,801
182,262
379,597
1,247,138
905,252
2,443,261
267,462
216,856
184,153
#7,600,734 _
18,185,952
#10,848,989
1906.
#24,000
338,640
2,602,635
1,707,773
11,714
10,487
107,547
187,527
1,923,995
61,515
20
300,795
750,570
171,009
385,265
2, 157,938
235,095
$24,000
326,358
2,586,195
1,864,596
11,532
14,646
20,225
5,634
181,829
1,763,488
47,984
5,820
108,196
200,243
377,783
983,585
225,706
#10,976,525 #8,747,820
138
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
REVENUE.
Seventy per cent, of the total revenue of ttie
Straits Settlements is derived from the opium
and spirit farmers, to whom is let the sole
right to import opium and collect the duty
on all spirituous liquors sold in the colony.
that in the revenue for that year 1,414,218
dollars was included for the sale of the Malacca
Railway to the Federated Malay States Govern-
ment, there would have been a large decrease
as compared with the return for the preceding
twelve months. At the same time it must be
borne in mind that the revenue for 1904 was
MB. E. C. HILL.
(Auditor General, S.S.)
HON. MB. A. T. BEYANT. J. O. ANTHONISZ.
(Colonial Treasurer, S.S.) (Acting Colonial Treasurer, S.S.)
The remaining 30 per cent, is yielded by land
rents and sales, by the Post Office, by stamp
fees, by light dues paid by shipping, by the
Singapore and Kranji Railway, by interest
on investments, and by pawnbroking licences.
From 1900 the revenue increased every year
up to and including 1905, but had it not been
unduly inflated because a new firm obtained
the opium and spirit farms at a figure which
was roughly 3,000,000 dollars a year in excess
of the price paid by their predecessors. The
new syndicate lost heavily on this transaction,
and the Government had to make concessions
which caused a reduction of 1,000,000 dollars
in the opium and spirit revenue in 1905 as
compared with 1904, and of 200,000 dollars
in 1906 as compared with 1905.
The revenue for the seven years 1900 to 1906
is shown in Table A.
Compared with the return for 1905, there
were increases in 1906 under the headings
stamps, posts and telegraphs, port and har-
bour dues, office fees, and rents and land
revenue amounting to 305,576 dollars, and de-
creases under the headings land sales (due to
the sale of the Malacca Railway in 1905),
reimbursements, licences (opium and spirit),
interest, and district collections, totalling
2,344,687 dollars.
EXPENDITURE.
The chief items of expenditure relate to the
Civil Service, Military Forces, and Public
Works. The expenditure has increased each
year from 1900 until 1906, when, however,
there was a reduction of 2,228,706 dollars as
compared with the preceding twelve months.
The saving was effected in connection with
public works (special services), special ex-
penses, the purchase of land and houses,
military forces, and interest. Public works
(special services) alone were responsible for
a reduction of 1,174,353 dollars. In Table B
is shown the expenditure for the seven years
1900 to 1906.
The percentage of revenue and expenditure
in respect of the three settlements of the
colony during 1906 was as follows :
Singapore
Pinang
Malacca
Revenue.
62 per cent.
30
7i »
Expenditure.
61 per cent.
24
6 „
Eight per cent, of the expenditure went to the
Crown Agents, and ij per cent, of the revenue
came from them. It is worthy of note that,
taking the average of the last seven years,
personal emoluments amount to 27-1 per cent,
of the total expenditure, a figure which com-
pares favourably with most of the other Crown
colonies.
CURRENCY.
The currency of the colony consists of the
Straits silver dollar, with silver fifty, twenty,
ten, and five-cent pieces, and copper one, half,
and quarter-cent pieces. Straits dollars and
fifty-cent pieces are legal tender up to any
amount, subsidiary silver coins up to two
dollars, and copper coins up to one dollar.
Gold is also legal tender without limit.
The average monthly circulation of coinage
during 1906 was estimated at 22,352,957 dollars.
Notes are issued by the Government for one,
five, ten, fifty, and one hundred dollars, and by
the Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and
China and the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank-
ing Corporation for five, ten, twenty-five, fifty,
and one hundred dollars. The average circu-
lation of Government currency notes during
1906 was 21,866,142 dollars and of bank-notes
1.329.052 dollars. A coin reserve in silver and
gold equal to at least half the note issue is
kept by the Government. The Hongkong and
Shanghai Banking Corporation is bound by
ordinance to retain specie to the extent of
one-third of the amount of the notes it issues,
and the Chartered Bank has to lodge coin or
securities with the Crown Agents or Trustees
equal to one-third of the maximum amount of
notes for the time being allocated to the Straits
Settlements.
It is unnecessary fully to detail the causes of
fluctuation of the exchange value of the Straits
dollar before it was fixed by Government in
1906 at 60 dollars for £^ sterling, but the
following table, showing the average rate of
exchange during the last thirty-five years,
emphasises the seriousness of the problem
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH IMALAYA
139
with which the Government were faced when
they considered the question of fixing the rate
of exchange : —
Average.
Average.
Year.
s. d.
Year,
s. d.
1870 .
■• 4 51
1888 ..
■ 3 li
187 1 .
••4 5
1889 .,
• 3 n
1872 .
.. 4 6
1890 ..
■■ 3 5i
1873 ■
•• 4 45
189I .
■ • 3 3
1874 .
•• 4 3i
1892 .
.. 2 I0|
1875 ■
•■ 4 15
1893 ..
■• 2 3|
1876 .
•■ 4 oi
1894 •■
.. 2 If
1877 .
•• 4 oj
1895 •
.. 2 14
1878 .
■ • 3 II
1896 .
.. 2 2J
1879 .
•■ 3 9J
1897 .
•■ I nil
1880 .
•• 3 9!
1898 .
•• I IItV
1881 .
•• 3 9l
1899 .
•• T Illf
1882 .
•• 3 9i
1900 .
.. 2 Of
Year.
1883
1884
1883
1886
1887
Average,
s. d.
H
5i
2S
Year.
I901
1902
1903
1904
1905
Average,
a. d.
I III
I 8J
I 9j
I 10
oi
The continued rise in the price of silver
during the first nine months of 1906 and the
consequent reduction of the margin between
the fixed value of the dollar and its intrinsic
value compelled the Government to take stock
of their position in September. The question
before them was whether the margin should
be provided by leaving the size and fineness of
the dollar as it was and raising its value to,
say, 2s. 6d., or by leaving tlie value as it was
fixed in January and debasing the dollar. In
view of the contracts entered into and the
debts incurred on a dollar fixed at 2s. 4d. so
recentlv as Januar}', and having regard to the
obligations of the Government towards then-
own servants, the Government had no hesi-
tation in adopting the bolder course of adhering
to the value fixed and of reducing the bullion
value. Preparations were accordingly made
for shipping the currency coin reserve for re-
minting before any decision had been arrived
at as to the weight and fineness of the new-
dollar, and for drawing in the existing dollars
from the banks by the issue of one-dollar notes.-
In addition to this it was considered expedient,
in view of a possible stringency of coin, to
make gold and the fifty-cent piece legal tender
without limit. It was also decided to extend
the legal tender of the one-dollar note from,
ten dollars to any amount.
FEDERATED MALAY STATES.
THE system of finance followed in the
Federated Malay States has been gradu-
ally evolved out of the peculiar constitutional
position of the territory and local necessities.
When the Residential system was first adopted,
amongst the special instructions given to the
Resident was an injunction "to initiate a sound
system of taxation with the consequent develop-
ment of the country and the supervision of
the collection of the revenue, so as to insure
the receipt of funds necessary to carry out
the principal engagements of the Government
and to pay for the cost of the British officers
and whatever establishments i-nay be necessary
to support them." This direction laid upon the
British officials a heavy task, and we have Sir
Frank Swettenham's testimony that their early
days were " a perpetual nightmare, a ceaseless
struggle to make bricks without straw." Their
most delicate and difficult duty was to persuade
the local chiefs that all revenue must be col-
lected by Government officials and paid into
the Government treasury. However, with
patience and firmness the desired end was
eventually reached, though at the outset there
were many heart-searchings amongst the class
who had hitherto controlled the mainsprings
of public money.
One of the earliest operations imdertaken
was the overhauling of the revenue arrange-
ments. Under Malay rule a number of vexatious
imposts had grown up which, besides being
politically and morally objectionable, were
comparatively speaking unproductive. These
were all abolished, and in tlieir place a regular
revenue system was established, very much on
the lines of that of the Straits Settlements. An
import duty was imposed on opium and spirits,
a farm of the right to open gambling-houses for
the Chinese in specified places was issued, and
licences for the opening of pawnbroking shops
were granted. But the backbone of the system
was an export duty on tin, jungle produce, and
salt fish. The fish duty was ultimately abolished,
but the tin duty continues to be the mainstay
of State finance, though it seems likely in the
near future that it may find a strong competitor
in rubber as a contributor to the Federated
States' resources.
Up to the time of federation each State
acted independently in financial as in other
matters. The revenue collected was spent in
defraying purely local charges, and the liabihties
of one State were no concern of its neighbour.
On the introduction of the federal principle a
new arrangement was made. The revenue of
each State was still collected separately, but
where the income of any State was not suffi-
ciently large to entirely defray the cost of its
own development, pecuniary assistance was
rendered by those in more prosperous circum-
stances. The Negri Sambilan and Pahang
have largely benefited under this system. They
have been able, particularly the last-named
State, to develop their resources with capital
advanced from the central exchequer. Gene-
rally the interests of the territory' as a whole
have been promoted by an arrangement like
this, which is based on the broad principle of
mutual help.
Simultaneously with the introduction of the
new system a Financial Commissioner was
appointed to supervise the whole machinery of
finance in the various States. There was also
a reorganisation of the Treasury and Audit
arrangements, greatly to the advantage of the
public interests. On the first introduction of
the Residential principle. Budgets were annually
submitted by the Residents to the Governor of
the Straits Settlements, whose sanction was
essential before any expenditure could be em-
barked upon. The arrangement is still in force,
and the practice is for the Governor to send
the financial statements he receives to the
Colonial Office for publication with the annual
reports as Parliamentary papers.
The effect of British control of the finances
of the States was very marked from the outset,
as the figures given in the historical section of
this work clearly indicate. The revenue was
more than doubled in the first five years, and it
had quintupled ten years after the introduction
of the Residential system. In the last financial
year for which returns are available (1906), the
revenue was sixty-six times as much as it was
in the first year for which returns are available,
while there was a surplus twelve times as large
as the entire revenue in 1875.
The existing financial position of the fede-
rated territory as disclosed in tl-ie report for
igo6 is one of remarkable prosperity. During
the year the total revenue collected was
27,223,475 dollars, an amount which was
3,674,807 dollars in excess of the estimate, and
3,258,882 dollars in excess of the revenue of
1905-
The revenue is made up as follows :
Federal receipts $6,506,160
Perak collections 10,572,076
Selangor collections ... 7,304,148
Negri Sambilan collections 2,279,957
Pahang collections ... 561,134
Total ... $27,223,475
The federal receipts include the revenue
derived from railways, forests, and posts,
telegraphs, and stamps. The federal receipts
are apportioned to the four States, the revenues
for the vear of which with this addition are :
Perak
Selangor
Negri Sambilan ...
Pahang
$14,282,484
9,803,184
2,487,090
650,717
Somewhat less than half the total revenue-
was derived from customs duties, which yielded
12,695,538 dollars, of which the export duty on
tin contributed 10,036,796 dollars. There was
an increase in customs receipts as compared
with 1905 of 967,230 dollars, the tin duty being
responsible for 787,169 dollars of this amount.
Land revenue (exclusive of land sales) pro-
duced 1,038,758 dollars, or about 150,000 dollars
more than in the previous year. Land sales
accounted for 373,956 dollars, virhich compares
with 191,307 dollars in 1905. The striking
increase is attributable to the remarkable de-
velopment of rubber cultivation in the period,
and to larger premia on mining leases.
Licences, excise and internal revenue, &c.,
contributed 4,709,898 dollars to the total,,
against 4,041,279 dollars in 1905. Municipal
revenue in the various States amounted to
733i309 dollars, an increase of 49,397 dollars-
Collections for port dues realised 22,213 dollars.
Under Federal Receipts, railways yielded
41778,633 dollars, an increase over the receipts
of 1905 of 734,965 dollars. Posts, telegraphs
and stamps brought in 437,486 dollars.
Turning to the other side of the account, we
find that the expenditure amounted to 18,899,425
dollars, a decrease as compared with 1905 of
1,850,970 dollars. It should be explained,
however, that in the expenditure of 1905 there
was included an exceptional sum of 1,349,505
dollars paid to the Government of the Straits
Settlements on account of the purchase by the
Federated Malay States of the Malacca-Tamfin
Railway, and that on the other hand there has to
be added to the ordinary expenditure of 1906 a
sum of 3,221,761 dollars expended on railway
construction in Johore for the account of the
Johore Government. With this last mentioned
amount the total expenditure on all services for
1906 amounts to 22,121,186 dollars. On account
of railways, exclusive of the Johore expenditure,
4,628,731 dollars was disbursed, 726,356 dollars
of this sum being on construction account.
Under Public Works a sum of 2,042,657 dollars-
was expended on works and buildings, 3,805,199
dollars on the construction and upkeep of
roads, streets, and bridges, and 149,763 dollars
on irrigation works. Altogether the expendi-
ture on public works and railways in the
Federated Malay States amounted to 11,296,394
dollars, or if the Johore contribution is included,
to 14,518,15s dollars.
The values of the surplus assets of the
several States of the Federation on January i,
1907, calculated on the basis of a 2s. 4d. dollar,
were : Perak, 14,722,258 dollars ; Selangor,
17,054,425 dollars, and Negri Sambilan,
1,311,048 dollars. From these amounts has to
be deducted the debt of the Pahang State,
amounting to 5,788,303 dollars. Allowing for
this, the value of the assets of the Federation on
the basis of a 2s. 4d. dollar is 27,299,428 dollars.
140
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Mr. A. T. Bryant is the Colonial Treasurer
of the Straits Settlements. A sketch of his
career appears under the heading Executive
Council.
Mr. E. C. H. Hill.— The biography of Mr.
Hill, the Auditor-Gttneial, appears in the
Executive Council section.
Mr. Joseph Leeman King, Assistant
Treasurer, received his appointment in iSgg.
Ten years previously he had come to the
colony as a European master at the Govern-
ment English School. In igop he was for
some time .Acting Auditor at Pinang.
The Assistant Treasurer, Pinang, Mr.
Oeorge Copley, was appointed by his Ex-
cellency the Governor in 1903, having pre-
viously occupied the post of Secretary to the
Municipality of Malacca.
Mr. William Alfred Bicknell was born
in 1859, and at the age of nineteen was
nominated by the late Mr. Matthew Arnold for
•educational work in the Straits Settlements.
In the year following he was appointed an
assistant in Raffles Institution at Singapore.
During 1884 he acted as Chief Clerk in the
Secretariat, and in 1885 was appointed to the
substantive position. Mr. Bicknell has held
the office of Auditor at Pinang since 1888, and
for many years has acted also as librarian of
the Pinang Library.
Mr. Henry George Bagnall Vane,
Treasurer of the Federated Malay States, was
H. G. B. VANE.
(Fedei-al Treasurer.)
torn in 186 1 and educated at Marlborough.
He came out to the Federated Malay States in
1884 as Assistant Auditor, Perak, and in 1887
took up the acting appointment of Assistant
Auditor-General for the Straits Settlements.
He was next stationed in Negri Sambilan,
where he remained until, in 1893, he was
appointed -Auditor for Selangor. In 1895 he
became State .\uditor for Perak, and in 1903
he entered the service of the Federal Govern-
ment, passing through the oflice of Acting
Financial Commissioner to that which he now
occupies in November, 1906. Mr. Vane has
always been an enthusiastic tennis player, and
has known the day when scarcely a man in the
Federated Malay States could defeat him. He
■was also a smart footballer in his younger days.
He is secretary of the Lake Club, and has done
a great deal to further its interests and con-
tinue its popularity.
Mr. W. J. P. Hume.— The post of Auditor-
General of the Federated Malay States is
filled by Mr. William James Parke Hume,
who was born on January 25, 1866, and was
educated at Haileybury. Before coming East
he studied languages in France, Germany, and
Belgium. He was first stationed in Perak,
in 1888, as junior oflicer in the Kinta District.
He rose rapidly to the position of Assistant
District JIagistrate and Collector of Land
Revenue, and was then transferred to Ipoh as
Acting .Assistant to the District Magistrate. In
1899 he went to Selangor as Warden of Mines,
the duties of Acting District Officer of Ulu
Langat being added later, .^t the beginning of
1900 he was transferred to Ulu Pahang as
District Officer, but twelve months later he
recrossed the hills and became District Officer
of Ulu Selangor. Whilst there he received the
thanks of Government for his services in con-
nection with putting down the riots. In 1903
he married Alice, eldest daughter of George
Stevenson, of " Oakleigh," Bromborough,
Cheshire. On his return he was stationed in
Perak, where he filled various posts, including
those of Acting Senior Magistrate and .Acting
Secretary to the Resident. He assumed his
present duties towards the end of 1906. A
playing member of the Polo Club, Mr. Hume is
partial to all forms of sport, and takes a keen
interest in the Volunteer movement, ranking as
lance-corporal in the JIalay States Volunteer
Rifles. He is a member of the Sports Club,
London, and of a score of clubs in the Fede-
rated ilalay States and Straits Settlements.
He lives in Kuala Lumpor.
Mr. Charles Beresford Mills, Revenue
.\uditor for Selangor, Negri Sambilan, and
Pahang, was born on November 9, 1871. He
came out to take charge of the Audit Office,
Pahang, in 1892, and became Auditor in 1895.
In the following year he received, in addition,
the acting appointment of Treasurer and Super-
intendent of Posts and Telegraphs. In 19O2
he was transferred to Negri Sambilan as
.^.cting State .Auditor, and in the following
year entered the service of the Federal Govern-
ment, and held several positions, culminating in
that which he now fills. His address is Kuala
Lumpor.
Mr. Frederic William Talbot, Revenue
Auditor of Perak, was born in 1865, and came
out as accountant to the Perak Sikhs in 1891.
He was appointed .-issistant Auditor in 1893
and .Acting State Auditor in the foUowmg
year. He was then moved to Negri Sambilan,
where in 1898 he became State Auditor.
Similar duties in Selangor occupied him until
1902, when he returned to Perak for a year
as .Acting State Auditor, Revenue Branch.
Under the Federal Government he has filled
the positions of Revenue Auditor, Selangor ;
Revenue Auditor, Perak; Acting Chief Auditor,
Central Audit Office, and latterly that which
he now occupies. He lives in Taiping.
Mr. Gerald C. Koch has been Assistant
District Treasurer at Kuala Lumpor since April,
1906. He was born in 1864 and entered the
Selangor Government service in 1892. He is
the hon. treasurer of the Kuala Lumpor
Y.M.C.A.
BANKS.
The establishment of a bank in Singapore
was first suggested in 1833. The proposal was
to invite subscriptions for two thousand shares
of 200 dollars each, and to make advances on
property, discounting at 12 per cent., with a
commission of a quarter to a half per cent, on
sums withdrawn from current accounts. This
scheme, however, did not come to fruition, and
two years later another was mooted. On this
occasion a prospectus was issued stating that it
was proposed to establish a bank in Singapore
to be known as the Singapore and Ceylon
Bank, with a capital of £200,000, divided into
five thousand shares of ^^'40 each. The board
of directors was to be in London. For a
second time, however, failure was encountered.
In 1840 Mr. A. G. Paterson, of the Union
Bank of Calcutta, opened a local branch of that
financial house, and business was commenced
in December. .Advances were made on goods
to three-fourths of their value, and on bullion,
&c., to go per cent, of its value. The rate of
interest charged was g per cent, on the former
and 7 on the latter, whilst discount varied from
8 to 10 per cent.
The year 1846 saw the establishment of a
branch of the Oriental Bank, Mr. William
Anderson being the manager. The first bank
notes in Singapore were issued from this
establishment three years later and were of the
value of 5 dollars and 100 dollars. In 1863,
although other banking houses had opened
branches in the meantime, the Oriental Bank
was still very successful in its operations, and
paying a dividend and bonus amounting to
15 per cent, for the year. At the general
meeting of shareholders the chairman men-
tioned that during its twelve years' existence
the branch had repaid the whole of its capital
and 60 per cent, besides. The bank, however,
suspended payment on May 5, 1884, and in
October of the same year the New Oriental
Bank was opened. Business was transacted
by the new company until i8g2, but on June 9th
of that year payment was again stopped.
The branch of the Mercantile Bank of India
was founded in 1855 and was closely followed
by the Nederlandsche Handel Maatschappy in
1837 and the Chartered Bank in 1859. The
Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation
opened their Singapore branch in l866. The
other banks in Singapore — the Banque de ITndo
Chine, the International Banking Corporation,
the Deutsch-Asiatische Bank, and the Neder-
landsch Indische Handel Bank — have all been
established within the last five years.
Five of the Singapore banks have established
branches in Pinang within the last fifteen
years. There is no bank at Malacca. In tfie
Federated Malay States the only banks are the
three branches of the Chartered Bank at Kuala
Lumpor, Taiping, and Ipoh respectively.
The standard rate of interest given by the
Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay
States banks on fixed deposits is 4 per cent, per
annum. On current accounts 1 per cent, per
annum on the daily balance is paid. For over-
drafts and loans advanced on good security,
from 6 to 7 per cent, per annum is charged by
all the banks.
The value of the Straits dollar was fixed at
2S. 4d. in 1906, at which price, approximately,
the Government undertake to maintain it.
With a large native business, the banks in
British ilalaya naturally find it necessary to
have some local official as intermediary between
their European officers and native constituents,
and for this purpose most of them employ a
chief Chinese cashier known as the compradore,
through whom the whole of the large volume
of Chinese business is transacted, and he is
responsible for every Chinese account opened.
In spite of the exercise of every care, there
have been several daring bank robberies in the
history of the colonies. On one occasion a
large safe was taken away bodily in the middle
of the day by a number of coolies. Only sub-
ordinate native clerks were present at the time,
and they were all deceived into thinking that
it was being removed by authority to undergo
repairs. In igoi notes to the value of 272,855
dollars were stolen from the Hongkong and
Shanghai Bank, and were successfully shipped
away from the colony. About a month later,
however, 258,000 dollars of 'this sum was
recovered at Colombo.
THE CHETTY^ SYSTEM.
.Associated with the banking system is the
financial system maintained by the Chetties,
who are an influential and intelligent class of
native merchants engaged largely in monev-
lending. For generations these Chetties, whose
full caste designation is the Nattu Kotte
Chetties, have taken an important part in the
operations of trade in Southern India, and in
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
141
recent years have extended ttieir influence to
centres as wide apart as Calcutta, Rangoon,
Colombo, and the Straits Settlements. They
are amongst the wealthiest members of the
community, but they live in a very simple way.
Their dress consists merely of a strip of muslin
cloth wound loosely round their limbs and a
pair of leather sandals. As an ornament they
often wear a gold wire round the neck with a
massive gold ornament attached to it. They
seldom or never purchase any of the luxuries
of Western civilisation, but they spend large
sums of money on the Hindu Temples which
they attend. They obtain money from the
local banks on demand notes signed by two or
more Chetties, and lend it out to necessitous
traders and others at heavy rates of interest.
The amounts advanced by the banks on the
demand notes are regulated by the standing of
banks and the Law Courts. The power which
these men wield over traders with little
capital at their disposal and spendthrifts who
get into debt is very considerable. They
prosecute such strict inquiries into the affairs
and movements of their clients that they seldom
suffer serious losses.
DEUTSCH-ASIATISCHE BANK.
With the steady growth of German trade in
the populous centres of China and Japan, the
interests of German commercial houses in
dealing with their headquarters or branches
in the Fatherland necessitated a medium for
the transaction of financial business, and this
was supplied in i88q, when the Deutsch-Asia-
tische Bank opened its head office at Shanghai.
During the nineties the bank embraced one
interests. All kinds of financial transactions—
the depositing of funds, the buying and seHing
of securities, the transmission of money by
means of drafts and cablegrams, the purchase
and sale of specie, &c. — are carried on at
Singapore, and there is no doubt that in time to
come the bank, although not now as big or as
powerful as the old-established English corpo-
rations, will prove an important asset to the
commercial community of the colony. It
carries on business at Shanghai, Berlin,
Calcutta, Hamburg, Hongkong, Kobe, Yoko-
hama, Tientsin, Tsingtan, Hankow, Pekin,
Tsin Anfoo, and Singapore.
Mr. Seow Ewe Lin, compradore of the
Deutsch-Asiatische Bank at Singapore, is the
youngest son of the late Seow Thik Boo, a
Straits-born Chinaman, who carried on busi-
ness as a merchant in Singapore for many
W' w>
55^
:r.3 ^52^ 2E«- J'
nr..
^^pp,p'0i>i>Pim^miikfng n'-^
DEUTSCH-ASIATISCHE BANK.
the Chetties who sign them. In appraising the
credit of a particular Chetty the bank seldom
errs ; though, as an additional precaution, some
institutions insist upon a personal guarantee
from their own " shroff," or head cashier, who
may be a Chetty himself. So elaborate are
the precautions taken, and so great is the
business aptitude and reputation of the Chetties,
that the losses incurred by the banks in dealing
with them are relatively small. The usual
method employed by the Chetties in lending
money is to accept as security a promissory
note signed by the bofrower and one approved
surety, and in most cases repayment has to
be made monthly. For this accommodation
interest at the rate of 10, 15, and even 20 per
cent, per mensem is charged, and these native
financiers are not slow to avail themselves of
the law. Indeed, it is a common saying locally
that Chetties spend their time between the
after another of the most important business
centres of the Far East. In the early part
of 1905, at the time of the Russo-Japanese War,
when money was spent by both belligerent
Powers without stint, the bank opened branches
at Yokohama and Kobe, conferring a long and
eagerly expected boon on the German commu-
nity of Japan, and in May, igo6, in response to
the long-standing desire of the German busi-
ness houses in the Straits Settlements, opened
a branch at Singapore. The manager, Mr.
E. Schulze, under whose direction the necessary
preparations for the inauguration of the Singa-
pore branch were carried out, has had a unique
experience of Eastern finance at Shanghai,
Hankow, and Tientsin, and this stood him in
good stead at Singapore. Although the bank is
prepared to do business for the whole mercan-
tile community, both European and Chinese,
it has so far principally served German
years. Mr. Seow Ewe Lin was born in 1873
and was educated at Raffles Institution. In
1889 he entered the service of the Chartered
Bank and acquired an extensive knowledge of
banking business. He took up his present
responsible position in 1906, when he was only
thirty-three years of age. He is a member of
the Straits Chinese Association, and in 1895
married a daughter of the late Cheong Choo
Jin, of Singapore.
HONGKONG AND SHANGHAI
BANKING CORPORATION, LTD.
The Singapore branch of this well-known
banking corporation is situated at the corner
of CoUyer Quay and Battery Road, and is
housed in one of the most imposing and
beautiful buildings of the town. The corpora-
tion does an extensive business throughout
HONGKONG AND SHANGHAI BANKING CORPORATION, LTD., PINANG.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
143
Malaya, and employs a very large staff. It
issues notes which are i-ecognised by Govern-
ment as part of the regular currency of the
Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay
States. The London bankers of the corpora-
tion are the London and County Banking
Company,Ltd., of 31, Lombard Street, E.G. It
has a paid-up capital of 10,000,000 dollars,, a
reserve liability of proprietors of 10,000,000
dollars, and a reserve fund of 21,000,000 dollars.
The Hon. Mr. T. S. Baker is the acting
manager of the Singapore branch.
The Pinang branch was established in 1884,
in small premises in Beach Street. The present
palatial buildings, which are shown in the
accompanying photographs, were first occupied
in December, 1906. The manager is Mr.
Cecil Guinness, a native of Melbourne. He
an early age and received an English educa-
tion at St. Xavier's Institution. Subsequently
for a short time he traded at Amoy before
entering the employment of the banking cor-
poration which he has so long and so faithfully
served. He is now in his fiftieth year. His
son, Mr. See Tiong Wah, entered the Hong-
kong bank in 1901 upon leaving school, and
has made steady progress until now he is the
assistant compradore, and, as such, is his
father's right-hand man.
CHARTERED BANK OF INDIA,
AUSTRALIA, AND CHINA.
A branch of this important Eastern banking
company was iirst opened at Singapore in
1859. At the offices in Battery Road a large
cipal towns of France and other European
countries, India, Japan, China, Australia, and
the United States, was opened in 1905. The
company has a capital of 36,000,000 francs
(;^i,440,ooo), and a reserve fund of 19,440,000
francs (;^776,ooo). The head office is in
Paris, and the London bankers are the Union
of London and Smith's Bank. Mr. V. Marsot
is the acting manager at Singapore.
THE HONGKONG AND MANILA YUEN
SHBNG EXCHANGE AND TRADING
COMPANY, LTD.
Although well known in the East, the Hong-
kong and Manila Yuen Sheng Exchange and
Trading Company, Ltd., marine and fire-
insurance underwriters, financiers, &c., have
HONGKONG AND MANILA YUEN SHENG EXCHANGE AND TRADING COMPANY, LTD.
Tan Kiam Hwee (Manager).
received his financial training in the Bank of
Australasia, and joined his present employers
in London in 1882. Two j'ears later he came to
the East and served at several branches before
taking np his present position in 1905. He is
a member of the committee of the Chamber of
Commerce.
Mr. See Ewe Boon. — In financial circles
in Singapore, and indeed throughout the
Straits Settlements, Mr. See Ewe Boon and
his son, Mr. See Tiong Wah, are respected
alike for their ability and integrity. Mr, See
Ewe Boon, who since i8go has been the com-
pradore of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank
at Singapore, is the second son of the late Mr.
See Eng Watt, a well-known Chinaman, who
was born at Malacca and was the first Chinese
British subject merchant in Amoy for a great
number of years. The gentleman whose name
is at the head of this sketch went to Pinang at
volume of business is daily transacted. Like
the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Cor-
poration, it issues notes which form part of the
standard currency of Malaya, and does big
business at its several branches in the Feder-
ated Malay States, The company (incorpor-
ated by Royal charter) has a capital of ;^8oo,ooo,
a reserve liability of proprietors of a similar
amount, and a reserve fund of ;^i,075,ooo. The
London office is at Hatton Court, Thread-
needle Street, E.C., and the company's bankers
are the Bank of England, the National Bank
of Scotland, and the London City and Midland
Bank, Ltd. Mr. E. M. Janion is the manager
at Singapore.
BANQUE DE LTNDO-CHINE.
The Singapore branch of this banking
company, which is represented in the prin-
only recently extended their operations to
Singapore. But within a few months the
business has_ grown rapidly, and branches are
to be opened shortly in the principal centres
of trade in the Straits Settlements and the
Federated Malay States. The firm's head-
quarters are at Hongkong, and there are
branches at Manila, Shanghai, and Amoy.
The company was registered in 1904 under
the Companies Ordinance of Hongkong with
a capital of 2,000,000 dollars. The super-
intendent of the company's agencies and
branches and manager of the Singapore office
is Mr. Tan Kiam Hwee, a man of wide
experience, who, after trading for some years
at Hongkong, joined the company and was
soon given a place on the board of directors.
He is also agent at Singapore for the Hip On
Insurance, Exchange, and Loan Company of
Hongkong.
THE MBBOANTILB BANK OF INDIA, LTD., PINANG.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF RRITISH MALAYA
145
THE MERCANTILE BANK OP INDIA, LTD., SINGAPORE.
THE .MERCANTILE BANK OF INDIA.
The Mercantile Bank of India, Ltd., was
established fifty years ago under the style of
the Chartered Mercantile Bank of India,
London, and China. , It was reconstructed
and given its present name in 1893. The
Singapore branch of the firm occupies a
valuable and central position in Raffles
Square. It has been managed for the past
twenty-two years by Sir George Sheppard
and Karachi branches before taking
managership at Pinang in the early
1907. Mr. Peterkin is a member of
local clubs.
up the
part of
all the
KWONG YIK BANKING COMPANY, LTD.
This Chinese concern, although only es-
tablished in 1903, is now in a flourishing
condition, and its services in providing ordinary
banking facilities and arranging mortgages,
loans, &c., are freely employed by its clientele,
which is composed entirely of Chinese. Only
local business is transacted, and the bank has
no branches. The managing director is Mr.
Lim Wee Fong. The Kwong Yik Banking
Company was organised by Mr. Wong Ah
Fook, a gentleman who has had a particularly
interesting career. In 1851 he left Hongkong
for Singapore in a Chinese open sailing boat,
and on his arrival he worked in a Chinese
carpenter's shop. Gradually he improved his
position until he was able to commence
business on his own account. ■ In a few
years he became one of the most successful
contractors in the settlements, and several
important buildings in Singapore are perma-
nent monuments of his skill. Turning his
attention to Johore, he devoled his energies to
assisting in opening up the countr5', and many
of the buildings both in the town and country
of Johore are of his construction. These
services, extending over many years, were so
highly appreciated by the Johore Government
that in 1904 he was made S.'M.J. Mr. Wong Ah
Fook is a large property and land owner both
in Singapore and Johore, and on his properties
in the latter territory are planted gambler,
pepper, tapioca, rubber, &c. In order to facih-
tate the payment of his numerous employees
he has recently put in circulation his own
paper currency, but this cannot be used any-
where except upon his properties, and the
notes only retain their full value to him.
P
SIR GEORGE S. MURRAY.
Murray, who was honoured with a knight-
hood in igo6 in recognition of his sterling'
qualities and integrity as a man of business
and of his services to the Government as an
unoffidal member of the Legislative Council.
A branch of the bank was opened in Pinang
in 1905. It has a large connection with both
European and Chinese firms. The manager
is Mr. Thomas Barclay Peterkin, who was
horn in Nairn, N.B., and received his education
at Edinburgh Academy. He entered the
service of the Mercantile Bank in London in
1H89, and came East in 1894. Since then he
has been at Ihe Bombav, Calcutta, Colombo,
KWONG YIK BANKING COMPANY.
WoxG An Fook (Founcltr)
146
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Besides being one of the largest shareholders
in the Kwong Yik Bank, he is a director of the
Swatow railways, and owns valuable tracts of
land in the neighbourhood of Canton. Mr.
Wong Ah Fook is well known as a generous
contributor to deserving public institutions.
Mr. Bouy Lin Chin. — The first Chinese
bank established in Singapore was the Kwong
Yik Bank, and to Mr. Bouy Lin Chin, the
manager, belongs the distinction of having
been the first Chinaman to manage a banking
institution in the Straits Settlements. Under
his direction the Kwong Yik Bank has become
a prominent financial institution in the colony.
Mr. Bouy Lin Chin's father was for several
years a well-known contractor in Singapore,
and among the works which he successfully
carried out were several contracts for the
Government, including the erection of the
dollars (^^235,000), and it is now one of the
leading Chinese financial institutions of the
colony. The company carries on a general
banking business in the settlements, and has
dealings with all parts of the Far East. Fire
and marine insurance and general agency
transactions form an important part of its
operations. The corporation is incorporated
under the Companies Ordinance of Singapore.
The directors are Messrs. Tan Teckjoon, other-
wise Tan Ah Goh (managing director), Tan Swi
Khi, Cheong Kwi Thiam, Tan Swi Phiau, Yeo
Chang Boon, Leow Chia Heng, Yeo Piah Kwi,
Tan Choon, Sim Khiok Choon, Yeow Lee
Chiang, Teo Hoo Lai, and Lee Leng Hoon.
The assistant manager is Mr, Ng Song Teng.
The capital is divided into 20,000 shares of
100 dollars each, and of these 19,880 are
ordinary shares and 120 are founders' shares.
e)
19
TAN SWI PHIAU'S BESIDENCE.
flagstaff, in connection with which he was
presented with a gold watch and chain and
a testimonial expressing appreciation of his
services. Mr. Bouy Lin Chin, in his early
days, conducted a Chinese pawnshop very
profitably, and upon his father's death suc-
ceeded him in business. He is a member of
the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and was
formerly a member of the Po Leung Kuk, but
the many calls upon his time compelled him to
resign from that society. He resides at 530,
North Bridge Road, and has four sons and two
daughters.
SZE HAI TONG BANKING AND
INSURANCE COMPANY.
The need for an additional Chinese bank in
Singapore led, in February, 1906, to the forma-
tion of this company, with a capital of 2,000,000
Mr. Tan Swi Phiau. — A prominent local
Chinese business man is Mr. 'Tan Swi Phiau,
who was born in the colony and educated in
English and Chinese. He holds the respon-
sible post of compradore to the Netherlands
India Commercial Bank, as well as being one
of the promoters and directors of the Sze Hai
Tong Banking and Insurance Company, Ltd.
Mr. Tan Swi Phiau subscribes largely to
deserving local charities, and devotes much of
his leisure to the service of public institutions.
He was one of the founders of the Chinese
Chamber of Commerce and of the Singapore
Anti-Opium Society, and was the founder of
the Teo Chew Tuan Moh School, an Anglo-
Chinese school in Hill Street ; of the Kio Lock
Club, and of a street mission society which is
doing good work in Singapore. He is a share-
holder in two important Chinese companies
trading in pepper, gambler, and gutta percha.
and also in two local Chinese newspapers. He
resides at 42, High Street, Singapore.
INTBBNATIONAIi BANKING CORPORA-
TION.
This corporation, the fiscal agents for the
United States of America in China and the
Philippines, established a branch in Prince
Street "and Collyer Quay, Singapore, in 1902,
where general and foreign banking business
is transacted. The head office of the corpo-
ration is in Wall Street, New York, and the
London office is in Threadneedle Street. The
London bankers are the National Provincial
Bank of England, Ltd. The capital amounts to
3,250,000 dollars, with a surplus of that amount.
Mr. D. G. MacClennan is the manager of the
Singapore branch, which is in a very satis-
factory position.
A branch was opened in Pinang on July i,
1905, and a good connection has since been
established. The manager is Mr. W. H. Rose,
who had wide experience of finance and
banking business in Scotland and has been
twelve years in the East,. He is a member
of all local clubs.
Mr. Song Kim Pong. — The compradore
of the International Banking Corporation at
Singapore is Mr. Song Kim Pong, who was
born in Singapore in 1865, and after completing
his education, entered the service of the Hong-
kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in
1885 as assistant shroff. He held that position
for sixteen years and gave entire satisfaction.
In 1902 he was appointed chief cashier of the
International Banking Corporation, and for
about five years all the Chinese business done by
this financial institution has passed through his
hands. Mr. Song Kim Pong's father was a
native of Malacca, who settled at Singapore
many years ago and died at a ripe old age.
NBDBELANDSCH-INDISCHE ESCOMPTO-
MAATSCHAPPIJ.
A branch of this bank (Netherlands-Indian
Discount Bank) was opened in Pinang on
November 2, 1905, with premises at the corner
of Beach Street and Church Street. The local
manager is Mr. J. Stroobach,
The bank was established at Batavia, Java, on
November 5, 1857, and the head office is in
that town. The paid up capital is 6,000,000
francs (about ;£5oo,ooo), and there is a reserve
fund of 687,500 francs (about £57,300). During
the last forty-nine years the bank has paid an
average dividend of 7J per cent, per annum,
but since 1902, 8 per cent, per annum has been
paid to the shareholders.
The bank buys and sells and receives for
collection bills of exchange, issues letters of
credit on its branches and correspondents in
the East, on the Continent, in Great Britain,
America, and Australia ; and, in short, transacts
banking business of every description.
The home business is transacted by the
bank's Amsterdam agency at 194-6 Singel,
Amsterdam. The London agents are Parr's
Bank, Ltd. There are agencies at Amsterdam,
Soerabaija, Semarang, Padang, Cheribon,
Weltevreden, Bandoeng, and Tandjong-Priok ;
and correspondents at Banda, Benkoelen, Bli-
tar, Buitenzorg, Djocjakarta, Indramajoe, Ke-
diri. Macassar, Madioen, Malang, Medan, Me-
nado, Pasoeroean, Pekalongan, Pontianak, Pro-
bolinggo, Samarinda, Soekaboemi, Soerakarta,
Tegal, Ternate, Tjilatjap, Bangkok, Bombay,
Calcutta, Colombo, Hongkong, Madras, Pondi-
chery, Rangoon, Saigon,' Shanghai, and other
places. The agents of the bank at Singapore
are the Banque de I'Indo-Chine and Messrs.
Hooglandt & Co.
Mr. Jacobus Stroobach was born at Uit-
geest, Holland, in 1876. He received his edu-
cation at Amsterdam and his financial training
v*'..^
SZE HAI TONG BANKING COBPOEATION' LTD., SINGAPORE.
I. M.ANAGIKG DrUECTOR ANP STAFI', 2. INTERIOR OF PREMISLS. 3. EXTERIOR OF PREMISES.
THE* NBDBRLANDSCH-INDISCHB
ESOOMPTO-MAATSCHAPPIJ (NETHERLANDS INDIAN DISCOUNT BANK), PINANG.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA 149
in the Amsterdam office of the Netherlands-
Indian Discount Banli. In May, 1902, he
went to Batavia, where he stayed a year, and
afterwards toolc charge of the branch at Padang,
Sumatra. In November, 1905, he opened a
branch of the banlc at Pinang. He is a member
and its business in Singapore was opened in
1857. The paid-up capital of the society
amounts to 45,000,000 guilders (;£3,7S0.oo")i
with a reserve fund of 5,000,000 guilders
(^417,000). The head agency of the society is
in Batavia, and there are branches in Pinang,
society transacts banking business of every
description, buys and sells bills of exchange,
issues letters of credit, opens current accounts,
receives money on deposit, &c. The society
first started business in Singapore as importers
at Boat Quay, but having subsequently com-
NETHBBLANDS TRADING SOCIETY (PINANG BRANCH).
PiNAXG Premises. Manager and Staff. Ls'terior.
of the Chamber of Commerce and of all local
clubs.
NEDERLANDSCHB HANDEL
MAATSCHAPPY.
The head office of the Netherlands Trading
Society was established in Amsterdam in 1824,
Hongkong, Shanghai, Rangoon, Medan (Deli),
Semarang, Sourabaya, Padang, Cheribon,
Tegal, Pecalongan, Pasoeroean, Tjilatjap,
Palembang, Kota Radja (Achin) and Bandjer-
massin. There are correspondents at almost
every other important port in the world.
The London bankers of the society are the
Union of London & Smith's Bank, Ltd. The
menced operations as bankers, they removed
to Finlayson Green, and later (in i888) to
CoUyer Quay. In 1903 they purchased their
present three-storey building, which covers
10,000 square feet of ground. Eleven Euro-
pean and seven Chinese cashiers, six Chinese
and four Eurasian clerks, and several natives
are employed. Mr. J. W. van der Stadt is
NBDEBLANDSCHE HANDEL MAATSCHAPPY (NETHERLANDS TRADING SOCIETY),
I, Singapore Offices. 2. Manager's Room. 3. Interior of Banking Chamber.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
151
the local manager and agent, bnt when he Mr. H. Kerbert, whu is now on the board of there, and has been in the East twelve years,
leaves the bank shortly he will be succeeded directors at Batavia. The present manager is having served the bank at Batavia and Soura-
by Mr. L. Engel, lately manager in Hongkong. Mr. ^^U. C. Gori, wlm was born in Amsterdam. baya. He is a membei' of the Chamber of
In 1889 a branch was opened at Pinang by He was educated and commercially trained Commerce and of all local clubs.
Ske TloNG Waii ^Hiini,'koiig and Slian,Lihai Bank). So\<; Km POXG i Intcniatioiial Bank).
BO'JY Lin Chin (Manai^er, Kwoni^ Yik Bank).
Skow Ewe Lix (Dentsch-.\siatische Bank). See Ewe Boon (Hongkuny and Slianghai Bank).
^P^
^'m
^^&
:cjV
?l^
OPIUM
S might naturally be ex-
pected in a country
which is so largely
peopled by Chinese, the
opium habit prevails ex-
tensively in the Straits
Settlements and the
Federated Malay States.
From the earliest days
of the British occupation of the settlements a
considerable sum has been received by the
Government from the letting or "farming" of
the monopoly of the sale of opium, which at
the present time yields between five and six
million dollars a year, or one-half the total
revenue of the colony. In the Federated
Malay States, where the population, though
rather larger, does not contain quite so many
Chinese, the annual receipts from opium
amount approximately to two and a half
million dollars, or one-tenth of the total
revenue. The disparity between these figures
must not, however, be regarded as an indication
of the relative extent to which opium is con-
sumed in the two territories, for, as a matter of
fact, the official returns show that the quantity
of the drug imported into the Federated Malay
States is three times as great as that imported
into the Straits Settlements. The explanation
of this apparent anomaly is to be found in the
different methods adopted for dealing with the
traffic.
The farming system, which is the only
system in operation in the settlements, confers
upon the farmer the sole right to prepare and
sell " chandu," or cooked opium ready for
smoking. With the consent of the Government
he issues licences to others to retail the
preparation, and the interference of the
Government is practically confined to seeing
that the chandu is up to a certain standard of
purity, and that it is not sold at a higher price
than that fixed by the contract. A chest of fine
Benares opium contains forty balls of the raw
product. The price fluctuates from under 750
dollars to over 1,200 dollars a chest — at the
time of writing it stands at 800 dollars — and the
resultant chandu fetches from 2,500 dollars to
3,000 dollars, according to the limit fixed by the
Government. It will thus be seen that the
farmer has opportunities of making huge
profits. It must not be forgotten, however,
that he has to provide the whole preventive
service to protect himself against smuggling,
and that the risks are greater than many specu-
lators would care to run.
The primary object of the Government in
establishing opium "farms" was not to raise
revenue, but to restrict the sale of the drug.
The proposal to inaugurate this system in
Singapore was made by the Resident in 1820,
but it had previously been adopted in the older
settlements of Malacca and Pinang.
In 1823 the opium farm at Singapore yielded
25,796 dollars, and in the following year it
produced more than double that sum, namely
60,672 dollars. A comparison of these figures
with those for 1905, when the opium revenue
taining the actual amounts of the cheaper
Indian and Persian opium used by the farmer
in the preparation of chandu. For the years
left blank no information is available. In each
settlement, especially during the last two years,
much smuggled opium not calculated in the
return was consumed.
The revenue derived from the drug in the
three settlements during the same period was
as follows :
Year.
1
Singapore.
Pinang.
Slalacca.
Total.
S
S
,,
s
1896
1,080,000
600,000
120,000
1,800,000
1897
1,080,000
600,000
120,000
1,800,000
1898
1,458,000
720,000
140,000
2,318,000
1899
1,458,000
720,000
140,000
2,318,000
1900
1,458,000
720,000
140,000
2,318,000
190 1
2,400,000
1,140,000
192,000
3,732,000
1902
2,400,000
1,140,000
192,000
3,732,000
1903
2,400,000
1,140,000
192,000
3,732,000
1904
4,245,000
1,764,000
328,000
6,337,000
I90S
3,540,000
1,500,000
306,000
5,826,000
for Singapore alone amounted to between
three and four million dollars, shows the
remarkable growth of the traffic and its
importance from a financial point of view.
A White Paper issued in the early part of
1907, when the general question of the opium
traffic was receiving the attention of the
British Government, gives the probable mini-
mum consumption of opium in the Straits
Settlements for the ten years ending in 1905
as under :
Year.
Singapore.
Pinang.
Malacca.
Cliests.
Chests.
Chests.
1896
749
—
—
1897
«I3
—
—
1898
—
437
—
1899
470
—
1900
—
540
—
190I
1,229
• 569
— ■
1902
1,314
617
—
1903
1,366
1 669
—
1904
93«
42S
108
1905
1,046
41S
116
The above figures are stated in chests of
Benares opium, each chest being estimated to
contain forty balls of the drug manufactured
into chandu. There are no means of ascer-
132
The increase in consumption and revenue
down to 1903 is due partly to the growth of
the Chinese population, and, more particularly,
to the prosperity of the colony, which reached
its highest point in that year. The fall in con-
sumption and rise in revenue for the years
1904 and 1905 are attributable to an advance
in the price at which the farmers were then
allowed to sell chandu to the public. This
advance was from 2.15 dollars to 3 dollars per
tahil (ij oz. avoirdupois), and it tempted the
farmers to offer more for the monopoly than
they subsequently received. As a result they
lost heavily, in spite of the fact that they were
granted a rebate of 1,035,000 dollars by the
Government. The increase of price gave a
great impetus to smuggling and to the con-
sumption of morphia.
When the British Government took over the
Federated Malay States, the opium traffic there
was treated in a different manner from that of
the Straits Settlements. The tin miners, who
furnished the bulk of the revenue, objected to
the power which might be wielded by a
monopolist who was also a miner, and stated
that unless the coolies could buy opium cheaply
they would first riot and then leave the country.
The British Residents also opposed the Straits
system, and the following method was decided
upon : Each State, for the purpose of these
revenue farms, was divided into two districts —
line a coast "farm," where there wei^e no
mines, and into which it was exceedingly easy
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MAI.AYA
153
to smuggle opium ; and the other embracing
the rest of the country, whicli included all the
mines. The coast " farm " was let and worked
on similar lines to the Straits Settlements
" farms," except that the price of chandu was
fixed at a much lower figure than that charged
in the colony, and a duty was levied by the
Government on all opium imported, whether
by the farmer or by anybody else. The coast
districts were, and still are, of much less im-
portance than the interior, and they contain
comparatively a small population. Except
within their limited area any one could import
raw opium on paying the Government a duty,
which was first fixed at 7 dollars a ball (280
dollars a chest). The Government licensed all
retail shops, whilst mine-owners and other
large employers of Chinese labour imported
opium, converted it into chandu, and dispensed
it to their own employees. Eventually the
Government in some of the States "farmed"
the collection Qf the opium duty, and, while
that policy made no difference to the consiuTiers,
it enabled the Government to calculate with
certainty on the receipts fi-om this source.
With very slight modifications the method
outlined above is still in vogue throughout the
Federated Malay States. The import duty on
opium, however, has been periodically in-
creased. In 1896 it was fixed at 320 dollars a
chest, in 1898 at 480 dollars, and in 1903 at
560 dollars, at which figure it has since re-
mained. In Pahang the duty is only 440
dollars. It will be seen that opium can be sold
in the Federated Malay States at a much lower
price than in the Straits Settlements, where
the tenders of the farmers are equivalent to an
import duty of at least 3,500 dollars a. chest.
The following tables show the total revenue
derived from opium by the Government of the
States of Perak, Selangor, and Negri Sambilan,
and the number of chests of opium imported
during 1905, 1906, and the first half of 1907 :
COMMITTEE OF THE PERAK ANTI-OPIUM SOCIETY.
THE ANTI-OPIUM MOVEMENT.
No article on the opium traffic of Malaya
would be complete without reference to the
Slate.
Number of
Chests.
Duty at .$560
per Chest.
Forest Share at
.$1 per Ball.
Balance to be
Credited to
Customs Revenue.
1905
Perak
Selangor
Negri Sambilan ...
2,350
1,578
583
Si
1,316,000
893,680
326,480
94,000
63,120
23,320
s
1,222,000
820,560
303,160
4,511
2,536,160
180,440
2,345,720
1906
Perak
Selangor
Negri Sambilaji ...
2,545
1,663-1
583
1,425,200
931,336
326,480
101,800
66,560
23,320
191,680
1,323,400
864,776
303,160
4,79''i
2,683,016
2,491,336
1907
Perak
Selangor
Negri Sambilan ...
1, 144
832
282
640,640
465,920
157,920
45,760
33,280
11,280
594,880
432,640
146,640
2,258
11,560-1
1,264,480
90,320
1,174,160
Total
16,483,656
1462,440
$6,011,216
In Pahang the opium revenue is farmed out
under the General Farm, and it is, therefore,
not possible to give separate figures for it.
The total revenue from the opium and spirit
farm and from licences for opium and spirit
shops in Pahang during 1907 was estimated at
123,756 dollars.
Anti-Opium Movement. After years of apparent
lethargy there is now evidence of great activity
amongst those who desire to see the opium
traffic brought to an end. First came the
statement of Mr. John Morley, Secretary of
State for India, in May, 1906, that "if China
wanted seriously, and in good faith, to restrict
the consumption of opium in China, the Gov-
ernment of India and his Majesty's Govern-
ment would agree to it, even though it might
cost them some sacrifice," This was followed
by the House of Commons passing a unanimous
resolution : "That this House reaffirms ils
conviction that the Indo-Chinese opium trade
is morally indefensible, and requests his
Majesty's Government to take such steps as
may be necessary for bringing it to a speedy
close." Thus encouraged, the various anti-
opium societies redoubled their efforts, and
new societies were formed in different parts
of the East. On September 20th the Chinese
Emperor published his famous edict forbidding
the use of opium throughout his empire at the
expiration of ten years. On his own initiative,
the Consul-General for China at Singapore,
Mr. Sun Sze Ting, having first obtained the
cordial approval of his Excellency the Governor,
started a hospital for opium smokers, under
the superintendence of Dr. S. C. Yin. This
philanthropic act elicited praise from all
quarters, and over 16,000 dollars were soon
contributed towards the beneficent project.
But at the most the home cannot receive more
than sixty patients a month, and it has, there-
fore, been with feelings of great relief and
satisfaction that the supporters of the anti-
opium movement have received favourable
reports of numerous cures effected in the case
of confirmed opium smokers by the decoction
made from a Malayan plant.
An Anti-Opium Society was started at
Selangor in September, 1906, and others were
formed at Ipoh and Pinang in the following
month. The first Anti-Opium Conference for
the Straits Settlements and the Federated
Malay States was held at Ipoh in March, 1906,
and was attended by 3,000 people. Among
many resolutions carried, the most important
were the following :
" That this Conference, consisting of repre-
sentative delegates from all parts of
British Malaya, whilst gratefully acknow-
ledging the generous assistance of tt^e
British Government and of the Colonial
and Federated Malay States Governments
154
TWENTIETH CEXTURV IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MAEAVA
to the movement against the use of
opium, is of opinion that more active
measures are now demanded, and that
the time has arrived for the abolition of
all opium farms and the substitution for
them of Government depots and complete
Government control.
' That this conference is of opinion that
compulsory registration of all opium-
smokers, as in Formosa and the Philip-
pines, be enforced by law by a certain
day, and that after that date no further
persons be registered as opium-smokers.
'That it is the patriotic duty of all Chinese
and the duty of all friends of China to
denounce the use of opium as hostile to
the progress and destructive of the best
energies of the Chinese nation.
arising from the practice. The Hon. Jolin
Anderson was nominated as Chairman, the
other members of the Commission being the
Hon. Tan Jiak Kim, the Hon. D. J. Galloway,
M.D., the Rev. W.F. Oldham, D.D., Mr.W.R.C.
Middleton, M.A., M.B., CM., and Mr. E. F. H.
Edlin. The Commission was invested with
powers to examine witnesses on oath and to
call for the production of any books and
documents bearing upon the subject.
On behalf of an anti-opium deputation which
waited on the Secretary of State for the Colonies
in August, 1907, Dr. Connolly and Dr. Alexander,
from the Straits Settlements and Malaya, urged
that the time was ripe for introducing reforms
to restrict and eventually to suppress the opium
traffic. Mr. Winston Churchill, the Under
Secretary, who replied in the absence of Lord
School. Upon leaving this institution he was
given a position in the Chartered Mercantile
Bank of India, London, and China, and after
working there zealously for eight years, he
decided in 1887 to widen the scope of his
experience by travel. Accordingly he went to
Calcutta, and during a two years' stay there
mastered the details of the produce business.
In 1889 he came to Singapore and became
connected with the Opium and Spirit Farm.
With that great organisation he was continn-
ously associated until igo6, except for an interval
of three years (1898- igoo) when the farm
contract fell into other hands. Like most
Chinese business men, he is careful not to keep
"all his eggs in one basket." Since December,
1901, he has contracted with that mammoth
undertaking, the Tanjong Pagar Dock
THE TAN KHEAM HOCK FAMILY AND INTERIOR OP RESIDENCE.
" That Government be petitioned to exercise
more restrictive action over the opium
traffic, by raising the duty on opium,
increasing the fees for chandu shop
licences, and refusing to increase the
number of existing licences.
'■ That Government be requested to order
that systematic instruction to warn youth
of the evil effects of opium be introduced
into all Government and Government-
aided schools."
A significant feature of the Anti-Opium
Movement in Malaya is that in most places it
was inaugurated by the Chinese themselves, and
has been vigorously continued by them almost
entirely with Chinese capital.
Bv Letters Patent dated July 19, 19C7, a
Commission- was appointed to iuquh-e into the
extent to which opium-smoking prevails in the
Straits Settlements, and to advise the Govern-
ment as to the steps which should be taken "to
minimise and eventually to eradicate the evils "
Elgin, promised careful consideration of the
facts presented, and said he felt that the present
position could not be allowed to continue. The
members of the deputation must not assume
that the Government was indifferent, but it
was only possible to go step by step in the
Crown colonies with the new policy adopted
with reference to India and China.
The importance of the financial issues at
stake in the suggested suppression of the opium
traffic throughout the British Empire may be
realised from the fact that for the year 1904-5
the revenue yielded by opium in India exceeded
;£5,ooo,ooo.
MR. TAN KHEAM HOCK.
Mr. Tan Kheam Hock is one of many able
Chinese business men who, in the course of
their commercial career, have migrated from
Pinang to Singapore. Born at Pinang in 1862,
he received his education at the Pinang Free
Company, to supply coolie labour. Some
idea of what this entails may be gathered
when it is stated that the wharf frontage of the
docks is over a mile and a half in length, and
as many as 2,500 coolies are permanently
employed there. Mr. Tan Kheam Hock, who
is also connected with the Perak General
Farms, takes a great interest in the Straits and
Federated Malay States Government Medical
School, and has a seat on the committee of
management. He is a member of the Society
of Arts, London. He married the sixth
daughter of the late Mr. Foo Tye Sin, J. P.,
Municipal Commissioner, of Pinang, and has
six sons and four daughters.
KHAW JOO CHOE.
The genlleman whose name heads this
sketch is the present director of that important
Singapore monopoly, the Opium and Spirit
F.irm. The second son of the late Mr. Khaw
KHOO SIEW JIN.
KHOO HUN YEANG.
KHOO THEAN TBK.
KHOO SENG KAY.
(See p. 156,)
156
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Sim Khim, he was born in Pinang in 1869 and
received his education at the Free School there.
Upon leaving school at eighteen he entered
the employment of the Pinang firm of Koe
Guan, shipowners, with whom he remained
for several years, gaining steady promotion.
Eventually he left to accept service under the
Siamese Government, in which his family have
held high positions for many years. After eight
years' experience in Siam, Mr. Khaw Joo Choe
returned to Pinang and became manager for
his old employers, Messrs. Koe Guan. This
i-esponsible position he occupied for three years,
when he took over the Monthon Puket (Siamese
Western State) Opium Farm (Chop Ban Huat
Bee), holding the monopoly for two terms of
three years each. In the latter part of 1904 he
came to Singapore and was appointed director
of the Singapore Opium Farm (Chop Sin Chin
Ho Bee, 1904-6). When the lease of that farm
expired at the end of three years, he was
appointed director of the present farm (Chop
Guan Hock Hin, 1907-g).
WEB KAY POH.
Mr. Wee Kay Poh, son of Wee Seoh Kee and
Low Ong Neoh, was born in 187 1 and educated
at Raffles Institution for five years. On leaving
school he was apprenticed to Messrs. A. L.
Johnston & Co. Later on he was with Messrs.
Stachehn, Sthalkneet & Co. and Messrs.
Brinkmann & Co. In 1892 he commenced busi-
ness on his own account. He is a landowner
and at present a managing partner of the
Singapore Opium and Liquors Farm (1907-9).
When twenty years of age he married Khoo
Liang Neoh, daughter of the well-known
Chinese gentleman, Mr. Khoo Boon Seng. He
has two sons, Wee Kim Hock and Wee Poh
Soon, and one daughter. His residence is
" Benlomond," Xo. 124, River Valley Road.
WEB KAY SIANG.
Mr. Wee Kay Siang, one of the partners in
the Singapore Opium Farm, was born in the
colony in 1858 and received his education at
Raffles Institution. He now holds a high
position in Chinese commercial circles, being a
director of the Kwong Yik Banking Company
as well as a partner in the Opium Farm. He
resides at " Bienvenue," Thompson Road, and
has two sons — Wee Kah Tiak and Wee Kim
Kiat — and four daughters.
CHI TZB CHING.
Of the Singapore opium-farmers, Mr. Chi
Tze Ching is among the best known. A native
of Canton, he came to Singapore as a tr:;der
when only sixteen years of age and remained
for some fifteen years. At the end of that time
he left for Labuan, and was an opium-farmer
there for three years, after which he engaged
in pawnbroking, and in opium, spirit, and
gambling farming. He had also a Customs
Farm in British Xorth Borneo, and was a
contractor for the supply of provisions to the
coolies employed on the Dutch tobacco planta-
tion. He owns businesses at Kudat and
Singapore and mines in the Federated Malay
States. Mr. Chi Tze Ching is a naturalised
British subject and a member of the Chinese
Advisory Board.
Mr. Khoo Siew Jin, of Pinang, is twenty-
three years of age, but has already accomplished
more than many men who are twice or three
times that age. He is the eldest son of Mr.
Khoo Hun Yeang, a well-known Pinang and
Province Wellesley merchant and planter, and
was born in the Northern Settlement in 1884.
He received a good Chinese education in
Pinang, and when his parents came to
Singapore in 1898, he entered the .^nglo-
Chinese boarding school, and during the next
four years acquired a valuable knowledge of
English subjects. In 1902 he went to Sarawak
as an assistant in the Opium, Spirit, and Gamb-
ling Farm there, and at the end of two years'
service in that capacity was appointed general
manager of the farms, although he was only
twenty years of age at the time. When the
farm was re-let, in 1907, Mr. Khoo Siew Jin
and his brothers were the successful tenderers,
and they now control that important monopoly.
Mr. Khoo Siew Jin is married to a daughter of
the late Mr. Quah Mah Tek, and has one son.
He owns considerable house property in Singa-
pore, Pinang, and Sarawak, and is on the
committee of the Sarawak Merchants' Club.
His father, Mr. Khoo Hun Yeang, was born and
educated in Pinang. Upon the completion of
his scholastic career he took charge of a very
large coconut plantation in Province Wellesley
which belonged to his father. This property
he ran successfully for ten years ; tjjen, re-
turning to Pinang, he joined the Opium and
Spirit Farm there, in which his father was a
partner and manager. Six years later he
commenced business on his own account in
Pinang under the chop Chin Lee & Co., and
built up a big business as a tin and general
merchant, which is still in existence. In 1899
his business ability was recognised by the
Singapore opium and spirit farmers, who
made him the managing partner. From 1902
until 1906, when he resigned, he was managing
director of the farm. He is married and has
eight sons. His father, Mr. Khoo Thean Tek,
was born in Pinang in 1826 and received a
Chinese education. He carried on sugar and
coconut planting in Province Wellesley, and
traded in Pinang itself under the chops Khoon
Ho and Chin Bee for many years. He then
went to Perak and commenced tin mining on
a large scale, and held large interests in the
Pinang and Hongkong Opium Farms. His
was a well-known name throughout Malaya
and the Straits Settlements, and he was highly
respected. His decease took place in 1891,
and he left four sons and four daughters.
Mr. Khoo Sian Tan has had a varied
experience of revenufe farms and is a recog-
nised authority on their organisation. He is
the son of the late Mr. Khoo Hong Swee,
merchant, of Pinang, who was a committee
member of the Senh. Khoo Kongsee, and died
early in 1904. Mr. Khoo Sian Tan was born in
1872 and received a good English education at
Pinang Free School. After a few years' com-
mercial experience with a local mercantile firm,
he spent several years in the Government
service. He resigned in order to take over the
Perak Krian sub-district revenue farms and
engage in tin mining in the same State. At the
age of twenty-seven he was appointed general
manager of the Opium, Spirit, and Gambling
Farm of Sarawak, and also held the power of
attorney from Mr. Khoo Hun Yeang, the then
farmer, from 1904 to 1906. He also became
a partner in the Singapore Opium and Spirit
Farms, and was appointed manager of the
Singapore head office of the Johore, Malacca,
Riau, and Kariman Island Farms. He is now a
partner in the British Xorth Borneo and Labuan
General Revenue Farms for the three years
1907 inclusive, and in the Sarawak General
Revenue Farms. He is also the manager of
the Singapore head office, and holds the 'power
of attorney from Mr. Khoo Hun Yeang, general
director of the Singapore Opium and Spirit
Farm. Mr. Khoo Sian Tan owns extensive
property in Pinang, and is a business man
highly respected throughout Malaja. He is a
member of the Chinese Weekly Entertainment
Club, Singapore, is married, and has two sons
— Khoo Boo Yeong and Khoo Boo Yeam — both
of whom are receiving English education.
Pinang Opium and Liquor Farm. — The
present holders of the Opium and Liquor
Monopoly in Pinang are a syndicate of sixteen
prominent Chinese business men, of whom
photographs are reproduced in the accom-
panying illustration. They ha\ e contracted to
pay to the Government, for the three years 1907
to 1909 inclusive, 135,000 dollars a month.
Under the contract all the opium must be of
Indian growth. It is brought from Calcutta in
a raw state by the steamers of the Apcar and
Jardine lines, and is stored in the Farm's
godowns in Queen Street and Sungei Pinang.
The buildings were erected by the Government
of the Straits Settlements, and a rental of 900
dollars is paid by the farm for them. Here the
conversion of the opium into chandu and the
distillation of Asiatic spirits is carried on.
These products are sold through 145 licenced
sub-farms in Pinang and Province Wellesley,
the principal spirit retailed being a native wine
distilled from rice and sugar and known as
samsoo. At the head offices in Queen Street
and at Sungei Pinang 220 hands are employed,
while the sub-farms provide work for 700 others.
Such a huge undertaking as the Pinang Opium
and Liquor Farm naturally necessitates skilful
organisation and careful management, and the
syndicate may be congratulated upon having
secured the services of such able men as Mr.
Cheah Chen Eok, the superintendent, and Mr.
Lim Kek Chuan, the managing farmer. The
managers are Messrs. Yeoh Boon Chit and
Cheah Kim Geok. Mr. Yeow Ooi Gark is the
auditor, and the prosecutors are Messrs. J. R.
MacFarlane and Gunn Tong Eang. The
syndicate also holds the opium monopoly for
Kedah, in the Siamese Malay States, and for
this privilege pays 38,500 dollars to the Siamese
Government.
Lim Kek Chuan.— The managing partner
of the Pinang Opium and Spirit Farm is Mr.
Lim Kek Chuan. Born at Pinang in 1858, he
was educated at the Free School there, and
afterwards entered a shipping office. Later he
opened a business of his own, trading as a rice
merchant, with branches at Rangoon, Mandalay,
and Calcutta. Subsequently he became inter-
ested in various opium and spirit farms and in
tin mining. He is part-owner of numerous
mines in the native States, and is a large
landed proprietor. In the social life of Pinang
he is well known and highly respected. He is
a Fellow of the Society of Arts, London,
president of the Pinang Chinese Chamber of
Commerce and of the Chinese Recreation
Club, a member of the Chinese Advisory
Board, and a trustee of the Seh Lim Kongsi
and of the Chinese Town Hall. His offices are
at No. 15, Church Street. His town residence
is Xo. 40, Muntri Street, and his country house
is Diamond Jubilee Lodge, Mount Erskine
Road.
LIM MAH CHYE.
The son of Lim Thiam Huat, a landed
proprietor of Sam Toh, China, where he was
born in 1857, Mr. Lim Mah Chye came to the
Straits Settlements at the early of age of eleven
and commenced commercial work in company
with his brothers, who were then carrying on
business as rice merchants in Beach Street
under the style of Chin Huat & Co., with an
important branch at Moulmein, Burma. In
consequence, however, of the big fire at
Moulmein, which destroyed nearly the whole
of the town, the firm suffered enormous losses ;
whereupon Mr. Lim Mah Chye commenced
taking up, on a very small scale, the general
and revenue farms in the native Slates.
Gradually he extended his operations, and
to-day he is a partner in the Pinang Opium
and Spirit Farm and in the important firm of
Chin Guan & Co., tin merchants, and is largely
interested in various farms in the Xegri Sambi-
lan, Selangor, Perak, Kedah, Setul, and Perlis.
He is a member of the Pinang Literary Associa-
tion, of the Chinese Club, and a patron of the
Chinese Recreation Club. His wife is Cheah
Geok Kee, a daughter of Mr. Cheah Eok, of
Pinang. His eldest son, Mr. Lim Chin Guan,
was born in 1881. He finished his education
at the .\nglo-Chinese School. To-day he is the
head of the firm of Messrs. Chin Guan & Co.,
The Opiobi Cooking Room.
PINANG OPIUM AND LIQUOR FARM.
2, .Vkw Premises.
3. New FiCTORV AT SrNGEI Pi\\\r,
«
MEMBERS OF THE PINANG OPIUM AND LIQUOR FARM.
I. Ho TiAXc. Wan. 2. LiM Eqw Hong. . 3. Cheah Tatto. 4. GoH BOON Keng. 5. Cheah Kim Geok. 6. Khoo Cheow Teoxg
7. Yeow Ooi Gauk. s. Cheah Chen Eok. 9. Lim Kek Chtan. 10. Li.m JIah Chye. ii. Yeoh Boon Chit.
12. Tan Khkam Hock. 13. Leong Fee. 14. Lim Soo Ghee. 15. Chan Kang Choon. 16. Ong Hung Chong. 17. Thio Tiauw Siat.
(See p. 156.)
1. LOKE CHOW KIT.
2. SPIRIT DISTILLERY.
(See p. i(k>.)
3. SELA.NGOB OPIUM FARM.
160
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
with offices at \o. 15, Church Street. He is
also a partner of the Kuala Lumpor firm of
Messrs. Chow Kit & Co. In 1900 he married
Yeo Saw Heang, the daughter of Mr. Yeo
Cheang Chye, of Pinang. He resides with his
father at Xo. 41, Kimberley Street. Their
country residence is Lim Lodge, Western
Road.
CHAN KANG CHOON.
Mr. Chan Kang Choon is a native of Canton,
and came to the Straits Settlements some
thirty-five years ago. At the end of the first
ten years he commenced business on his own
account, and he has built up a large trade as
a gei)eral merchant. Besides being a partner
in the Pinang Opium and Spirit Farm, he has
interests in tin mining in Perak and owns
considerable property in Pinang, Hongkong,
and Canton.
5eet Kee Ann. — Mr. Seet Kee Ann, son
of the late Mr. Seet Moh Guan, was born in
1862 at Malacca. For fifteen years after leav-
ing school he engaged in tapioca, gambler,
and pepper planting. In 1897 he took a
partnership in the opium and spirit farm of
Malacca and became the manager. He is a
landed proprietor, and has interests in various
concerns, 'in 1895 Mr. Seet was made a
Municipal Commissioner for Malacca, and in
1901 a Justice of the Peace. He is married,
and has three sons and five daughters. His
grandfather, Seet Hood Kee, was headman of
the Chinese temple called Teng Choo, and
his father also was the head of the Chinese
temple called Teng Choo.
Chi Hong Cheng. — A son of the late Mr.
Chi Jin Slew, of Malacca, Mr. Chi Hong Cheng
was born in 1867 and educated at the High
School, Malacca. Subsequently he acquired a
partnership in a Singapore firm, with which
he was connected for fifteen years. Returning
to Malacca, he purchased an estate of some
3,000 acres and commenced tapioca planting,
interplanting rubber in 1905. Disposing of
this property, he took a partnership in the
opium and spirit farm, and acted as financial
manager. He is a part-owner of several tin
mines in Muar and Kesang, and holds con-
siderable property in Malacca and Singapore.
Mr. Chi traces his descent back for nine gene-
rations, all of which were born in Malacca.
He married a daughter of Mr. Tan Hoon
Chiang, and has six children, one daughter
and five sons.
Mr. Loke Chow Kit. — This gentleman,
whose residence is at Loke Hall, Kuala
Lumpor, Selangor, is the son of Mr. Loke
Kum Choon, and, like his father, is a native of
Pinang. After being educated at Pinang Free
School, he entered the commercial house of
Messrs. Katz Bros., Pinang. Later on he
joined the firm of Messrs. Huttenbach & Co.,
and when that firm extended their business to
Kuala Lumpor he was sent there as assistant-
manager. At that time Towkays Loke Yew
and Chow Ah Yok were appointed by the
Government lessees of the railway lines in
Selangor, and they made Loke Chow Kit
traffic manager. This position he held until
the Government took over the railway on the
expiration of the lease. Mr. Loke Chow Kit
then joined Mr. Loke Yew in the General
F"arm of Selangor, and afterwards in the
Revenue and General Farms of Pahang and
Negri Sambilan. He was appointed general
manager of the farms. He is at present the
farmer of Negri Sambilan, opium and spirit
farmer of Malacca, a shareholder in the farm
of Selangor, and a shareholder in the opium
farm of Hongkong. He is the proprietor of
Chow Kit & Co., one of the tjiggest firms
in Kuala Lumpor, and is one of the leading
men of the town. Together with his brother,
Mr. Loke Chow Thye, he is a large share-
holder in the Serendah and Jeher Hydraulic
Tin Mining Companies, which concerns were
floated by the brothers as limited liability
companies during their trip to Scotland some
three years ago. Mr. Loke Chow Kit is a man
of advanced ideas. His daughter and son are
at present finishing their education in Scotland.
He is associated with Mr. Loke Yew in many
of his undertakings, and has interests all over
the Federated Malay States. His house is one
of the finest private residences in Kuala
Lumpor. Three years ago Barrack Road was
occupied by miserable attap huts. The property
was acquired by Mr. Chow Kit, who built a
mansion" on the site and a handsome suite of
offices. He is a member of the Selangor Club,
the^Turf Club, the Weld Hill Club, and many
other similar institutions in the Federated
Malay States. He is a director of the Milling
and Mining Company, Ltd., the Federal Dis-
pensary Company, Ltd., the Jeher Hydraulic
Tin Mining Company, Ltd., the Serendah
Hydraulic Tin Mining Company, Ltd., the
Malay Cement Company, Ltd., and agent for the
China Mutual Life Insurance Company, Wee
Bin Steamship Company, and Koe Guan Steam-
ship Company. He is president of the Straits
Chinese Association and of the Oriental
Stand, acting president of the Weld Hill Club,
trustee for the Kong Siew Wool Koon, a
Visiting Justice of the Gaol and Vagrant
Wards, and a member of the committee of
the Tai Wah Hospital.
Dr. Qnoh Lean Tuck, vice-president of
the Pinang Anti-Opium Association, is a native
of the settlement and one of its foremost
Chinese medical practitioners. Born in 1879,
he commenced his education at Pinang Free
School, where he won several scholarships,
with medals, one of which was tenable at an
English University, and proceeding to Cam-
bridge, he studied medicine and science at
Emmanuel College. He was elected a Foun-
dation Scholar in his third year, graduated
B.A. in 1899, and M.B., B.C., and M.A. in
DB. GNOH LEAN TUCK, M.A., M.D.,
B.C. (CANT.).
1902. For some time he was engaged in
bacteriological research at the Liverpool School
of Tropical Medicine under Major Ross. He
won the Cheadle gold medal in clinical
medicine, and studied further at Halle, in
Germany, and at the Institut Pasteur, Paris.
Returning to Malaya in 1903, Dr. Tuck spent
a year at the Institute of Research, Kuala
Lumpor, after which he went for a tolir
through China. He has practised in Pinang
since 1904. Dr. Tuck takes a keen interest in
the forward movement among the Chinese.
He is president of the Pinang branch of the
World's Chinese Students' Federation, is co-
editor of the Straits Chinese Magazine, and
was one of the promoters of the Pinang Anti-
Opium Association. He is a member of the
British Medical Association, the British Medical
Temperance Association, and the local Chinese
Recreation and Cantonese Club.=, and is vice-
president of the Pinang Association. Among
Dr. Tuck's publications are treatises on " The
Occurrence of Tetanus Spores in Gelatine,"
" Observations of some Worms found in the
Aortas of Buffaloes and Bullocks," and "The
Status of Medical Science in China." He has
also contributed articles to the Britisli Medical
Journal. Dr. Tuck in 1905 married Ruth
Wong, second daughter of Wong Nai Siong,
of Fuchow, and resides at 38, Love Lane. He
is expected shortly to go to Tientsin to assist in
the reorganisation of the Chinese Government
medical service.
DB. SUAT CHUAN YIN.
A remarkable instance of one who has spent
many years in study in order to be of service
to his countrymen is afforded by the life-story
of Dr. Suat Chuan Yin, of Singapore. This
gentleman was born in Amoy, China, in 1877,
and received the first part of his education at
the Anglo-Chinese College, Foochow, where
he won the scholarship prize in the graduating
class. He then entered the Straits Settlements
Civil Service as interpreter attached to the
Singapore Police Court in 1898. In the
following year he resigned this position and
proceeded to the University of Michigan,
U.S.A., where he studied medicine for two
5'ears. Proceeding to Toronto University, he
graduated M.B., and was awarded the silver
medal. In 1903 he entered University College,
London, and in the following year took the
M.R.C.S. and L.R.C.P. diplomas. Subse-
quently he saw service in the National
Hospital, the Middlesex Hospital, the Children's
Hospital, Moorfields Eye Hospital, and Gray's
Inn Ophthalmic Hospital. Returning to Singa-
pore in 1904, the doctor commenced private
practice in partnership with Dr. Lim Boon
Keng, and this he still carries on. He is the
physician in charge of the Home for Opium
Inebriates in Singapore, and has done much to
combat the opium evil in the Straits Settle-
ments. In 1905 Dr. Suat Chuan Yin married a
daughter of Mr. J. H. Bowyer, of New Cross,
London, S.E.
Dr. R. M. Connolly, one of the best
known men in Ipoh, is president of the Perak
Anti-Opium Society, which movement he
originated. He is also president of the Navy
League, and managing director of the Times
of Malaya. He is extensively interested in
mining and planting and has made Kinta his
home. His residence near Ipoh is one of the
handsomest buildings in the Federated Malay
States. Dr. Connolly came to these parts to
join the Government medical service, but
resigned in order to practise privately and edit
the Times of Malaya. The editorial appoint-
ment he relinquished as recently as 1906. An
Irishman by birth, he was educated at Trinity
College, Dublin. At one time he was a colonial
surgeon on the Gold Coast.
Mr. Wee Hap Lang, of 19, Rodger Street,
Kuala Lumpor, is vice-president of the Selangor
Anti-Opium Society, and was a delegate to the
first Anti-Opium Conference at Ipoh. He is
the son of Mr. Wee Liang Hin, and was born
in Malacca. His father and grandfather were
merchants at Malacca. The latter was a
financier and established an extensive business
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
161
with the Malays and the Chinese miners. In
the course of business Mr. Wee Hap Lang's
father made many trips up country, and on one
of these, about thirty-five years ago, he became
siclc and died at Rolro Hill, Kajang. .Another
member of the family was murdered by the
Malays in Perak. The subject of this sketch
entered the Government service after obtaining
a training in different mercantile houses. Re-
signing in 1894, he started in business on his
own account at Kuala Lumper. Coming under
the notice of Captain China Yap Kwan Seng,
he acted as his assistant and English secretary
until the time of the captain's death in igo2.
On two occasions during Captain China's
absence in China he managed his affairs.
He is the founder of the British Malayan
Mining Company, Ltd., just floated privately,
and is developing several other mining
properties. He possesses mines of his own
at Serdang, Sungei Besi, Damansara, and
Kajang. Mr. Wee Hap Lang is vice-president
of the Selangor Chinese Chamber of Com-
merce, a committee member of the Mandarin
School, a trustee of the Anglo-Chinese School,
a member of the Turf Club, the Weld Hill
Club, and many other similar institutions. He
is also one of the originators of the Chinese
Christian Association of Singapore. Nine sons
and four daughters were born to him, all ol
whom are living. Of the former, one is being
educated in England and another in America.
The whole family are being thoroughly trained
in English and Chinese. Mr. and Mrs. Wee
Hap Lang celebrated their silver wedding on
October 10, 1907.
tt/^_
_^i-£
f^S^
""^
1)^^
GAMBLING AND SPIRITS
N Malaya the two methods
of dealing with the
gambling question are
being put to the test of
practice — in the colonj'
gambling is prohibited,
whilst in the Federated
Malay States it is per-
mitted within prescribed
limits. In 1829, on the presentment of the
Grand Jury, the legalisation of gambling was
abolished in the colony, and, though the
subject remains to this day debateable, that
decision has never been revoked. Public
gambling is a punishable offence, and the point
is often raised in cases brought on at the courts
as to what actually constitutes a public gaming
house. The fines levied upon conviction are
usually high, but there are still many who,
recognising that the gambling spirit is invete-
rate in the Chinese, incline to the opinion that
controlled and open gambling would be better
than clandestine gambling. Deprived of legiti-
mate means of sating the ruling passion locally,
many Singapore Chinese find their way to the
" Casino of Southern Asia," in Johore, which is
officially open to Chinese only.
In the Federated Malay States the Govern-
ment farms out " the exclusive right of keeping
gaming houses and of authorising public gaming,
and gaming by Chinese in private places." At
the same time, by means of rules which are
shortly to come into force, it is sought to place
upon gaming such checks and limitations as lie
reasonably within the power of the Govern-
ment to impose. These rules limit the time for
gaming : the hours will be from four till nine
instead of from two till ten, and the temptation
to leave work before the day is over will be to
some extent removed. Again, " general farms "
will be done away with, and a man will be
unable in the future to pledge his personal
belongings at the gaming farms, or to borrow
of the farmer, and so continue gambling after
his ready cash is exhausted. An age limit is
imposed, the employment of females in con-
nection with public gaming houses is prohibited,
and the payment of wages to miners and other
labourers within the precincts of a gaming farm
is made an offence.
The gambling shops are always thronged at
night with Chinese of both sexes and of every
class, from the wealthy towkays, who bet in
hundreds of dollars, to coolies staking cents
and half-cents. The vast majority of the
players appear to be so inured to the excite-
ment of play that their faces reveal nothing but
stolid indifference to their gains or losses.
The principal games played are poeh, fan-tan,
and chap-ji-ki. Poeh, the most popular game,
is played with a dice, each face of which is
coloured half white and half red. This is placed
in a brass cube, covered, and spun by any of the
players until it fits exactly into a square in the
centre of a circle divided into segments con-
taining the numbers i, 2, 3, and 4. The win-
ning number is that which the red portion of
the dice adjoins. Stakes are placed either on
the numbers or on the line between two
numbers. The bank usually pays 3 to i, less
10 per cent., on the money staked upon the
winning numbers, and even money on stakes
on a line between the winning number and the
adjacent number. In fan-tan a handful of
counters is taken haphazard and placed in a
bowl, which is then upturned upon the table.
The counters are counted out in fours by the
croupier, and bets are made as to whether one,
two, three, or four counters will be left at the
end. In chap-ji-ki there are twelve characters,
and bets are made as to which one the banker
will drop into a box.
In the Federated Malay States the Govern-
ment invites tenders for the " general farms "
(gaming, spirit, spirit import, and pawnbroking
rights), and the estimated revenue from this
source for the year 1907 was as follows :
Pcrak. — General farms, 2,040,000 dollars ;
spirit shops, 6,700 dollars — total, 2,046,700
dollars.
Selangor. — General farms, 1,500,000 dollars ;
spirit and toddy shops, 13,700 dollars ; toddy
farms, 6,240 dollars — total, 1,519,940 dollars.
Negri Sambilan. — General farms, 432,000
dollars ; spirit shops, 3,400 dollars ; toddy
farm, 1,800 dollars — total, 437,200 dollars.
Pahang. — General farms, 120,000 dollars ;
spirit farms, 1,346 dollars.
In the Straits Settlements the right to collect
the excise duty on alcoholic liquors is " farmed
out" by tender. The licence fees of all shops
where intoxicating liquor is sold are fixed by
the Government, but are collected by the spirit
farmers. In igo6 the spirit farmers paid the
Government 1,200,000 dollars for the spirit
monopoly — 600,000 dollars at Singapore, 540,000
dollars at Pinang, and 60,000 dollars at Malacca ;
while spirit licences yielded 48,476 dollars —
36,603 dollars at Singapore, 9,344 dollars at
Pinang, and 2,529 dollars at Malacca.
EXPORTS, IMPORTS, AND SHIPPING
STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.
By a. STUART,
Registrar of Imports and Exports, Straits Settlements.
S a shipping port Singa-
pore ranks within the
first ten of the world's
seaports. As a trade
emporium for Soutli-
East Asia the settle-
ment stands unrivalled,
its ramifications extend-
ing to the far-distant
islands of the Southern seas, whence it collects
the produce which it exports to Europe,
America, and India. Since the days of its
foundation as a British colony it has offered
to the world an example of what can be accom-
plished by trade unhampered and free, where
the producer finds the best market for the
fruits of his labour and the cheapest caterer
to his needs. With a prophetic eye to the
future opening up of China, Japan, Siam,
Borneo, and the Philippines, and a keen per-
ception of its possibilities in these territories.
Sir Stamford Raffles laid at Singapore the
foundations of an enduring monument to his
name, and added an imperial asset of the first
importance.
As a local centre for the northern portion
of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, Pinang
also has a story of continuous progress, while
Malacca, the most ancient of the three settle-
ments, provides a rich field of romance, show-
ing the natural growth of European influence
and the stages by which at last it fell under the
sway of Britain.
Of the total value of foreign trade inwards,
Singapore held in 1906 723 per cent., and out-
wards 693 per cent, ; Pinang 27^3 per cent, in
imports, and 30'! per cent, in exports, while
Malacca had the balance. This division varies
but slightly from year to year.
With the exception of an excise duty on
opium and alcoholic liquors, all the ports of
the colony are free, and the only charge on
shipping is a light due of 1 anna (rd.) per ton
in and out.
It is this freedom, combined with its geo-
graphical position, whicli is the cause of the
remarkable advance which Singapore made
even in the first few years of its existence, and
of its pre-eminence over the Dutch ports, which
were subject to heavy duties on imports.
According to Mr. Buckley's history, the trade
of Singapore amounted in 1822 to 8,468,000
dollars (Spanish dollars), and in 1824 to double
that sum. In the course of two j'ears and a
half 2,88g vessels had entered the port, and of
(these 333 were manned by Englishmen, and
(the remaining 2,506 by sailors of other nations.
The combined tonnage represented 161,000
jtons, and the value of merchandise cleared in
native vessels was 5,000,000 dollars, and in
I square-rigged ships not less than 3,000,000
I dollars.
,' Ten years later, in 1834, the total number of
square-rigged vessels entering Singapore
' Harbour was 517, representing a tonnage of
! I56,5I3. In 1842-43 870 square-rigged vessels,
with a total tonnage of 286,351, entered the
port, and there were 2,490 native vessels with
previous year of 496,601 tons in the case of
ocean-going vessels, and a fall of 30,111 in the
tonnage of native vessels. The revenue col-
lected by the Marine Department during 1906
amounted to 279,201 dollars, an increase of
3,026 dollars over 1905.
The aggregate tonnage of the merchant
shipping cleared in 1906 at Singapore (which
includes practically all the shipping that comes
to the colony) was nearly double that cleared
in i8g6, the figures being 6,661,549 and
3,993,605 tons respectively. The increase at
Pinang during the same period was from
1,846,087 to 2,868,457 tons.
Table A, compiled from statistics relating
to Singapore, shows the relative positions of
Britain and her chief rivals at the beginning
and end of the decade.
Table A.
1896.
1506.
Nation.
No. of
Vessels.
2,967
322
842
121
302
4,554
Tonnage.
2,630,472
484,447
284,410
182,390
411,886
Per Cent,
of Total.
Xo. of
Vessels.
2,608
533
1,328
158
654
Tonnage.
Fer Cenl.
of Total.
Increase.
British
German
Dutch
French
Other nations ...
65-8
121
7-1
4-5
10-5
too
3,602,126
974,241
677,487
390,124
1,017,571
54-0
14-6
101
5-8
15-5
971,654
449,794
393,077
207,734
645,685
Total
3,993,60s
5,28i
6,661,549
100
2,667,944
a tonnage of 69,268 tons — a considerable in-
crease in each case over the figures for the
preceding years..
With the exception that the shipping trade of
the Straits Settlements went on advancing
from year to year, there is no remarkable
feature to record until the opening of the Suez
Canal and the introduction of steamships,
which developinents effected a great change
in the appearance of the harbours at each of
the three settlements, and also served to
increase their trade.
In 1906 9,369 vessels (including warships)
of a tonnage of 10,444,896, and 15,783 native
craft, with a tonnage of 746,880, were cleared
at the three ports, being an increase upon the
Among the smaller competitors Japan has
made the greatest headway in the ten years
under review. From being eighlh on the list
in i8g6 with a tonnage of only 54,172 tons, this
progressive nation advanced to the fifth place
in 1906 with a tonnage of 238,454 tons.
Although the tonnage of British ships using
the port has increased so greatly, the number of
vessels was actually less in igo6 than in 1896,
owing to the tendency to build rnuch larger
ships now than formerly. The number of
Dutch vessels cleared in 1906 was nearly half
as great as the nuinber of British ships, but
their tonnage was only about one-sixth. This
is attributable to the fact that the Dutch have
a large fleet of small steamers travelling
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
163
between the port and the neighbouring Dutch
colonies.
In 1906 the trade of the three settlements,
exclusive of treasure, was valued as follows :
Table B.
Singapore
Pinang
Malacca
Exports.
$
202,210,849
86,996,891
4,633,837
293,841,577
or
;£34,28i,Si8
Imports.
«
234,701,760
90,761,013
4,886,937
330,349,710
or
£38,540,800
The colony's trade, exclusive of interport
movements, for the last five years is shown
in Table B in thousands of dollars.
The principal articles of export are tin,
spices, gums, gambler, copra, tapioca, rattan,
sago, hides, preserved pineapples, gutta percha,
and rubber, and the articles forming the chief
iinports are cotton goods, coal, rice, opium,
silk, petroleum, fish, provisions, tobacco, wheat
flour, gunnies, sugar, and spirits, as well as
tin ore for smelting purposes, metals, and mis-
cellaneous manufactures.
The above trade represents goods purchased
and sold in the local market, and does not
311,110
273,622
584,732
40,374
27,852
11)03.
1904.
1
325,868
255,439
1905-
%
319,777
265,185
584,962
12,457
17,776
igo6.
Merchandise.
Imports
Exports
337,796
272,210
317,851
281,273
Total
610,006
581,307
599,124
Treasure.
Imports
Exports
52,364
52,638
42,960
57,070
21,457
29,732
Total
68,226
105,002
100,030
30,233
51,189
Gross aggregate trade
652,958
715,008
681,337
615,195
650,313
include merely passing over transhipment
trade. The volume of imports and exports of
principal articles in 1905 and 1906 was :
Imports.
1905.
1906.
Cotton goods, pieces
4,810,733
5,406,218
Coal, tons
640,444
753,918
Rice, tons
450,612
450,615
Opium, chests
i2,96oJ
12,658
Silk goods, pieces
217,098
230,360
Petroleum, cases of 65 pounds
1,154,163
1,243,146
Sarongs, corges of 20 pieces
347,654
303,598
Fish, dry and salted, tons
55,012
55,205
Tobacco, tons
6,413
7,311
Tin ore, tons
56,329
52,026
Wheat flour, tons
23,705
27,438
Sugar, tons
62,927
71,929
Spirits, gallons
1,133,550
1,129,797
Exports.
1905
1906.
Sago, tons
47,788
50,002
Coffee, tons
3,745
3,704
Gambler, tons
36,803
38,976
Gums, tons
29,432
31,321
Hides, tons
5,448
5,711
Spices, tons
70,423
79,221
Tapioca, tons
48,05s
42,325
Copra, tons
58,631
40,772
Rattans, tons
25,367
26,460
Preserved pineapples, cases
548,096
707,498
Para rubber, lbs
221,129
941,665
Tin, tons
58,878
59,091
Of other goods imported into the colony, the chief values are seen in the following :
Manufactured Metals.
1905-
1906.
S
s
Hardware and ironware
2,681,000
3,160,000
Machinery
1,204,000
1,524,000
Tramway and railway materials
856,000
200,000
Tin plates
635,000
638,000
Corrugated iron
483,000
366,000
Steel
428,000
440,000
Nails
384,000
351,000
Gas and electric lighting materials
392,000
354,000
Tools, instruments, and implements
359.000
362,000
Other Manufactures.
i9°5-
1906.
$
$
Sewing th
■ead
686,000
582,000
Yarn ...
2,713,000
2,702,000
Milk ...
1,362,000
1,488,000
Cattle ...
1,348,000
1,787,000
Lard
1,614,000
1,134,000
Malt liquors
1,316,000
1,253,000
Beans and
peas
1,410,000
1,250,000
Provisions
5,822,000
5,9 10,000
Cigars ...
1,598,000
1,668,000
Tea
1,819,000
1,900,000
Vegetables
1,395,000
1,368,000
Medicines
1,874,000
1,905,000
The position of the United Kingdom as a
source of supply shows steady improvement, its
exports to the colony giving an increased excess
over European and American supplies, especi-
ally during the last few years. Thus, in the
import of goods of European and American pro-
duction into the colony, the decades since 1887
show as follows in millions :
United Kingdom ...
Europe and America
Total ...
Excess of British ...
1887-1896.
8185-6
«747
>3
Siio-9
1897-1906.
$304'9
«i75-4
i»48o-3
*i29-3'
In 1906 the distribution of the total volume
of trade according to countries was as follows
(000 omitted) :
United Kingdom ...
British Possessions
and Protectorates
Foreign Countries...
Total ...
United Kingdom ...
British Possessions
and Protectorates
Foreign Countries...
Imports to the Colony..
$35,210 or ii'i per cent.
$148,558
$134,083
467
42-2
$317,851
Exports from tlie Colony.
$66,493 or 23-6 per cent.
$70,062 „ 24-9 „
»i44,7i8 „ 51-5
$^81,273
The greatest portion of the colony's trade is
with the Malay Peninsula, the United Kingdom,
the Netherlands Indies, British India and
Burma, Siam, Hongkong, China, and the
United States of America, in the order given.
Of Western countries other than the United
Kingdom the United States is an easy first,
taking from the colony half as much as the
164
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
United Kingdom and ranking next to Germany
as a shipper of goods. The exports to France
are greater than those to any other Continental
country ; then come Germany, Italy, Austria, and
Russia in order. As exporters to the colony,
the first Continental country is Germany, with
a total of 5,500,000 dollars. Holland, Italy, Bel-
gium, and Austria follow.
FEDERATED MALAY
STATES.
Until a very few years ago the commerce of
the Federated Malay States could have been
summarised in the one word " tin," and even
to-day the value of the tin and tin ore exported
is many times as great as that of all the other
articles of export added together. But the
rubber boom of the past five years, and the
high potential value of the many rubber planta-
tions, indicates that in the near future, when
the trees are of tapping age, the pre-eminence
of tin will be seriously challenged.
During 1906 the total value of the exports
(excluding bullion) from the Federated Malay
States was 79,178,891 dollars, or £9,237,536
sterling, and to this sum tin and tin ore con-
tributed no less than 71,104,191 dollars. The
exports of cultivated rubber were valued at
1,855,436 dollars, and sugar (almost entirely
from Perak) at 1,044,625 dollars, while the
remaining 5,000,000 dollars was principally
for the following commodities, given in the
order of importance : tapioca, coffee, copra,
gambier, padi, pepper, gutta percha, and dried
fish. In addition to the foregoing, gold to the
value of 331,234 dollars was exported from the
mines of Pahang.
The principal articles of import were rice,
flour, provisions, opium, wines, beer, spirits,
petroleum, live stock, and manufactured goods
such as cotton textiles, hardware, and ironware.
During 1906 the total value of the imports was
44,547,133 dollars, or ;£S,i97,i6S sterling.
The following table shows the value of the
imports and exports of the four States of the
Federated Malay States (excluding inter-State
trade) for the last ten years :
or 400 lbs.) ; for each rise in price of i dollar a
picul up to 38 dollars the duty is increased
25 cents a bahar, and above 38 dollars it is
increased by 50 cents a bahar for every rise
of I dollar a picul in the market price. Tin ore
pays 70 per cent, of the duty on tin. In Pahang
a 10 per cent, ad valorem duty is charged on
alluvial and manufactured tin (except in respect
of the productions of certain privileged com-
panies, who only pay 8 per cent.), and on tin
ore a 10 per cent, ad valorem duty is levied
on 70 per cent, of the gross weight, with
2j per cent, rebate to privileged companies.
Cultivated rubber, tapioca, gambier, and
pepper pay a 2j per cent, ad valorem export
duty.
The revenue collected on account of customs
duties in each State during the last five years
(inclusive of both import and export duties) is
as follows :
Selangor and Kuala Langat has fallen off until
it is now a negligible quantity.
The chief port of Perak is Teluk Anson, a
town on the left bank of the Perak river, about
thirty miles from the mouth, and it is connected
by 17 miles of railway with the trunk line.
The shipping of the port is chiefly with Pinang,
with which port there is daily steamer com-
munication. During 1906 the tonnage of the
shipping of Teluk Anson was 150,397 tons.
Formerly Port Weld, which is only seven
miles from Taiping, the capital, was the leading
port of Perak, but of late years the trade has to
a large extent been diverted. Imports for the
northern part of the State come by rail from
Prye, and the trade of the southern part is done
through Teluk Anson. Other lesser ports,
which have a trade with Pinang carried on by
steamers of less than fifty tons, are Kuala
Kuran and Gula.
s
1902
5,686,121
1903
6,263,233
1904
5,723,691
1905
6,134,716
1906
6,815,591
3,863,523
4,217,908
3,906,327
4,069,283
4,281,17s
Xegri Sasirilan.
1,087,054
1,302,214
1,207,024
1,268,603
1,308,119
184,711
196,830
208,002
255,706
290,651
The bulk of the imports and exports of the
Federated Malay States are shipped either
through Singapore or Pinang, and the shipping
trade of the Federated Malay States consists
of the conveyance of goods to those ports,
together with a small inter-State trade. The
chief ports of Selangor are Port Swettenham,
Kuala Selangor, and Kuala Langat. Port
Swettenham is situated at the mouth of the
Klang river, and its shipping has developed
rapidly within the past few years. In 1903
the goods forwarded from the port totalled
110,312 tons in weight, but this figure had
increased to 147,524 tons in igo6. Thirteen
ocean-going steamers called at Port Swetten-
ham with direct cargoes from England during
Port Dickson is the principal port of Negri
Sambilan. The shipping of Pahang is almost
entirely confined to native boats which trade to
and from Kuantan.
All the harbours of the Federated Malay
States are free, but a small charge for the
maintenance of lighthouses is made. The
Trade, Customs, and Marine Departments of
the various States were in 1907 amalgamated
and placed under the supervision of a Federal
Inspector of Trade and Customs. In the
larger ports there is a harbour master and a
supervisor of customs ; in the smaller ports
one officer occupies both these positions.
The number and tonnage of vessels, exclusive
of native craft, cleared from the ports of Perak,
1897
1898
1899
1900
1901
igo2
1903
1904
1905
1906
Imports.
Exports.
$
s
9,021,296
14,029,261
9,957,934
16,265,801
11.335,502
25,095,524
14,124,743
2^,697,635
15,669,931
27,723,858
16,615,908
34,696,-797
19,411,442
39,628,132
16,738,423
37,251,435
19,471,126
40,151,480
20,971,694
40,364,544
Selangor.
Negri S
Imports,
Exports.
Imports.
8,278,754
9,017,742
11,914,087
13,383,226
1,864,422
1,963,418
11,997,519
20,183,910
1,971,013
13,530,031
12,388,988
15,681,422
16,178,010
21,304,078
24,026,211
24,416,637
27,254,896
2,841,647
3,561,616
5,782,094
4,883,387
14,910,397
18,280,639
18,103,473
25,857,012
26,270,954
26,613,302
4,216,090
4,331,918
4,368,880
Exports.
2,806,667
3,199,435
6,134,862
7,033,988
7 640,100
7,997,714
8,095,305
7,846,452
8,335,112
8,798,537
Imports.
910,059
997,071
1,323,886
804,976
834,736
754,279
554,447
1,002,219
1,081,546
1,103,086
Exports.
652,328
723,689
1,283,413
1,527,225
1,870,096
2,237,858
2,771,316
2,742,085
3,492,254.
3,402,508
The only iinport duties collected in Perak,
Selangor, and Negri Sambilan are on spirits
and opium. In Pahang tobacco is taxed as
well as these two articles. Export duties are
collected in all the States on tin, coffee, sugar,
tapioca, gambier, pepper, coconut oil, copra,
cultivated rubber, elephants' tusks and ivory,
blachan (a fish preparation), dried fish, isinglass,
horns and hides, bones, tallow, mother o' pearl,
jungle produce of almost all kinds, gutta percha,
gold, wolfram, and all other minerals. The
export duty on alluvial or manufactured tin in
Perak, Selangor, and Negri Sambilan varies
according to the market price. When this is
over 31 dollars a picul (133J lbs.) and below
32 dollars, the duty is 10 dollars a bahar (3 piculs
1906. Since railway communication with the
interior has been opened, the trade of Kuala
Selangor, and Negri Sambilan during the last
three vears are as follows :
Perak.
Selaxgor.
XliGRI S.AMBILAX.
Year.
Xo.
Tons.
187,620
182,253*
176,887
No.
Tons.
No.
Tons.
1904
1905
1906
1,068
1,288*
1,509
1,380
1,229
1,214
463,772
447,967
489,666
1,022
985
870
280,921
282,592
250,927
Approximately.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
165
Mr. Robert Symonds Fry obtained his
present appoiiitn:ient as Registrar of Sliipping
in 1894. For a few montlis in 1880 he was
attached to the Trigonometrical Computer's
Office in Ceylon, and in 1881 he joined the
Straits Survey Department as trigonometrical
assistant. In 1884 he resigned on account of
ill-health, but, rejoining in 1885, was appointed
District Surveyor. Three years later he was
promoted Chief Surveyor.
Mr. A. Stuart is the Registrar of Imports
and Exports and Officer and Correspondent
for the Board of Trade. He was born in 1861
at Brechin, N.B., and educated at Brechin
High School and St. Andrew's University.
He received his present appointment in 1890,
and in 1898 was temporarily attached to the
Customs and Trade Mark Offices in London.
Whilst home on leave in 1903 he visited, on
behalf of the Board of Trade, the principal
centres of industry in the United Kingdom,
with a view to affording information to those
interested in the trade of the Straits Settlements,
and received the thanks of the Secretary of
State for the Colonies for his report on foreign
competition in the colony. Mr. Stuart is also
Supervisor of Trade Statistics for the Federated
Malay States.
Mr. J. R. O. Aid worth is the first holder
of an otifice called into existence by the Federa-
tion, that of Inspector of Trade and Customs.
He has held numerous important appointments
in the Federated Malay States, including those
of District Officer (for Kuala Selangor, Klang,
Ulu Langat and Kuala Lipis), Acting Secretary
to the Resident of Selangor, Secretary to the
High Commissioner, and Acting Chief Warden
of Mines. Born in 1866, Mr. Aldworth is a
son of the late Colonel Robert Aldworth, and
married, in 1905, Dorothea Anne Harvey,
daughter of the late Mr. Richard Drew. He
was educated at Cheltenham College, where
he was prominent in all athletics. He was a
member of the first polo team that visited
Singapore in 1903, and latterly polo has been
his chief recreation. His association with the
Federated Malay States dates from 1889, when
he entered the Civil Service as a cadet.
MERCHANT SHIPPING LAWS.
The shipping laws of the colony have long
been in a state bordering upon chaos. Several
years ago, in response to repeated requests
made by the commercial community through
the Chamber of Commerce, promise was made
of a Consolidated Bill framed on the model of
the Merchant Shipping Act of 1894, which
would contain all the law applicable to mer-
chant shipping. Unfortunately this Bill has
never yet reached the Statute Book of the
colony. Renewed consideration, however, has
been given to the matter since the Home
Government passed the Merchant Shipping
Act of 1906, and a new Consolidation Bill,
embodying the main provisions of the Acts of
1894 and 1906, will shortly come before the
Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements
for consideration.
The law now in force in the colony is the
Indian Act of 1859, which was an adaptation
of the Merchant Shipping Act of 1854. In
the proposed Consolidation Bill the 1859 Act
is re-enacted, with the alterations and in the
form of the Merchant Shipping Act of 1894,
with which are incorporated certain provisions
of the Steam Vessels Ordinance, 1882. There
remain to be added certain provisions of the
new Merchant Shipping Act of 1906. In some
respects the Ordinances of the colony and the
Imperial Merchant Shipping Acts have for a
long • time overlapped. The Indian Act of
1859 relating to merchant seamen re-enacts
many of the sections of the Merchant Shipping
Act of 1854, without applying them to shipping
locally registered ; while the Marine Courts of
Inquiry Ordinance (26 of 1870), as amended by
subsequent Ordinances, seems to trespass upon
a part of the ground covered by the Merchant
Shipping Acts, and gives some of the functions
exercisable by the Board of Trade to the
Governor of the colony. The advantage of
having a complete manual of the law of
merchant shipping as administered in the
colony ready to the hands of those interested
is patent, and the object of the Consolidation
Bill is to furnish this. It follows that the
measure, when once it has been enacted, will
from time to time have to be amended in order
to conform with changes made in the shipping
laws of the United Kingdom, but this should
present little difficulty, and it is hoped that the
consolidation will make it more easy to keep
the colonial law in harmony with that of the
United Kingdom. In this connection it is
pointed out that the local trade of the colony
is carried on to a great extent in vessels
registered in the United Kingdom or else-
where, which, except in the matter of registra-
tion, are, for all intents and purposes, local
vessels.
This new Bill in its fully amended form —
that is to say, with the important provisions of
the new Merchant Shipping Act of 1906 incor-
porated in it — will do much towards relieving
British shipping from the unfair competition
with which it has had to battle in the past. For
instance, under the existing law foreign vessels
are not required to observe the PlimsoU line
in the Straits Settlements ports, and they can
demand a clearance though overloaded to the
deck-line. But under the new Bill all this
will be changed. Not only will the British
loadline regulations apply to all foreign ships,
and make them subject to detention for over-
loading or improper loading, but the deten-
tion rule will apply also to foreign ships
which are unsafe by reason of the defec-
tive condition of their hulls, machinery, or
equipments (including life-saving appliances).
The overloading penalties will apply to foreign
vessels clearing from the port and also to
incoming vessels from outports, which, even
in the United Kingdom, were exempt from
penalty until the new Act of 1906 became
law. In all likelihood this new loadline
restriction in the local Bill will be made to
apply, so far as British ships are concerned,
only to ships registered in the colony and
trading between ports of the colony, as there
is a desire to avoid interfering with British
vessels whose loadlines have been assigned by
a recognised authority.
Another important matter dealt with in
the new Consolidation Bill is the survey of
passenger steamers. The proviso is inserted,
however, that a steam vessel having a passenger
certificate granted under this Ordinance, or
by the Board of Trade, or by a British Colonial
Government, or by any similar competent
foreign authority, " if the Governor is satisfied
that such foreign certificate is to the like effect
and granted after a like survey as a certifi-
cate by the Board of Trade," shall not, so
long as such certificate remains in force, be
required to be surveyed under this Ordinance.
The words placed in inverted commas are
inserted with a view to the abolition of an
abuse which has been of long standing, for it
is beyond question that many of the so-called
official certificates carried by foreign local
passenger steamers are not all that could be
desired. Yet they have to be recognised by
the authorities here, and licences from this
port are granted in respect of them. The
new regulations give discretionary powers to
the harbour authorities.
Among many other important provisions
which have been made in the Merchant
Shipping Act of 1906, and which will probably
be included in the new Bill, are the application
of grain-loading regulations to foreign vessels.
and the discontinuance of the practice of
granting pilotage certificates to the masters or
mates of foreign ships.
From the examples given above, it will be
seen that the new Merchant Shipping Consoli-
dation Bill, when it shall have been passed
into law, will effect vast changes calculated
to benefit British shipping, not by imposing
any unfair disabilities on foreign vessels, but
simply by making them subject to the same
laws which have to be observed by vessels
sailing under the British flag.
INFLUENCE OF SHIPPING
COMBINES.
All the important companies which carry
goods between Europe and the Far East have
for some years worked in co-operation by
agreeing to charge uniform freight rates for all
goods carried in their vessels.
The companies participating in the trade of
the colony who are members of this com-
bine are the Peninsular and Oriental Steam
Navigation Company, Ocean Steamship,
Messageries Maritimes, Norddeutscher-Lloyd,
Austrian Lloyd, Navigazione Generate Italiana
(Klorio and Rubattino United Companies),
Compania Transatlantica of Barcelona and
Cadiz, Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Glen, Shire,
Ben, Mutual, Shell, and Hamburg Ameri-
can Lines, and the German-Australian,
Rotterdam Lloyd, Stoomvaart Maatschappij
Nederland, East Asiatic Company of Copen-
hagen, Russian East Asiatic Steamship Com-
pany of St. Petersburg, Russian Steam Naviga-
tion and Trading Company, and Compagnie
Fran^aise de Navigation des Chargeurs Reunis.
In order to ascertain the effect of this and of
other shipping combines upon the trade of the
British Empire, a Royal Commission was ap-
pointed in London in the latter part of 1906,
and a series of questions were submitted by
the Commission to the Singapore and Pinang
Chambers of Commerce. The replies of the
Singapore Chamber were prepared by a speci-
ally appointed sub-committee and were sub-
mitted en bloc to a general meeting of members
and approved. The Pinang Chamber of Com-
merce adopted the replies of the Singapore
Chamber.
The table on the following page was pre-
pared by the Singapore Chamber of Commerce
showing the freight charges before the forma-
tion of the combine and their increase since.
Passenger rates were increased in 1897 and
again in August, 1907, when a 10 per cent,
advance was made.
So long as merchant shippers confine their
shipments to steamers of the combination, they
are offered :
(a) At the end of six months a rebate of 5 per
cent, to each merchant upon such
freight as he contributes.
(6) At the end of twelve months a further
5 per cent, to each merchant on the
amount of freight contributed by him
during the first six months of the year.
This means that the steamship owners
always hold in hand retention money amount-
ing to S per cent, on a whole year's freight
paid by any one firm of merchant shippers ;
and, as the ultimate handing over to that
merchant shipper of this 5 per cent, retention
is contingent on his not having during the year
made any shipment by a non-conference
steamer, it follows that the amount of retention
money at stake to any merchant shipper doing
even a moderate business is so important that
he cannot afford to do anvthing that would
incur the penalty of its being forfeited, and he
is consequently— even though at heart he
would desire to break away from conference
steamers— compelled to ship by them only.
The Chamber of Commerce point out that
166
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH JNIALAYA
Average Freights
(Arrived at by taking higtiest and lowest rates each month).
Year.
Til
•5.
d.
Gambler.
s. d.
B. Pepper,
s. d.
Copra.
Rattans^
s. d.
Measurement.
s.
d.
s.
d.
1892
6
5
24
4
26
0
24
7
23
0
24
4
I«93
S
6
23
10
23
10
23
3
21
4
25
10
1894
5
I
26
6
26
6
25
5
22
9
28
5
189s
6
9
20
II
20
10
20
0
19
3
22
8
1896
5
4
13
3
13
3
13
I
13
7
14
6
Jan.-April, 1897
14
4
21
7
21
7
21
7
21
7
21
7
May-Dec, 1897
15
ir
22
2
o-}
9
23
0
23
9
29
8
1898
23
9
33
9
38
9
31
3
33
9
43
9
1899
27
6
38
6
43
6
35
6
38
6
48
6
1900
^7
6
31
3
42
5
30
10
33
0
49
2
1901
-7
6
32
6
40
0
27
6
32
6
50
0
1902
27
6
32
6
40
0
27
6
30
0
50
0
1903
27
6
32
6
40
0
27
6
30
0
50
0
1904
^7
6
32
6
40
0
27
6
30
0
50
0
1905
27
6
32
6
40
0
27
6
30
0
50
0
1906
28
I
32
6
40
0
27
6
30
0
50
0
SU.VIM.-iRY OF ShIPMEN-TS TO THE UxiTED KiN'GDOM, CONTINENT, AND UNITED STATES.
Piculs.
United Kingdom
Continent
United States of America
Total
1887 to l8gl.
1892 to 1896.
1897 to 1901.
1902 to 1906.
6,647,000
4,478,000
1,734,000
6,956,000
7,002,000
2,481,000
5,397,000
7,318,000
3,047,000
15,762,000
4,698,000
7,057,000
3,580,000
12,859,000
16,439,000
15,335,000
in addition to the two rebates of 5 per cent, and
5 per cent, above mentioned — another 5 P^r
cent, on the total of freights earned by the
.conference is, in secret, distributed among a
limited number of privileged firms and persons.
This percentage is 5 per cent, of all freight
contributed by all shippers. The method of
division is kept a secret by the participants.
The conference by its system has precluded
the possibility, in general practice, of steamers
outside the ring obtaining cargo either at
Singapore or Pinang.
Several anomalies exist. Gums to America,
for instance, are carried cheaper than to the
United Kingdom, and tin to America is carried
cheaper than to any port in the United King-
dom except London. The fact that goods to
America can be shipped via London at a
cheaper rate than they can be placed in any
port of the United Kingdom is a distinct handi-
cap on the British manufacturer of such goods.
Noticeably is this the case with tin, which to
Swansea costs 5s. per ton more than to New
York.
Again, the conference is at hberty to accept
foreign goods shipped via Singapore on through
bills of landing at any rate, since all tranship-
ment cargo is excluded from the tariff fixed by
the conference.
In reply to a direct question, the Chamber
state that traders are fettered in the free choice
of sea-carriage as a result of the conference,
owing to the removal from Straits ports of
cheaper tonnage, the supply of which was
regulated as to quantity and cost by the
demand for it. Prior to the conference this
supply was always available at cheaper rates
than those current subsequently. There is
now no option but to ship by conference
steamers unless at the sacrifice of a year's
rebates on all freights contributed.
Despite this, however, when asked whether
the combination of the shipping companies had
been productive of " beneficial results to British
or colonial trade during recent yeai'S," the
Chamber of Commerce replied :
" Yes ; in that cargo can now be shipped to
almost any port in the United Kingdom,
or the Continent, by better, faster, and
more regular shipping opportunities, and
the speculative element as regards rates
of freights has now disappeared. This
has assisted to create easier financial
facilities, reduced the rates of marine
insurance, and resulted in better out-turn
of the cargo carried."
The Hon. Mr. John Anderson, M.L.C., head
of the firm of Messrs. Guthrie & Co., Ltd., and
a member of the sub-committee to whom the
subject was referred, submitted that the reply
to the second question should have read :
" The operations of combinations or co-
operations by shipping companies have
not been productive of beneficial results
to British or colonial trade."
In controverting the reasons given for the
Chamber's reply, Mr. Anderson argues that
any better, faster, and more regular shipping
opportunities that now exist are not due to the
creation of the conference, but have been the
progressive outcome of a natural process of
evolution, in which improvement in design,
construction, and speed of carriers has been
universal.
If unforeseen or unexpected jumps in freight
rates, due to the natural and automatic law of
supply and demand, are to be reckoned as a
" speculative factor " of disadvantage to local
trade, then, he says, various sudden and un-
expected advances in freight rates, arbitrarily
imposed from time to time by the conference
by command from its headquarters in Europe,
even against the judgment of local agents of
conference steamships, may certainly be de-
scribed as a " speculative element "-in freights
introduced by the conference.
Extended and improved banking facilities
are due not to the existence or working of a
shipping combination, but to an expansion of
the volume of trade, the increase in which has
incited keen banking competition. Where
reduced rates of marine insurance have come
into operation, they are common to all parts of
the world, and are due to competition amongst
underwriters, whose risks are less in these days
of scientific ship-construction and navigation
than they were formerly.
Mr. Anderson ridicules the suggestion that
any genuine agreement has been mutually
entered into between the merchant shippers
and the combination of steamship companies
comprising the conference. The merchant
shipper is given the option — on certain con-
ditions from which he is powerless to free
himself — of taking whatever deferred bonuses
may be proposed to him by the combined
steamship companies, or he can go without
these and " shift " for himself, with the certainty
of resultant loss and disastrous disabilities.
One result of the conference, he argues,
certainly has been, speaking generally, disre-
gard for, or indifference to, the representations
and interests of local merchant shippers.
PILOT ASSOCIATIONS.
The licensed pilots of Singapore are ten in
number, namely : Captains Henry John, Fred.
M. Darke, Thomas Mackie, Alexander Snow,
James Thompson, Herbert Owen,^ Joseph Gray,
H. S. Hausewell, E. F. Stovell, and W. M. Ladds,
of whom two are employed exclusively to pilot
the boats of the P. and O. and Blue B'unnel
fleets. The remainder are independent pilots,
but for mutual advantage they have formed
themselves into an association and share
between them all the piloting work of the port.
Thirty years ago such keen competition existed
among the pilots that it was usual to see two or
three of their launches racing up the Straits of
Malacca in order to obtain the pilotage of an
outward boat. Shortly afterwards three of them
formed a pilots' club, and this was the parent
of the present well-organised association,
which keeps a staff of tambies to gather infor-
mation regarding expected arrivals and collect
fees from the shipping companies' agents. Each
of the members in turn acts for a month in a
secretarial capacity and apportions the work.
This system has been in operation for three
vears, and has worked admirably. The pilots
are responsible to a Pilot Board consisting of
five members, appointed by the Governor. On
this Board one of their number has a seat.
With the object of insuring an efticient
service of pilots the Pinang Pilots' Association
was formed in 1905 at the suggestion of
Captains R. Owen, F. Daniel, and W. Joyce.
Until that time each important company trading
with the port had its own pilot, and thus vessels -
outside the regular lines experienced some diffi-
culty in obtaining the services of a trustworthy
pilot. The members of the association are
appointed by the Pilot Board' after passing an
examination. The present members are Cap-
tains R. Owen, F. Daniel, J. Liddell, R. Pentney,
and W. Brown, all of whom are master mariners,
who for years have traded between Pinang and
other ports. The offices of the association are
in Union Street, and the agents are Messrs.
Cunningham, Clarke & Co. Recently three
powerful steam launches of about 60 feet in
length and 1 1 feet 6 inches in breadth were sub-
stituted for the old four-oared rowing boats
which were formerly in use.
SHIPPING LINES.
THE P. AND O. COMPANY.
This well known shipping company has been
closely identified with tlie growth of the colony.
For considerably more than half a century the
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
167
company has maintained a regular service of
steamers to the Far East, and the Singapore
office was one of the first to be opened in con-
nection with the service. As far back as 1844
wish principally to refer in this article. It was
in 1886 that the Far East was for the first time
included in the company's sphere of operations.
Sailings took place at monthly intervals, and
■r
c
i
1
Bl
%.
^A
\
Ik
mL
\
1
1
V
%
-. ■..; ■
%x
— ^jm-J
\
• * •^ I
ms.
\
1
c
!
1
■ -~f. h;*
until after 1892, when the old steamers were
replaced by new vessels, that the giant strides
of progress commenced. The doubling of the
East Asian Imperial mail service in 1899 con-
duced to most remarkable growth in the trade
with China. At the same time there were
placed, first on the Australian and then on the
East Asian routes, liners which were larger than
any which had previously passed through the
Suez Canal. The increase in the traffic of the
Norddeutscher Lloyd to the East may best be
judged from a numerical comparison with
former years. The tonnage of steamers of the
East Asian line was 50,000 tons in 1887 and
200,000 tons in 1907, and during the twenty years
the number of sailings doubled. The East Asian
Imperial mail service received a very important
extension by the establishment at the end of
1898 of the Indo-Chinese coasting service, em-
bracing all the islands of the Indo-Chinese Sea,
the coastsof Siam, Burma, Eastern and Northern
China, the Philippines, and the Yangtsekiang.
Seventeen branch lines now run from the Bay
of Bengal to the North of China, calling at
Singapore on the way. For this service the
Norddeutscher Lloyd bought out the Scotch
Oriental Steamship Company and the East
Indian Ocean Steamship Company, At first
twenty-six steamers were placed on the coast-
ing service, which now includes thirty-eight
vessels, aggregating 59,740 tons. The result is
that to-day the Norddeutscher Lloyd holds a
very considerable share of the coasting trade
of Eastern Asia.
The Norddeutscher Lloyd steamers on the
East Asian line are :
THE PINANG PILOTS' ASSOCIATION.
P. and O. steamers called regularly at the port,
and it was about that time that the service was
extended to Ceylon, Pinang, and Shanghai. In
1852 a brand"! service to Australia was inaugu-
rated, and for this Singapore was the head
office, the steamers running from here to
Australian ports to connect with the home mail.
From the commencement of its connection
with the colony the P. and O. Company has
owned its own wharf, together with extensive
godowns (stores) and other valuable property,
and very shortly this old wharf is to be replaced
by a modern structure. The staff at Singapore
consists of six Europeans and about a hundred
other employees. The acting agent is Mr. L. S.
Lewis, who has been for many years in the
service of the company and has held important
posts in various ports where the P. and O.
is represented. He is also the agent for
-Reuter's Telegram Company, a position often
given to P. and 0._ agents in outer parts of the
Empire.
THE NORDDEUTSCHER LLOYD.
The fiftieth anniversary of the existence of
the Norddeutscher Lloyd, the second largest
steamship company in the world, was celebrated
on February 20, 1907. In half a century the
Norddeutscher Lloyd has developed from small
beginnings — a service between Bremen and
England carried on with three steamers and the
Bremen-New York Line — to its present proud
position with fifteen transatlantic regular main
lines fed by twenty branch lines. To-day the
flag of the company flies from 184 steamers
with a gross tonnage of over seven hundred
thousand tons. Six and a half million passengers
have been carried on Norddeutscher Lloyd
boats, including more than half a million in
1906 alone. But it is to the part that the
Norddeutscher Lloyd has taken in the shipping
of East Asia in general, and of the Straits
Settlements and Malaya in particular, that we
the average gross tonnage of the steamers on
the Australian and Far Eastern lines amounted
to little over forty thousand tons annually on
the Eastward and homeward journeys. In
1887 the steamers Prcusscn, Bayern, and Sachsen
were added to the service, and in 1888 the
Kaiser Wilhclm II. (now Hohenzollern) was
placed on the Australian line ; but it was not
Prinzcss Alice
... 10,911
Prim: Litd7oig
... 9,630
Prim Eitel Fric
Irich ...
. . , 8,500
Scharnhorst
... 8,131
Gneisenan
... 8,081
Zieten
... 8,043
Roon
... 8,022
Seydlils ...
... 7,942
Prins Regent Lititpold ...
... 6,288
Prinz Heinrich
... 6,263
Preussen ...
■•• .S,29S
Bayern
- 5,034
Sachsen ...
... 5,026
SS. "DARVEL" OF THE NORDDEUTSCHER LLOYD COASTING SERVICE.
Captain E. Uttha.-jn,
THE NOBDDEDTSCHEB LLOYD (BEHN, MEYEB & CO., SINGAPOEE AGENTS):
HKAD Office, Bremen, The Staircase, ss. "Koexig Albert." Coalixg Hci.k at Tamoxc. Paoar. The Dinixg Sa(.oox, ss. ■■ Koexig .Albert.'
THE NORDDBUTSCHER LLOYD (BEHN, MEYER & CO., SINGAPORE AGENTS).
German Mail Stkamer "Golbex.'
German Mail Steamer "Prinz LumviG."
SS. " Prinz Eitel Friedrich."
SS. " Delt."
170
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
The steamers of the coasting fleet saUing from
Singapore are as follows :
Pctchabiiri
Borneo
Kohsichaii!^
Rajah
Pihanulok
Bangkok ...
Rajaburi ...
Korat
Manila ...
Sandakan
Chow Tai...
WongKoi...
Keong Wai
Singora . . .
Shantung...
Tsintau ...
Kwong Eng
Teo Pao ...
Chow Fa ...
Devawongsc
Paklat ...
Anghin ...
Locksuii ...
Choising ...
Pongtong ...
Samsen . . .
Loo Sok ...
Phra Nang
Machcw . . .
Maruiiu ...
Daivel
Daginar ...
Deli
Nucn Tung
Tringganu
Malaya . . .
Naluna ...
Ranee
Tons.
2,191
2,100
2,040
2,028
2,019
1,920
1,904
1,900
1,789
1,789
1,777
1,777
1,777
1,754
1,687
1,681
1,650
1,650
1,646
1,643
1,657
1,657
1,657
1,657
1,657
1,657
1,604
1,603
1,600
1,514
1,514
1,457
1,394
1,341
986
901
764
298
and Peiho. Appended is a list of the Hamburg-
America passenger line of steamers on the
East Asian main and branch lines :
THE HAMBUBG-AMBBICA LINE.
With 157 steamers aggregating 772,780 tons,
the Hamburg-America Line owns the largest
fleet in the world in point of carrying capacity,
with the exception of the International Mer-
cantile Marine Company (Morgan Combine).
The line was inaugurated with a transatlantic
service of sailing ships in 1847, and the first
steamer, the Borussia, of 2,026 tons, was
launched in 1855. In i860 a fortnightly ser-
vice between Hamburg and New York was
commenced, and six years later the sailings
were made weekly. In 1888 the company
decided upon the construction of twin-screw
steamers, and the Columbia, Augusta Vietoria,
Normania, and Filrst Bismarck successively
joined the ever-swelling fleet. It is note-
worthy that within the last few years, when
all the largest transatlantic lines have been
vying with one another in constructing ocean
leviathans of high speed, the Hamburg-Ame-
rica Line has maintained ils position in the
front rank with the Dcutschland, of 16,502
tons, built at Stettin in 1900, and averaging a
speed of 23^57 knots. But while, as the name
implies, the chief feature of the Hamburg-
America Line is the trade between Europe
(including the Mediterranean ports) and Ame-
rica, the company has for years maintained a
monthly service between Europe (Hamburg,
Rotterdam, Antwerp, Southampton, Havre, or
Lisbon) and East Asia, calling at Port Said,
Suez, Aden, Colombo, Pinang, Singapore,
Hongkong, Shanghai, Kobe, and Yokohama
on both the outward and homeward passages.
The line is represented both at Pinang and
Singapore by Messrs. Behn, Meyer & Co., Ltd.
In addition to the East Asian main line a
branch service, consisting of from four to six
sailings monthly, is run between Shanghai,
Tsingtau, Chefoo, Tongku, and Tientsin by
the new steamers Admiral von Tirpitz, Staats-
sckrctiir Kractke, Tsininn, Gouvcrnciir Jaeschkc,
Rhenaniij
Habsburg...
Hohcnstaufen
Silesia
Scandia ...
Admiral von Tirfitz ...
Staatssekretilr Krae'kc ...
Tsintau
Gouverneur Jaeschke ..
Peiho
Tons Gross
Register.
6,400
6,400
. 6,400
. 4,880
. 4,880
. 2,000
. 2,000
• 1,59°
• 1,740
• 756
THE MESSAGEEIES MAEITIMES.
An important part in the shipping of the
East is played by the Messageries Maritimes,
the French mail steamship company. Recog-
nising the necessity of regular communication
between the Levant ports, the French Govern-
ment in 1835 provided 3. service of Government
mail boats, but the undertaking was unprofit-
able, and some years later the Messageries
Nationales, which had then been in existence
for half a century, undertook to continue these
mail facilities in consideration of a subsidy
from the Government. The convention em-
bodying this agreement was passed in July,
1851, and the Messageries Nationales decided
to make this a separate undertaking under the
title of La Compagnie des Services Maritimes
des Messageries Imperiales, which was changed
in 1871 to that of La Compagnie des Mes-
sageries Maritimes. In i860 a regular service
between Bordeaux and Rio de Janeiro was
commenced, and a year or two later, in
consequence of the occupation of Cochin
China by the French, practically the whole
of the East, from India to Cochin China, was
embraced by the steamers of the Messageries
Maritimes. The first Messageries Maritimes
steamer to call at Singapore from Suez- was
the Imferatrice, which carried the mails from
London on October i8lh and arrived at Singa-
pore on November 21, 1862. From that date
a monthly service to the Far East was main-
tained for some years. The first steamers were
built at La Ciotat by Scotch shipbuilders en-
gaged from the Clyde, but after a few vessels
had been built the French workmen were able
to construct the remainder themselves. It is
needless to narrate in detail the immense
development of the company, which now
links up the whole world by regular main
and branch steamship lines. Suffice it to say
that the Messageries Maritimes has maintained
its position in the shipping of the world. Its
fleet at the present time consists of seventy
vessels, the majority of which have been con-
structed at the company's own works at La
Ciotat, and include the latest improvements
that human ingenuity has devised for insuring
regularity, speed, and comfort. The Message-
ries Maritimes now maintains a fortnightly
service to and from China, and, curiously
enough, the outward and homeward mails
generally arrive at Singapore on the same
day. An intermediate cai'go service is also in
operation between the East and Marseilles,
Havre, and Dunkirk ; and there are branch
services between Singapore and Batavia and
Singapore and Saigon in connection with the
mail services. The Batavia branch line was
inaugurated by the steamer Hydaspc, which
left Singapore on November 24, 1864. Mon-
sieur P. Nalin is the acting agent of the
Messageries Maritimes at Singapore. The
steamers on the Eastern mail line are the
following :
Mr. Teigh Eng Yeok, a shipping clerk
in the office of the Messageries Maritimes at
Singapore, is the son of Mr. Teigh Chim
Yeok, a Straits-born Chinaman. He was born
in 1882 and was educated at Raffles Institu-
tion. In October, 1809, he entered the service
of the Messageries Maritimes and has re-
mained there ever since. Mr. Teigh Eng
Yeok is married, and has a younger brother,
Teigh Eng Bee, who is employed by Messrs.
Katz Bros.
NIPPON YUSEN KAISHA.
Japan being an island empire, the Japanese
have practised the art of navigation from
remote ages, but owing to the policy of
seclusion which isolated Japan so completely
in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,
their adoption of Western methods of sea
transport is of quite recent date. Thus the
Nippon Yusen Kaisha, or Japan Mail Steam-
ship Company, was formed as lately as 1885
by the amalgamation of the Mitsubishi Kaisha
(Three Diamonds Company) with the Kyodo
Unyu Kaisha (Union Transportation Company),
and it was not until 1892 that the company's
fleet commenced a service between Japan and
Bombay that was extended a few years later to
America, Europe, and Australia. The Nippon
Yusen Kaisha has been subsidised by the
Japanese Government from the day of its
formation, and most of its services have been
run under mail contract with the Government
since 1899. With a capital of 22,000,000 yen
and a fleet of 78 steamers (aggregating 260,000
tons gross), the majority of them new and
equipped with every modern appliance, the
Nippon Yusen Kaisha now ranks among the
greatest enterprises of its kind in the world.
The vessels on the regular fortnightly service
between Japan and Europe and on the monthly
service between Japan and Bombay call at
Singapore both on the outward and homeward
journeys, and do a large trade here. In recent
years the Nippon Yusen Kaisha has been
making a bold bid for the Eastern trade, and
by charging reduced rates and carefully at-
tending to every detail that makes for the
comfort of passengers the company has at-
tained a large measure of success. The Singa-
pore agents are Messrs. Paterson, Simons &
Co. The following is a list of Nippon Yusen
Kaisha boats on the Europe-Asiatic service :
Tons.
Captain.
Awa Mam
.. 6,300
Cook.
Bingo Maru
. 6,241
Sommer.
Hakata Maru
• 6,151
Murai.
Inaba Maru
. 6,192
Bainbridge.
Hitachi Maru
. 6,700
Townsend.
Kanialuira Maru ..
■ 6,124
Eraser.
Kanagaua Maru ..
• 6,151
Ohno.
Kawachi Marti
. 6,100
Petersen.
Sado Mara
.. 6,220
Anderson.
Sanuki Maru
.. 6,118
Parsons.
Tamba Maru
.. 6.102
Butler.
U'akasa Maru
,. 6,267
Christiansen,
Caledonian.
Ernest Simons.
Polyncsien.
Tourane.
Occanien.
Ausfralien.
.irniand Behic
THE APCAB LINE.
One of the few privately owned steamship
lines engaged in the Eastern trade is the Apcar
Line, an old-established line founded by the
late Mr. Gregory Apcar, of Calcutta. The
Apcar mail steamers maintain a regular service
between Calcutta and Japan, calling at Singa-
pore en route. The services from Singapore
provided by the Apcar steamers are at inter-
vals of ten days to and from Calcutta and to
and from Hongkong. There is also a fort-
nightly service to and from Shanghai and
Japan, run in conjunction with the Indo-
China Steamship Company. Messrs. Paterson,
Simons & Co., whose operations are referred
to in detail elsewhere, have been the Singapore
agents for the Apcar Line for some years. The
HAMBURG-AMERICA LINE,
i. DisiNG Saloon, ss. " Habsblrg." 2 Promenade Deck, ss. "Rhenaxia," 3. Ladies' Loixge, ss. " Harsburg." 4. ss " Deitschland." 5. SS. "Beixravia
NIPPON YUSEN KAISHA (JAPANESE MAIL LINE).
I Promexade Deck of the ss. "Sado Maru." 2. The Main Deck, ss. "Sado Maru."
(See p. 170.)
The ss. "Sado Maru.'
1. THE SS. "JAPAN" OF THE APCAR LINE.
3. THE SALOON, SS. "JAPAN."
2 & 5. THE SS. "BENVENDE" OP THE BEN LINE.
4. PROMENADE DECK OP THE SS. "JAPAN."
H '■■
174
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
SCHBEPSAGENTUUB VOBHBEN J. DAENDELS & CO.
SS. "MOSSEL."
SS. "VAX RIEBEECK." SS. " REJIBRANDT" OF THE STOOMVAART WAATSCHAPPY NEDERLASD.
fleet of the Apcai' Line calling at Singapore is
as foUowB :
Tons.
Japan 6,300
G regory Apca r 4,606
Arratoon Apcar ... ... ... 4,510
Lightning 3,315
Catherine Apcar 2,727
THE SCHEEPSAGENTUUB VORHEEN
J. DAENDBDS & CO.
At a port of the size and importance of
Singapore there are naturally many shipping
agencies. One representing several important
lines is the Scheepsagentuur Voorheen J.
Daendels & Co. (Ship's Agency, late J. Daen-
dels & Co.), which has offices at the Hague,
Batavia, Weltevreden, Tanjong Priok, Sami-
rang, Soerabaja, Macassar, Padang, Emma-
haven, Sabang, Calcutta, and Singapore. The
lines represented are the Stoomvaart Maats-
chappy Nederland, which maintains a fort-
nightly mail service between Amsterdam and
Java, via Southampton (on the way out), Genoa,
Sabang, and Singapore ; the Koninklyke Paket-
vaart Maatschappy, which has a regular service
between Pinang, Singapore, and the Nether-
lands Indies ; the Java-China-Japan Lyn, run-
ning between Java, Macassar, China, and
Japan, sometimes via Singapore ; and the
Java-Bengalen Lyn, sailing between Java,
Sabang, Rangoon, and Calcutta, and calling
sometimes at Singapore. The mail steamers
of the Stoomvaart Maatschappy Nederland
are as follows : Konivgin Wilhclniitm, 4,200
tons gross register ; Koning Willcni /., 4,400 ;
Koning Willem 11., 4,400 ; Koning Willem III.,
4,400 ; Oranje, 4,500 ; Rembrandt, 5,800 ;
Vondel, 5,Soo ; and Grotiiis, 5,800. There are
three large passenger steamers belonging to
this line — the Princess Sophie, 3,500 ; the Kon-
ingin Regentcs, 3,600 ; and the Prins Hendrick,
3,600 — and there are eleven cargo steamers
with gross tonnages ranging from 3,600 to
6,400 tons. The Koninklyke Paketvaart Maat-
schappy has forty-two passenger steamers,
whose gross tonnages range from 3,200 to
264^55 ; five cargo steamers from 3,200 to
1, 630*36 tons ; one steam lighter, and four
stern-wheel steamers. The Java-China-Japan
Lyn of steamers consists of six vessels whose
gross tonnages vary from 4,800 to 3,900. The
Java-Bengalen Lyn has two steamers of 3,400
and 2,700 tons respectively.
THE
STRAITS STEAMSHIP COMPANY,
LTD.
-The only European steamship concern
having its head office at Singapore is the
Straits Steamship Company, Ltd. It was estab-
lished in 1890 with a capital of 421,000 dollars
(about ;£5o,ooo), which was all subscribed
locally, and it pays a steady return to the
shareholders. Since its estabHshment the
company has been engaged in developing the
passenger and goods trade between Singapore
and the ports of the P'ederated Malay States.
Although there is considerable competition in
the cargo-carrying trade, these steamers practi-
cally enjoy a monopoly of first-class passenger
traffic. Every year lately a new addition has
been made to the company's fleet, which now
consists of the following eleven vessels, most
of which have been built in Scotland to the
company's orders : Ban Whatt Hiv, Carlyle,
Hye Lcong, Lady Weld, Malacca, Pinang, Perak,
Selaugor, Sappho, Kiiila, and Sri Hclcne. The
new vessels are models of what up-to-date
passenger steamers for the tropics should be.
They are lighted by electricity throughout, and
electric fans are provided in all the cabins, in
the dining saloon, and in the smoking-room.
The Perak, one of the latest vessels of the
company, will serve as a typical example.
Built by the Caledon Shipbuilding Engineering
Company, Ltd., of Dundee, in 1906, this vessel
of 1,200 tons attains a speed of 14 knots an
hour with her triple-expansion engines of 1,520
horse-power. Her length is 239 feet and her
beam 35 feet, and she offers accommodation
for 806 passengers — 75 first class, 20 second
class, and the remainder third class, consisting
principally of coolie labour going to and
returning from estates in the Malay States.
The first and second-class accommodation is
most luxurious. The cabins are upon the
upper deck, and have large square windows
and electric fans, which give the passengers
plenty of ventilation. The dining saloon and
smoking-room are tastefully furnished, and the
former is both large and airy. Captain T.
Olsen is the master, and the crew of eighty
includes two officers and three engineers. The
company's boats ply between Singapore and
Malacca, Port Dickson, Port Swettenham,
Teluk Anson, and Pinang ; between Pinang
and Puket (Tongkeh Siam), calling at Tongkeh
Pang-ga, Tanoon, and Ghirbi ; and between
Singapore, Pahang, Trengganu, Kemmaman,
Kelantan, and Teloban, on the east coast of
the Malay Peninsula. There are agencies in
all the most important ports of the Malay
Peninsula. The company carries the whole of
the tin for the Straits Trading Company from
Federated Malay States ports, and the boats
J- Offices,
STRAITS STEAMSHIP COMPANY
', LTD.
2. SS. "Perai;."
3 SAI.OO.V. SS. ■• PiiR.^
"^y^-j^^ ^/^.y^^yzyryy^y^
I. SS. " Pix Sexg.'
GUAN LEE HIN STEAMSHIP COMPANY, PINANG.
J. SS. " Jix Ho." 3- Some of the Laixches.
4. SS. ' B.ix Wh.mt Soox."
TWENTIETH CENTURA^ IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MAI.AYA
177
have all the latest appliances for dealing
rapidly with every kind of cargo. How great
is the trade in this direction may be gauged
from the fact that the Pcrak alone deals with
from 16,000 to 17,000 packages on the round
trip. The head office, at 4, Raffles Quay,
Singapore, is a fine, spacious building, as will
be seen from the accompanying illustration.
Mr. D. K. Somerville is the general manager
and a large staff of assistants is employed.
THE GUAN LEB HIN STEAMSHIP
COMPANY.
The Guan Lee Hin Steamship Company was
established in 1895 by Mr. Quah Bang Kee and
his brothers. Only a limited service of small
steamers between Pinang and Singapore was
run originally, but in the last few years the
concern has developed into one of the most
prosperous local steamship companies in the
northern settlement. In 1897 a ferry steamship
service was opened between Pinang, Province
Wellesley, Kedah, and the minor ports of
Perak. Other regular services are kept up by
a fleet of three large steamers and seven
modern steam .launches. The company have
their own coal depots at Prye, and employ ten
European engineers and some hundreds of
Chinese and Malays.
Messrs. W. Mansfield & Co., Ltd., are
agents for the Ocean Steamship Company,
Ltd. (with which is incorporated the China
Mutual Steam Navigation Company, Ltd.),
and for the China Navigation Company, Ltd.
does a considerable passenger traffic. Messrs.
Mansfield & Co., Ltd., are also agents for the
Pinang Water Boat Company, Ltd., which
supplies vessels with fresh water and owns a
fleet of nine water boats and one launch.
The offices of the company are at 33, Beach
Street.
SHIPPING AQENCIES, Etc.
Taik Lee Guan & Co. are the managing
agents of a service of steamers plying between
Singapore, Pinang and Rangoon, and Singa-
pore, Bangkok, Swatow and Amoy. They are,
with one exception, tire most important Chinese
shipping firm in Singapore. The fleet consists
of six vessels, the Jiiiho, Perak, Ban Whait
Soon, Pin Seng, Janet Nicol, and Glcnogle, some
of which are fitted with electric light and
modern appliances and are well equipped for
carrying both cargo and passengers. The
Glcnoglc_ is solely engaged in the large coolie
and cargo traffic between China and Singapore,
and provides accommodation for two thousand
deck passengers. The partners in the business
are Mr. Tan Son Ee, of Rangoon, and Messrs.
Khan Joo Tok and Owah Beng Kee, ship-
owners, of Pinang, The manager at Singapore
is Mr. Lim Ong Lye. In addition to trans-
acting shipping business, the firm do a con-
siderable general agency trade. Mr. Cheah
Beng Cheang is in charge of the shipping
department at the firm's Singapore office, 76,
Cecil Street. He is a Straits-born Chinaman,
and was educated at the Pinang Free School.
general merchants. They have also a coconut
plantation at Batu Pahat. A large staff is
employed in dealing with the varied business.
Mr. Lim Tiong Ho is Ihe general manager, and
Mr. Lim Tiong Chuan, who speaks English
and conducts the firm's business with Euro-
peans, is the assistant-manager. When the
Chinese Chamber of Commerce was founded
a few years ago, Mr. Goh Slew Tin was paid the
compliment of being elected the first president.
That responsible position he filled very satis-
factorily for a year, after which he became a
vice-president, a position which he still holds.
He is also on the Visiting Committee of the Po
Leung Kuk, of which society he has been a
member for thirteen years.
Chop Soon Bee. — The stories of the rise
of some of the most successful Chinese
business men in Singapore from poverty to
affluence are very interesting. Take, for in-
stance, the life-history of Mr. Teo Hoo Lye.
On coming to Singapore as a young man, he
earned his living by manual labour and suffered
privation and hardship, but by the exercise
of thrift and perseverance he was able a few
years later to commence business on his own
account in a small shop. From this beginning
he built up an extensive business, which is
now carried on under the chop of Soon Bee at
27, Beach Road. The firm own the steamers
Flci'O and Banka, which maintain a regular
service, both for passengers and cargo, between
Singapore and the Natuna and Anamba islands,
where Messrs. Soon Bee & Co. hold the bulk
of the trade in their own hands. In conjunc-
tion with these steamers there is a fleet of
PINANG WATER BOAT COMPANY'S WATER BOATS AND LAUNCH.
The firm opened an office in Pinang in 1876,
after they had been represented there for many
years. Most of the steamers of the company
call at Pinang, and there are at least five
liners of the service touching the port each
month. The Ocean Steamship Company does
not caiTy passengers, but the coasting line
running between Singapore, Pinang, and Deli
Mr. Qoh Siew Tin is the proprietor of the
business carried on under the chop of Ann
Ho, at 237, Teluk Aver Street, Singapore, and
founded by his father, Mr. Goh Siew Swee.
The firm are the owners of seven small
steamers plying between Singapore and the
neighbouring Dutch and English possessions,
tin mine owners, saw-mill proprietors, and
native sailing craft for the conveyance of
copra, sago, &c., from the islands to Singapore.
For nine years the firm have had the opium
and spirit monopoly in these islands and the
gambling farm in Anamba as well. Mr. Teo
Hoo Lye, who is fifty-five years of age, was last
year elected a member of the committee of the
Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and his son
IMHlSaK!IBnH»^SKISSSSS!SSSO&
SS. "Pin Seng."
SS. "Janet Nicol."
TAIK LEE GUAN & CO.
(See p. 177.)
SS. "Glenogle. "
The Office.
The Managing Partner.
HEAP ENG MOH & CO.
2. SS. " Merapi."
(Sec p. i8o.)
3. The Offices.
\:^:^
1. The Offices.
THIO SOEN TO.
■z. SS. "Sarie Borneo."
(See p. iSo.)
3. Thio Soen To.
180
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Mr. Teo Teow Peng, though still under thii"ty,
occupies a high position in the commercial
world of Singapore, and manages the extensive
business operations of the firm founded by his
father.
Heap Eng Moh & Co. — The firm trading
under this name is one of the oldest and most
important of Chinese steamship agencies in
the colony. Established more than thirty years
ago, it has played an important part in the
development of the local coastal trade, and, of
late years, in the trade with Java and Chinese
ports. The managing partner is Mr. Chew
Joon Hiang. The fleet which the company
represent consists of the Zwcena and Evetidale
(owned by Mr. Chew Joon Hiang) and the
Giang Ann, Giang Seng, Merapi, and Simongan
(owned by the Samarang Steamship Navigation
Company). These vessels maintain a regular
fortnightly service between Singapore and
Batavia, Cheribon, and Samarang, and a
monthly service between Singapore, Swatow,
and Amoy. They have good accommodation
for all classes of passengers. The Merapi,
which is on the China run, is a very up-to-date
boat, and can carry 48 first class, 24 second
class, and 1,200 deck passengers. The principal
partner of the Samarang Steamship Navigation
Company is Mayor Oei Teong Ham, a native
and resident of Java, and a Dutch subject, who
owns several sugar plantations in Java and is
one of the best known merchants in the Dutch
colony. He has, also, a saw-mill at Kallang
Road, Singapore, and other interests in the
Straits Settlements. At the Singapore oiKce Mr.
Lee Hoon Leong is the right-hand man in the
shipping business. He is a native of Singapore
and speaks English perfectly, having finished
his education at Raffles School.
Captain John Kerr, inanaging director of
the Ban Ho Hin Steamship Company, Ltd., is
a well-known figure in Pinang. A native of
Dorsetshire, he went to sea when only eleven
years of age on a line of vessels engaged in
the timber trade between Quebec and Poole.
In 1873 he came to Pinang, and for some
CAPTAIN JOHN KERR.
(Director, Ban Hu Hin Steamship Company.)
years commanded various vessels plying be-
tween Suez, India, and Java. He was at one
time master of the Kongsi, one of the pioneer
vessels employed in opening up the valuable
trade with Achin. He joined the Ban Ho
Hin Company in 1884, and for eleven years
commanded several of their vessels, after
which he was appointed to a managerial
position in the company.
Mr. Thio Soen To, son of a Chinese trades-
In addition, they are the Singapore repre-
sentatives of Mr. Tan Chay Yan, the well-known
planter of Malacca, and of the firm of Joo Hong
San, in the same district, as well as of many
other tapioca manufacturers.
SINGAPORE STEAMSHIP AGENTS AND SHIP CHANDLERS.
OXG Gee Tye.
LiM KOK EXG.
GOH SlEW SWEE.
Yeo Ban Kexg.
Thio Side Kiat.
Oh Kee Chcax.
man of Bandjermassin, in Dutch Borneo, has
carried on business for a number of years as a
general merchant, steamship and commission
agent at Singapore, and at his native place,
Bandjermassin, under the style of Thio Soen To.
He also conducts the business of the steamers
Sarie Bandjcr and Saric Borneo, which main-
tain a regular service between Singapore and
Dutch Borneo. Business of an exactly similar
character is done by his brother, Kapitein Thio
Soen Yang, under the chop Ek Liong Ho,
at Bandjermassin.
Kim Hoe & Co. — Prominent among the
Singapore firms which supply ships' stores
are Messrs. Kim Hoe & Co. The joint
proprietors are Messrs. Seet Lian Seek and Yeo
Ban Keng. They established their business at
its present headquarters, 10, Boat Quay, some
nine years ago, and since then have achieved
considerable success as steamship agents, ships'
chandlers, and Government contractors. The
business of Tek Leong has been absorbed by
Messrs. Kim Hoe & Co., who are now agents
for the steamers Kciinfiot and Dcrwent, which
trade between Singapore and Saigon, and for
the steamers Johanne and Signal, which run
between Singapore, Hoihow, and Hongkong.
Mr. Lim Kok Eng. — Although still a young
man under thirty years of age, Mr. Lim Kok
Eng holds an important place in Singapore
commercial circles. Born at Malacca, where
his ancestors have resided for several genera-
tions, he came to Singapore at an early age
and received his education here. His business
career began in the shipping department of
Messrs. Hup Leung & Co., and after eleven
years' service with that firm he was appointed
superintendent of the shipping business of
Messrs. Kim Hock Hoe & Co. In addition to
this, he holds several other appointments.
His ingenuity has displayed itself in the
invention of a method of manufacturing
Chinese vermicelli from rice by machinery.
This is at once a good business undertaking
and a benefit to the public, the machine-made
article being superior to that formerly turned
out by hand. This new process is carried on
at the Hoe Seng Hin factory, of which Mr.
Lim Kok Eng is the managing partner. He is
also assistant manager of the Singapore
Foundry, Ltd., in the engineering department
of which he shows much ability.
Mr. Thio Sioe Kiat superintends the busi-
ness of Messrs. Hock Seng & Co., steamship
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
181
agents, tin mine owners, and general mer-
chants. Established some eight years ago in
Singapore, they have interests in tin mining
and gambler and pepper planting at Banca,
in Netherlands Indies. They also own the
steamer Governor-General Myer, which is of
600 tons register and carries both passengers
and cargo between Singapore, Muntok, and
Palembang.
See Long & Co.— No reference to the ship-
ping of Singapore would be complete without
mention of Messrs. See Long & Co., who,
from their stores at 11, Robinson Road, supply
several large lines of steamers. Among the
firms who buy their goods are the well-known
shipping agents, Messrs. Boustead and Messrs.
Mansfield, and, in addition, Messrs. See Long
& Co. are the recognised source of supply for
a large number of local and coasting steamers.
They import all the best class of tinned and
other provisions from English, American, and
Australian houses. They keep oilmen's stores,
fresh provisions, wines and spirits, fresh meat,
fruit, and everything that is needed for
victualling a steamer. The firm also owii
a bakery. The managing partner is Mr. Ong
Gee Tye.
Mr. Oh Kee Chuan vi'as the founder of
the business in Robinson Road, Singapore,
carried on under the style of Chuan & Co.,
commission agents, general dealers, and can-
teen suppliers to the British and foreign navies
and the mercantile marine. They have always
a large stock, and guarantee their goods. Mr.
Oh Kee Chuan was born in 1871 in Singapore.
He started life as a gutta merchant in 1892, and
in igoo established the present business. He
is a landed proprietor and a member of the
Sporting Club and the Weekly Entertainment
Club. He has one son, Mr. Oh Tiang Soo,
aged eighteen years, who is married and in
business with his father.
HARBOURS AND LIGHTHOUSES
SINGAPORE HARBOUR.
F " Egypt is the Nile and
the Nile is Egypt," as
Lord Rosebeiy declared
in one of his famous
speeches, it may with
equal justice be said
that " Singapore is the
harbour and the har-
bour is Singapore," for
it was the sheltered and commanding position
of the island at the narrow gateway to the Far
acquisition of the island of Singapore by the
British a local writer stated that "The absorb-
ing sight here is the forest of masts which
graces the harbour. Upwards of fifty square-
rigged vessels may be seen lying in the har-
bour, forming the outer line of shipping.
Inside these, in shallower water, may be
counted from seventy to a hundred junks and
prahus from China, Siam, Cochin-China,
Borneo, and other places."
To-day Singapore is a vast distributing
centre, and occupies the proud position of
the seventh port of the world. Its harbour is
computed to be capable of accommodating the
combined navies of all the Powers.
ENTRANCE TO NEW HAEBOUB, SINGAPORE.
East that first attracted the attention of Sir
Stamford Raffles when he was looking for a
station to counteract the influence; of the Dutch
in the Malay .Archipelago, and that has since
led to the great prosperity and importance of
the settlement. Within twenty years of the
In former days, before the increased steamer
traffic to the East consequent upon the opening
of the Suez Canal, Singapore Harbour pre-
sented an even more imposing appearance than
it does to-day. The sailing vessels used to
remain for several weeks, discharging and
loading in the roads, and there were so many
182
vessels lying in the harbour that the horizon
could not be seen for their hulls. Now the
huge steamers which visit the port seldom stay
more than a day or so.
The inner harbour extends from Mount
Palmer (or Malay Point), a fortified headland,
to Tanjong Katong. The coast-line here is
crescent-shaped, and a line drawn from one
horn of the crescent to the other would enclose
about 1,500 acres of water. Within this area
is usually congregated as heterogeneous a col-
lection of shipping as can be found in any port
of the world. Here are local coasting passenger
steamers, which are internally fitted up on
much the same lines as the latest ocean grey-
hounds ; there are huge Chinese junks, un-
wieldy but very picturesque when they have
full sail set ; in one part there are huge mail
boats ; in another Siamese sailing vessels ; and,
in addition, there are tramp steamers ; oil
vessels, with their funnels at the stern ; cargo
lighters of all shapes and sizes ; flotillas of
Chinese sampans, with eyes painted on their
bows, and smart launches steaming here and
there. Outside, in the deeper water, four or
five miles from shore, is the man-of-war
anchorage, lying in which two or three gun-
boats or cruisers are to be seen.
The entrance to the harbour is made through
the Singapore Strait, which is bounded on the
north by the Malay Peninsula and Singapore
Island, and on the south by the Batang Archi-
pelago and Pulo Batam and Pulo Bintang, two
large islands. The entire length of the strait is
about 60 miles. Its breadth at the western
entrance is about 10 miles, and at the eastern
entrance about 20 miles ; but south of Singa-
pore, between St. John's Island and Batu
Beranti, it is only 2j miles wide. Ten
miles from the narrow entrance to the har-
bour vessels pass between the mainland
and a succession of small islands, which
gradually converge till they seem to bar
further progress. The approach to Singapore
is along a channel so narrow that it will only
just admit the safe meeting of two large
vessels. The passage widens at Cyrene Shoal
Light, and the shore of Singapore from the
entrance to Keppel Harbour becomes an inter-
minable line of wharves, where nearly all the
big ocean-going liners load and unload and
take in coal. Tramps and smaller vessels
anchor in the roads and work their cargoes in
lighters.
The navigation of the Singapore Straits,
which was formerly attended with much
difficulty and anxiety, has been greatly facili-
tated by the erection'of the Raffles, Horsburgh,
Sultan Shoal, and other lighthouses. Even
now the large numbers of surrounding islands,
the sunken reefs, and the variations of the tide
necessitate very careful navigation, which is
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
183
OFF COLLYBR QUAY, SINGAPORE.
JOHNSTON'S PIEB, SINGAPORE. MOUTH OF THE SINGAPORE RIVER.
only undertaken by experienced pilots. The
pilotage extends from Sultan Shoal light in the
west to an imaginary line drawn from the
obelisk at Tanjong Katong to Peak Island in
the east.
The Government has recently acquired, for
three and a half million sterling, the property
of the Tanjong Pagar Dock Board, a private
company which for many years controlled the
whole of the wharfing accommodation. It has
also approved of an important improvement
scheme, which includes the reconstruction and
extension of the existing wharves, the improve-
ment of docking accommodation, and the con-
struction of three sea-moles, each a mile in
length, for harbour protection, as well as river
improvements, involving a total expenditure of
;£4,ooo,ooo. There was considerable opposi-
tion, both to the Tanjong Pagar expropriation
and to the scheme for improving the harbour,
on the grounds that the price of the Dock
Board's property was exorbitant and that the
further protection of the anchorage was un-
necessary, inasmuch as there are only a few
days in the year (during the prevalence of the
NE. monsoon) when vessels cannot load and
unload in the roads in perfect safety. Never-
theless the two projects were officially decided
upon, and to carry them out a loan of ;^7,8oo,ooo
was raised by the colony in the early part of
1907. The harbour improvement scheme,
which was prepared by Sir John Coode, Son,
& Matthews, of London, has been entrusted to
the eminent British firm of Sir John Jackson,
Ltd., for execution, but only part of it is being
proceeded with at present. This part is known
as the Taluk Ayer Reclamation, and consists of
the construction of a mole a mile long at Teluk
Ayer, which will enclose an area of 270 acres,
and the provision of a new wharf of about the
same length as the mole. Inside this area
there will be 18 feet of water at low tide, but it
will be possible to increase the depth to 24 feet
should this be deemed desirable in future.
When all these works shall have been com-
pleted Singapore will be one of the best-
MALAY VILLAGE AT PULO BRANI, SINGAPORE.
184
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
equipped ports in the world, well able to cope
with its vast shipping trade, which still goes on
increasing from j-ear to year.
TANJONQ PAQAR DOCKS.
Established just over forty years ago with
a capital of only 125,000 dollars, the Tanjong
Pagar Dock Company's undertaking has grown
to such gigantic proportions that when it was
expropriated by the Government in 1905 the
amount awarded by the Arbitration Court, over
for a length of 2,250 feet. As the business of
the company expanded the goods and coal-
shed space was increased.
The graving dock was formally opened on
October 17, 1868, by H.E. Sir Harry St.
George Ord, R.E., Governor of the Straits
Settlements, who christened it the Victoria
Dock. Built of granite and closed by a teak
caisson, this dock is 450 feet in length, with
a width at its entrance of 65 feet, and was at
that time considered one of the finest in the
East. At ordinary tides the depth of water on
the sill was 20 feet. The pumping machinery,
consisting of two pairs of chain pumps, was
the company, whose policy ever since has
had to be one of continuous progression and
development in order to keep abreast of the
multiplying trade. The number of vessels
visiting the company's wharves rose from 99
steamers of 60,654 ^ons and 65 sailing vessels
of 30,752 tons in the half-year ending August,
1869, to 185 steamers of 164,756 tons and 63
sailing vessels of 40,534 tons in the correspond-
ing period of 1872.
As profits increased the wharves were still
further extended, additions were made to the
machine shop and blacksmiths' shop, new
godowns were built, and permanent coal-sheds
- . V- " f .
'''J
xisiWi
which Sir Michael Hicks-Beach (now Lord
St. Aldwyn) presided, was no less, than
28,000,000 dollars, or nearly ^^3,500,000 sterling.
A considerable extent of sea-frontage at
Tanjong Pagar was purchased by the old Dock
Company soon after its incorporation as a
limited liability company in 1863, and the work
of construction was soon commenced. By
Augustr 1866, a wharf 750 feet in length had
been completed, affording accommodation for
four ships of ordinary size and containing four
coal-sheds capable of holding upwards of
10,000 tons ; a storehouse, 200 feet by 50 feet,
had been opened ; an iron godown of similar
dimensions was in course of construction ; the
embankments had been strengthened and
extended, and a sea-wall had been completed
SINGAPORE MAIN STRAIT
..^TItEEl.iruU)A..ICUPI»B&WI BAV .
capable of emptying the dock in six hours.
Curiously enough, the dock did not prove
remunerative for several years, complaint being
made by the company of scarcity of shipping
and "unreasonable competition." Indeed, in
those days, even after the opening of the Suez
Canal, it was feared that the employment of
steamers in place of sailing vessels — the substi-
tution of iron for wood — would deleteriously
affect docking all over the East. Such fears,
however, proved groundless. A satisfactory
arrangement was come to with the rival com-
pany, styled the Patent Slip and Dock Company
(which had two docks at Keppel Harbour), and
the divergence of trade to the Straits of Malacca
following upon the opening of the Suez Canal
brought ever-increasing traffic in the way of
were projected in place of the existing ones
This growing prosperity of the company led
to the opening of a second dock — named the
Albert Dock— on May i, 1879. Constructed of
concrete with a coping of solid granite, this
dock cost ;£s6,ooo and took two and a half years
to build. It is 475 feet long, 75 feet wide at the
entrance, and has a depth of 21 feet at average
spring tides.
In sketching the history of Tanjong Pagar,
reference cannot be omitted to the great fire
of 1877. It broke out on the afternoon of
April 13th in one of the carpenters' houses, and
so fiercely did it burn that in a quarter of an
hour it had destroyed all the workmen's
dwellings, covering an area of at least two
acres, and had spread to the police-station and
THE TANJONG PAGAE DOCK BOARD.
I & 4- Slipway, Tanjoxg Rhoo. 2, Albekt Pock from Signal Statio.v. 3 & 5. albert Gravixg Dock (entrance). 6. East Whari-, showing Godown Facilitie
I & / The Wharves. 3. The Godowks.
THE TANJONG PAGAE DOCK BOARD.
Keppel Harbour from Bukit Chermix. 5, Fire Float " Varuna." 6. British India Steamer " Teesta " Dry Docked.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
187
other buildings round the reading-rooms.
Finally it reached the coal-sheds. The build-
ings were highly inflammable, being constructed
of wood and roofed with attap (dried palm
leaves). For a whole fortnight the coal-sheds
burned continuously, and out of a stock of
48,000 tons only some S,ooo or 6,000 tons were
saved. The company's losses were estimated
at 53,000 dollars. In place of the attap coal-
sheds that had been destroyed, brick buildings
were erected, bringing the coal storage
accommodation up to 60,000 tons. The
natives employed in the docks, to the number
of some 3,000, were provided in those days
with a village of their own ; substantial houses
were erected for the company's officers ; an
iron and brass foundry, a saw-mill, and a
steam hammer were added to the property,
and improved fire-extinguishing apparatus was
provided. Quite recently a specially designed
and well equipped steel twin-screw fire-float
has been constructed by the Board. It is fitted
with a Merryweather pump, with complete fire
and salvage connections, capable of discharg-
ing 1,800 gallons of water a minute.
It is of interest to note here that during 1878
there were S41 steamers and 91 sailing vessels
at the wharf, their respective tonnage being
639,081 and 72,625 tons. The cargoes landed
at the wharf during the same year were :
Coals, 85,477 tons ; general cargo, 21,000 tons ;
New Harbour Dock Company (late the Patent
Slip and Dock Company) in i88i,the acquisition
of the Borneo Company's New Harbour property
for the sum of over 1,000,000 dollars, on July i,
1885, and the connecting-up of the various
wharves, giving the company a continuous
deep-sea frontage of a mile and a quarter, the
property and plant at Tanjong Pagar practically
assumed their present shape, though, of course,
numerous extensions and improvements have
been made since to meet the growing require-
ments of the port. A railway from one end of
the wharves to the other has recently been
completed to facilitate the handling of cargo,
and new works of considerable magnitude are
now under way, including the reconstruction
of the machine-shops and other buildings in
the dockyard.
The New Harbour Docks are situated about
three miles west of Tanjong Pagar and com-
prise two graving docks of 444 and 375 feet in
length respectively, with sheds, workshops,
&c. These were purchased- outright by the
Tanjong Pagar Dock Company in 1899, and
were included in the sale to the Government in
1905, as also was the company's interest in the
Singapore Engineering and Slipway Company,
Ltd., who are the owners of three slipways,
machine shops, &c., at Tanjong Rhoo. The
respective lengths of the slipway cradles are
155 feet, 116 feet, and 85 feet. The Tanjong
Company's property was unexpectedly expro-
priated some two years ago by the Government.
Various causes led up to this acquisition, and
important results are bound to follow. In the
first place, the Government had in hand a big
scheme for the improvement of the harbour ;
and, secondly, the Dock Company itself was pro-
posing to spend some 12,000,000 or 15,000,000
dollars on the improvement of docking
facilities and the rebuilding and extension of
wharves. Moreover, the belief prevails that
Imperial considerations had a great deal to do
with the transaction, the object of the Home
Government being, apparently, to establish
Singapore as a great naval base for the
Eastern fleets, for which purpose it cannot
be surpassed as regards geographical and
strategical situation.
It was on December 20, 1904, that the
directors of the company were notified by the
Secretary of State for the Colonies that it was
intended to take over their property on terms
to be mutually arranged, or, failing that, by
arbitration. The share capital of the company
consisted of 37,000 shares of 100 dollars each,
which from 1902' had never fallen below a
market rate of 300 dollars until December,
1904, when, no doubt on account of the big
extension scheme proposed, they dropped to
230 dollars. After the announcement of the
Government's intentions, however, the shares
TANJONG PAGAR ARBITRATION GROUP.
Lord St. Aldwyn (Sir Michael Hicks-Beach), President, ix the Chair.
(See p. 188.)
and opium 5,570 chests ; making a total of
173,147 tons. "Ti-easure was landed to the value
of 102,000 dollars. The general cargo shipped
during the twelve months was 64,175 tons, in
addition to 1,851 chests, 106,957 tons of coal
taken by steamers, and treasure of the value of
1,083,277 dollars.
By the establishment of a joint purse with the
Pagar Dock Board are also the proprietors of
the graving dock at Prye river in Province
Wellesley, opposite the town of Pinang. This
dock is 290 feet long, and 50 feet broad at
the entrance. There is a slipway for vessels
100 feet long.
As stated at the commencement of this
article, the whole of the Tanjong Pagar Dock
rose consistently in the market until thev
reached 500 dollars, at which figure they
remained, with slight fluctuations, until the
final settlement.
In the Legislative Council, when an official
pronouncement was made on the subject on
January 20, 1905, the Governor, Sir John
Anderson, K.C.M.G., stated that one of the
188
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
first papers put before him for his consideration
upon arriving in the colony in the early part
of the preceding year was a request received
by the Government of the Federated Malay
States from the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company
for the loan of 8,000,000 dollars at 3 per
cent, for the purposes of the proposed
improvement scheme. His Excellency found,
was necessary. He purposely said policy, not
management, because the Government would
have nothing whatever to do with the manage-
ment of the company, either then or in the
future.
To consider the proposals made by the
Governor, a meeting was held between the
Colonial Office and the London committee,
PINANG HARBOUR.
upon investigation, that the Tanjong Pagar
Company owned practically all the foreshore of
the colony suitable for wharfage for large
ocean-going steamers, while more than two-
thirds of the capital was held in London ; and
on reviewing the situation, he came to the
conclusion that if any question were to arise
between the community and the shipping
interests of the colony, on the one hand, and
the company, on the other, London would
have to be convinced before Singapore could
effect its purpose. This did not seem to him
right. Therefore he proposed to the Secretary
of State for the Colonies that the Government
of the Straits Settlements and of the Federated
Malay States should take up i8,ooo fresh shares
in the company at 200 dollars per share, and
that the two Governments should either
guarantee or lend to the company further
sums required for the extension of works
(amounting, as he then estimated, to some
8,000,000 dollars), with the following provisos :
that the Governor should have the right (a) to
veto the appointment of directors and the
members of the London committee ; and (b)
to nominate two members to the board at
Singapore and one member to the committee
in London ; and (c) to veto any proposed
increase in the charges on shipping and on the
warehousing and handling of goods ; and (rf)
to veto the distribution of any dividends. He
found that the number of shares held in
Singapore was about 10,000, which with the
18,000 he desired the two Governments to
acquire would secure to Singapore the balance
of the voting power. When these proposals
were put forward by his Excellency, the
Secretary of State for the Colonies was doubtful
whether they were adequate to give the
Government and the local community that
control over the policy of the company which
who declined to accept any effective Govern-
ment control unless their dividend of 12 per
cent, were guaranteed to them. This condi-
tion the Colonial Office declined to accede
to, and eventually the Secretary of State
decided upon expropriation. An Expropriation
Bill was forthwith introduced into the Legis-
lative Council, setting out the conditions under
which the property should be acquired. It was
hoped that an arrangement would be possible
without arbitration, on the lines of the London
\\'ater Act of 1902. A Board, to be called the
Tanjong Pagar Dock Board, was to be consti-
tuted. The appointments to it were to be made
by the Governor, one-third of the members re-
tiring by rotation every three years. It was pro-
vided that there was to be no interference by the
Government in the ordinary administration of
the port management. The Board was to pay
into the general revenue of the colony a sum
not exceeding 4 per cent, per annum of the
amount paid by the Government for the under-
taking, the object being that the company
should be self-supporting. It was also stipulated
that any further profits should go to a reserve
fund, available for any purpose connected wilh
the business of the Board, providing that what-
ever remained over after the necessary charges
had been met should be devoted to works of
improvement or extension, or to the reduction
of charges, if thought desirable. There was
the assurance given also of absolute continuity
of policy on the part of the new Board, as
well as of non-interference by the Government
in the management. This Bill was eventually
passed into law ; the property was taken over
on June 30, 1905, and the new Board was ap-
pointed with eight non-official and two official
members, since reduced to six non-official and
one official member.
In the meantime there had been a meeting
of shareholders to protest against the ex-
propriation and the Government's proposal to
pay for the property at the rate of 240 dollars
per share. It was pointed out that although the
concern had been paying 12 per cent, only,
disbursements, which might rightly have been
charged to capital, had been made out of
revenue representing an additional 24 per
cent., while the liquid assets had been aug-
mented to the extent of a further 6 per cent.,
thus bringing the earnings of the company up
to a figure representing a dividend of 42 per
cent. The shareholders also protested against
Government's refusal to pay the 15 per cent,
compensation usual in the case of compulsory
acquisition of property.
Efforts were made by conferences between
representatives of the Government and of the
company to arrive at an arrangement that
would be satisfactory to both parties, but so
wide was the divergence of opinion on the
two sides that arbitration had to be resorted to
in the end. A Court of Arbitration was
appointed, consisting of Sir Edward Boyle,
K.C., and Mr. James C. Inglis, of railway fame,
as Arbitrators for the company and the
Government respectively, with Sir Michael
Hicks-Beach, M.P. (now Lord St. Aldwyn), as
Umpire. The Court began its sittings in
Singapore on October i6th and rose on
October 26, 1905. The leading counsel for
the company was Lord Robert Cecil, K.C., and
for the Government, Mr. Balfour Browne, K.C.
The company's claim amounted to 76,510,976
dollars and included 33,539,792 dollars for the
general undertaking at twenty-two years'
purchase, based on the average profit for five
years, and 26,150,200 dollars for prospective
appreciation. The Government's offer was for
11,244,996, being eighteen years' purchase cal-
culated on adjusted profits, plus an allowance
for surplus properties. It was not until July
4th of the following year, 1906, that the award
was declared by the Arbitration Court, the
members of which had departed for England
immediately after the conclusion of the evi-
dence and completed their deliberations in
London. Their award amounted to 27,929,177
dollars, together with allowances for reinvest-
ment, &c., representing nearly 760 dollars per
share to the shareholders.
During the last half-year in which the under-
taking was administered by the Dock Company,
viz. the six months ended June, 1905, the net
profit which would, under ordinary circum-
stances, have been available for distribution,
including 206,645 dollars brought forward from
the preceding account, was 891,675 dollars.
From this the directors recommended a dividend
of 24 dollars per share. In the first six months
during which the docks were administered by
the new Board the gross earnings, excluding
work done on the Board's own account,
amounted to 2,335,000 dollars ; in the first half
of 1906, to 2,517,000 dollars, and in the second
half of 1906 to 2,308,000 dollars — making a
total for the eighteen months of over 7,160,000
dollars. These figures incl'ude Prye Dock.
After deducting expenditure, the actual profits
in each of the three periods specified were
respectively 663,000 dollars, 702,000 dollars,
817,000 dollars. From this total, three sums
of 222,000 dollars had to be paid to the old
company as interest — a charge which will not
have to be met in future. This shows a steady
growth in the earnings, despite the fact that
there was a considerable decrease in dock
repair tonnage in the last half of 1906, the
figures for the three periods being respectively
1,118,146 tons for 165 vessels, 1,065,320 for 155
vessels, and 838,280 for 144 vessels.
In the meantime, the great Harbour Im-
provement Scheme has been entered upon.
The first part undertaken is that known as the
Teluk Ayer Reclamation, which will embrace
an area of some 70 or 80 acres and add largely
to the shipping accommodation of the port.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
189
The erection of a breakwater and the improve-
ment of the Singapore river also form part of
the scheme which the Government have in
hand, and on which they propose to spend
;£2,092,600.
At Tanjong Pagar the worljs now being
undertalcen by the Dock Board are :
{a) The construction of a wet dock with a
When all these contemplated improvements
and extensions have been carried out, Singapore
will be capable of adequately filling the posi-
tion which she is called upon to hold as a
rallying point and strategic base for his
Britannic Majesty's fleets in Eastern and
Australian waters, and as one of the greatest
commercial ports of the world.
of i8 feet 6 inches at low water during the
prevalence of spring tides. There is a staff of
live competent pilots at the port. They have
their own launches and meet all vessels using
either channel. Within the anchorage, the
rise and fall of the tide is 7 feet in neap tides
and 9 feet in spring tides.
With the exception of the boats of the
PINANG HARBOUR (ANOTHER VIEW).
depth of water at L.W.O.S.T. of 30 feet. The
entrance to this dock will be 150 feet wide, and
the length of the wharfage 3,840 feet.
{b) The rebuilding of the main wharves in
concrete block vi'ork, having a minimum depth
of water alongside at L.W.O.S.T. of 33 feet.
(c) The construction of a graving dock at
Keppel Harbour, 860 feet long by 100 feet
wide at the entrance, with 35 feet of water on
the sill at H.W.O.S.T.
(rf) The removal and concentration of the
workshops at Keppel Harbour, involving the
entire reconstruction of the buildings, which
will be provided with the most, modern
machine tools electrically driven from a large
power-station now being constructed at Keppel
Harbour to supply electrical energy to the
whole of the Boarcl's undertaking.
PINANQ HARBOUR.
Pinang is the great transhipment centre for
the northern part of the Malay Peninsula and
Sumatra. It possesses a safe and extensive shel-
tered anchorage lying between Georgetown,
on the north and east of the island, and Province
Wellesley, on the mainland of the Malay Penin-
sula. The channel between the island and the
mainland is a little over a mile in width at
this point. All large ocean-going steamers,
whether eastward or westward bound, enter
the port by the north channel, which can be
navigated safely in any state of the tide by
vessels drawing 27 feet of water. The south
channel is only used by small local steamers.
It is studded with small islands, and has a depth
Messageries Maritimes, all the mail-boats to
and from the Far East call at Pinang, and they
usually stay six or eight hours. In addition to
beacons, wigham and other kinds of buoys, the
approaches to the port are shown at night bv
three principal lights— one on Muka Head, at
the north-west corner of the island ; one on
Rimau Island, which lies off the south-east of
Pinang ; and one on the flagstaff of Fort Corn-
wallis, in Georgetown itself.
Xo really bad weather is experienced at
Pinang either in the north-east or south-west
monsoons. Sudden squalls, accompanied by
heavy rain, prevail sometimes during the south-
west monsoon, but they never last more than a
couple of hours, and they are not dangerous to
shipping. They are known locally and by
seafaring men the world over as " Sumatras,"
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
191
from the fact that they blow across from
Sumatra.
A powerful dredger, capable of removing
350 tons of excavated material an hour, is
maintained for the improvement and deepening
of the harbour. During 1907 the harbour and its
approaches underwent a strict hydrographical
survey, and the new chart which is to be
prepared will show a greater depth of water in
many places than is indicated on the present
chart.
Until a few years ago there was no wharfage
accommodation for large vessels, but in 1903
Swettenham Pier was built, with external
berthage of 600 feet, at a cost of 600,000 dollars.
One large liner, or two ordinary steamers, can
berth alongside the front of the pier, which also
provides berthage for a small steamer at the
inner face of the southern portion. The depth
of water off the front of the pier is 30 feet at
low water spring tide, and is sufficient to enable
the largest battleship in the British Navy to
anchor alongside. Plans have already been
approved for the extension of the northern arm
of the pier by 345 feet, and of the southern end
by 225 feet ; while an extensive scheme of
reclamation is now being carried out south
of Victoria Pier. An important subsidiary
port is being formed at the mouth of the Prye
river opposite Georgetown. Extensive wharves
are in course of construction there, and already
a dry dock, foundries, and workshops have been
built for the execution of repairs to shipping.
Situated as it is off the centre of the west coast
of the Malay Peninsula, which is being rapidly
opened up and developed, Pinang has great
possibilities as a shipping centre in the near
future.
MALACCA HARBOUR.
Malacca has neither a natural nor an artificial
harbour which can be properly so designated.
The town is built at the mouth of the Malacca
river, and, although within recent years con-
siderable improvements have been carried out
and the channel has been deepened, all vessels,
except native craft, have to anchor outside,
some distance from the town. Two permanent
rubble groynes have been built up to high-
water-above-spring-tide mark, the one on the
north and the other on the south side of the
channel at the river mouth. The north groyne
is 1,850 feet in length, and the south groyne
at the time of writing is 1,455 f^^t- Dredging
has been carried on since 1899, and up to the
present time 62,321 tons have been removed.
By this means an area of 26,439 square feet
of land has been reclaimed on the south
and is retained by the groynes. The work of
reclamation on the north side is approaching
completion. As a result of this river improve-
ment, Chinese junks and large cargo-lighters
can now enter the river, and the latter are able
to land their contents quite close to the railway.
These extended facilities have caused a con-
siderable increase in the shipping of the port.
In 1906, 1,530 steam vessels of an aggregate
tonnage of 320,121 tons, and 1,241 native craft,
representing 25,832 tons, cleared at the port.
A weekly service of steamers to Pinang, Singa-
pore, and the Federated Malay States ports
calls at Malacca.
FEDERATED MALAY
STATES HARBOURS.
The harbours of the Federated Malay States
are five in number. They are Port Weld and
Teluk Anson in Perak, Port Swettenham in
Selangor, Port Dickson in Negri Sambilan, and
Kuantan in Pahang.
The boom in the trade of the Federated
Malay States during the past few years and the
prospect of remarkable development in the
near future has given rise to considerable
speculation as to which will be the principal
port of the States. There seems now to be a
general consensus of opinion that Port Swet-
tenham is destined to fill that position. It is
situated at the mouth of the Klang river, which
is sheltered by two islands, Pulo Klang and
Pulo Lumut. By the northern entrance —
steamers have put in at the port with increasmg
Irequency, until in 1906 fifteen vessels called
there direct from Europe. These vessels anchor
in the stream in 7 fathoms of water. The port
is large enough to accommodate at one time
eight or nine ocean steamers, besides local
shipping. The railway runs on to the wharves,
so that cargo may be quickly despatched to
PINANG HARBOUR (ANOTHER VIEW).
between Pulo Klang and the mainland — Port
Swettenham is six miles from the open sea,
and by the southern entrance — between Pulo
Lumut and the mainland — twelve miles.
Originally the port of call for Selangor was
Klang, which is four or five miles further up
the river. Owing to the inadequate accommo-
dation there, the Government reclaimed the
swamp upon which Port Swettenham novv
stands, and built the new port at great expense.
Kuala Lumpor, the Federal capital, 28 miles
away, or to any town on the railway system.
In this way large quantities of rubber and
mining machinery are distributed over the
States. A good service of passenger trains
runs from the station adjoining the jetty.
Already quite an important township, with a
population of over 1,000, has sprung up where
ten years ago was nothing but an uninhabitable
swamp. There is now some talk of extending
PORT SWETTENHAM.
naming it after Sir Frank Swettenham, who
was Governor of the Straits Settlements and
High Commissioner for the Federated Malay
States at the time. There are three substantial
wharves and a passenger jetty resting on steel
piles, alongside of which there is a depth of
water sufficient to berth vessels drawing 16 feet.
Within the last two vears large ocean-going
the railway line to the end of the point at the
entrance to the north channel in order to
concentrate trade.
Formerly the chief port of Perak was Port
Weld, so-named after Sir Frederick \\'eld, a
former Governor of the Straits Settlements and
High Commissioner of the Federated Malay
States. It is situated at the mouth of the
192
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Sapatang river, and is only seven miler> disLant
from Taiping, with which it is connected by
rail. Since the completion of the railway to
Prye the shipping of Port Weld has decreased,
and the goods which formerly entered the port
Port Dickson in Negri Sambilan offers good
anchorage and has regular steamer connection
with Pinang and Singapore.
There is no harbour worthy of the name on
the east coast of the peninsula, unless it be at
PORT SWETTBNHAM— THE RAILWAY SIDING.
are now carried by rail from the northern
terminus.
Teluk Anson is now the only port of any
importance in Perak. It is situated on the left
bank of the Perak river, about tliirty miles
from the mouth. The river is easily navigable
up to Teluk Anson for vessels drawing 15 or 16
feet of water. This port has made wonderful
the mouth of the river Kuautan, in Pahang,
where there is a deep-water front stretching
for miles up the river. Xo vessel drawing over
ID feet of water can enter the river, and even
smaller vessels must so time their arrival and
departure as to take advantage of the high-tide,
owing to the presence of a sand-bar at the
river's mouth. Dredging operations are now
PORT DICKSON.
progress, its shipping having been quadrupled
within ten years. It has regular daily connec-
tion with Pinang and Singapore by vessels
which provide excellent accommodation both
for passengers and cargo .
in progress, however, to remove the bar, and
later on, if the development of trade should
necessitate it, as seems not unlikely, a groyne
may be run out from Tanjong Gelang to
prevent further silting. A new road which is
being constructed from Kuantan to Raub will
join the existing road at Benta and give through
communication from one side of the Malay
Peninsula to the other. Incidentally, it will
serve to open up a great extent of country
reputed to be rich in tin. A railway line has
also been projected from Seremban to this
district, which promises in the near future to
become of considerable importance.
Commander C. A. Radcliffe, R.X., the
Master Attendant of the Straits Settlements,
is a native of Devonshire. Son of Mr. Walter
Copplestone Radcliffe, land-owner, he entered
the navy as a cadet in 1875, when he was
fouiteen years of age. A midshipman in 1877,
he was promoted sub-lieutenant in 1881, lieu-
tenant in 1884, and commander in 1905. He
served on the Mediterranean, East Indian,
Pacific, and Channel Island Stations, and was
present at Sawakni during the Soudan War,
for which he was awarded the Egyptian medal
with clasp and Khedive's star. Commander
Radcliffe has twice received letters of thanks
from the Admiralty for supplying valuable
information for the correction and compilation
of charts and sailing directions relating to the
east coasts of Scotland and England. He
resigned his commission in 1893, and went out
to Taku in 1898 as commander and navigating
officer of the cruiser Haiten, built on the Tyne
by Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whitworth, & Co.
for the Chinese Government. In 1901-2, he
was captain of the cruiser Chacabucco, sold by
the same firm of shipbuilders to the Chilian
Government. He was appointed Deputy Master
Attendant of the Straits Settlements in 1903,
and became Acting Harbour Master of Pinang
in the same year. Having served as Acting
Master Attendant, Straits Settlements, for two
years, he was in 1906 appointed Master Atten-
dant. Commander Radcliffe is a member of the
Naval and Military and Constitutional Clubs,
London, and of the Singapore Club. He was
married in 1888, and has one son and one
daughter .
Commander D. C. Macintyre, Harbour
Master at Pinang, was formerly in the Royal
Naval Reserve. He received his present ap-
pointment in 1903, and the year following was
deputed for service outside the colony, but
resumed duty at Pinang later in the same year.
Mr. W. E. Maddocks, Harbour Master at
Malacca, was born at Newbridge, Cheshire, in
1873. After leaving school he served a five
years' apprenticeship on a line of sailing vessels
trading with South America. In 1901 he was
appointed chief officer of the Straits Settle-
ments colonial steamer Sea Belle, and first
appointed Harbour Master at Malacca in 1901.
Since then he has acted temporarily as Deputy
Master Attendant, Singapore.
Commander J. F. Mills. — The harbour
department of Perakisunder the control of Com-
mander J. F. Mills, R.N. (retired), who was
born in May, 1855. He entered the navy at the
age of thirteen, was promoted sub-lieutenant
in 187s, and lieutenant four years later. After
twenty-two years' service he retired, and in
1892 was appointed Harbour Master of Teluk
Anson. In 1895 he was given the rank of
Commander R.N., and he has subsequently
served the Perak Governrnent as District
Magistrate and Harbour Master, Lower Perak.
His present appointment dates from 1902.
Mr. R. Q. Hickey.— In 1880 Mr. R. G.
Hickey was sailing round the globe as an
apprentice on a sailing ship. Twenty-two
years later he was appointed Harbour Master
at Pinang, and in August, 1905, was transferred
to Port Swettenham in a similar capacity. He
was born at Calcutta in 1865, and his father,
the late Mr. Walter R. G. Hickey, R.E., of
Bangalore, India, sent him to Christ's Hospital,
London, to be educated. Afterwards he went
to sea and remained afloat until 1902, when he
settled in the Straits Settlements. Mr. Hickey
holds a shipmaster's certificate from London.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
193
LIGHTHOUSES.
THE dangers attendant upon the navigation
of the Straits of Malacca in bygone days
are attested by a long record of shipping dis-
asters. Although the waters were studded
with islands, reefs, and shoals, no attempt was
made to warn the mariner at night of their
proximity until 1850, when the Horsburgh
Light was exhibited at Singapore. Once a
beginning had been made, other beacons were
erected from time to time. In 1875 there were
five lighthouses, and by 1889 the number had
doubled. To-day there are thirteen light-
houses and numerous buoys between Singa-
pore and Pinang to direct the sailor on his
course, and it is no doubt due, in large measure,
to their presence that there has not been a
shipping casualty of any magnitude for several
years.
Of the thirteen Ughthouses referred to,
Singapore can claim five, Malacca four, and
Pinang four. The original outlay upon each
and the cost of maintenance is shown by the
accompanying table, taken from the Straits
Settlements Blue Bock.
The Horsburgh Lighthouse, on the Pedra
Branca, about 36 miles from Singapore, marks
the eastern end of the Singapore Straits. It
stands 100 feet out of tlie sea, and has a first
order revolving light, shovi'ing a flash every
10 seconds that is visible at a distance of
20 miles in clear weather. The tower is belted
with alternate black and white bands. Its
latitude is 1° 20' North, and its longitude 104°
24' 30" East.
The Fort Canning Lighthouse, commanding
the approaches to Singapore Harbour, is the
latest of all the lighthouses, and cost the most
to construct. Its elevation is 202 feet above
high water, and it has a range of 18 miles.
Previous to October, 1903, there had been a
fixed gas-light, known as the Harbour Light,
on Fort Canning, but on that date it gave place
to the existing light, which is a first order
dioptric occulting white and red light of go,ooo
candle-power, visible for 17 seconds, with an
eclipse lasting 3 seconds.
The Raffles Lighthouse, on Coney Island,
about 13 miles to the south-west of Singapore,
marks the Outer and South Channel round St.
John's Island in the Singapore Roads. Its
elevation is 106 feet above sea-level, in latitude
1° 9' North and longitude 103° 44' 30"
East. Its bright, fixed white light of the
third order can be seen from a distance of
12 miles.
The Pulau Pisang Lighthouse is a circular
tower of a brick-red colour, 40 feet in height,
with balcony and lantern of white and out-
buildings of grey, situated on the highest part
of Pulau Pisang Island, in latitude 1° 27' 30"
North and longitude 103° 15' East. It has a
revolving light of the first order, 325 feet above
sea-level, flashing every 5 seconds, and show-
ing all round the horizon for a distance of
30 miles.
Tlie Sultan Shoal Lighthouse is built on the
Sultan Shoal in latitude 1° 14' 30" North and
longitude 103=39' -5" East. It has a revolving
catoptric light, 60 feet above high-water mark,
that gives a bright flash every 30 seconds,
visible all round for a distance of 13 miles.
The tower is surrounded by the keeper's
dwelling, which is two stories in height and
reaches to within 18 feet of the lantern.
The Pulau Undan Lighthouse, on the Pulau
Undan Island, 100 feet high and 155 feet above
sea-level, shows an intermittent flashlight of
the third order at intervals of 10 and 20 seconds,
and is visible in clear weather from a distance
of 20 miles. Its latitude is '2° 3' North and
longitude 102° 20' 30" East.
The Malacca Harbour Light is a fixed light
of the fourth order, elevated 180 feet above sea-
level, in latitude 2° 11' 20" North and longitude
Horsburgh Light, Singapore ...
Fort Canning Light, Singapore
Raffles Light, Singapore
Pulau Pisang Light, Singapore
Sultan Shoal Light, Singapore
Pulau Undan Light, Malacca ...
Harbour Light, Malacca
Cape Rachado Light, Malacca
Screw Pile Light, Malacca
Pulau Rimau Light, Pinang ...
Harbour Light, Pinang
Muka Head Light, Pinang
Tanjong Hantu Light, Pinang
Total
1850
1903
1856
1886
1896
1880
1861
1863
1874
1884
1884
1883
1901
Total Cost of
Cost.
Maintenance
(Annually).
$ c.
•« c.
48,377 00 ■
3,645 35
64,418 00
4,015 65
3,291 00
3,406 62
44,4.54 00
3,934 25
34,450 00
2,658 65
15.423 00
3,504 35
772 00
x6,454 00
55,700 00
4,715 00
10,224 00
37,929 00
6,991 37
343,178 37
38,547 68
1 The original cost was 23,625 dollars, and the cost of alterations and new light 24,752 dollars.
FORT CANNING LIGHTHOUSE.
194
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
102° 15' 30" East. It can be seen 13 miles
away.
Cape Rachado Lighthouse, standing on a
high bluff of land 30 miles to the north of
Malacca, in latitude 2° 25' North and longitude
101° 51' East, lights up the narrow part of the
Straits in the neighbourhood of the Pyramid
and Bambeck Shoals. A fixed light of the
second order, elevated 446 feet above the level
of the sea, it is discernible from a distance of
26 miles.
The Screw Pile Lighthouse is screwed down
on the North Sands, Straits of Malacca, in
18 feet of water, in latitude 2° 52' 50" North,
longitude lOO" 58' 40" East. A third order
revolving light with intervals of i minute, it
stands 55 feet above sea-level in a tower of
red and slate colour, and is visible all round
from a distance of 15 miles.
Pulau Rimau Lighthouse, white in colour, is
situated at the south-east point of Pulau Rimau,
in latitude 5° 14' 15" North, longitude 100° 16'
East. Its light is a fixed red of the fourth
order, elevated 130 feet above high water, and
visible for a distance of 12 miles.
Pinang Harbour Light is shown from a flag-
staff erected about 60 feet to the west of the
old lighthouse on Fort Point, Georgetown.
It is a white dioptric light of the fourth order,
revolving once in every 30 seconds. It is
107 feet above high water, and is visible
15 miles away.
The Muka Head Lighthouse stands on the
summit of a hill that is 750 feet high at the
northern end of Pinang Island. A first order
revolving light, flashing every 20 seconds, it
is discernible in clear weather from about
30 miles away. It is connected by telephone
with Georgetown and the Hill Station. The
latitude is 5° 27' 40" North and longitude 100°
10' 30" East.
The Tanjong Hantu Light is situated on the
extreme point of a cliff, and marks the northern
approach to the Bindings Channel. Approxi-
mately its latitude is 4° 19' North and its
longitude 100° 33' East. An occulting white
light, it shows for 7 seconds and is invisible
for 3. It can be seen from a distance of
10 miles.
Mr. W. J. Trowell, M.I.N.A., M.I.Mech.E.,
the Inspector of Marine Surveys for the Straits
Settlements, is the chief Government Engineer
and Shipwright Surveyor, and Chief Inspector
of Land Machinery in the colony. He also
acts as Consulting Mechanical Engineer to the
Government of the Federated Malay States.
He was born in 1864 in Dublin, and educated
in Ireland and the north of England, after
which he was apprenticedasa marine engineer
to Messrs. J. P. Rennoldson & Sons, of South
Shields, for six years. For several years he
was at sea, eventually obtaining the Board of
Trade certificate as an extra first-class engineer.
From 1892 to 1897 he was guarantee chief
engineer to the famous firm of Palmers' Ship-
building and Iron Company, Ltd., and, passing
the competitive examination for an Engineer
and Shipwright Surveyor and Examiner of
Engineers, under the Marine Department of
the Board of Trade, in the latter year, he
entered the service of the Home Government.
Appointed Inspector under the Board of
Agriculture, he remained in the Liverpool
district till the end of 1902, and was then
promoted by the Secretary of State to his
present position. In 1905 he was engaged on
special duty in connection with the Tanjong
Pagar Dock Arbitration, and proceeded to
England in reference to the case. He is a
member of the Institute of Naval Architects
and of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers.
Mr. Edgar Qalistan, Marine Department
Engineer and Engineer of Lighthouses, is the
son of Mr. M. Galistan, bandmaster, of Johore.
At Raffles Institution he won a scholarship
enabling him to be apprenticed at the Tanjong
Pagar Dock Works for four years. At the end
of this term he joined the Indo-Chinese Steam
Navigation Company's ship Wing Sang (1,517
tons) as fourth engineer, and was afterwards
promoted third engineer. Later on he became
chief engineer of the yacht Esmeralda, which
belongs to the Federated Malay States
Government. After holding that appointment
for three years he was transferred to the
lighthouse tender ship Horsburgh, and from
that to his present position. Mr. Galistan
is a member of the Singapore Engineers'
Association, the Recreation Club, and the
Catholic Club, and is a colour-sergeant of
No. I Company, Singapore Volunteer Infantry.
His favourite recreation is shooting, and he has
won several prizes at the Singapore Rifle
Association meetings and at the Singapore
Volunteer Artillery meetings.
SOCIAL LIFE
EUROPEAN.
IFE in the East has a
peculiar fascination
which it is difficult to
define. As in the hot
sun colours vibrate into
indistinctness, as in the
breath of the zephyr the
harp murmurs in minor
sweetness, so in the
opiate atmosphere of the Orient the passions
merge into a languorous feeling of content-
ment ; so in the sweep of subtle influences the
ears ring with the bitter-sweet call of which
the " ten-year soldier " tells. Time hastens
slowly on the wings of an endless summer.
The bright sunshine, the luxuriant tropical
foliage, the picturesque apparel of the natives,
and the drowsy hum of insect life combine to
exalt the feelings, please the eye, and soothe
the ear. This is how the East appeals to the
esthete. To the more prosaic the charm will
be found to lie in the material comfort with
which he is able to surround himself. The
European here usually occupies a more respon-
sible position and commands a higher salary
than at home, and, even after allowing for the
difference in the purchasing power of money,
this places within his reach many luxuries
which previously he has been unable to enjoy.
Added to this, there is the camaraderie en-
gendered by the sense of expatriation, and an
absence of restraint due, in some degree, to
the fact that Exeter Hall is far away and the
echo of its voice but faintly heard. There is
no submerged tenth ; men come out either as
Government servants, as capitalists, as pro-
fessional men, as merchants, or as '' agreement
men " in mercantile houses. The out-of-work
is practically unknown, and the wastrel finds it
worth while to avail himself of the facilities
offered him to clear the country.
As in all tropical settlements, the European
community is largely composed of bachelors,
who in great number reside in hotels and
boarding-houses, or join messes in private
bungalows. This last style of living is very
largely followed, as it offers all the advantages
of freedom, sociality, and economy.
Calling here differs from the Western
custom in that the newcomer calls on the
residents. It is usual for people who desire to
be- recognised to leave cards soon after their
arrival in the colony with his Excellency the
Governor, the General Officer Commanding
the Military Forces, the Colonial Secretary,
and the Chief Justice. In the Federated Malay
States cards are left with the Resident-General,
the British Residents, and, in outlying neigh-
bourhoods, with the District Officers.
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"ARNVILLE," THE HOME OF MR. A. STUHLMANN.
198
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
The persistent refusal of the native servant
to comprehend the true significance of the
conventional phrase " Not at home " has led to
a general use of boxes, with movable "in"
and " out " tablets, placed at the entrance to
the compound, as the enclosure in which a
house stands is termed. If the visitor is
desirous of making only a formal call he leaves
In the principal towns of the Federated
Malay States the social clubs form the favourite
place of meeting for planters and miners, who
transact much of their business in them. In
many cases ladies are admitted to the privileges
of membership. In some tracts of the native
States the European residents are far removed
from each other, but when they feel a longing
for the enjoyment of the cool breezes which
spring up about sundown.
Under the auspices of the various turf clubs
of the Straits Settlements and Federated States,
numerous race meetings are held. In most
cases the meeting is a three days' event, spread
over a week, and the race days are general
holidays. The King's birthday, the Prince of
"SPRING GROVE," PINANG.
his card in the box ; in regard to a personal call
he is guided by the intimation given- on the
tablet. Sometimes a plain box is used, and this
is removed when the lady of the house is not
receiving callers.
In Singapore occasional concerts are given
by the Philharmonic Society, composed of local
amateurs, and theatrical plays are sometimes
presented by the Amateur Dramatic Club.
Touring theatrical companies and circuses visit
the town at intervals, but seldom stay more
than a few nights. The only permanent places
of amusement are cinematograph shows and a
Malay theatre, where English plays are rendered
in the vernacular. In Pinang they have a
Choral Society and an Amateur Dramatic Club,
and there are dramatic societies also in the
chief towns of the Federated Malay States.
Europeans have therefore, to a large extent,
to make their own amusements ; hence almost
every house has its tennis court. Dinner and
card parties are frequent, and informal dances
are often giveii. The usual round- of private
social functions is supplemented by the amuse-
ments provided by numerous organisations.
Cricket, football, tennis, hockey, golf, rowing,
swimming, and other clubs are numerous, and
every section of the community has its social
clubs and places of resort, where billiard
handicaps and chess, bridge, and other tourna-
ments afford varied forms of recreation.
for congenial society distance is not much
considered, and a ride of ten miles may often
be undertaken in response to an invitation to
tiffin or dinner at a friend's bungalow. The
planters and miners of the Federated Malay
States are the soul of hospitality, and extend a
cordial welcome to any visitor who may chance
to come their way. Their mode of life is
necessarily monotonous, and any break in the
sameness of things serves as a pleasant inter-
lude. A favourite form of recreation in the
Federated Malay States — where all kinds of
gaine, frpm elephant to snipe, are abundant — is
shooting.
In Malaya as a whole driving and riding are
indulged in to a much greater extent than at
home. The cost of keeping a horse and trap,
with the necessary Javanese syce to take care
of them, is fairly within the means of almost
every European, and amounts only to about 30
dollars a month (£3 los.). Nearly every private
house has stables and carriage-sheds attached,
while all the leading hotels are extensively
equipped in this respect. Horses and ponies
are imported largely from Australia and the
Dutch islands of the archipelago. Riding is
generally done in the early morning, before
the heat of the day has set in. In the late
afternoon, when business houses are closed,
great numbers of traps and carriages drive
round the Esplanades or main thoroughfares
Wales's birthday. Coronation Day, and Victoria
Day (May 24th), are also observed by the sus-
pension of all business.
ORIENTAL.
A description of social life in Malaya, apart
from that of the Europeans, would naturally
concern itself solely with the Malays and the
Chinese. The representatives of the numerous
other races that are continually to be seen in
this country can scarcely be said, in the strict
sense of the term, to have any social life at all.
They are simply "the hewers of wood and
drawers of water."
The Malays are a very peaceful and somewhat
indolent people. They are clever craftsmen,
fishermen, and agriculturists, but are not fond
of laborious undertakings, which after all, per-
haps, is only a natural consequence of living in
a land that requires but " to be tickled with a
hoe " to provide profusely all the daily wants
of its inhabitants. They view without resent-
ment the incoming of the more pushful and
industrious Chinese. In the native States there
are but few prominent Malay residences, and
the few that there are belong to the Sultans
and Rajas.
Many of the most imposing mansions in the
country are owned and occupied by Chinamen.
DURA HOUSE, THE BBSIDENCB OF MR. A. BOWERS-SMITH.
CHAKRABONG HOUSE, THE PINANG RESIDENCE OP KHAW SIM BEE, PHYA RASAD AND HIGH COMMISSIONER
FOR THE SIAMESE PROVINCE OF PUKIT.
1. THE DRAWING BOOM. 2. LIM EOW HONG, 3. THE LATE LIM LENG CHEAK. 4. PINANG RESIDENCE.
THE LATE LIM LENG CHBAK S FAMILY.
LEE KENG HEE AND FAMILY.
20^
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
This is particularly the case in Pinang, which
is a recognised place for retirement after an
active business career. The Chinese are fond
of driving, and many of the most elegant
equipages are owned by them. In addition to
their own social and sporting clubs, they sup-
port the various turf clubs of the peninsula
generously, and keep many of the best race-
horses in the country.
Amongst the Chinese of Malaya the social
conditions are, generally speaking, similar in
broad outline to those obtaining in China ; but
in regard to domestic arrangements many of
the Strails-born Chinese are assimilating, as far
as their means permit, European ideas. As in
China, the family life is developed rather than
the social life. There is no system of formal
calls, and what interchange of courtesies there
is takes place between ladies and ladies and
mitting them to exercise their own free-will.
The number of Chinese going to Europe has
greatly increased of recent years, and perhaps
as many as a dozen ladies have found their way
Westwards.
A wedding is an important event in the social
life of the Chinese. The bride is always chosen
by the mother or, in her absence, by some
elderly female relative of the bridegroom, who
approaches the girl's parents and arranges a
match. After the " swearing ceremony," which
consists in the registering of vows of conjugal
fidelity by the bride and bridegroom elect in
their respective homes, at the same day and
hour, the nuptials are completed, and the wife
assumes her husband's surname, retaining her
own as a second surname. The ensuing fes-
tivities last about seven days, or even longer
amongst the well-to-do. The men usually
have long strings of crackers depending from
them. These are lighted at the bottom, and
squibs fiy off in all directions. Vast sums are
spent on these fireworks, and for some days the
streets are littered with empty cracker cases.
Covernment House, Singapore, the resi-
dence for most of the year of his Excellency
the Governor, is one of the finest official resi-
dences in the East. Charmingly situated on a
hill about a mile and a half from the centre of
the town, it is surrounded on all sides by
beautifully laid-out grounds, which are about a
hundred acres in extent. But for occasional
palms and other tropical trees one could easily
imagine that these grounds formed the park of
a stately English mansion. The residence was
built in 1870, previous Governors having re-
sided on Government Hill, now Fort Canning.
Government House is a long building, of noble
GROUP OF SIAMESE PRINCES AND NOBLES AT CHAKBABONG HOUSE, PINANG.
between gentlemen and gentlemen. It is in
the home circle that the Chinese delight, and
they set the highest value upon modesty,
morality, and character in its members.
European influence is discernible in the greater
freedom enjoyed by Chinese ladies, who are
often to be seen driving with their husbands ;
in the education of their children, in the grow-
ing use of European furniture, and in the pre-
paration of food. In matters of dress the
Straits-born lady eclipses her China-born sister
in the richness of her apparel and in the
amount of jewellery that she wears, but there
is little material difference in the style of dress
worn. Young men, however, adopt in many
instances Western costume, even going so far
as to discard the queue, or towchang, especially
when contemplating a course of study in
Europe. Their action in so doing is usually
tolerated by their elders, who believe in per-
marry at eighteen or twenty years of age, and
the girls at seventeen. There is no recognition
of coming of age, except that, in accordance
with English law, a person ceases to be a minor
at twenty-one.
Funeral obsei"vances extend over several days,
according to the circumstances of the survivors.
The customs vary, as in the case of weddings,
according to the clan to which the people
belong. The funerals are often on a grand
scale, a feature of the obsequies being a pro-
cession to the fong-swee, or place of burial.
Several Chinese festivals are observed in the
course of the twelvemonth. Most important of
these is the Chmese New Year, which falls
about the middle of February. At that time
there Is general feasting and merrymaking for
several days. Family visits are made between
relatives and friends and endless courtesies ex-
changed. The houses, shops, and business places
proportions, in the Renaissance style of archi-
tecture, with a square tower over the centre.
The Interior is furnished throughout in a simple
yet dignified manner, and the whole gives the
impression of solidity and comfort rather than
of luxury. The entrance, guarded always by
an English sentry, is Immediately beneath the
towei-. The large entrance-hall is paved with
white marble, and its walls are covered with
numerous offerings, such as huge ivory tusks,
&c., which have been presented as tokens of
the friendship and loyalty of native Rajas and
representatives of the Chmese community. On
the right is a spacious ballroom, and beyond
that is the Governor's office — a long room in
which the Executive Council often meets, and
in which the Governor gives audiences and
receives deputations. It contains a fine bust of
the late Queen Victoria, given by the Chinese of
Singapore. On the left of the entrance-hall is
ii^:'f
CHUNG THYB PHIN, M.C., AND HIS NEW PINANG BESH)ENCE.
The Late Captain China Chung Ah Quee.
LAW TEW HE'S PINANG BESIDENCE.
LBB TOON TOCK'S NOBTHAM ROAD AND AYER ETAM ROAD RESIDENCES. THE LATE LEE PEE CHOON
MRS. LEE PEE CHOON, AND FAMILY GROUP.
ME. AND MRS. CHUNG AH YONG AND FAMILY AND THEIE TAIPING RESIDENCE.
206
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
the dining-room, and beyond that the billiard-
room. Offices for the aide-de-camp and private
secretary are also provided on the ground floor.
A wide staircase flanked with graceful palms
leads from the entrance-hall to the first floor,
and in the capacious vestibule at the top are
arranged a large number of valuable gifts pre-
sented to his Excellency in commemoration of
various public functions which he has performed
during his tenure of office. Prominent amongst
these mementos is a collection of silver ware,
bearing inscriptions which are in many cases
engraved in English and Chinese. The whole
length of the building to the right is occupied
by a spacious and well-appointed drawing-
room, where receptions are held. This is
surrounded by a wide, cool verandah. On the
left is a smaller room used as Miss Anderson's
drawing-room. There is also a large room
Government House, Pinang. — ^A con-
siderate Government has built a charming home
for the use of the Governor on the highest in-
habited portion of the Pinang Hills, 2,500 feet
above sea-level. Formerly an attap-roofed
bungalow served as his Excellency's holiday
seat,- but this was replaced about five years ago
by an imposing two-storied house, built mainly
of grey granite, in grounds laid out pleasantly
with a wealth of flowers and ferns. His Excel-
lency usually pays an annual visit to the Hills,
and when he is not in residence these gardens
are thrown open to the public. The house,
which is provided with a tennis court and a
croquet lawn, is luxuriously furnished through-
out, and contains large dining, drawing, and
billiard rooms, four family bedrooms, and four
servants' bedrooms. A covered way between
the old and the new house is used occasionally
vided for the Resident Councillor of Pinang is
beautifully situated in Residency Road, over-
looking the racecourse, with the Pinang Hills
rising in the background. It is surrounded by
30 acres of grounds, mostly laid out as gardens,
but with a small portion remaining as a coco-
nut plantation. In front of the house are two
tennis courts and a croquet lawn. The Resi-
dency is a handsome and substantially built
structure in the Renaissance style of architec-
ture, and was completed in 1890 from the
designs of Captain M. Cameron, under the
direction of Major H. E. McCallum, R.E., then
Colonial Engineer of the Straits Settlements
and now Governor of Ceylon. On the ground
floor is a large dining-room, an airy billiard-
room, four bedrooms, and the u^ual offices.
The upper storey is reached by a wide stair-
case, and in the vestibule at the top is a large
THE LATE SUNG KBE LOONG, FATHER OP SUNG
AH NGEW, AND VIEW OF HIS GRAVE.
CHEAH TBK THYE AND HIS PINANG
RESIDENCE.
known as the Portugal room, which is assigned
to the distinguished visitors who from time to
time stay at Government House, and six other
visitors' rooms. Apartments are also provided
on this floor for his Excellency's two valets.
The aide-de-camp is accommodated on the
second floor. The house commands an exten-
sive view for miles round. Two lawns in front
are laid out for tennis and croquet respectively,
and the grounds also contain private golf links.
for dances. In addition to his house on the
hill, the Governor has a small bungalow oppo-
site the Residency, which he uses when his
stay at Pinang is of very short duration.
In the Federated Malay States the
Governor usually stays with one of the British
Residents, but a residence has been provided for
him at Kuala Kangsa, one of the prettiest spots
in Perak.
The Residency, Pinang. — The house pro-
porlrait of the late Queen Victoria, presented to
a former Resident Councillor by the Chinese
of Pinang. From the vestibule opens a spa-
cious and daintily furnished drawing-room,
flanked by three large bedrooms on either
side. On both floors there is a continuous
open verandah round the house, and the
building is lighted throughout by electricity.
The total cost of the Residency was 81,173
dollars.
''^ia-
J2i:^
I & 2. Interior axd Exierior of Pixaxg Residence.
LEE CHIN HO.
3 & 4. The Late Mr. and Mrs. Lee Peh (father and mother of Lee Chin Ho).
Lee Chin Ho and Family.
THE IPOH RESIDENCE OP THE OEANG KAYA KAYA SRI ADIKA RAJA, WAN MUHAMMAD SALEH, I.S.O., M.C.
THE LATE ONG KBNG HOON AND HIS WIFE, KOH KBNG NEO. ONG KIM WEE WITH HIS SONS AND GRANDSONS.
(Parents of Ong Kim Wf.e.)
MB. LEONG FEE, M.C., AND FAMILY, AND THEIB RESIDENCES AT PEBAK BOAD AND LEITH STEBET, PINANG.
I & 3. The Country Seat,
DB. P. V. LOCKE'S RESIDENCES.
' View Forth," at Tanjong Bungah.
2. The Residence, Anson Road.
(D
O)
CO
CL
(Ji
CQ
Tl
(Q
CD
THE POPULATION OF MALAYA
By Mrs. REGINALD SANDERSON.
IT has been truly said that
Singapore, in the in-
finite variety of its popu-
lation alone, is like no
other place in the world,
with the possible excep-
tions of Constantinople
and Cairo. Races from
all parts of the globe
inhabit this island and spread over into the
Malay Peninsula. The Chinese predominate ;
indeed, it is calculated that, out of the forty
or more different nationalities represented in
Singapore, at least two-thirds belong to the
Celestial Empire. Year by year, nay, week by
week, many thousand immigrants arrive from
China. Some of them remain in the port,
while others move on into Pinang, Malacca,
and the native States.
From ancient records we learn that the first
Chinese traders in these parts were called
Gores, and hailed from the Loochow Islands.
"When they arrive at any port," says one
quaint account, " they do not bring their
merchandise out at once, but little by little ;
they speak truthfully, and will have the truth
spoken to them, and are men of very
reserved speech." All of which is a fairly
accurate description of the Chinese trader of
this century, certainly as compared with the
Bombay merchants and Japanese hawkers,
who possess the opposite characteristics.
A mixed multitude are these selfsame
Chinese. Men from the northern province
of the Middle Kingdom cannot understand
the speech of the men from the south.
Even ports in China which are almost ad-
jacent speak a strange dialect, the characters
only in which the language is written re-
maining identical. Of the multitudes of
races from India who emigrate to Malaya,
almost the same may be said — they cannot
understand each other's tongue. The Arabic
characters are familiar to numerous differing
languages and dialects. And so it is that
one finds public notice-boards written in
Chinese, Arabic, and Tamil for the guidance
of the different members of the community,
who can only communicate with one another
in quickly acquired colloquial Malay.
The Straits-born Chinese, who are desig-
nated Babas, differ from their fellow-country-
men in endless ways. They have grafted the
latest benefits of Western science on to their
more ancient civilisation, which is, in point
of fact the oldest in the world, yet of a
precocious development inexplicably arrested.
Their brain-power is abnormal, and from the
highest grades of society to the lowest they
excel in whatever they undertake. Young
men return from British and American
Universities imbued with tremendous zeal
for uprooting archaic customs — eager for
their vi'omenkind to be educated, resolved to
curtail the tedious ceremonies and prepos-
Buddhist high priest, all in . carriages, in
advance of whom, again, is a seemingly
endless procession of ilags, bannerets, and
musicians of all ages playing all sorts of
Chinese instruments. Alongside the -coffin
itself walk the male relatives of the deceased,
all clothed in sackcloth ; they are followed by
many hundreds of funeral guests ; and last of
all come the female relatives of the deceased,
A CHINESE FUNERAL.
terous expenses at marriages and funerals,
anxious that the rule prohibiting young people
from meeting before marriage should be
rendered obsolete, and determined to abolish
the useless towchang and foot-binding.
The funeral of a rich Chinaman is well
worth seeing. From 3,000 to 5,000 dollars is
not considered too lavish a sum to spend on
the arrangements. Preceding the sandalwood
coffin are preappointed " guides " and a
attired as mourners. On arrival at the ceme-
tery the coffin is placed temporarily in a
mortuary, there to await interment at some
future date to be arranged by astrologers.
The proceedings are characterised by great
reverence.
At present marriages are still arranged by
go-betweens, who exchange the presents and
settle money matters, and, in the majority of
cases, the bridegroom gazes on his bride for
214
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
the first time after the ceremonies, when he
takes off her black-lace wedding veil before
the assembled guests. An elaborate and
extravagantly gorgeous feast is prepared at
both weddings and funerals, and there are
other schools which encourages their in-
structors,
With regard to the immigrant class from
China, a stranger visiting these parts would
undoubtedly first come in contact with the
SAKAIS OF BATANG PADANG, PERAK.
costly processions with much music and
waving of embroidered banners and scrolls,
besides bands of coolies in ceremonial garb
carrying Sedan chairs, baked sweetmeats, and
curiously designed devices. A bride has her
hair cut over the forehead in a fringe, and is
expected to stay in the house after being
married until her hair has grown long enough
to be put back. The women as a general
rule live secluded lives, while girls, or Nonyas,
are properly only taken out for three days'
pleasure at China New Year. At other times
they can only leave the house in closed car-
riages or covered rickshas. This restriction
does not equally apply to Christians, though
many of them are still kept in retirement.
The Straits Chinese have exhibited con-
siderable generosity in giving towards hos-
pitals and public and private charities, and
they add greath' to the stability of the British
Empire in Malaya. Their children show an
aptitude for learning in the Government and
Hylams, who form the majority of the
domestics. As servants they are smart and
unscrupulous. They earn high wages, but
their money does no good to Malaya, being
almost wholly remitted to their native pro-
vince of Hainan to support their families.
No Hylam woman is legally permitted to leave
her country. Cases have been known of girls
coming over disguised as house-boys, but they
were promptly repatriated. The Hylams have
strong guilds, which uphold them in every
possible way, even going so far as to boycott
a house should the servants be dissatisfied.
At the same time it must, in fairness, be added
that a Hylam will guard his own Tuan's
property with the utmost fidelity, if put on
his honour, and his talent for cooking is
proverbial. In Malacca one class of Hylams
work on the rubber and other estates, another
pull rickshas, while others are petty shop-
keepers and shop coolies. The Hainan decree
that women shall not leave the country is a
wise rule for the province — Lycurgus himself
could hardly have framed a better — as thereby
the State is not mulcted of its revenue, but
gains riches from other lands. Hylam stewards
and Kranis on board ship reap bountiful har-
vests, and in time retire comfortably to their
native land. Many Hylams are honest and
upright, and become indispensable as clerks in
offices. The Hylam freely spends his money
on Jubilee or Royal processions, such as those
which were given to welcome the Duke of
Connaught and Prince Arthur, when the
Hylam Guild was conspicuous for its gor-
geousness.
In close proximity to the domestic class, as
adding to the comforts or discomforts of Euro-
peans, come the much-abused ricksha-pullers,
who, as a general rule, are either from
Foochow or Hokien. At the present time
the majority are from Foochow, and their
dialect is entirely different from the Hylam
clan, who are dissociated from them in every
way and will not take service in the same
house. These coolies usually contrive to
obtain some less degrading work. Apart from
the degradation, the actual work is not so
exhausting as a British navvy's, and is cer-
tainly nothing in comparison with the labour
in a coal-mine. The ricksha-man is underfed
and badly housed. Some live together in
wretched tenements, others bring their families
to equally undesirable places, and the wives
sit outside all day stitching at old clothes,
renovatmg servants' clothing for a few cents,
and re-lining ancient sun-blinds. These Sew-
Sew women carry their baskets everywhere.
The ricksha coolies at times seek a temporary
elysium by a sojourn in one of the opium dens.
A glimpse through the open doorway reveals
within a motley crew of emaciated beings
looking remarkably like corpses as they lie
stretched on mat beds slowly sucking the
small but tempting pipe. In lonely tin mines,
on rubber estates, and in places with large
contracts for road-making, the Chinese are
often found more peaceable as opium-smokers
in moderation. Returning to the ricksha-
SAKAI CHIEF, BATANG PADANG,
PERAK.
pullers, running in this tropical climate en-
genders thirst, and itinerant vendors of iced
drinks drive a brisk trade. The perspiring
coolie, mindful of his impatient fare, swallows
a black or yellow mixture at one gulp and
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
215
hastens onwards. The Malays and Indians,
especially, treat him with scant courtesy, often
withholding the rightful fare, and escaping
before the breathless puller can hail a police-
man to state his grievance.
JAVANESE SERVANT.
Hokiens, though living in China at Amoy,
six hours by sea from Foochow, have few
similar words in their dialect. Take, for
instance, the word " our." Men from Foo-
chow say " nguai-gauk-neng," while a Hokien
enunciates clearly " goa " — that is all.
Hokiens are remarkably adept at starting
small shops. They ,buy produce from the
Teochews, who stagger in from the country
in the early morning with baskets of
mangosteens, rambutans, pineapples, the evil-
smelling durian, and the ubiquitous pisang,
or banana.
Hakkas are sometimes ricksha men, but the
majority keep shops and are more or less
wealthy silk merchants.
From Canton, spoken of in the same
breath as being the dirtiest city in the world
and the home of the beautiful flower-boats,
come scores of rattan makers, who, like
the furniture makers, keep stowed away in
their darksome dwellings old catalogues from
Bond Street and Regent Street, and engage
to copy anything in reason, at a moderate
figure. From Canton come the greater num-
ber of the amahs, whose uncouth chatter may
be daily heard in the fine Botanical Gardens,
as they discuss their various "meins'" pecca-
dilloes while their small charges wander
round. Shoemakers, who live, like all Chinese
tradesmen, in streets or rows peculiar to their
handicraft alone, boast of Canton or Hong-
kong as their original home.
Teochews are the chief agriculturists of
the peninsula. Their industry is untiring, and
is in marked contrast to the indolence of the
Malays. The indigenous native is content
with a paddy-field for his rice and a few
pisang-trees. He has no kind of garden,
seldom even a cleared space, except a plot
for drying clothes. His house is made of
trees cut from the jungle, thatched with one
kind of palm and floored with another. The
coconut-tree supplies him with fruit, vegetables,
spoons, basins, curry, sambals, and so on ; the
pisang bark makes invaluable medicine, and
the leaves serve for plates and umbrellas. The
Chinaman, on the other hand, has a neat
garden, full to overflowing of market produce,
with flowers for ornament ; a chicken-run ; a
pineapple plantation, if he is lucky ; and,
amongst it all, a small shed set apart for his
gods, to whom fruit and rice are daily offered.
Where there are many Christians they have a
country church, which they attend and main-
tain with the same zeal that they show for
their work. A Chinaman from any part of
the Middle Kingdom is noted for his contempt
of pain and his powers of endurance under all
circumstances. At night, in the fruit groves,
the Teochews sit in wooden sentry boxes, and
are in readiness for unwary marauders. In
durian and other lofty trees they hang lanterns
to scare' the flying foxes and similar depre-
dators.
Chinese wayangs, or travelling theatres, ' are
ingly. Amongst the Chinese an actor's pro-
fession is considered the lowest grade to
which a man can fall ; it is even beneath
that of a Buddhist or Taoist priest, whose
office is also contemptible. Akin to a slave's
existence is that of a young Chinese lad sold by
his parents to serve in a wayang for a certain
number of years. In the daytime these wan-
dering companies are to be met with every-
where, the painted faces of the weary actors
looking grotesquely incongruous in the bright
sunlight of these tropical climes as they loll
in rickshas, trying to catch a scanty sleep.
Chinese temples abound in Malaya, where
there are many varieties of Buddhist sects.
Shrines to the dreaded Taoist gods, who are
supposed to be always hovering round in need
of propitiation, are placed by the wayside and
hung with bits of coloured cloth, while incense
sticks smoulder there continually. A wonderful
Buddhist temple at Pinang attracts thousands
of sightseers, besides the ordinary devotee. In
Singapore island the Hylams are completing a
gorgeous temple. Inside, there are golden gods
SAKAIS-OF PAHANG,
to be met with everyvifhere in Malaya. On
wedding or birthday feasts a high platform is
erected outside a Towkay's, or rich man's,
house, and until the small hours of the
morning the actors perform almost unceas-
of gigantic stature ; outside, representations of
sacred animals and flowering shrubs, wrought
in delicate porcelain. Dirt and disorder reign
supreme in these temples, unregarded by the
bands of yellow-robed priests, who chant
216
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Buddha's praises, perform divers incantations,
and receive the pilgrims' donations. In the
compound are small rooms, each specially
devoted to particular idols. In the principal
temple petitioners in need of a cure for disease
shake a fortune-spill case. Each spill is num-
bered, and they take the one that drops out to
a priest, who has fortunes with corresponding
numbers. The man may suffer from sore eyes
and receive a cure for toothache ! There is no
reverence shown in these temples. The ser-
vices ended, the priests disrobe, indulge in
various antics, and chaffer with itinerant
vendors of fruit and cakes who throng the
temple steps.
Old superstitions die hard. Quite lately a
fisherman picked up a turtle floating in the
sea ; on its back the name of the sailor's god
was scored, the indentations being filled with
red sealing-wax. Through a hole cut in the
shell was inserted a piece of wire threaded
with cash. Hylam servants, it vi'as eventually
discovered, had bought the turtle, fattened it
on rice for a week, and attached the coins to
it, thus imploring the turtle to rise up out of
the sea and save them or any of their friends
who might be in danger of drowning. This
done, they bore the live turtle to Johnston's
Pier at night, and cast it into the sea to work
its will.
The uneducated Chinese have a superstitious
dread of deaths taking place in their private
houses, and therefore, when any one is ill
beyond hope of recovery, he or she is removed
to a " death-house," or, if there be no such
place available, to the nearest piece of waste-
ground.
Shanghai is the port in China from which
hail the " number-one " carpenters, furniture
makers, and washermen. Their dialect has a
peculiar twang of its own, of which they are
proud. Should a man have lived in Singapore
from childhood, he will, nevertheless, boldly
A JAVANESE HADJI.
state on his sign-board that he comes from
Shanghai.
The immigrant classes from all parts of
China are now experiencing a wave of en-
thusiasm for education, have given up their
expensive Chingay processions, and are estab-
lishing schools for their children suited to
the needs of each dialect. That there are
slaves amongst the Chinese in Singapore and
the States is often insisted upon, and as often
denied. The truth of the matter seems to be
that children are bought by wealthy people,
and, when old enough, work as household
drudges, having food and clothes provided,
but no wages. At times they are cruelly
treated, and, later on, the females are sold as
wives. They are called by the Chinese hu-
loh-kai, which literally signifies servant.
Wherever Chinese live they would be lost
without their pawnshops. Behind the grated
bars always hover an anxious crowd bartering
their old clothes, stolen jewellery, and much
besides. Through a hole in the ceiling of
the dark inner room a basket is constantly
let down with redeemed pledges or drawn up
with fresh hauls. The gold and silver orna-
ments are concealed in iron safes, which,
nevertheless, are subject to surprise visits from
the police, who are also at liberty to check the
entries in the day-books.
The great aim of the Celestial, in whatever
walk of life he may be, is to amass money, and
in this he usually succeeds. It is a curious fact
that in the same family one brother may be
a rich Towkay, with carriages and horses,
possibly with motors, while another, on whom
he will not be ashamed to call, may be a hard-
working coolie in the country, a third may be
a cook, and yet a fourth a doctor, profiting by
a European education.
Before proceeding to the rest of the immi-
grant population, of Malaya, let us mark the
rightful inhabitants. They are a kindly and
likeable people, but, shunning most forms of
work, they look on with utter nonchalance
while the alien robs them of their birthright.
CHINESE BICKSHA PnLLER. CHINESE RATTAN WORKER.
CHINESE HOUSEBOY. CHINESE LOCKSMITH. CHINESE HAWKER.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
217
They are, however, keen sportsmen and ex-
pert fishermen and boatmen. In the police
force the Malays do good work, and in the
Post Office and other Government depart-
ments they have earned many encomiums.
The Malay is somewhat prone to revenge,
and his chief attribute is jealousy. His wife is
entirely subservient. Her face is still often
hidden with a sarong, and at railway-stations
stern matrons may be seen guarding a group of
young wives, whose faces are only unveiled in
the privacy of the waiting-room. Little brides
of eleven years old get very weary on their
wedding-day, seated in the decorated arbour
inside a warm house, wearing heavy headgear
and being freely gazed at and criticised by
hosts of visitors, who meanwhile partake of the
marriage feast. The bridegroom, soon released,
enjoys a quiet pipe with his friends. To chew
the betel-nut is the one luxury allowed to a
Malay girl after marriage, but it is prohibited
before. The Mahomedan faith, though prac-
tised in Malaya, is mingled with ancient Dyak
superstitions and magical observances. These
are not much in evidence and entail careful
research. A Malay will be found wandering
round one's garden collecting a yellow blossom
here and a red bud there to charm away some
serious sickness in his home. Ailing babies
will wear' tiny indiarubber bracelets to ward
off the Evil One. Trees possessed with
demons are held in dread, and white rags are
tied on their branches. Every village or
settlement has a public praying-place, with a
big drum slung from a beam. This is sounded
vigorously on Thursdays, the eve before the
day of rest— Friday. To these teak buildings,
which are often prettily carved, the people
resort when the nearest mosque is at an incon-
venient distance. Women are not allowed to
enter ; they have no souls and therefore no
future existence, so why trouble further ? They
can fast for their sins, and, as a Malay would
say, " sudah habis." All this refers to the
ordinary Malays and not to the Sultans and
high officials, who are bent on benefiting their
country. The funeral ceremonies of this people
are carried out with Mahomedan ritual. It is
a pathetic sight to see a child-burial. The
little body, wrapped up carefully, is covered
with a gaily-embroidered pall and carried in a
man's arms, with a bearer holding the inevitable
yellow silk umbrella over all.
The aborigines of the peninsula, the Sakais,
are now getting very few in number. They
are a quiet, simple folk, who often live in huts
erected on high platforms, or else revert to
their old tree-dwellings. A hunter will be
cordially received bj- them, and should he kill
a tiger and then allow them to use their charms
upon it his fame is assured. They believe that
each wild beast has an evil spirit, which, unless
exorcised, will come to them when the animal
is killed. To ward off this direful catastrophe
they draw long tree-ferns up and down the
dead body in the form of a cross, after
which they rest satisfied. They have no
reHgion, but have an instinctive worship of
Nature and the Unknown Creator. For
weapons of defence they carry blow-pipes,
through which they discharge poisoned arrows.
Arabs are amongst the wealthiest inhabitants
of these parts. Occasionally they are called
" the sharks of the Orient " — this chiefly by
Malay and Javanese pilgrims who are working
for them for a certain number of years to
repay money lent them for the purpose of
making the pilgrimage to Mecca. Arab mer-
chants, if we can believe their ancient records,
were the first discoverers of these shores.
Accounts by the early explorers are preserved
inscribed in Sanskrit. There is a flourishing
Arab Club at Singapore, and when numbers
are seen together, as at a funeral, in their
flowing white robes and their bronze-yellow
turbans, or "keifiahs," twisted round with
small shawls patterned like the old-fashioned
Paisley, they present a sight not easily
forgotten.
Armenians, again, have amassed much
wealth in the East. Amongst them women
occupy quite an e.'calted position. After a
husband's death the widow poses as a kind of
queen, before whose authority children and
their husbands and their grandchildren must
perforce bow down. In Singapore they have
built a fine church. Their ritual appvoaches to
and drive a brisk trade amongst unwary ship-
ping men in stale cigars and inferior articles of
clothing.
Bagdad Jews are successful as opium dealers,
and have to do with the handling of such cargo
from the ships. They walk about in their
white gowns with embroidered zouaves and
red fez, and wear a brisk, preoccupied air.
Their families, on the contrary, look bored and
listless, the women clad in morning gowns and
A SIKH PBIEST.
that of the Greek Church. One of the oldest
translations of the Bible is in the Armenian
tongue, and there are also works of great
antiquity dealing with the Christian doctrine in
the same language. Like the Jews, they are
scattered everywhere, yet retain a passionate
regard for their native land, which com-
prises the mountains beyond the west of the
Euphrates.
Of the Greek nation there are here a few
traders, who speak a kind of English lingo,
Eastern slippers. Once a year, at the Passover
time, they have a look of joyful anticipation,
and can be seen hurrying from house to house
partaking of the specially prepared meals.
The Bagdad Jews have two synagogues in
Singapore which they alone frequent, the
German Jew keeping himself strictly apart
from this offshoot, and being, as often as not, a
Rationalist.
The laziest nationality represented in Malaya
is, without doubt, the Siamese — those un-
K
218
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF RRITISH MALAYA
wanted in their own country, where every-
thing is progressing rapidly. Here they live
somehow or other, and in the country districts
some of the men indulge in their national
games. The women wear a sarong, arranged
as ^ divided skirt, and gay muslin blouses — an
incongruous combination. Their language is
softer and more sibilant than the Chinese,
though to a European the number of tones is
equalling confusing, giving one word a variety
of meanings according to the way in which it
is pronounced. Buddhist priests in yellow robes
appear amongst these immigrants on festival
occasions.
A few Annamese are to be found, quite out
of their element, in domestic service. Their
proclivities lean towards fighting, at which they
are adepts. In the Boxer troubles in China the
Annamite, though, like the Gurkha, small and
wiry, was dreaded in the same degree as he for
bulldog tenacity on the field of battle.
B'rom Java, that most prolific of all tropical
places, troop coolies in ever-increasing numbers,
and kabuns or gardeners. These last insist on
New Guinea. The Kampong Bugis in Singa-
pore is built on piles at the edge of the sea.
All round their settlement are Chinese, en-
gaged in constructing junks and other boats.
To walk from one house to the other of the
Bugis requires some temerity, for the stages
are contrived of rough, uneven, and sometimes
deca3'ed planks of wood, with occasional gaps,
revealing the water beneath. Inside a hut will
often be found an aged man engaged in making
silk sarongs. On his right arm he wears a
band above the elbow to make it kual
(strong for weaving), and on his wrist a sea-
weed bracelet, in appearance like ebony, as
a charm against the Evil One. The women
hasten away at the mere sight of a stranger.
Even white women they will only peep at
from beneath their closely drawn sarongs.
This tribe are niiich lighter skinned than the
Malays, with whom they do not fraternise.
Natives of Burma are found all over the
Straits Settlements and the Federated States.
The women are passionately fond of flowers
and dancing. As a nation their religion is
their peculiarities of dress, and their diversity
of speech. Both Singapore and Malacca
were at one time ruled by Hindu kings,
who were dispossessed by the Portuguese and
NATIVE MUSICIANS.
being given P'riday as their Sabbath, though
they often employ the day working at other
houses. They are more docile then the Malay,
and give their wives more liberty, even allow-
ing them to join in the country dances in their
own islahd home.
Battas, who come over from Sumatra, are
taller and darker than the Malay. Their
women have several husbands, and the Married
Woman's Property Act is amongst them an
ancient custom.
The Boyanese, another island race, have
formed a little settlement in Singapore. When
fresh families come over it is curious to see the
frightened rows of women, with faces wholly
concealed in the useful upper sarong. They
excel in rhaking wooden clogs, but like better
to become syces, and as such are preferred to
Malays. Yet even they drive with one rein in
each hand, thereby giving themselves little
control over the horses.
Bugis, who are enterprising merchants and
sailors, come to Singapore from the Celebes,
sailing their own boats, which are from fifty
to sixty tons burden. They can navigate these
vessels from the farthest port of Sumatra to
nominally Buddhism, but, left to themselves,
they worship the spirits, or iiats, of the moun-
tains, rivers, trees, clouds, wind, and, in short,
all Nature. In common with several Eastern
peoples they believe that it is dangerous to
wake a man suddenly out of sleep ; for, say
they, his spirit, in the form of a butterfly, leaves
his body when asleep, and may not return in
time. In Singapore there is one tiny Burmese
temple, presided over by an aged priest, who
in years gone by was jaga at Government
House. A clever physician, according to his
lights, he doctors the natives, and gives his
gains to provide food and light for the gods,
and, at lucky times, jewels for the treasure-
room.
Portuguese, once "the kings of the East,"
with a Royal Court at Malacca, have left
descendants amongst the fishermen of that
ancient town. These hardy folk boast of
grand old Portuguese names, but now they
- live in diminutive huts and eke out a scanty
living in the bay, where they row to and fro,
wearing queer mushroom-shaped hats.
Singapore being in close proximity to India,
black races are conspicuous for their numbers.
CHINESE BBIDE AND BRIDEGROOM.
henceforth relegated to the position of traders
only.
Klings is a name given to the lowest classes
of native immigrants, who clear the jungles,
do the rough part of road-making, and drive
bullock-carts, while the most degraded become
herdsmen to the natives and wander round
with the water buffaloes, half starved, and
barely clothed in strange fragments of rags.
The designation KUng was originally by no
means a derogatory term ; it signified only the
tribe of black traders from the ancient king-
A CHINESE ACTOR.
dom of Kalinga. This poor class of Tamil are
patient and enduring. They have developed
some amount of muscle with hard work, and
walk with an upright carriage. Even the
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
219
women and children might have been drilled
in the best gymnasiums. Once a year they
rejoice in the Pongul Feast, when they first
troop down to the sea to wash away all sin in
the flowing waters and then feast for three
days. Those who drive bullocks paint the
horns alternately red and blue, adorning them
with brilliant tassels and tinkling bells._ A
Tamil woman's marriage dowry consists of
her gold ornaments, and they are inscribed
in legal documents as such when she is handed
over to her lord and master. Religion has no
meaning for her, men teaching that they alone
have another existence. But the wife may
make solemn vows in time of sickness, and
fulfil them by walking over red-hot coals at
the god Siva's loathly yearly celebrations.
And, strange to say, the women never flinch
from this ordeal in our settlements, where
human sacrifices and the Juggernaut are for-
bidden. Young mothers, even those with
A KLING (TAMIL) BOY.
babies in their arms, may be seen enduring
the ordeal by fire, Some of the men rush
through to the water beyond, but the women
are distinguished for their hardihood. Gold is
holy, and not to be defiled by contact with the
ankles and toes, which are adorned with silver
rings, most of the coolies wearing a silver toe-
ring. Women wear nose-rings, in which some-
times a single ruby is inserted. The women's
dress is remarkably picturesque, being com-
posed of many gracefully disposed folds of
soft-coloured cottons. Amongst the upper
classes this beauty is enhanced by Indian silk
of divers shades. Their castes are innumer-
able ; in the Indian Empire they are computed
to number about two hundred. When a man
has performed his daily ablutions and accom-
panying devotions, he smears his body with a
mixture of white ashes in patterns of one, two,
or three diagonal or horizontal stripes. The
fottu, or round spot placed on the forehead,
is worn by men and women, in either red or
yellow, saffron being a favourite decoration.
The Telegus are another variety of Indian
from the Coromandel coast. They have not
the same stamina as the Tamils. They are easily
overcome by sickness and fever, and find dif-
ficulty in rearing their children. Amongst other
work they are engaged in road-making in the
native States, women earning slightly higher
wages than the men for carrying on their heads
light baskets of earth. Their one real pleasure
is play-acting, and great is their felicity when
the Tuan sends for them to perform before his
friends, with the prospect of square-faced gin
and not a few cents to follow. 'Their theatrical
properties are simple — three large pots of vege-
table dye, with which they obtain startling
results. Striped tigers, accurately marked,
and a bleeding captive, crowned with jungle
fern and apparently pierced through the neck
by a spear, are realistically presented. The
King of the Tigers with his cubs, ornamented
with blue and green, perform wild and un-
couth dances round the unfortunate victim, to
the sound of a drum violently beaten. At
intervals the party retire behind the trees,
where the women have lighted fires, to stretch
the parchment, while they pour fresh red paint
over the repulsive-looking captive's chest.
Tamils proper are exceedingly disdainful of
the pariah classes, considering them even as
of distinct nationality. They themselves are
of poor stature, but their brain-power is con-
siderable, and consequently they are valued
as clerks, schoolmasters, and railway officials.
They hail from Ceylon, and get homesick away
from their flowery island, even saying that the
water in their own country is so nutritious that
they could exist on it for three days. Very
many are Christians, and live up to their
professions in a marked degree.
We next deal with the Chetties — the Shy-
locks of the East — by whom numbers of callow
youths from the home countries have been
ruined. The shaven-headed Chetty, fat and
oily, piles up money, possibly buys property,
or more frequently wins it in his comfortable
way, and walks or drives up and down the
land colonised by the white man. His dress,
regardless of by-laws, consists of a few, a very
few, yards of white musHn. His money is not
spent in these lands, but is remitted to the
Coromandel coast. Once a year gilt-edged
invitations are sent to prominent Europeans
in the different towns to attend the Siva Fes-
tival, when the silver car is taken out and
drawn by sacred white oxen. Those who
accept the invitations will probably be shocked
by the sight of gruesome self-inflicted tortures,
annoyed by the invariably filthy slate of the
temples, and sickened by the odour of well-
oiled bodies, counteracted in part by cheap
scent, which, with decaying flower garlands
and buttonholes that have first been laid before
the gods, are freely bestowed on all comers.
The Sikh is a splendid fighting man whose
soldierly qualities are hereditary. As a tribe
the Sikhs used to worship the God of All Steel,
of which the steel quoits flashing in their
turbans were an emblem.
Differing from the Sikh in every favourable
characteristic we see the indolent Bengali,
whose one ambition is to be spoken of as a
Sikh. These people are frequently employed
as jagas, or watchmen, and carry rattan or
canvas couches to stores and lie all night
on guard. In the compounds of hotels and
private houses sleep is tabooed, but in country
places, though they have a gong to sound the
hours, sleep is indulged in surreptitiously.
Their women's national dress is suited to the
cooler climate of the Punjaub. Tight cretonne
leggings are the principal feature.
The Madrassee is an obsequious, servile
being, who spends his time as a dirzec, or
lady's tailor. He wears a round white linen
embroidered cap, and is an inveterate gossip.
Some of his kind hawk a sticky brown fluid, in
cans with a long spout, in the streets.
Parsees emigrate from Bombay, but always
speak regretfully of their original home in
Persia, whence they were driven by violent
Mahomedan persecutions, being themselves of
the Zoroastrian, or fire-worshipping, sect. Their
capabilities for amassing wealth are proverbial.
In this they are second only to the Jews. Unlike
the Chetties, however, they do benefit the place
m which they live. One may recognise the
Parsee, as he drives in a fashionable rubber-
tyred pair-horse carriage, by his peculiar head-
gear.
A few Africans find their way to the East.
Some have a rough-hewn log outside their
small houses, and on sunny days, before the
swift darkness falls, the men may be seen
thoughtfully smoking, with their feet on these
logs, dreaming, no doubt, of happy days in the
home kraal.
A KLING (TAMIL) CHILD.
There are a few Japanese merchants and
commercial men of acknowledged standing, but
for the most part the Land of the Rising Sun is
represented by an undesirable class.
Dyaks from Borneo, who have lost their old
head-hunting propensities, are seen here, and
their ancient customs and superstitions are
fully exhibited in Raffles Museum, Singapore.
To gather an idea of how this huge hetero-
geneous population has coine to cover Malaya,
it is helpful to hark back for a moment to its
early history. The aborigines of Malaya be-
longed to scattered, wandering tribes, who
never built permanent villages. As early as
1160 A.D. the pioneers of the Malays came over
from Suinatra and settled on Singapore island,
where was founded the original ancient city of
Singhapura. So prosperous was the settlement
that the Kings of Java cast covetous eyes upon
it, and, after many unsuccessful attempts, they
contrived to obtain a footing about the year
1252. Thus the Javanese element was intro-
duced, and the original settlers retreated to
Malacca, where, in 1511, thev were attacked
220
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
and dispossessed by the Portuguese, aided by
a force of Malabar soldiers. In 1641 the Dutch
took Malacca from the Portuguese, and retained
possession of it (with the exception of a short
interim, during which it was held bv the
a settlement of the East India Company, soon
became the chief centre of population and trade,
and attracted many Malays from Malacca and
some natives from India.
But when Singapore was established in 18 19
A KLING (TAMIL) GIEL.
British) till 1824, when it finally passed into
the hands of Great Britain. Hence the strong
traces of Portuguese and Dutch descent in this
part of the peninsula.
Pinang, which had been founded in J786 as
it speedily attracted natives from the neighbour-
ing settlements, as well as Chinese, Javanese,
Bugis from the Celebes, Klings from India, and
Boyans from Bawain. Only four months after
it became a British settlement its population
A JAVANESE "WOMAN.
had received an accession of five thousand,
principally Chinese, and their numbers in-
creased daily. By the end of 1822 the popu-
lation had been doubled. In 1824, when the
first census was taken, it showed that there
were resident in the settlement 74 Europeans,
16 Armenians, 15 Arabs, 4,580 Malays, 3,317
Chinese, 756 natives of India, and 1,925 Bugis,
&c. By the year 1829 the population had
risen to nearly 16,000, exclusive of sailors,
soldiers, and convicts (of whom a number had
been sent from India on account of the un-
healthiness of the convict settlement on the
Andaman Islands). Five years later the number
of inhabitants was 26,000, and at the beginning
of 1850 the population had reached 60,000, of
whom 198 were Europeans, 304 Eurasians, and
24,790 Chinese. By this time the immigration
of Chinese coolies for the cultivation of gambler
and pepper plantations on the island had
assumed large proportions, no fewer than
11,000 arriving from China in the course of
one year. The colony was taken over by the
Colonial Office in 1867, and the last census
taken before that event was in i860, when the
population was approximately 90,000, of whom
JAVANESE GARDENERS.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF RRITISH MALAYA
221
Europeans and Eurasians represented 2,445
and Chinese 50,000.
From the time of the transfer onwards to the
present day the colony's population has con-
tinued to grow, and Singapore and Pinang have
become distributing centres for the vast army of
immigrants, Chinese and Indian, who annually
come to the Straits Settlements en route to the
plantations and tin mines of the Federated
Malay States and the Dutch possessions of the
archipelago. When the last census was taken
in 1901 the total population of the colony was
returned at over half a million. To this total
Singapore contributed 228,555 (170,875 males
and 57,680 females) ; Pinang and its depen-
dencies, 248,207 ; Malacca, 95,487 ; Christmas
Island, 704 ; and the Cocos Islands, 645. The
increase since 1891 was 59,907, or ifbg per
cent. The resident population of Europeans
and Americans increased by 669, or 20'5 per
cent. The various nationalities were appor-
tioned thus :
Europeans and Americans (including
British military, 495) 5,048
Eurasians ... ... ... ... 7,663
Chinese 281,933
Malays and other natives of the archi-
pelago 215,058
Tamils and other natives of India ... 57,150
Other nationalities 5,378
The population of the Federated Malay
States on March i, 1901, was 678,595 — an in-
crease of 62 per cent, over the return for 1891
— made up as follows :
Perak
Selangor ...
Negri Sambilan
Pahang ...
329,665
168,789
96,028
84,113
In 1906 the approximate number of immi-
grants was 274,798, apportioned thus :
Singapore 173,131
Pinang and Province Welleslev ... 109,491
Malacca 176
— whereas the number of emigrants from these
three ports of embarkation was only about
32,000. It is therefore clear that in a rtiajority
of cases the immigrants from India and China
elect, at the end of their contract service, to
stay in Malaya, where work is plentiful and
wages are correspondingly high as compared
with those paid in their own countries.
The least advantageous terms for which a
" Sinkheh," or unpaid Chinese passenger, now
contracts are a total of three hundred days'
work in return for free food and lodging and a
wage of five cents per day. In many cases
much higher remuneration is offered. The
wages for which contracts are signed by Indian
immigrants are 7 annas (28 cents) for men and
5 annas (20 cents) for women, without rations.
Nearly all the Chinese immigrants into the
colony and the Federated Malay States come
from Southern China, while the Indian immi-
grants are mostly from the Coromandel coast.
To this immigration is due the opening-up of
the Malay Peninsula, with its incalculable tin-
mining resources, which, even in their present
comparative unexploited state, yield two-thirds
of the world's supply of tin.
Mr. A. W. Bailey, the Chinese Protector
at Singapore, was born in India in 1873, and
received his education at Dulwich College and
at St. Catherine's College, Cambridge, where
he graduated B.A. with honours in mathe-
matics in 1895. He entered the Straits Settle-
ments' Government service a year later, and,
after having studied Hok-kien Chinese at
Amoy, he was, in 1899, appointed Acting
Second Assistant Protector of Chinese at
Pinang. In March, 1901, he became Acting
Assistant Protector of Chinese at Singapore,
and during the same year he passed his exami-
nation in Cantonese. From August, 1901, to
February, 1902, he was in charge of the
Chinese Protectorate at Singapore. He held
the appointments of Acting Assistant Protector
of Chinese at Pinang and at Singapore before
assuming his present position. Since 1904 Mr.
Bailey has been a member of the Singapore
Municipality, nominated by the Governor, and
he is a member of the Sports' Club, London,
and the Cricket and Ladies' Lawn Tennis Clubs,
Singapore.
Mr. L. H. Clayton, Acting Protector of
Chinese at Pinang, is a nominated member of
the Pinang Municipal Commission, and his
biography is given under that heading.
Mr. Henry Charles Ridges, M.A., Pro-
tector of Chinese for Selangor and Negri
Sambilan, was born in 1853. He was educated
at Wolverhampton Grammar School and
Trinity College, Cambridge, where he took his
degree. In 1884 he began his official career as
Assistant Collector and Magistrate at Klang,
and held subsequently similar appointments in
Ulu Selangor, Kuala Selangor, and Kuala
Langat, until 1890, when he became Chinese
Secretary for Selangor. He has also acted as,
Government Secretary, Inspector of Mines, and
State Treasurer. In 1903 he was appointed to
his present post. He is now on leave, and Mr.
A. M. Pountney, Assistant Protector of Chinese
for the Straits Settlements, is acting for him.
Mr. A. M. Pountney, Acting Protector of
Chinese, Kuala Lumpor, was educated at
Reading School and at University College,
Oxford. As a cadet he studied the Cantonese
dialect in the Southern capital of China, and,
after spending two years and a half at Canton,
passed the examination, and became attached
to the Chinese Protectorate at Singapore. His
substantive appointment is that of Second
.Assistant Colonial Secretary. In 1905 he was
Acting Official Assignee at Singapore.
Mr. William Cowan is the Protector of
Chinese for the State of Perak. He has been in
the Perak Civil Service since 1883, when he
was appointed Assistant Protector of Chinese.
During 1898 he was Registrar of Courts, Kinta,
and he was made Protector of Chinese in the
following year. P'rom April, 1904, he was
seconded, from the service for twelve months
to serve under the Transvaal Government in
connection with the importation of Chinese
labour into that colony.
Mr. H. Q. R. Leonard, M.A., Assistant
Superintendent of Immigration, Federated
Malay States, is a son, of the late Mr. C. M.
Leonard, Professor of English Literature at the
Central College, Bangalore, India, where he
was born on September 3, 1880. He was
educated at Bishop Cotton's. School and at
Edinburgh University, graduating M.A. in
1902. He afterwards continued his studies at
Wren's, London, for the Indian and Colonial
Civil Service, and securing a place in the
list of successful candidates, was appointed to
the Federated Malay States in November, 1903.
He held a number of official posts before
receiving his present appointment, in which his
duties are those of Protector of Tamil Labour in
Selangor and Negri Sambilan. Mr. Leonard is
a member of many local clubs in Selangor
and Negri Sambilan, and plays tennis, cricket,
football, and golf.
■ Mr. A. S. Haynes. — The office of Assistant
Superintendent of Indian Immigrants for the
Federated Malay States is held by Mr. Alwyn
Sidney Haynes, who is stationed in Pinang.
Born in 1878, Mr. Haynes entered the Perak
Government service as a cadet in 1901. After
passing in Tamil and law he was made Acting
Financial Assistant at Krian, and then for a
time administered the estate of the Dato'
Panglima, Kinta. He assumed his present
duties on November 29, 1906.
^^^^I^^^^^Sm^^^^^
^K
i
THE MALAYS OF BRITISH MALAYA
By B. O. STONEY,
Hon. Sec. of the Malay Settlemext, Kuala Lumpor.
HE exact position of the
Malay race in the genea-
logical tree of the great
family of the universe
has never been satisfac-
torily determined. Some
writers have urged that
the Malay is descended
from the same stock as
the Mongol of Central Asia. Others have
asserted that he is of Indonesian origin.
Others, again, have traced his descent from
one of the tribes which inhabit Southern
India. The matter is one which admits of no
definite solution, and perhaps the safest course
is to refrain from any attempt to go back beyond
the one fairly established fact, namely, that
ihe Malays who now claim the peninsula as
their home are descended from a people who
migrated thither from the coast of Sumatra
about a thousand years ago. To what stock
that people originally belonged cannot now be
ascertained. Sir Frank Swettenham, in his
" British Malaya," which is, perhaps, the most
recent publication bearing on the subject, gives
it as his opinion that the " Malays are the de-
scendants of people who crossed from the
South of India to Sumatra, mixed with a people
already inhabiting that island, and gradually
spread themselves over the most central and
fertile States — Palembang, Jambi, Indragiri,
Menangkabau, and Kampar." The Malays
themselves are not much given to speculation
on the subject of their national ancestry, and
they are, for the most part, quite ready to
accept without demur the account contained
in the books of Malay Annals of the conquest
and colonisation of the Malay Peninsula by a
people who came from Palembang, in Sumatra.
The fact that in Palembang there exists a
stream called Sungei Malaya is, to the Malay
mind, sufficient evidence in itself that this
account is substantially correct. In any case
it appears to admit of no doubt whatever that
the Malay Peninsula was largely colonised in
the distant past by immigrants from Sumatra.
Long before the founding of Singapore and
Malacca the people of Sumatra had reached a
comparatively advanced state of civilisation,
and their merchandise was being carried in
ships all over the archipelago. To win new
fields for their commercial enterprise they
gradually established a line of trading-ports
all along the coast of the peninsula, driving
back the local aborigines into the interior and
wresting the land from them without meeting
with any very determined opposition. The
process of immigration was probably a gradual
one, extending over a number of years, and
A MALAY MAN.
the Malay Peninsula was only one of the many
lands which were colonised in this manner.
Java, Borneo, Celebes, and the other islands
of the archipelago all fell an easy piej" to this
enterprising people, some of whom went still
further afield, even to the Philippines and the
islands of the Pacific.
The Malay inhabitants of British Malaya may
conveniently be divided into two classes — native
and foreign Malays. The division is an arbi-
trary one : it is geographical rather than ethno-
logical. The term " foreign Malays " will then
include those who have come across the border
from Kedah, Petani, Kelantan, and the other
southern Siamese States. These, indeed, differ
very little, if at all, 'from the natives of the
British portion of the_peninsula. It will also
include all those who have come from across
the seas — Achinese and Javanese Korinchis,
and Mendelings, Malays of Menangkabau,
Palembang, and Rawa, of Borneo, Sarawak,
and Labuan, and Bugis from the island of
Celebes. In these the difference is greater,
but it is for the most part a difference of speech
and customs only, not of physiognomy or con-
stitution ; for they all belong to the same
family as the Malays of the peninsula, and
the differences which do exist are only such
as can be attributed to the influence of other
local conditions. The native Malays proper
are the descendants of the old Sumatran
colonists, who have to some extent intermarried
with the local aborigines and with subsequent
immigrants. They are the real natives of the
soil, and it is with them only that this account
of the Malays of British Malaya will deal, the
term " Malay " being in most cases used in this
restricted sense.
When a stranger first sets eyes upon a new
race of people he is apt to think that they are
all very much alike. It is only when he be-
comes more closely acquainted with them
that their features become individualised. The
first impression that a stranger would get of
the Malay in this way would be that he was
a man with a brown complexion, somewhat
broad features, squat nose and large mouth,
slightly prominent cheek-bones, straight black
hair, and big dark eyes, which sparkle merrily
from time to time. There is another type —
less common, perhaps — in which the features
are fine and clear-cut and the complexion
much lighter. The fortunate possessor of
such traits is accounted a " veritable beau " by
his friends, a fair skin being in itself an attribute
of beauty. As regards his figure, the average
Malay is of rather less than medium height,
" iron-jointed, supple-sinewed." He is quick
and steady on his feet. His arms are long, and
hang well back behind his shoulders as he
walks. He is usuallj' thick-set, but his limbs
move easily and without any trace of stiffness.
Nature has given him the body of an athlete
to enable him to face the perils of the forest-
life, in which one slip or one false step might
well prove fatal.
In disposition the Malay is not unlike an
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Irish country gentleman of birth. He is quietly,
never effusively, courteous. His manners are
easy and genuine, not forced or assumed. He
is always good company, has a keen sense of
humour, and is ready to laugh as heartily at a
joke against himself as at any other. Being
naturally ready of speech, he keeps a sharp
curb upon his tongue, lest he should say some-
thing that were better left unsaid. He loves to
speak in riddles, vaguely hinting at thoughts
to which he is afraid to give direct expression.
He chooses his words with the utmost care ;
for clumsiness of speech is not only a sign of
bad breeding, but also a possible source of
danger, in that it may offend the spirit world
and bring its wrath upon him. He has a sense
of dignity and self-respect which forbids him
to cringe before Europeans as some other
Orientals do. A thorough country squire at
heart, he scorns the drudgery of manual labour
and leaves it to be done by others, or not at all.
Give him work which interests him, which has
a spice of danger or excitement about it, and
you will find him almost indefatigable. He is
proud, and exacts due deference from those
below him ; at the same time he never fails in
respect towards his superiors. He has a proper
reverence for constituted authority, and he is
most careful to treat his chieftains with all the
homage which is due to them. His domestic
life is almost idyllic. Towards his servants he
is considerate and friendly. He knows quite
well that unless they are treated almost as
members of the family and not as slaves they
will not give him loyal or willing service.. He
is indulgent to his wife, and perhaps even
more so to his children, whom he generally
spoils. He has no luxurious tastes ; the simple
home-life suffices to keep him' amused and
interested. On the whole, he is easy-going
and tolerant. He hates to be worried himself,
and he fs not tempted to worry others. He
supports his own relatives through thick and
thin, but his sense of charity does not take him
far beyond the family circle. He is content to
live his ovim life in the bosom of his family, like
a " frog beneath a coconut-shell," shutting his
eyes to the world beyond.
The most important article of Malay attire
is without doubt the sarong. It is a comfort-
able garment, with no buttons and no fastenings
whatever. It has often been described as a
shirt, perhaps because it is worn shirt-wise,
but it is neither made to measure nor shaped.
On the contrary, it is cut quite straight all the
way down, with a uniform girth of, say, 70
inches, and a depth of about 4 feet, which
just brings it down to the ankles. It is fastened
round the waist by making two inward pleats,
one on each side, and rolling down the top
edge in front until it is taut. Made in silk or
cotton, the colouring is generally bright, and
the pattern most affected is very much like
that of a Scotch tartan. Its use is almost uni-
versal ; the men wear it either over their
trousers or in place of trousers,, and the
women use it both as a skirt and as a head-
covering. It serves as a cradle for the baby, as
a basket to bring back vegetables from market,
and as a shroud for the dead. It often ends
its days doing duty as a scarecrow in the
rice fields. The Malay coat is a loose, long-
sleeved blouse, open at the neck and reaching
well below the waist. It is made of silk or
cotton, according to the means of the wearer.
The women wear a longer coat, which is
fastened down the front with brooches of gold
or silver or other metal. No man is held to be
correctly dressed unless he is wearing trousers.
This custom is, however, not strictly observed
by the present-day Malays, who appear to con-
sider the sarong alone quite sufficient as a
nether garment for anv but ceremonial occa-
sions. The correct head-dress for a Malay is
a coloured handkerchief, in the tving of which
there is much art. It is said that a different
style is laid down for each Malay chief, accord-
ing to his rank. This form of head-dress is,
however, now being gradually discarded in
favour of a small round or oval velvet cap,
resembling a smoking-cap. When wearing
European dress, as many Malays now do, a
short sarong is often worn round the hips,
with a few inches of it showing below the
coat. Strictly speaking it is immodest for a
shippers, believing that the whole of Nature
was endowed with life. Although the Malay
now professes Islam, he has never entirely
shaken off the influence of his earlki' beliefs.
His Mahomedanism Is tinged wTOi Hindu
behefs and with primitive animistic supersti-
tions, which he reconciles as best he can with
his more orthodox professions. He professes
NOBLE MALAY LADIES.
Malay to appear in public without a sarong
over his trousers.
The orthodox religion of the Malavs is '
Mahomedanism. Their conversion to" the
creed of Islam dates probably from the four-
teenth century, when their trade brought them
into contact with the Sunnite Mahomedans of
Southern India. Previous to this they had
come under Hindu influence, and in" their
earliest days they were probably Nature-wor-
his belief in the one true God ; in reality he
acknowledges the existence of many others.
He even goes so far at times as to play off one
against Ihe other. If the one true God of
Mahomed fails him, he turns to the Hindu god
Siva, and if Siva does not at once come to his
lescue he proceeds to curry favour with the
"Spectre Huntsman," a forest spirit of great
potency. This tendency is most visible in the
rites by which the ordinary domestic occur-
224
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRI'IISH MALAYA
rences, such as birth, marriage, and death, are
attended. In many of these ceremonies the
Mahomedan element plays but a small part,
greater attention being paid to charms, in-
cantations, and taboos, which find no place
in the pure faith. But for this tendency to
revert to the beliefs of his primitive ancestors,
the Malay is, on the whole, a good Mahomedan.
He is extremely loyal to his creed ; no attempt
to convert him to another faith is ever suc-
cessful, and loyalty is, after all, the great
criterion of true faith : ritual observances are
only a secondary consideration. Certainly in his
performance of the ritual ordained by the Koran
he is rather lax. It is not every Malay who
qua non of the faith, when in reality it is not
obligatory at all.
The writer once asked a Malay whose wife
had recently given birth to a child to describe
to him the ceremonies connected with child-
birth. For some time he protested that there
were no such ceremonies, and it was only by
questioning him with obdurate persistence that
he was induced to give any information what-
ever. He was a young Selangor Malay, about
twenty-two years of age, and it viras his wife's
first child. He lived in a small Malay village
in the house of his mother-in-law, a lady of
i considerable means. The house was of the
pattern usually affected by the more wealthy
solely for the use of the women. The third
portion consisted of a large room, which served
as general reception-hall and as a place in
which the men and their guests could both eat
and sleep. There was no furniture to speak
of in any part of the house-;— a few mats, a
tray containing " sireh " requisites, and here
and there a spittoon — that was all. At night
more mats were unrolled, mosquito curtains
were hung up, and pillows were brought out,
and with these few changes the dining-room
was converted into a dormitory. The windows,
which were placed almost on a level with the
floor, were about 4 feet long and 2 feet
deep. Each was closely barred, while outside
MALAY LADIES AT WEAVING AND FANCY WORK.
prays the requisite five times a day and attends
mosque with proper regularity on Fridays.
The fasting month is observed after a fashion,
but not by all. The pilgrimage to Mecca, which
has to be performed by all who can afford to
do so, is perhaps the one form of devotional
exercise for which the Malay displays any con-
siderable zeal. He reads the Koran religiously,
but as he reads it in a language of which he
can scarcely understand a word, one need not
be surprised if his interpretation of the text is
somewhat illogical. He considers that to eat
pork is an absolutely unpardonable sin, and
vet he is quite ready to condone the drinking
of spirits, which, according to the Koran, is
just as sinful. He is, moreover, pecuharly
.strict about circumcision, making it a sine
Malays. The front portion was built of good
hard timber, on brick pillars about 6 feet
high, with a tiled roof, and a long flight of
cement steps leading up to the main entrance.
This part was practically never used except
on ceremonial occasions and for the reception
of guests of high standing. The family were
content to live in the less pretentious back pre-
mises, which were built of cheaper materials
and in a less solid architectural st>'le. These
consisted of three parts, each part practically
a separate house with a separate gable and
roof, but each connected with the front and
with one another like the parts of a telescope.
The extreme back end formed the kitchen,
which was joined by an open platform, used
as a scullery to the next, which was reserved
there was a solid wooden shutter for use during
the night. The room had three entrances — one
leading into the front part of the house, one to
the back, and one opening on a side door with
the usual ladder steps leading to it. The women
entered their part of the house by a set of
ladder steps leading to the scullery. The
house was surrounded and almost hidden by
coconut-palms, the fronds of which afforded
the most perfect shade from the .=un. The
lady who owned the house was called
Aminah. She was a middle-aged woman,
rather stout and big, and, like most mothers-
in-law, she was credited with a bad temper
and a surly disposition. Certainly both her
daughter and her son-in-law stood in great
fear of her, and her word was law to them
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
225
and to most people who visited the house.
Puteh, her daughter, was in many respects
unhke her, though it was possible to trace a
distant family resemblance. Her figure was
slim, and she moved with that graceful swing
of the hips which is peculiar to Malay women.
She had an abundance of long black hair, large
dark eyes, and a nose which was rather flat,
but not noticeably so. Her mouth was prettily
shaped, her chin round and smooth, and her
eyebrows well arched, in the manner the
Malays admire so much. Her teeth had
once been beautiful ; they were now dis-
coloured with betel-nut and sadly mutilated
by the ceremony of "filing," which takes
place prior to marriage. Altogether she had
the features of an ordinary good-looking
Malay girl. She was pleasant-faced without
being beautiful.
Some months before the child was expected
the services of a " bidan," or Malay midwife,
had been retained, a small fee being paid in
advance. During the last period of his wife's
pregnancy. Mat Tahir, the husband, had been
compelled to exercise the greatest caution not
to offend the birth spirits. Before child-birth
a number of " taboos " have to be observed
both by the husband and by the wife. It is
forbidden to take the life of any animal, or to
strike or threaten any living thing. The husband
may not even cut his hair, nor may he or any
other person " cut the house in half " — that is to
say, enter by the front and go out by the back.
He must also forego the pleasure of sitting, as
he loves to do, in the doorway at the top of his
ladder steps, for it is most unlucky to block the
doorway, and dreadful consequences might
ensue. Mat Tahir had observed all these
taboos with the greatest care, and the constant
fear lest he should unwittingly transgress any
one of them, added to his anxiety for his wife,
had proved a great strain upon his nerves.
Late one night Aminah bade him go at once to
fetch the bidan. He crept noiselessly out of
the house, and made his way rapidly along a
small path underneath thecanopy of tall palms,
which shook faintly in the night-breeze and
made the moonlight shadows tremble under his
feet. On every side he heard the monotonous
chirping of innumerable cicadas, and now and
again the hoot of an owl or the mellow note
of a night-jar made him start with fright. He
was in that state of nerxous excitement which
only prolonged suspense can induce. At last he
reached the house he sought. It was a small
attap-roofed shanty, built on wooden posts, in
two parts, with ladder steps leading to the
front door. The walls were of plaited bamboo.
The back half served as kitchen and the front
as dining-room, drawing-room, and bedroom.
It was a miserable hovel ; for Mak Sadiah, the
bidan, like many a Malay woman whose
husband "has died and left her solitary, was
very poor. Mat Tahir tapped the door gently.
He was afraid to rouse the bidan from her sleep
with a start. The Malays believe that the soul
is temporarily absent during sleep, so that if a
sleeper is awakened suddenly it has not time to
return to the body. Quickly and silently they
made their way along the path by which Mat
Tahir had come, back to the house where
Aminah awaited them anxiously. The first
thing to do was to select a lucky spot within
the house for the birlh. When the bidan was
satisfied that she had found the best spot, the
girl was laid there. About an hour afterwards
•the child was born. At the moment of birth
the Bital, who lived some distance off, and had
some days previously been invited to stay in
the house until the birth took place, at once
invoked a blessing on the child. Then the
umbilical cord was cut with the sharp edge of
a piece of split bamboo, a dollar being first
laid below it to bring prosperity. During the
cutting the Bital called upon the father to give
-the child's name, and, as it proved to be a boy,
he christened it Mat Sahid. The child was
then bathed ; after that it was danced in the
air seven times by the bidan, and then it was
laid to rest on a mat which had been carefully
I prepared for its reception. Next the mother
' was purified by being bathed in warm water
in which certain herbs were mixed. After this
the child was carefully swathed in bandages
from head to foot, the idea being that this
would prevent it from straining itself and
becoming deformed. In the morning the
mother had to undergo the ceremony of
" roasting," which is one of the strangest
customs connected with child-birth. She was
suspended over a " roaring " fire, which was
lighted by the bidan in the centre of the house.
There she was left for about two hours until she
was thoroughly "roasted." This ceremony was
repeated in the afternoon, and continued twice a
day during the whole of the forty-four days of her
purification. It is a wonder that Malay mothers
ever survive this terrible ordeal.
As the Malay child travels along the path of
life he is" attended on his way, from start to
finish, by Dame Ceremony. She meets him as
he sets foot upon the threshold of the world,
and she remains at his side until he bids the
world farewell. Her presence in some form
or other is required for almost every event
throughout his life — for the first shaving of his
head, for his circumcision, for his betrothal and
his marriage, for the sowing of rice and the
harvest, for house-building and for hunting, for
fishing and for mining, and, lastly, for the heal-
ing of every form of sickness that his flesh is
heir to. In his youth he is a jovial little soul,
boisterous and full of fun. Sir Frank Swetten-
ham has described him as " often beautiful, a
thing of wonderful eyes, eyelashes, and eye-
brovi's, with a far-away expression of sadness
and solemnity, as though he had left some
better place for a compulsory exile on earth."
On the whole he appears to enjoy his exile ; he
is spoilt by his parents, he runs wild and does
as he likes, and nothing — not even the indiges-
tible messes with which he is fondly encouraged
to stuff himself — appears to upset his hedonistic
philosophy of life. The Malay girl in early
youth is seldom attractive. She has a round,
almost doll-like face, which lacks both interest
and expression. She is generally shy and un-
communicative. On the whole she receives,
and perhaps deserves, less attention than her
brother. For some years Malay children, boys
and ^irls together, run about in a state of utter
nakedness, except, perhaps, for a charm hung
round the neck or girth. Spon after it becomes
necessary for the girls to wear clothing they are
kept in seclusion, no strangers of the other sex
being allowed near them. And so the girl
grows up, doing odd jobs about the house,
such as sewing and cooking, feeding the poul-
try, and driving the cattle out to graze, or help-
ing her mother in the padi fields at the annual
harvest. The friendships of her childhood are
forgotteUj and she waits impatiently for the day
when a deputation will arrive from the parents
of some marriageable youth in the village to
seek her betrothal to their son. To remain un-
married is shameful, and to get married may
mean greater freedom, wider interests, and,
perhaps — who knows ? — mutual love. The
deputation is received with due courtesy and
with all the ceremony which the occasion re-
quires. Sometimes the girl is called in for
inspection, and, if the inspection proves satis-
factory, the proceedings are terminated by the
offering of betel-nut and the payment of the
betrothal money. The prospective bridegroom
takes no part in the proceedings. Often he is
mated to a girl whom he has never seen. He
may have exchanged furtive glances with the
girl, meeting her first by chance as she went
riverwards to bathe, or as she returned from
the padi fields after the day's work was done.
Subsequently the meetings may have been
carefully premeditated, but no open recognition
could be tolerated, and each time he went by
the girl would draw her head-covering forward
to conceal her face, with an affectation of
modesty which custom made compulsory.
Even then the ultimate choice of a bride lay
with the parents, but no doubt the youth could
find arguments to bring home to them the great
advantages which a marriage connection with
that particular family would entail. After the
betrothal it is customary to exchange presents
— from a distance, of course, because the engaged
couple are on no account allowed to meet.
A Malay wedding is a very big and very
important affair. It involves the expenditure
of large sums of money by the families of both
parties, and it also entails a great deal of work
in the preparation of the weddii"ig trousseau,
the decoration of the houses of both bride and
bridegroom, and the cooking of the customary,
wedding-feast dishes. These preparations take
some days. The wedding ceremony proper
commences with the bergantong-gantong, or
"hanging up." This usually takes place on a
Friday. At each house friends and relatives
./'»SUSFKi«>u.'v.l»iaw^M{
A MALAY DANCING GIEL.
arrive in crowds. Striped curtains and orna-
mental ceiling cloths are hung up, mats are
spread, 2nd the houses ai'e made generally gay
by a lavish display of decorative paper flowers
and bright-coloured trappings. In the recep-
tion-hall of the bride's house a magnificent dais
or throne is prepared for the sitting-in-state of
the bridal pair. The bridal chamber is also
carefully decorated, special attention being
paid, of course, to the bridal couch. The dais
is raised about 3 feet above the floor, with
two steps leading up to it. On it a mattress is
laid, and at the back large pillows, varving in
number according to the rank of the bride-
groom, are piled, with their richly embroidered
ends exposed to view from the front. Over
the dais a light framework of bamboo is built,
and the whole structure is gaily decorated, until
it presents a perfect blaze of colour, framed in
a glittering mass of gold and silver tinsel.
Meanwhile certain preliminary ceremonies
are being performed on the bride and bride-
groom to prepare them for the wedding. Their
teeth are filed, if this has not already been done.
Locks of hair are cut from the head above the
226
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
temples and across the brow. The finger-nails
and certain portions of the feet are stained
with a scarlet dye obtained from a mash of
compressed henna leaves. In the case of the
bride this staining ceremony is conducted in the
seclusion of an inner chamber, and is therefore
called the "hidden henna-staining."
The second day is marked by the ceremony
of the public henna-staining. The bridegroom-
elect proceeds in state to the house of the bride
and ascends the dais, where he sits cross-legged
while the stain is applied first by seven men,
then by seven women, each in turn. A short
prayer concludes the proceedings, after which
he is escorted back to his house by his friends.
It is not until he has left the house that his
fiancee makes her appearance and goes through
the same ceremony. It is the custom in
wealthy families, provided that the houses are
fairly close together, for the bridegroom to be
"stained "in his own house and the bride in
hers, so that the bridegroom does not have to
go to the bride's house until the third day
of the ceremony, which is called the " hari
langsong," or concluding day.
The "hari langsong" begins with the cere-
monial " bathing," first of the bridegroom and
then of the bride. Early in the morning the
bridegroom is escorted to the bride's house.
A chair is placed on the bathing platform near
the kitchen, and over it a curtain is hung. The
bridegroom takes his seat on this chair under
the curtain. He is then bathed, or, speaking
strictly, sprinkled with the ceremonial rice-
paste, which consists of rice-flour mixed with
water. This mixture is sprinkled upon him by
seven persons of each sex in turn, each using
for the purpose a brush composed of the leaves
of certain carefully selected plants, which are
supposed to have the power of neutralising the
possible evil effects of the spirit world. The
ceremony over, the bridegroom again returns
to his house, and when he is well out of sight,
the same ceremony is performed upon his
fiancee.
At about half-past four in the afternoon the
bride sends a present of cakes to her fiance.
These cakes are partaken of by the bridegroom
and his friends, and care is taken that not a
crumb is left upon the dishes when they are
^ ■!>■ ■>_
>T
MALAY BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM.
sent back to the bride. The present of cakes
is followed by a similar present of saffron-
stained rice. By about half-past five the bride-
groom begins to don his wedding-garments.
These consist of a long flowing robe of bright
colour, silk trousers, embroidered slippers, and
a turban-like head-dress of gold-embroidered
red cloth with a tassel of artificial flowers on
the right-hand side. A bunch of artificial
flowers is placed behind each ear, and the
bridegroom is loaded with as much jewellery
as he can carry. His first duty is to take leave
of his parents, which he does by prostrating
himself before them and making obeisance to
them by raising his hands to his face with the
palms placed together. Both the parents and
their son are expected to shed tears during this
solemn leave-taking. On descending from the
house, sireh and betel-nut are administered to
him to brace him up for the ordeal through
which he has to pass. It is a noticeable
characteristic of the Malay wedding ceremony
that the attributes of royalty are, for the time
being, bestowed upon the bride and bride-
groom. Each is attended all through the
ceremony by a Tukang Andam, a sort of
master or — in the case of the bride — mistress
of ceremonies. All through the ceremony they
are treated as if they were quite powerless and
incapable of making even the smallest move-
ment without assistance. They take the whole
performance very seriously, and hardly ever
smile, even though their friends take a mis-
chievous delight in attempting to make them
do so. The procession starts from the bride-
groom's house with much shouting and beating
of drums. He himself is often carried on the
shoulders of a friend, while an umbrella is held
over him to keep off the sun. On his leaving
his own house, and again on arrival at the
bride's house, his friends invoke a blessing by
shouting round him three times " Peace be
with thee."
His entry into the bride's house is nearly
always barred bj' a rope or string tied across
the path, and a mimic conflict ensues to force
a way in. The resistance is never very stub-
born, and often the garrison are persuaded to
capitulate by bribery — a ring or some other
article of jewellery being thrown into the
enemy's camp by the besiegers. On obtaining
an entry, the bridegroom signifies his humility
by divesting himself of all his jewellery and
changing his silk attire for garments of a
meaner fabric. He takes his seat on a mat on
the verandah, and a charcoal incense-burner is
placed beside him. The priest who is waiting
to perform the ceremony, as required by
Mahomedan law, is then taken by one of the
bride's relatives into the bridal chamber, where
he formally asks the bride-elect whether she
consents to wed the man who has been selected
for her. For a time she is overcome with
modesty, and the question has to be repeated
three times before she signifies her consent.
The priest then comes out to proceed with the
wedding ceremony, which he performs upon
the bridegroom alone in the presence of the
relatives and friends of both parties. Taking
the bridegroom's hand in his, he repeats the
words, " I wed you A to B, daughter of C, for
a portion of two bahars," to which the bride-
groom replies, " I accept this marriage with
B for a portion of two bahars." The bride-
groom is then taken into the bridal chamber
to see his bride, and, being now her lawful
husband, he is allowed to touch her with his
hand — a very great concession according to
Malay etiquette, for a Malay unmarried girl
may not expose herself to the gaze, much less
to the touch, of a person of the other sex. His
next duty is to prostrate himself before the
bride's relatives, after which he gets back into
his gala attire. While he is dressing, the bride
comes out and, with the assistance of her
Tukang Andam, ascends the dais, where she
squats with her feet tucked under her and her
knees to the front. The bridegroom soon takes
his place at her side, sitting cross-legged. The
ceremony of feeding one another with cere-
monial rice now begins. Each holds out a
hand, palm upwards. A pinch of rice is then
placed in each of the outstretched hands of the
bridegroom by one of his relatives, and in the
bride's by one of hers. The hands are then
A MALAY CARRYING A STATE SPEAR.
carried across by the two Tukang Andam until
the bridegroom's hand is opposite the bride's
mouth and the bride's hand is opposite the
bridegroom's mouth. Properly speaking, the
rice should then be placed in the mouth, but
as the performance has to be repeated until
first seven male and then seven female relatives
on each side have offered rice in this manner,
the bridal pair are spared the danger of being
choked by the Tukang Andam surreptitiously
removing the rice when it is opposite the lips.
The ceremony is often made the occasion for a
race, the result of which is awaited with great
excitement. When this is over, the couple are
assisted to their feet, and, hand-in-hand — or
rather, with little fingers interlocked— they
move slowly through the reception-hall, lean-
ing all the while on their attendants' arms, to
the bridal chamber. Here the bridegroom
again divests himself of his ceremonial robes,
and, clothed once more in his elaborate dress,
bids his bride farewell for a time and rejoins
his friends upon the verandah. At about 8 p.m.
he re-enters the bridal chamber, attended by
about a dozen of his chosen friends," to partake
of a meal, at which his wife presides. She
herself is too much scared to eat. She is sup-
posed to eat off the same plate as her husband,
but the most she can be induced to do is to sit
with her hand on his plate in make-belief that
she is sharing his meal. After the meal is over,
the bride retires to sleep with her female rela-
tives in the back portion of the house, while
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
227
the bridegroom sleeps in the bridal couch in
solitary state.
On the fourth day the ceremony of bathing
the bride and ■ bridegroom together is per-
formed. They are seated side by side on two
chairs between two jugs of specially conse-
crated water. First of all they are sprinkled
with rice-paste water, and then with water
from the two jugs. After this the guests, who
have carefully provided themselves with squirts
made of bamboo, proceed to deluge first the
bride and bridegroom and then one another,
until a regular water-fight ensues, in which,
amid shrieks and shouts of laughter, nearly
everybody, women included, is drenched to the
skin. Later on the wedded couple hold a recep-
tion. The guests, dressed once more in their
smartest clothes, come in and squat round the
reception-hall in front of the dais, where the
bride and bridegroom sit solemnly enthroned.
When the hall is full, first the bridegroom and
then the bride is taken slowly round the room
by the Takang Andam and made to salute
each person in succession. On returning to
their places on the dais the master of cere-
monies reads out to them the list of presents
and their donors. As each name is read out
the recipients signify their thanks by raising
their hands in salute. After this, the husband
again sleeps alone in the bridal chamber.
On the evening of the following day the hus-
band is requested to absent himself from the
house, and not to return till about two o'clock in
the morning. The bride is then taken into the
bridal chamber, when she is sung to sleep by
some aged drone. Shortly after two o'clock
the husband returns, and enters his wife's
room. Outside, the relations of both parties
assemble, All are in a great state of excite-
ment, the girl's parents most of all. For some
time they are kept in suspense ; at last the
husband comes out, and if he announces that
all is well the news is received with a great
sigh of rehef. Had the verdict been otherwise
there would have been trouble, and the girl's
family would have suffered everlasting disgrace.
The concluding ceremony is the attendance
of the husband, in full bridal attire, at the
mosque on Friday. After the service he
invites those of his friends who have attended
mosque on that day to partake of a meal at his
wife's house.
When a Malay dies the relatives place the
corpse on its back with its feet towards Mecca.
The hands are folded over the breast, and a
piece of metal is laid below them to prevent
the recurrence of an accident which is believed
to have occurred long ago. For it is related that
once upon a time a cat stepped over a corpse
and that the spirit of the cat entered the corpse
and made it stand upon its feet. The relatives
were naturally much scared, and the incident
created a sensation throughout the country.
Ever since it has been customary to take pre-
cautions against the repetition of such a terrible
catastrophe. After the corpse has been ar-
ranged in the manner described above, the
very best sarongs that the family possesses are
brought out to serve as a covering. Some-
times they are laid on five or six deep, shroud-
ing the body completely from head to foot.
Meanwhile messengers have been despatched
to carry the sad news from house to house, and
to summon all the friends and relatives. There
is plenty of work to be done. Some set to
work to make a coffin ; others are engaged
on the shroud ; others, again, are set to
make the bier and superstructure on which
the coffin is borne to the grave. The corpse,
too, requires further attention. As soon as the
persons competent to perform the task are
found, the body is stripped and washed several
times with different preparations, the greatest
care being taken to clean the nails of the fingers
and toes. The next step is to close the ears,
nostrils, eyes, and mouth with cotton wool.
When this is done the corpse is wrapped in
a large white shroud, which is tied round it
with long strips of cloth torn from the selvedge
edge of the shroud itself. When sufficient
time has been allowed for the company to
assemble, the priest summons them to prayer
in the house. After this the corpse is carried
in procession to the grave, the company chant-
ing verses to a tune which, to European ears,
sounds more joyous than sad. At the grave
the coffin is taken off the bier and placed on the
ground. Then generally ensues a lively alter-
cation as to which end of the. coffin contains
the head and which the feet ; but when this
has been satisfactorily settled the coffin is
lowered into the grave, where there are people
ready to receive it. The body is then un-
shrouded, the bands being removed, and great
care is taken to fix it in a position on its side
so that the eyes look directly towards Mecca.
Pieces of earth are often used to prop it up to
make sure that the position is secure. The grave
is then filled in, and rude wooden grave-posts are
put in to mark the place. Then follows a short
service, in which the priest reads the Talkin,
which is a sort of sermon addressed to the
deceased. The deceased, in fact, is reputed to
come to life especially to hear it, and it is not
until the hand comes in contact with the torn
selvedge that the corpse realises that it really is
not alive. The Talkin ended, the company
repeat some responses after the priest, rocking
from side to side as they do so. The ceremony
at the grave generally concludes with the dis-
tribution of alms. But this is by no means the
end of the death ceremonies. On the third,
the seventh, the fourteenth, the fortieth, and
the hundredth day after the death feasts have
to be given and praj'ers said for the deceased.
If the deceased was a married man, his widow
is expected to remain under the roof of the
house in which he died until all these obser-
vances have been performed. After that she
may return to her parents or remain, as she
thinks fit.
The chief Malay industry is the cultivation of
rice. The Malay is satisfied with one crop per
annum, and he relegates the larger portion of
the work of cultivating it to his women-folk. He
uses a buffalo harnessedfirstto an old-fashioned
wooden plough, and then a wooden harrow to
prepare the soil for the planting. He also culti-
vates coconuts, but seldom on a large scale.
He plants them all about his house, and inter-
mingles with them every description of fruit-
tree, from the quickly growing pisang to the
durian, which takes years to come into bearing.
In addition he plants sirih and also betel-nut
trees, the bloom of which spreads a fragrant
odour, not unlike that of the English primrose,
all around the kampong. With rice, coconuts,
fruit, poultry which he rears himself, and fish
which he catches in the river or the sea — which-
ever is most handy — his dietary requirements
are fully satisfied.
The Malay is at his best on the river. There
he has no equal. See him coming down stream,
standing, with marvellous balance, in the bow
of a narrow dug-out, while a small boy paddling
in the stern keeps the boat's head straight.
The boat is carried with a rush over fast
eddying swirls down a boulder-studded rapid.
Suddenly the fisher's well-trained eye sees the
glint of a silver-bellied fish just beyond him.
Swiftly but surely he takes aim, and the net —
which just now was hanging in limp folds over
his shoulder and forearm — extends its wings to
the full, settling like a great vampire right
over the spot where the fish lies hid. The boat
may rock in the current, but the fisherman's
aim is always true, and he never makes a faulty
throw. Sometimes the net gets caught in a
snag on the bed of the river. In an instant he
is in the water, swimming and diving till he
finds the spot. This does not take him long ;
for in the water he is almost a fish, and is able,
by swimming under water, to make headway
against the strongest current.
Modern civilisation has had one sad effect
upon the Malay race, in that it is largely
responsible for the almost total disappearance
of the old Malay arts and industries. This is
partly due, perhaps, to the natural disinclination
of the Malay for work of any sort. But it is
due, also, in a great measure, to the introduction
into the peninsula of the highly-finished pro-
ducts of European manufacture, which have
made the Malay ashamed of the rude articles
of his own old-world handicrafts. The Malay
cannot understand that real Malay hand-made
articles are more valuable than their more
flashy counterparts from Manchester. He is
apt to argue that it is useless for him to spend
ten whole days in the fashioning of a thing
which the " white man " can turn out in ten
minutes by using modern machinery. He
himself would much prefer the machine-made
article after all.
The future of the Malay race in British
Malaya is a question about which opinions
differ very considerably. It has often been
asserted that the Malays are too indolent by
nature to be able to hold their own against the
more enterprising Asiatic races with whom
circumstances make it necessary that they
should compete. It is said that tlieir doom is
sealed, that as time progresses they must go
to the wall, and that they will survive only
as objects of scientific interest to the ethnologist
and the historian. There is no doubt that at
present they are somewhat handicapped by
the lack of those qualities which help the
Chinaman and the Tamil to play a useful part
in the economic development of the pen-
insula.
As an economic factor at present the Malay
need scarcely be taken into account. He
tends to retard rather than to stimulate pro-
gress. But there is one point in his favour
which must not be overlooked, and that is the
fact that he is a " brown man," Hving in the
"brown man's" zone, and, therefore, more
suited to the climatic conditions in which he
lives than the "yellow" Chinaman or the
" black" Tamil. It may be found, as time goes
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A DYAK WOMAN.
on, that the other races are unable to stand the
peculiar climate of the Straits, and that their
energy will be sapped, their health will break
down, and their breed deteriorate. The Malav
228
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
has been here so long that the climate has by
this time done its worst for him. It only re-
mains to find some way to correct the faults
which he has inherited. Government inter-
ference is the remedy which first suggests
itself to the mind. There are, of course, many
arguments against the preferential treatment of
any one class or race of people by the Govern-
ment, and these arguments hold good in this
case. They are, however, to a great extent
counterbalanced by the fact that in the case of
the Malay, in the Protected States at any rate,
the Government is in the position of trustee,
bound by treaty to advise for the good of the
people of the country. What is now a solemn
duty, a matter of conscience, may in the long
run prove the best policy economically. The
Government can best keep the Malay active by
inducing him to do Government work. This
object can be attained either by offering higher
rates of salary, or by reducing the hours of
duty, or by a combination of both methods.
At present the Malay candidate for Government
employment is, on the whole, rather worse off
than the Tamil or the Chinaman. He has, of
course, a reputation for laziness, which, whether
justified or not, always stands in his way. More-
over, the rates of salary offered to him are in
some cases actually less than those offered to
other Asiatics in the Federated Malay States.
It was only quite recently that the Malay police
were allowed the higher rate of salary which
the Sikh police had enjoyed for years. The
official schedule of wages for Chinese coolies
is still higher than that for Malays. A Malay
assistant teacher gets a lower salary than a
Tamil peon. Jaffna Tamil clerks are allowed
leave to return to their homes on half-pay,
while a Malay clerk who wishes to visit his
parents on leave is granted no pay at all. To
get half-pay leave he must go abroad.
Generally speaking, it is only from those
officers of the service who have that aEfectionate
regard for Malays which is the natural outcome
of intimate acquaintance with them that they
really get any degree of preferential treatment.
It is laid down by Government as a general
maxim that the Malays should be encouraged.
But the desire for departmental efficiency is
generally so strong that the maxim is more
honoured in the breach than in the observance.
Still, much has been, and is being, done for the
Malays. A residential college has been founded
at Kuala Kangsa to train young Malay rajas
and nobles for the Government service, in the
hope that they will be able to perform the
duties now undertaken by officers of the cadet
service. Here and there Malays are being
raised to responsible posts — especially in Perak,
where, during the last few years, Mr. G. W.
Birch, C.M.G., the British Resident, has done
much to advance the interests of the Malays.
In Kuala Lumpor a special residential reserve
has been created to enable Malays to live close
to the town where they are employed, under
conditions similar to those obtaining in a Malay
kampong, or village. Work is being found for
them in several Government Departments,
particularly as surveyors, mechanics, draughts-
men, and motor-car drivers. Finally, the
Government has recently decided to make
officers who have newly joined study the
Malay character more closely and make them-
selves familiar with their laws and customs,
their arts and industries, their prejudices and
superstitions, and their religious beliefs.
This is a step in the right direction, which
A DYAK.
should do much to awaken a real interest in
this attractive, but somewhat disappointing
people.
On the whole, there seems to be sufficient
ground for the hope which is shared by all
who have learnt to love the Malay, that he will
in time be something more than an ornamental
member of society. It must be' remembered
that he has only been in touch with European
civilisation for some thirty years, that he has
never had to work hard for his living, and that
the climate in which he lives is more than
ordinarily enervating. The Chinaman and the
Tamil, who are now his chief rivals in the
peninsula, come from countries where the
struggle for existence, which is always very
hard, is rendered still harder at times by floods,
famine, and plague. They are born to a
strenuous life, and it is no matter for surprise
to find them more keen and more energetic
than the Malay. When the shoe begins to
pinch, as it will, perhaps, in time, the Malay
will have to exert himself, and, if he is kept
going till then, so that his capacity for work is
not entirely lost, he will prove a dangerous
rival to all other competitors. He has physical
strength, courage, ability, deftness of hand ; in
fact, nearly all the requisites for success in life
— a term which is frequently used now as a
synonym for the acquisition of wealth. He
only lacks application and industry.
The writer has pleasure in acknowledging
the great assistance which he has derived from
Sir Frank Swettenham's "The Real Malay,"
Major McNair's "The Malays of Perak," Mr.
Skeat's " Malay Magic," and other books upon
Malay subjects ; and also from Raja Alang
.Iskandar, who very kindly read through this
article and made many excellent suggestions.
Mr. Bowes Ormonde Stoney, Acting
Assistant Protector of Chinese for Selangor
and Negri Sambilan and Supervisor of Cus-
toms, was born in 1878, and was educated at
Fettes College, Edinburgh, and Pembroke
College, Cambridge. He came to the East
in 1902, and has served as Acting District
Treasurer, S. Batu Gajah ; Acting Commis-
sioner of Police, Taiping ; and Acting Assistant
Secretary to the Resident of Selangor. His
appointment dates from April 3, 1907. Mr.
Stoney is an all-round sportsman, taking his
place in most of the principal Selangor teams
— hockey and Rugby and Association football.
As a member of its committee, he takes a great
interest in the Malay Settlement at Kuala
Lumpor, which has been established by the
Government in order that the Malays may
there live after their own manners and
customs. He is editor of the Warta Malayu,
a periodical printed in Romanised Malay,
designed to furnish, in addition to the usual
style of gazette information, a certain amount
of magazine matter and general intelligence.
^^B^W^S^^
MALAY LITERATURE
[Abridged from the Governiient Publications on the Subject.]
HE Malays possess a
national literature
which, though open to
much adverse criticism
if judged from a Euro-
pean standpoint, never-
theless contains not a
little that is of real
literary promise, Evi-
dence is not wanting that the Malays have
been travelling along much the same literary
road as Western nations, even if they have
not yet advanced so far. They may, indeed,
be likened to the European child who prefers
the story of "Jack the Giant-Killer" to the
masterpieces of Milton and Shakespeare, but
is, in his way, a good judge of a fairy-tale.
The chief value of their literature lies, of
course, in the insight which it gives into the
history and character of a people who are
apt to be very much misunderstood by the
casual observer.
Every Malay author is an amateur philologist
—a " lover of words " in the most literal sense
— and some of the attempts at tracing the deri-
vation of words are more ingenious than
accurate. One native writer assures us that
Malacca was so named from the Arabic word
malakat, an emporium, because the town
afterwards became a great trading centre.
Another asks us to believe that the Bugis
Princes of Celebes must be descended from
King Solomon, because Bugis is plainly the
same as Balkis, the legendary name of the
Queen of Sheba. How comes it that the Malay,
who is by heredity a mere trapper or fisherman
— perhaps even a pirate — displays such a deep
interest in the study of words ? The explana-
tion is simple. According to Malay theory, a
proper command of language is essential to
success even in hunting and fishing. Loose
language on the sea may bring on a storm ;
a careless word in the jungle may expose the
speaker to the attack of a tiger ; the use of a
wrong expression may drive out the tin from
a mine or the camphor from a forest. An
Englishman objects to slang in the presence
of ladies ; a Malay avoids expressions of uiidue
familiarity in the presence of all superior
powers, human or superhuman. The Malay
has his " Court diction," his "everyday speech,"
his " business language," his special vocabulary
for camphor-collecting, and his list of tabooed
words in mining, hunting, and fishing. As a
By R. J. WILKINSON.
result of this regard for words, a Malay's idea
of literary composition is to string together
(karang) beautiful words and sayings ; he
describes a story as a necklace of pearls, or
a crown of diamonds, or a garland of flowers.
He does not consider the parts of a story to be
mere accessories to the story as a whole ; they
are the pearls, while the narrative is the thread
necessary for stringing them together.
The ancient unwritten literature of the
Malays was the work of villagers. It appears
to have consisted of proverbs, of conventional
descriptions, of old sayings on all kinds of
topics, of short proverbial verses, of fables in
which the mouse-deer played the part of Brer
Rabbit, and of short stories, about comic per-
sonages, like the typical Irishman of English
anecdote. The earliest Malay books must date
back to the sixteenth century, but the Augustan
period of Malay literature was the first half of
the seventeenth century, and was associated
with the period of the kingdom of Achin's
greatest prosperity. Among the most noted
Malay works of this period are the "Taju's-
Salatin " (" Crown of Kings "), dated 1603 ; the
" Sejarah Melayu" ("Malay Annals"), written
at Achin in 1612 ; the " Bustanu's-Salatin "
(" Garden of Kings "), and a version of the
" Iskandar Dzu'l-Karnain " (" Romance of
Alexander ").
Generally speaking, Malay literature may
be classed under the four headings : Romance,
History, Poetry, and Fable or Anecdote.
ROMANCE.
The first point that strikes any one who
examines the old Malay romances is the like-
ness they bear to the tales that interested
medieval Europe. Solomon's proverb that
there is nothing new under the sun finds many
counterparts in the Indian Archipelago. The
tale of the founding of Carthage (by the simple
device of asking for as much land as an ox's
hide would encompass) has an exact parallel
in a Malay account of the taking of Malacca.
The myth of Hercules and Antaeus is identical
with the myth of the earth god, the Maharaja
Boma, in the Malay romance of " Sang Samba " ;
while, as an episode in the same Indonesian
legend, we have the myth of the war between
the Titans and the gods. The whole panorama
of Eastern romance is filled with the cannibal
ogres, the lovely princesses, the winged horses,
the monstrous birds, the men in animal shape,
and most of the other details that make up the
folk-lore of the European child. The most
common form of composition in the classical
literature of the Malays is the hikayat, or
romantic biography. The hikayat never plunges
into the middle of a tale ; it generally begins
by relating the history of the hero's parents,
and in some cases (when the story is of Indo-
Javanese origin) it tells us who the hero and
heroine were in their earlier incarnations. The
hero is invariably a prince, " extremely hand-
some, with a glowing countenance and a com-
plexion like polished gold, and without a peer
among the princes of his time." He generally
t^egins his adventures at the age of fourteen or
fifteen. The heroine is always a princess,
"very beautiful, with a face like a fourteen-
day-old moon, a brow like a moon of three
days, hair like the opening blossom of the
palm, eyes like the star of the morning, eye-
brows curving like the spurs of a fighting-cock,
ears like the flowers of the Rcpayang, cheeks
like shelled eggs, a nose that is straight and
sharply cut, a mouth like a bursting pome-
granate, a tapering neck and sloping shoulders,
a slender waist and a broad chest, fingers like
the quills of the porcupine, and a figure that
sways like the stalk of a flower." Of these
stereotyped descriptions the Malay never seems
to tire. The trouble which separates the lovers
is due sometimes to a mon'ster who lays waste
the lady's land and scatters its inhabitants,
sometimes to a rival suitor who is refused her
hand in marriage, and sometimes to a wander-
ing god (generally the Hindu divinity Kala),
who carries oft" the princess or turns her into a
man, or causes her to vanish from the ken of
her betrothed.
Such, then, is the framework of Malay
romance. Its material is drawn from several
distinct sources — from Arabian and Persian
legends, from Indian epics, and from the
Javanese heroic cycle of Sira Panji — but it
has to work this material into the framework
of the conventional plot. As any departure
from Malay convention is, in Malay eyes, a
serious blunder, it often comes about that much
foreign literature is spoilt when converted into
Malay. For instance, in the Javanese romance
of " Ken Tambuhan,"a young prince loves and
secretly marries a captive maiden attached to
his mother's court. On finding that the lovers
are not to be otherwise separated, the mother
determines to do away with the girl so as to
enable the prince to marry a lady of his own
rank. She accordingly sends the girl a message
inviting her to join the prince in the forest
where he is hunting. 'The girl suspects a
snare, but she is helpless ; she writes a tender
letter of farewell and goes forth to meet the
doom prepared for her. On learning her fate,
230
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
the prince slays himself over her body. The
whole tale is narrated with great simplicity
and pathos, but the canons of Malay convention
demand a happier ending ; the lovers are
brought to life again by Siva (Betara Guru)
and the whole pathos of the tragedy is lost. It
must be borne in mind, however, that native
writers do not claim to reproduce the legends
that they study ; they simply use certain inci-
dents in those legends as a background for
their own tales of love and war. Thus, when
a native operatic company stages " Hamlet " in
Singapore, it stages a comedy. It does not
want to ridicule or parody the original ; it
simply takes the outline of the Hamlet story as
a peg on which to hang the work of its own
professional humourists.
HISTORY.
Every Malay romance is believed to relate
true history, but certain books are looked upon
as more authentic than others, and have con-
sequently received special attention at the
hands of students. The best known of these
chronicles are the " Malay Annals," the " Kedah
Annals," the " History of Pasai," and the second
book of " Bustanu's-Salatin." Of these four,
the " Malay Annals " is the most important. It
is an anecdotal history ; its kernel is the pedi-
gree of the royal house of Malacca, its flesh
the legends and gossip associated with that
royal house. It has been proved that the
various Malay histories are unreliable in their
chronology, and that their legends are only
echoes from Indian and Persian literature.
For many years, for instance, native history
has been allowed to supply us with an in-
correct chronology of early events, such as the
foundation and fall of the ancient city of Singa-
pore, the establishment and growth of the
Malay kingdom of Malacca, and the names
and biographies of various Malay kings. The
Colonial Office List for 1907 still perpetuates
this chronology in the statement, "There is
some evidence of Singapore having been an
important trading centre in the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries, and the tradition is that
the place was attacked and devastated in
A.D. 1252 by the Javanese." An examination
of Javanese and Chinese records has made it
clear that the old city of Singapore flourished
and was destroyed in the fourteenth century.
But it would be unwise because of these
weaknesses to discard Malay chronicles as
altogether worthless. The "Malay Annals"
have the merits and failings of all anecdotal
history ; they may often sacrifice truth to the
point of a story or to the interests of a pedi-
gree ; they adorn many anecdotes with un-
reliable details as to private interviews and
secret conversations that could never have
taken place, but they must be true to the ideas
and to the spirit of the age. They furnish
a very lifelike picture of the times. They tell
us tales of the tyranny and profligacy of the
old Malay kings, of the corruption of the court,
of the bribery of officials, of murders and
judicial trials, of feuds, vendettas, intrigues,
and elopements, and of the attitude of the
people to all these episodes. Such matters
are of very real importance to the scientific
historian, who cares more about the condition
of the people than about the biographies of
individual monarchs.
POETRY.
The Malays are emphatically a songful race.
" For hours and hours," says Major McNair, in
his account of a trip to Mount Ophir, "these
people kept up quite a little social entertain-
ment by improvising amusing stories which
they set to their own native music and sang
aloud to harmonious airs, the whole joining in
a chorus after every line." Every year sees a
new crop of topical songs. Every native
operatic troupe has its own versifier to write
words to well-known tunes. Verses, jokes,
songs of praise or amuseinent, all are com-
posed to meet the needs of the moment, and
(unless they possess very exceptional merit) are
forgotten when the play or festival is over.
The horror of literary piracy which charac-
terises European work has no place among
primitive peoples. A Malay song-writer who
objected to other people using his songs would
be regarded by his fellow-countrymen much
as we should regard a man who went to
Stationers' Hall and applied for permission to
copyright his own conversation. It thus comes
about that the cleverer verses are stored up in
the memories of a Malay audience, just as an
English audience remembers a good story and
repeats it. It must not, however, be supposed
that the Malay looks upon verse merely as a
means of expressing contempt, or compliment,
or jest ; he loves the rhythm of poetry for its
own sake, and he finds in it a relief for his
feelings, especially for his sense of melancholy
longing :
*' For a heart oppressed with sorrow some solace
lingers yet
In the long low notes of the viol that sweeten a
song of regret."
{Apa lah ubat hati yang dendam ?
Gesek biola tarekkan nyanyi.)
This love of poetry cannot be altogether a
new thing, since it enters into the very life of
the people, and is shared by the other races of
the archipelago ; and yet, curiously enough, it
seems to be new in form if ancient in spirit.
Malay poetry is expressed mainly as topical
and operatic songs, shaers, or metrical ro-
mances, and panfuns, or quatrains. The last-
named is the true racial verse of Indonesian
peoples. It is usually described as a quatrain
in which the first line rhymes with the third
and the second with the fourth — a description
which is insufficient rather than incorrect.
The peculiarity of the pantun lies in the fact
that its first pair of lines and its last pair seem
to have little or no connection in meaning with
each other. To explain the real character of
the pantun it must be pointed out that in the
oldest peninsular literature the word is used to
signify a proverbial metaphor or simile. Now,
Malay proverbial expressions are of two kinds
— metaphorical proverbs of the European type,
such as " Pagar makan padi " — " The fence
eats up the rice"; and proverbs by sound-
suggestion, such as " Sudah gaharu chendana
piila " — " It was eagle-wood, and now it is
sandalwood again," an apparently meaning-
less expression, suggesting by its sound .the
words "Sudah tahu bertanya pula" — "You
have been told, yet you come asking the
same question again." This method of sound-
suggestion gives the key to the otherwise
incomprehensible pantun. The following
English rendering of a Malay quatrain will
give a fair idea of the nature of sound-
suggestion :
" The fate of a dove is to Jfy —
It flies to its nest on the knoll ;
The gate of true love is the eye,
The prize of its quest is the soul"
The theory of this form of composition is
that the first pair of lines should represent a
poetic thought with its beauty veiled, while
the second pair should give the same thought
in all its unveiled beauty. The gradual self-
revelation of the poet's idea, as its true signifi-
cance grows upon the mind, is one of the great
charms that the pantun possesses in the eyes
of its votaries.
FABLES.
The type which of all types of Malay story,
pure and simple, is probably the earliest and
has the widest geographical range is the fable.
The fables of the peninsula fall into two
classes : there are those of avowedly foreign
origin, and there are those that are apparently
Indonesian. Of the latter, the pre-eminently
important are the Malay beast fables. The
best of these centre in the cycle of mouse-deer
stories. Mouse-deer is not unfit to stand beside
Brer Rabbit. He is " a small chevrotain, to
be found in almost every part of the jungles of
Malaya. He is commonly called the mouse-
deer, but, in spite of the name, belongs rather
to the antelope tribe, the heel-bone of the
hinder leg projecting in a fashion never seen
in the true deer. The eye-teeth, too, are
curiously long and projecting, and the hoofs
are cloven to an extent which in so small a
creature is re.nlly remarkable. At the same
time he is a most beautiful little animal, with
big, dark, pleading eyes and all the grace and
elegance of a gazelle." In the cycle of mouse-
deer stories there may be detected several
stages of evolution. First, there is the simple
" guile " story, like the tales of " How Snail
outran Mouse-deer," " How Mouse-deer es-
caped Crocodile." In this stage Mouse-deer
is a delightfully pagan knave, pitting guile
against strength in the struggle for existence.
The following story of " How Mouse-deer
cheated Tiger" is a good example,:
Mouse-deer took counsel with himself :
" What shift is there for me to save myself
alive ? " And he came to a wild wasps' nest.
" Good," said he, " I will bide by this nest."
Presently Tiger found him and asked him his
business. " I guard Nabi Sleyman's gong,"
said Mouse-deer, pointing to the nest. " May
I strike it?" asked Tiger; "of all things, I
should like to strike it ; and, if you let me do
so, I will not eat you." " You may," answered
Mouse-deer, "but, with your leave, I will go a
long way off first, or Nabi Sleyman will be
angry." "All right," replied Tiger. Mouse-
deer went a long way off till he came to a
clump of bamboos, and there he waited. Then
Tiger smote Nabi Sleyman's gong and all the
wasps came swarming out and stung him till
his face was swollen. So he bounded away in
a rage and went to where Mouse-deer stood.
"Knave, villain!" said he, "see my face all
swollen. Now I will kill you. But what is this
bamboo you are watching .' " " It is Nabi
Sleyman's viol," said Mouse-deer, pointing to a
slit stem, in which the wind sounded. " How
do you play it ? " asked Tiger. " Lick it here
with your tongue," said Mouse-deer, pointing
to the slit. " May I ? " asked Tiger. " Yes,"
said Mouse-deer, " but, with 5'our leave, I will
go a long way off first, or Nabi Skyman will be
angry." " All right," said Tiger. Mouse-deer
went a long way off and stood by some filth.
Then Tiger licked the bamboo ; and a gust
blew and closed the fissure, so that the end of
Tiger's tongue was pinched off : and that is
why tigers are short-tongued to this day. So
he bounded away in a rage and went to where
Mousedeer watched over the filth. " See the
hurt you have done me, accursed one," said
Tiger, showing his tongue ; " now, of a truth, I
will slay and eat you. But, first, what is this
filth, that you guard it ? " " It is Nabi Sley-
man's nasi Kunyet," said Mouse-deer. " May
I eat it ? " said Tiger ; " of all things I should
like to eat it ; and if you let me do so, I will
not kill you." "You may," said Mouse-deer,
" and perhaps it will cure your tongue ; but,
first, let me go a long way off, or Nabi Sleyman
may be angry with me." "All right,'' said
Tiger. And Mouse-deer went a long way off
and stood by a coiled snake. Then Tiger
tasted the filth. " Why is it so bitter ? " said
he ; " beast, this is not rice, but filth only."
And he rushed in a rage to where Mouse-deer
waited. " Now, indeed, your hour has come,"
said Tiger ; " make ready to die. But, first,
what is this you are guarding ? " and he looked
at the coiled snake. "This is Nabi Sleyman's
turban," said Mouse-deer, " May I wear it ? "
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
231
asked Tigei"; " of all things I should like to put
it on ; and if you let me do so, perhaps I may
spare your life." "You may put it on," said
Mouse-deer, " but first let me go a long way off,
or Nabi Sleyman may be angry with me."
" All right," said Tiger. Then Mouse-deer
went a long way off and looked on gleefully.
So Tiger began to unwind the coils, but the
snake awoke, his tongue darting like flame,
and fought with Tiger and overcame him and
killed him. "Ha! ha!" laughed Mouse-deer,
and went on his way, up hill and down dale,
by jungle and plain.
In the next stage. Mouse-deer has become
possessed of an ideal of justice, and exercises
his wit for unselfish purposes. Here, Islam
has entirely corrected the unorthodox anim-
istic outlook by ousting him from his pride of
place and admitting him only as a servant or
assessor to Solomon the Prophet, under whose
charge is the jungle world. In one of these
fables a rich man claims a hundred gold pieces
from orphans on the ground that they had
grown fat upon the smell of his larder. He is
brought before the stock Oriental just poten-
tate, and the claim is disposed of by Mouse-
deer, who directs the orphans to count over
one hundred pieces behind a curtain, and says
the sound of the money is as valuable as the
smell of the larder.
MALAY PROVERBS.
Malay proverbs afford a pretty reliable index
to the national character, and they reveal much
admirable philosophy. The native of the pen-
insula regards courage, patience, and industry
as mere subsidiary qualities ; intelligence is
paramount. He sees that he cannot snare
game or catch fish or rob the forest of its
precious products merely by trusting to hard
work. He is not an idler, or he would not be
a fisherman, working, according to the state. of
the tide, in all weathers and at all hours of the
day or night. But he avoids useless risks, and
has proverbs that ridicule waste of strength or
energy :
" If you pole down stream, the very croco-
diles laugh at you."
"Who goes out of his way to dye the sea
green?"
The true Malay admires the intelligence that
can secure great results at little cost :
" When you kill a snake, do not break your
stick."
" When you spear a fish, take care not to
injure the spear."
His detestation of worry is expressed in the
query :
" If there are worms in the earth, need one
dig them up ? "
The old aristocratic government of the
country has made him amazingly tolerant
of the vices of others. He thinks it natural
enough that a prince should gratify his
passions whenever he has the chance. After
all, says he :
" The python likes his chicken."
The peasant looks upon the chiefs as a race
apart :
" They are hornbills, we are sparrows. How
can we possibly fly in the same flock ?"
The idea of seeking vengeance against the
tyrant excites his bitterest ridicule :
" The flea wants to fight the eagle."
" The cock thinks that, by refusing to crow,
he will prevent the sun from rising."
The Malay does not rejoice over the suffering
of his neighbours. He says :
" When the lower frond falls, let not the
upper frond be amused."
But he knows that it is as much as a man can do
to protect his own interests. He would laugh
to scorn the idea of an English statesman
troubling himself about the affairs of Finland
or Armenia :
" Why put aside your own child so as to
suckle some monkey from the jungle ? "
This cynical indifference to the wrongs of
others is typified by the reply of a powerful
chief to a subject who considered himself
injured :
" Men must stores of grain possess
If they hope to earn success ;
Men, when caught without a gun,
From their enemies must run ;
When insulted, men who lack
Cannon never answer back."
This reply has become proverbial;
" One may as well be hanged for a sheep as
for a lamb " has many equivalents in Malay :
" If you must die, it is nobler to be taken by
a big crocodile than to be nibbled to
pieces by little fish."
The essence of good breeding, according to
the Malays, Hes in the word "bahasa" — true
courtesy, sympathetic tact, gentleness of speech
and manner — not in the —
" Soft tongue that breaks bones," or
" The mouth of man that is sharper than
swords or spears."
Much of this, however, only represents an
ideal. Malay deceit {Seiiiu Melayu) is also
proverbial, and other proverbs dismiss the men
of the various States as follows :
" Wheedlers are the men of Malacca.
Exaggerators are the men of Menangkabau
Cheats are the men of Rembau.
Liars are the men of Trengganu.
Arrogant are the men of Pahang."
The natural wealth of the peninsula and the
sparsity of its population have always made it
easy for a peasant to earn the bare necessaries
of life ; the short-sighted greed of his chiefs
made it useless for him to earn more. Religion,
though it combated the native princes on many
points, agreed with them in considering that
money was bad for the people :
" Wealth is a harlot, wisdom is faithful — lust
not after the treasures of this world that
cannot follow you to the world to come."
For our proverb " An Englishman's home is
his castle " the corresponding Malay saying is :
"A man is a prince on his own sleeping-
platform."
The Malay's attachment to his home and his
native village is illustrated by the following :
"Though it rain silver and gold abroad,
though it rain daggers and spears at
home — still, home is better."
Mr. R. J. Wilkinson, Acting Secretary to
the Resident of Perak, is the son of Mr. R.
Wilkinson, formerly his Britannic Majesty's
Consul in the- Philippines. He was educated
at Felsted School and at Trinity College,
Cambridge, where he qualified for graduation
in 1889, but did not graduate till IQOI. While
at Cambridge, from 1886 to 1888, he was a
probationer in the Indian Civil Service, and
since 1889 he has been in the Civil Service of
the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay
States, where he has officiated in various
appointments in the Secretariat, Magistracy,
Audit Office, Education, Land, and District
Offices. He now holds the substantive post
of District Officer, Batang Padang, Perak.
Mr. Wilkinson is Federal Examiner in Malay,
and general editor of the papers on Malay
subjects that are being published by the
Federated Malay States Government. He is
the author of a Malay-English Dictionary and
of several smaller publications.
NATIVE ARTS AND HANDICRAFTS
By L. WRAY, I.S.O., M.I.E.E.,
F.Z.S., M.R.P.S., Local Correspondent, Anth. Institute, etc., Director
OF Museums, Federated Malay States.
ABORIGINAL.
HE various wild tribes
which for convenience
may be called the abor-
igines of the Malay
Peninsula are in such
a low state of civilisa-
tion that their know-
ledge of handicrafts i<
very rudimentary. But
primitive though they are, any account of the
arts of the Malay Peninsula would be incom-
plete without a passing reference to them and
their works.
In basket-work they are fairly proficient,
but both the shapes of the articles and
the methods of plaiting in vogue are very
limited. The baskets are mostly those for
slinging on the back, in which to carry their
belongings. Tliey are made usually of split
rattan, and the method of plaiting is very
similar to that of the familiar cane bottoms to
chairs. That is, with two sets of rattans
crossing one another nearly at right angles a
network is formed, leaving holes either square
or diamond-shaped, while another set of rattans
crosses these at an angle of 45 degrees, at or
near the intersections of the first series, thus
producing more or less hexagonal holes. They
are cylindrical or slightly conical in shape, and
are not strengthened with thicker pieces of
cane. In the photograph (F"ig. i) two of these
baskets are shown — one, at the lower left
corner, of coarse plaiting, and the other, at
the top, of fine.
The caps or covers of the quivers for blow-
pipe darts are sometimes made of basket-work.
In this case a thin round strip of rattan is
coiled into the desired shape, and is held in
place by an interlacing of fine, flat strips of
rattan, which bind the individual coils together.
These appear to be the only two methods of
cane-work known to the aborigines, and no
attempt at variation of the manner of plaiting,
so as to produce a pattern, is to be seen in any
of their basket-work.
Mat-work, made of the split leaves of some
of the various species of Pandanns, is also
used for making carrying-baskets and for
lining those of rattan. Bags of various sizes,
some of the most beautifully fine workmanship,
are in use. Sleeping mats and the greater
part of the covers to the blow-pipe quivers are
al.so made of mat-work. The plaiting is of
the straightforward right-angled form, and
patterns are rarely attempted, except when
Malay work has been copied. A mat carrying-
basket is shown at the lower right-hand corner
of the photograph. The small mat bag above
it is for betel-nut, and a rice bag will be seen
Fig. 1.-
-SAKAI
232
AND SEMANG MAT AND BASKET "WORK.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
233
Fig. 2.-
-BARK CLOTH AND PLAITED GARMENTS, WITH WOODEN
MALLETS FOR BEATING OUT THE CLOTH.
on the left. Ttie sleeping-mat on that side
has a zigzag pattern, painted in yellow, on it,
and the other mat has a few darlc-coloured
strips of leaf plaited into it, dividing it up into
diamond-shaped spaces, and it also has some
irregular yellow spots.
String used for fishing lines and for making
fishing nets is manufactured by the aborigines.
Some of it is very fine and strong ; conse-
quently, it is valued by the Malays, and is in
certain places a recognised article of barter.
The next step in advance — that is, weaving —
has never been taken, but very fair cloth is
made out of the bark of several trees. The
way in which this is done is by beating the
bark with a wooden club carefully all over, until
it can be separated from the stem of the tree.
It is then soaked in water and beaten again
with a sort of bat, somewhat like that used by
French washerwomen, but with the surface
deeply scored, until it is thin and flexible
enough to wear. The best cloth is prepared
from the bark of the Ipoh or Upas tree
[Antiaris toxicaria). This is the same tree
which yields the most deadly poison with
which they coat their blow-pipe darts and
arrows. The bark cloth is used for loincloths
and head-dresses, and the large pieces for
blankets ; for many of these people live high
up on the hills, where the nights are quite cold
and covering of some sort is a necessity.
Plaited rattan, the black fungus called akar
batn, and other materials are used for women's
dresses, bracelets, leglets, and head-dresses.
In the accompanying illustration (Fig. 2) a
loin-cloth of Ipoli bark (marked A) is shown,
painted with a pattern in yellow and black.
Another piece of bark cloth (B), painted with
white and black, and the blue string and bark
(C), are head-dresses. Figure F is a Semang
woman's dress of plaited nknr batii, and E
is a man's head-dress of plaited leaves. The
mallets (D) are those used by the Semangs to
beat out the bark cloth. The Sakais use much
cruder ones for the same purpose.
The material out of which they fashion the
greater portion of the articles in everyday use
is bamboo. From it they make their weapons
— blow-pipes and quivers, spears, and the shafts
of the arrows used in the north of the Fede-
rated Malay States. From it also they make
their musical instruments, cooking vessels, and
innumerable other things. The surface of
bamboo lends itself very readily to decora-
tion by scratching, by removing parts of the
outer covering, and by burning. It will be
found that all these methods are employed.
These people undoubtedly have much artistic
feeling, and take great pains in the ornamenta-
tion of their simple belongings. Not only do
they put ornament where it can be seen, but
very often it is also put on places which are
ordinarily hidden from view, such as on the
inner tubes of their blow-pipes. Objects which
have only a transient use, such as the bamboos
in which rice is cooked, are also often decorated
with incised lines. The patterns employed
are very various, but are traceable in many
instances to some natural object, often, how-
ever, much conventionalised. Sometimes the
ornament consists of really good representa-
tions of plants, leaves, or flowers, while the
figures of animals and men are also occasion-
ally introduced.
The bamboo combs and pin (A, Fig. 3) are deco-
rated by incised lines, and also by removal of the
outer skin. The earring (B) to the right has
the pattern burned in, and in the other it is cut.
The blow-pipe quiver (D), the tobacco pouch
at the top left-hand corner, and the box at the
bottom of the same side have cut patterns.
The box is very noticeable on account of the
excellent representations of plants and leaves
whE \H\
''T
Ij
Fig. 3.— BAMBOO ARTICLES ORNA-
MENTED WITH INCISED, BURNED,
AND PAINTED PATTERNS.
234
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
with which it is adorned. The long water-
bamboo (C) is painted in red and blaclj, while
the pouch to the left of C was painted in red,
black, and white, but the red has faded a great
deal.
To a very limited extent these people are
acquainted with the use of dyes and paints.
They use a yellow dye for ornamenting mats
and bark cloth, also a red dye for the same
purpose ; and white China clay and lampblack
are used, with oil, as paints. These substances
are employed for colouring mats, bark cloth,
and bamboo articles, and they are also used to
paint the faces and sometimes the breasts of
the women. In this latter case the method is
Fig. 4.— SAKAI WOMAN OP BATU
PIPIS, PEBAK.
(The face is painted in red, black, and wliite.)
fairly constant. Broad lines of red are drawn,
and these are enriched by working on thein
with narrow lines and dots of black and white.
Elaborate patterns are thus produced, which,
they consider, add greatly to the charm and
beauty of their women. It is, however, only
appHed on occasions when people in a higher
level of life would put on their " Sunday
best.'' In the photograph (Fig. 4) of a young
Sakai woman of Batu Pipis, Perak, it will be
noticed that there is a broad line from the hair
down the forehead, nose, and upper lip to the
chin, with two lines forming a V on the fore-
head, two others from the outer corners of the
eyes to the ears, two horizontal ones from the
nose, across the cheeks, and two others from
the corners of the mouth obliquely downwards.
The bamboo water-jar in her right hand is also
elaborately painted with the same colours as
her face.
MALAYAN.
Basket-work is in quite an advanced state.
For the most part the material used is rattan,
but split bamboo, the rind of the leafstalks of
several palms, and the inner portion of the
stems of some species of climbing ferns are
also employed.
Carrying baskets are of two sorts : large
conical-shaped ones, which are slung over the
shoulders, like those used hy the wild tribes, only
larger and supported and strengthened by thick
pieces of round rattan ; the other variety made in
pairs and carried on a yoke over the shoulder.
They are shallow and cylindrical in form. Of
other shapes, mention may be made of the
round, flat baskets called Kiidai, and also others
of the same name made in the form of the
water-jar called Buyoiig. These baskets are
often ornamented with silver plates, and have
silver wire handles. They are used to carry
provisions, and are,^ in fact, luncheon-baskets,
while the smaller ones of the same shapes
serve as work-baskets. Two of these Kiidni
are shown on the right-hand side of the top
row in Fig. 5.
It would be quite impossible to specify within
the limits of this article the very various forms
and uses of the baskets to bie found in the
peninsula. It may be said that the Malay lives
in a basket-work house ; that the fittings to his
boats, the fences of his gardens, the trappings
of his elephants and buff.aloe-;, his fishing and
bird traps, and even the hat he often wears,
are all made of basket-work. These hats are
fex-shaped, and made of the inner portion of
the stem of one of the climbing ferns called
Rcsam. They are very finely plaited, are trans-
parent, and have the appearance of rather
coarse black net. One is shown on the left
of the middle row. The methods of plaiting
are as various as the shapes and uses of the
articles, the most primitive of all being formed
by taking a piece of barnboo, splitting it up
into thin strips, opening these out and then
putting interlacings of rattan at intervals so as
to hold the strips in place. Such a basket is
shown in the plate, the second from the right
of the bottom row. The one to the extreme
right answers the same purpose as the string-
bag. The centre basket of the same row is a
Pahang shape, and that to the left is a padi
basket. The one to the right of the centre row
is a stand for a round-bottomed cooking-pot or
water-jar.
Closely related to actual ;basket-work is the
Chinese sawyers and carpenters, planks were
very costly, as they were all made by the
primitive method of splitting up a tree trunk,
by the aid of wedges, into two or more pieces,
and then laboriously working these slabs into
planks by cutting them down with the native
axe, called a Bcliyong, and finishing them off
with an adze, known as a Patil. It may,
therefore, be easily understood that only a
few rich people could afford to build wooden
houses.
Tufas is of two kinds, one being made of
split bamboo and the other of the outer cover-
ing of the leafstalks of the Bertam palm. The
latter form is the more durable and makes the
better walls. Long strips of the outer covering
of the leafstalks are laid side by side on the
ground, and then others are inserted at right-
angles to them so as to form a large sheet of
basket-work. The technique is much the
same as weaving, only in place of threads
there are long thin strips of hard, though
flexible, material.
Tufas is a fabric which naturally lends itself
to the production of patterns. If one set of
strips are turned so as to expose the outside,
and the others at right angles to them are
turned so as to expose the inside, a bicoloured
chequer pattern results, and it is easy to see
how, by varying the plaiting, the patterns can
be increased almost indefinitely. In addition
to taking advantage of the natural colours of
the material, the Malays enhance the effect by
the use of pigments. It is usual to plait the
Tufas in pieces of the sizes and shapes suited
to the requirements of a building. When
finished they are bound round the edges with
rattan, lifted into position, and tied in place.
The natural colours are two shades of brown.
Four varieties of plaiting are shown in the
photograph (Fig. 6), made of the natural-coloured
Fig. 5.— MALAY BASKETS.
material called Tufas. It is employed for the
walls of houses and boats and (a very coarse
variety) for the fencing of fields and gardens.
The walls of native houses are onlv occasion-
Rcrtani. This is the size that is used for the
finer species of wall-work, the Bertam being in
strips of about one and a half inches in width.
The 6-inch scale in the centre serves to show
ally made of planks. Before the influx of the relative proportions of the patterns.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
235
Fig. 6.— FOUR VARIETIES OF PLAITED TUFAS.
meiited with openwork, through which the red
cloth shows. C is a very ornate praying-mat
in many colours. D is also coloured ; it is a
square sitting-mat.
Besides those already mentioned, there are
many other ways in which mat-work is used.
Mat bags for rice, and finer ones for holding
Sirili requisites, are to be seen in every house.
These bags are flexible, and can be rolled or
folded up, but what are known as Malacca
baskets are stiff in texture. As usually made,
they consist of nests of differently shaped
covered boxes, and have raised patterns on
them. This variety of plaiting is known as
Anyam gila, or " mad weaving," from its great
complexity. This " mad weaving " is not con-
fined to Malacca, but is practised there to a
greater extent than elsewhere, and quite a con-
siderable trade is done in Malacca in these
mat baskets.
Of late years a fairly large industry has
sprung up in Negri Sambilan in the manufac-
ture of mat hats. They are of fine texture and
resemble the coarser sortg of Panama hats.
They are much worn locally by Europeans of
both sexes, and many are sent to Europe for
sale. The finer are of Paiidaii leaves, and the
coarser of Meiigktiaiig leaves. Some are plaited
single, and others double, while several shapes
and sizes are made.
In the centre of Fig. 9 is a pile of five
Malacca baskets, each of which fits into the
next size larger. This is the way they are
usually made for sale. There are "two other
examples, on eitlier side of the central pile, of
different shapes. The two birds and the
curious mat bags under them are made for the
purpose of holding new rice. It is customary
at harvest time to give these fanciful baskets of
rice as complimentary presents to friends, after
the manner of Easter eggs. They are made
in a great many shapes, and some of the bags
are ornamented with cut paper and in other
ways. At the bottom to the left is a Port Dick-
It is in. the State of Perak that this particular
art has been carried to the greatest perfection.
Each of the many patterns has a name, such as
the Rhinoceros' footprint, the Ginger flower,
the Sand-piper's footprint, and the Chess-
board.
The painting is done when the material is in
place on the house. The colours used, are,
black, white, yellow, and red. The effect is
decidedly pretty, and is reminiscent of the
fancy brick and flint gables of some of the
old houses in the Isle of Thanet. -Fig. 7
gives specimens of nine varieties of painted
Tufas. The colours used on these examples
are black, white, and pale yellow. They are
from Bukit Gantang, in Perak. H is the Sand-
piper's footprint, G the Chessboard, and M
the Rhinoceros' footprint.
Mat-work is again closely connected with
Tupas, but owing to the greater flexibility of
the , materials of which it is composed, the
texture is much closer and finer. The floors of
most Malay houses are made of an open grid
of narrow strips of bamboo or palm stems.
This flooring is called Lantai. It is generally
more or less covered with coarse matting, on
which smaller mats of finer quality for sitting,
sleeping, and praying are laid. No chairs,
tables, or bedsteads are to be found in a proper
Malay house ; consequently, mats play a very
important part in the furnishing of a house.
The smaller mats are ornamented by patterns,
formed by varying the method of plaiting.
Others have openwork which has the effect
of coarse lace, while others again are plaited
with previously dyed strips of leaf, the plainest
being of black and white and the more ornate
of red, blue, green, and yellow. Some of the
designs are quite beautiful, and are carried out
with much taste. The long mat (A, Fig. 8) is from
Upper Perak. The centre one (B) is white-
edged and backed with red cloth. It is orna-
Pig-. 7. — NINE VARIETIES OP PAINTED TTJPAS.
236
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Fig. 8.— THREE LONG MATS AND ONE SQTJABE ONE.
son hat of Mcngkuang leaves and to the right
one of Pandan-leaves, while between them
is one partly made to show the method of
plaiting.
Spinning by means of the whorl and spindle
has practically become extinct, but these primi-
tive implements are still employed for making
fishing-lines and string for fishing-nets. The
implement is of two sorts : in the one a slender
stick is fastened into a pear-shaped piece of
hard wood, and in the other a piece of tin is
cast on the end of it. The stick is the spindle,
and the wood or tin is the whorl. These imple-
ments are whirled by placing them on the
thigh, which is held in a slanting position, and
rapidly pushing the open hand downwards
along the thigh, a rotary motion thus being
given to the spindle. There are now very few
places in the world where this original method
of making thread is still in vogue. Formerly
cotton was grown and prepared for spinning
in the Malay States. It was passed through a
pair of wooden rollers and then bowed and
finally twisted up on to a stick, which served
as a distaff.
String and cordage are still prepared from
many fibrous substances, with the aid of an
implement called a Pelcting. It is difficult to
understand how, with such a rude appliance,
it is possible to make really good string and
cord. A much more complicated apparatus is
used in Pahang for the same purpose. It is a
very ingenious contrivance for twisting three
strands at one time by pulling a cord back-
wards and forwards.
Following the art of making yarn, naturally
comes that of weaving. The loom employed
(Fig. 10) is a very simple one, almost exactly like
the common hand-loom which is still worked
in England. The cloth is nearly invariably
coloured, sometimes in stripes, but more
generally in checks or plaids. Both silk and
cotton are used, and gold thread is extensively
introduced in the finer qualities of silk cloths.
For the most part this is only applied to the
woof, though occasionally a few strands of
gold thread are laid in amongst the warp, so
as to produce longitudinal lines of gold in the
cloth. When simple, straight, transverse lines
or bands are desired, the gold thread is used in
the ordinary way in the shuttle, but where
detached floral or other patterns are required,
separate bobbins of gold thread are used, and
the thread is inserted where required, as the
weaving progresses, one bobbin being used
for each line of flowers or other adornments.
These bobbins are generally made of horn, in
the shape of a netting-needle. As many as
thirty or forty may be used for the weaving of
one width of highly ornate cloth.
The cloth at the top left-hand corner of
P"ig. II was made at Sitiawan, in Lower
Perak. It is red, with a pattern in gold thread
woven into it. The two showing below it are
scarves. The patterns are produced by the
Kain Limaii method and by weaving, and
the whole is enriched by the addition of gold
thread. The cloth at the right is a sarong,
a sort of petticoat that is worn bv Malays
of both sexes. In this also the patterns are
produced by the same combination of methods.
Another way in which patterns are pro-
duced is a species of tie and dye work. In
this the warp threads are dyed before being
woven. They are tied up with waxed thread
and strips of banana stem in such a way as
to expose only the portion of the warp that
is intended to form the ground colour. (A
small portion of silk warp thread tied pre-
paratory to dyeing is shown in Fig. 12.
The thick dark-coloured ties are banana stem
and the thin are waxed thread.) This portion
having been dyed, the parts which are to be,
say, blue are unwrapped. These are next
dyed, and so on until finally the white parts
are untied. By this method the whole of the
threads for the warp have a pattern produced
on them. They are then put in the loom and
woven in the ordinary manner with a woof of
the colour of the ground. The effect of these
Kain Limau cloths is very charming and
harmonious. A great deal of their beauty is
Fig. 9.— MAT BASKETS AND HATS.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF RRITISH MALAYA
237
undoubtedly due to the woof being of tlie
ground colour, so tliat eacti portion of ttie
pattern is mixed witti this colour, whereby all
crudity of colouring is avoided.
pattern. It is then burnished with a cowry
shell. These cloths, though very beautiful
when- new,, do not stand wear well and can-
not be washed. The whole process is very
Fig. 10.— A MALAY WOMAN OF PBRAK "WEAVING A CHECK SILK SARONG.
Another method of tie and dye work is prac-
tised. White cloth is stamped with an outline
pattern in some light pigment with wooden
stamps, and is then tied up so that the pattern
will remain white when the cloth is immersed
in the dye for the ground. It is next untied,
and other colours are added locally to the
portions remaining white. These cloths are
called Knin Pelaiigi, or rainbow cloth, and
are, as their name indicates, of very brilliant
colouring.
There is represented in Fig. 13 a silk cloth,
one portion (A) of which is k'ain Limau and
the other (B) is Kain Pelangi. The ground
colour of the latter is bright yellow, while
that of the former- is a rather dull red. It
was made by tying and dyeing the warp
threads for the Litiiaii porlion, leaving the
rest white, then tying and dyeing the white
part by the Pclangi method.
Cloth, both cotton and silk, is ornamented
by gilding. This cloth is known as Kain
Telepoh. The cloth, which is usually of some
dark-coloured, indistinct plaid, is starched and
then polished by laying it upon a piece of
hard, smooth wood and pushing a cowry shell,
attached to a strong wooden spring, over it.. In
the photograph (Fig. 14), which was taken in
Pekan, Pahang, a man is seen calendering a
cloth. He has hold of the woodert spring just
above the covi'ry shell, and is pushing it from
him. The upper end of the spring is attached to
the eave of the roof of the house. Only a narrow
strip of the cloth is polished at each stroke of
the shell. The kerchiefs worn as head-dresses
are often got up in this manner, as well as those
which are to be gilt, A number of wooden
stamps with portions of patterns carved on
them are used by covering their surface with
a gummy substance and' impressing them on
the cloth. Gold leaf is then laid on to the
sticky irnpressions, and when the gum is dry
it is dusted off, except where it adheres to the
similar to the gilding of book-binding. The
Telepoh sarong shown (C, Fig. 13) is of indigo-
Patani, in the Perak Museum, numbers fifty-
five pieces. There is another set of twenty-six
pieces from Pahang.
After the production of cloth comes the idea
of ornamenting it by vporking over its surface.
It has been mentioned that even the aborigines
have endeavoured to enrich their bark cloth b>'
painting designs on it. This desire to super-
impose ornamental figures on various fabrics
appears to be universal. In Malaya many
methods of embroidery are practised, and prob-
ably the greatest efforts have been lavished on
the adornment of their mats.
The method of embroidery called Siiji Tiniha
is that which is emploved for the finest of all
this cla«s of work. The design is drawn on
paper and the paper cut out. F'rom this is
prepared a pattern of thin card, which is laid
on the ground of the intended work and neatly
covered over with gold thread. Floral designs
are thus produced, in gold, on a ground usually
of some rich shade of velvet. The beau-tiful
embroidery shown in Fig. 15 was designed
and worked by H.H. the Raja Permaisuri,
the second wife of the Sultan of Perak.
At the bottom is a long mat and at the top
a square mat.. These are covered with Snji
Timba. On the right is a round pillow and
on the left an oblong one, both with Snji
Timba ends. In the centre is a gold repousse
box, and behind it is a gold-mounted kris lying
on its cushion, the top of which is embroidered.
These were the presents which the Sultan of
Perak gave to T.R. H. the Prince and Princess
of Wales vi'hen they visited Singapore in igor.
The Raja Permaisuri is acknowledged to be
one of the most artistic designers and workers
in the country, and these mats may be taken to
represent the best work of their class to be
found in Malaya.
There are many other forms of embroidery
in use, some of which are also employed in
Europe. One form which occurs in certain
districts is the application of gilt paper patterns
to-a ground of cloth. They are stitched very
neatly all round the edges, and the gilt paper
■i \f V K^ ^fM '
V I'
Fig. 11.— FOUR COLOURED SILK AND GOLD THREAD CLOTHS.
blue check, with a gilt pattern. In the corner (D) takes the place of the gold embroidery in the
are some of the wooden stamps used in gilding Stiji Timba work.
these cloths. A full set of these stamps, from Closely related to this is cut-paper work, for
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
239
the adornment of baskets, dish-covers, and
other similar stiff objects. Gilt, silvered, and
coloured papers are cut and stuck or stitched,
wood lashed together with rattan, and with a
thatched, gable-ended roof, the floor being
raised on high posts. The better class houses
Fig. 13.— KAIN LIMAU, PELANGI, AND TBLEPOH CLOTH.
(A cloth of Kain Limau and Kain Pelangi is on the left and another of Kain Telepoh is on the right. In
the corner are stamps for gilding the latter )
one on the top of the other, to produce the
desired effect. In another variety coloured
bamboo is employed in place of paper. This
material is prepared from the inner portion
of the cane of the bamboo called Biiloh Plang
[Bambusa Wrayi).
Crochet is employed to ornament the short
white trousers worn by those Malays who have
made the pilgrimage. It is done in the same
way as in Europe, but the cotton used is very
fine and the resulting work is consequently
lace-like in appearance (Fig. 16).
The only other form of lace which is made
locally is the so-called Bihu. It is a pillow
lace, and the manufacture of it was intro-
duced into Malacca by the Portuguese some
two centuries ago. Biku is generally formed
of coloured silks, though white lace is also
made. It is, as a rule, quite narrow, and many
beautiful patterns are to be had. The lace
which is most distinctive is that made with
the brilliantly coloured silks which appeal to
the Malays. The art is, unfortunately, con-
fined to Malacca. Fourteen different patterns
of Biku are shown in the illustration. Counting
from the top, the third, sixth, ninth, and twelfth
are of white silk and the remainder of bright
coloured silks.
Netting for fishing nets is, both inland and
on the sea coast, quite an extensive industry,
but as it does not differ in any material respect
from netting in other parts of the world, it
only requires a passing notice here.
A little has already been said about house-
building, but further details are required to
make it intelligible. Broadly speaking, the
true Malayan house is a structure of round
back the kitchen and offices. The walls are
either of Tupas, or of bark, or of coarse palm-
leaf matting.
On all the rivers there are many boats, from
the smallest dug-out, capable of holding one
person, to large house-boats. The former are
made out of a log of wood. The selected log
is gradually dug into, and by the aid of fire is
extended laterally so as to form a boat. Boats
of 70 feet in length and over 7 feet in width
are thus constructed. It is also usual in build-
ing a large boat to take as the foundation a
dug-out and build upon it. Some of the largest
house-boats are thus constructed. These large
boats are used to a great extent by traders, and
are, in fact, travelhng shops, the owner and
his family living in them. As a general thing
it may be said that they are poled up-stream
and paddled down. The Malays are also quite
celebrated for building sea-going craft, some of
which are large and rigged as schooners. The
most graceful of all the boats is the Pahang
Koleh (Fig. 17). It has a keel of a semicircular
outline, with high stem and stern posts following
the same outline. It is usually gaily painted,
and has a curious curved arm at the stem, in the
shape of a swan's neck, to hold the mast and
sail when lowered.
In Negri Sambilan the art of wood-carving
has in the past reached a high standard of
perfection. There still remain some superbly
carved houses, but unfortunately the modern
work is not up to the level of the old. In all
the States the smaller articles of household use
are often embellished with carving. Coconut
scrapers, work-frames, rice-stirrers, and the
handles and sheaths of weapons and imple-
ments are often loaded with ornament. Boats,
particularly in Pahang, have carved figure-
heads, besides being otherwise decorated with
carving. Some of the river boats belonging
to the chiefs are much ornamented in this
manner.
Coconut shells are carved and made to serve
many purposes, such as spoons, drinking-cups,
and censers, while carved horn and ivory is
much used for the handles of weapons.
The carving of stone is practically unknown.
A few old tombstones are to be found, but they
Fig. 14.— A MALAY CALENDERING CLOTH WITH A COWBY SHELL.
are in three blocks, connected with covered
ways. The front block is the audience-hall,
the middle contains the living rooms, and the
have been iinported from Achin. There is
one species of pottery, however, which should,
perhaps, be mentioned here. It has evidently
240
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Fig. 15.— EMBROIDERED MATS, PILLOWS, ETC.
(Presented to T.R.H. the Prince and Princess of Wales in igot by the Sultan of Pc
been formed of clay, allowed to dry, and then
been elaborately carved, after the manner of
wood-carving and with the same patterns as
are found on that material. Subsequently it
was baked. Its place of origin is uncertain, but
it appears to be of local production.
The ordinary Malayan pottery is of special
interest, as it is all built up by hand, in the
manner prevailing in the British Islands in
the far-away Bronze Age. The potter's wheel,
which has been known in almost all countries
from the earliest historic times, is still unknown
to the Malays. The vessels are built up by
adding successive rings of clay and working
one ring into the one below it, and then
beating the whole together with a bat-shaped
piece of wood. Globular-shaped water-bottles
are formed with a flat bottom in the first
instance, and when the upper portion is fairly
hard the lower is wetted, patted with the bat,
and, by blowing into the neck of the bottle,
expanded till of the desired shape. The photo-
graph of the old potter (P'ig. i8) was taken at
Saiong, in Perak. She is in the act of form-
ing a water-boltlc, such as is seen on the left-
hand side of the picture. Others in various
stages ■ are near her, and so are the simple
implements used in the art.
Patterns are produced b\- pressing into the
still damp cUy small wooden stamps, which
have dots, lines, flowers, &c., carved on them.
When dr\', the ware is burned, either on the
surface of the ground or in a
is then often coloured black, hv
rait.)
shallow pit. It
different means
in various localities. In Krian and Xegri
Sambilan coloured patterns are produced by
painting with a pigment composed of a fer-
ruginous clay before the ware is burned. The
shapes of the water-bottles are derived from
the bottle-gourd. Large water-jars and cook-
ing-pots are also made. The ware is unglazed,
except for the application of resin to the lower
portions of some of the water-bottles. These
latter are often mounted with silver and some-
times with gold, having stoppers of the same
metals.
The pottery illustrated (Fig. 19) comprises
water-bottles and jars. Beginning from the top
and taking them from left to right, the first is
a gourd-shaped water-bottle from Pahang. It
should be noticed that there is a small hole
near the mouth. In use this is covered by a
linger, and the admission of air through it
controls the flow of water. Although used to
drink from direct, it is not allowed to touch
the lips of the drinker. The next is a gourd-
shaped bottle, so like the natural vessel that it
could not be differentiated from it, except by
the closest inspection. The central one is a
modified form, with a foot, and is mounted
with silver. The remaining bottles on the top
row are also modifications of the gourd.
These four are all from Perak. On the second
row is a water-jar with a spout designed for
drinking from ; it is from Pahang; The next
is a Perak form of water-jar called Buyong,
then a covered water -jar with a tall foot and
another of the spouted type from Negri
Sambilan. On the bottom row is a water-jar
called Glok, from Perak, a Pahang form of
Buyong, and then two from Krian, in Perak.
These are coloured, the one with red and the
other with red and white. They stand in
dishes and have covers and drinking-cups. It
is to be noted that only in Pahang and part of
Negri Sambilan are any spouted vessels to be
met with. Each district also has its distinctive
shapes and patterns of pottery.
Probably the first metal to be worked in the
peninsula was tin; and it is still applied to
many purposes for which, in other countries,
different and more suitable metals are used.
For instance, the old coinage was of tin, and
bullets, sinkers for fishing lines and nets,
weights, and many other articles are, or were,
made of tin. There is no record of when it
was first discovered and became an article of
commerce, but it was certainly in very remote
ages. Up till coinpa:ratively recent times the
industry remained in the possession of the
Malays, but since the advent of the Chinese
Fig. 17.— A PAHANG KOLEH.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
241
nearly all the mining has passed into their
hands.
It is imposbible to omit in any account of
Malayan crafts mention of tin mining, which
in the past was the most important of all. The
Malay mines are worked by two methods.
The first, which is called Liris, is only suited
to hilly land. A stream of water is led to the
place to be worked, and the earth is dug down
-■-^ .-
accumulate in them that it would be impossible up so as only to allow enough air to get in
to lift it without a pump, to keep the fire slowly burning. As the fire
The cleaned tin ore is, or rather was, smelted progressed, successive portions of the trunk
in a small furnace, built of clay, the blast being were covered up with earth, till the whole
K^im-sm
^jm^
y Ifr'T ,\
Fig. 18. — A MALAY WOMAN MAKING
POTTERY.
so that it falls into the water. The stream
carries away all the light portions of the soil,
and the tin ore, being very heavy, remains in
the bottom of the ditch, from which it is lifted,
rewashed, and finally cleaned in a large round
shallow wooden tray, called a Dulaug. The
second method, which obtains on fl.it land and
is called Lmnbong, is by digging pits of some
15 feet or so square, and lifting out the wash-
dirt with baskets. The tin-bearing earth
known as Kn/aug is subsequently washed in
long wooden or bark troughs, to separate out
<^^
Pig. 20.— MALAYAN TIN TOYS.
furnished by a piston bellows, made out of a
hollowed tree-trunk. The fuel was charcoal.
The tin, having been smelted, was cast into
ingots and was ready for sale.
The charcoal was burned in a very primitive
Fig. 19.— HAND-MADE POTTERY.
the ore. The water is baled out of the pits in
buckets during work. It is, therefore, only
possible to work shallow land, and the pits
cannot be made !arge,.or so much water would
way. A tree was felled and allowed to lie in
the jungle till it was dry. Earth was then
built up round the lower part of it and it
was. set on fire, being kept carefully covered
tree was converted into charcoal. Should the
fire from any cause go out, it was never
relighted. P'or this reason, and because only
the best timber-trees in the country will burn
in this way, the method was prohibited many
years ago. Charcoal-burning is now entirely
done by the Chinese.
Alluvial gold occurs with the tin in several
localities, and is mined in the above-described
ways. Taking advantage of the different
relative weights of the two substances, the gold
dust is afterwards washed out of the tin sand
by the skilful use of a Dulaiig.
In all the States tin money and ingots of tin,
which in former times passed as money, have
been found, and up to the last decade of the
nineteenth century the so-called " hat-money "
was current in Pahang. In Trengganu and
the Siamese States round perforated tin
money is still in use. The Pahang coins were
cast in brass moulds, as were also those in
circulation in Negri Sambilan.
The Malays used to make very curious tin
toys. These were cast in the shape of animals
(P"ig. 20). This was doubtless wrong, according
to Mahomedan ideas, and possibly they are
survivals from pre-Mahomedan times. These
toys are of two classes — one cast in sand from
wooden patterns, like the ordinary ingots of
tin, the other cast in piece moulds made out
of soft stone. The first are the commonest,
and the animal most usually represented is the
crocodile ; butelephants,birds, tortoises, turtles,
fish, grasshoppers, snails, and mountains are
also depicted. They are very quaint and gro-
tesque, and at Ihe present time are difficult to
obtain.
The chains for sinking cast-nets are cast in
wooden, stone, iron, and brass moulds. The
common way is to cast simple rings, which
are afterwards cut and made into a chain.
But in one variety of mould a set of rings is
first cast, then they are taken out and put into
the mould again, in recesses made on purpose,
and other rings are cast through them, so that
a chain is made up of solid links, and no
cutting and soldering is necessary.
242
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
There are very clever smiths amongst the
Malays, and the most perfect development of
ironwork is to be found in the kris blades, the
damascening on some of these weapons being
to five, seven, nine, and so on up to as many
as forty-seven waves. The waves, according
to the Malay method of counting, always come
to odd numbers, and there are no four, six, or
Flgr. 21.— BEPEESENTATIVE MALAYAN WEAPONS.
as fine as anything produced elsewhere. The
kris, which is the distinctive Malayan weapon,
is a dagger of many shapes, and varies in
eight-waved krises. The long kris, which is
the one with which criminals used formerly
to be executed, has a blade which sometimes
Fig. 23. —SPECIMENS OP MALAYAN SILVER WORK.
length from a few inches up to 2 feet.
Some are straight, while others are waved.
Those with a single bend in them are counted
as three-waved, and the numbers go from this
reaches 24 inches in length. The criminal
was made to kneel down, and the executioner,
who stood behind him, pushed the long thin
blade downwards into his left shoulder just
above the collar-bone. If properly inserted,
the weapon went straight through the heart
and produced almost instantaneous death. A
small pad of cotton was then placed on either
side of the blade and held in position by the
finger and thumb of the executioner, so that the
blood was wiped off as the blade was with-
drawn. It was considered unworkmanlike to
spill a drop of blood.
The variety of weapons is very great. There
are swords both of the European pattern with
Crusader hilts and of the true broad-ended
Malayan pattern (called Lading), many species
of daggers and ripping knives, besides spears
with variously shaped blades.
In Fig. 21, A is a curved sword with
a Malayan type of handle made of carved ivory
and silver ; B is a straight sword with a brass
Crusader hilt,; C is the broad-ended Malay
sword called Lading (this last has a horn
handle with a coloured tassel ; the bac' ward
curve of the blade enables a draw cut to be
given with great ease) ; D is the kris-shaped
sword known as Sundong ; E is a weapon
resembling the old European bill (the long
handle is to permit of both hands being used
to wield it) ; F is a straight kris with its sheath.
This particular one is of the Patani pattern.
Unlike all others, it is worn at the back, stuck
into the belt, with the handle towards the left
side. The other forms of kris are worn in the
belt, or sarong, over the left hip. The handle
is of ivory, and is in the semblance of a
grotesque human head with a very Inng, tip-
tilted nose. G is a gold-mounted forly-seven-
waved kris, and its sheath ; H is a five-waved
inlaid kris, which is particularly mentioned
hereafter ; I is a long or execution kris, with
silver-mounted sheath ; and J is a ripping
knife called Sabit. This is held in the right
hand, the forefinger going through the hole
in the handle and the blade projecting out-
wards from ihe little-finger side of the hand.
The stroke is made in an upward direction
when it is desired to use the weapon, and the
lower part of the body is the point of attack.
K is a dagger known as Tumbok lada, or
pepper-crusher ; it has many varieties, like all
the above-mentioned weapons.
The blades of all the weapons are made of
Damascus steel, and are treated with a pre-
paration of arsenic, which colours them in
much the same way as better class gun-barrels
are coloured. The process is a complicated
one and cannot be described here. If it is
carried out properly the results are very good,
some portions of the blade assuming a dead
black colour, while others are left silvery white,
with numerous intermediate shades of grey
betweeii them.
Iron cannons were formerly made by coiling
a piece of bar-iron round a mandrel and then
forging it into a solid tube. Small arms do
not seem to have been attempted in the
peninsula ; at any rate none are in existence.
Although such clever blacksmiths, the Malays
do not appear ever to have acquired the art of
casting iron.
Copper, bronze, and brass have been much
worked in the past, and there are still Malay
artificers who make various articles from these
metals. Most of the copper appears to be old,
and was fashioned by hammering.
Bronze was used for casting cannon of
considerable size. These are often elaborately
ornamented. The beautiful-toned Malay gongs
are also of bronze. They are cast roughly to
shape and finished by the use of the hammer.
Weapons such as spears, daggers, and krises
are sometimes made of bronze. . This is an
interesting survival, as cutting implements of
bronze have long since been superseded by
those of steel in almost all other parts of the
world.
The older brass, called red brass, and the
modern yellow metal are cast, and then either
filed or turned up to shape on a rude form of
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA 243
lathe. The casting is all done by the wax
process. A model of the intended article is
made in beeswax ; it is then coated with fine
clay, and successively with coarser qualities,
till the mould is judged to be thick and strong
enough. Having been dried, this is heated
and the wax is poured out. Molten metal is
then poured in, and takes the place previously
occupied by the wax. The clay is chipped off,
and the article can then be finished up. Cook-
ing-pots, water-jars, lamps, and the boxes and
cups for holding Sink and the various things
which are chewed with it are the principal
utensils which are made of brass.
In Fig. 22, beginning at the top and taking
them from left to right, the articles are :
a brass cup for water, called Batil, a water-jar
with cover and drinking-cup, a brass kettle for
hot water, a hammered copper dish, an oblong
brass tray with perforated edge, a cooking-pot
and stand, a water-jar stand with pierced
edging, a large brass sweetmeat-tray with
perforated edge, and a large covered brass
box with handles.
In Trengganu a white metal is worked by
the same methods, and some well-made things
are manufactured from it. The metal appears
to be a sort of German silver. The wax pro-
cess is employed in casting it.
The Malayan silver-work is universally
admired. The place of origin of the art is
uncertain, but apparently, judging by the pat-
terns, its source was India. It is evident that
there were several centres from which it
started, for distinctive patterns and shapes are
found in different States. So much is this the
case that in many instances it is easy to deter-
mine with certainty where a particular example
was made. Briefly stated, the method of work-
ing is this : Sufficient silver is taken to make
the intended article. It is melted in a small
clay crucible on a sort of forge, the blast being
obtained by a piston bellows, and charcoal
being used as fuel. An ingot is then cast.
This is beaten out by hammering into the
intended form, and i^ frequently softened by
heating and quenching in water during the
process. The form having been obtained, the
patterns are then proceeded with. The piece
is put on to a lunip of softened gum-resin, and
with the aid of punches the work is begun
from the back. When as much as it is possible
to do has been effected, it is removed from the
" pitch " and turned over and worked at from
the front. This is continued until the pattern
is complete. During this process it has to be
softened several times if the relief is high.
No gravers are used for any portion of the
work, everything being done with punches of
different forms. The relief in some pieces is
extremely high, and the metal is reduced very
greatly in thickness in these portions. Very
considerable skill must be necessary to produce
these results. The above-described method is
that which is known in England as repousse ;
and one other method of ornamentation is
practised corresponding to chasing. It is,
however, by the aid of small chisels and
a hammer that the pattern is cut into the
silver.
On the top row of Fig.. 23 are a silver
kettle, water-jar, and water-bottle, then a
covered dish for food and a Sangku, which
is used for washing the fingers and mouth
after eating. Hanging up under these are two
tobacco-boxes, the round one being of the
Perak form and the octagonal one of the
Negri Sambilan and Selangor form. The
other articles between these are variously
shaped pillow-ends, two being of pierced
work. The four objects on the second row
and the seven on the third are called Chimbals,
and are used to hold the various things which
are chewed with Sirih leaves and betel-nut.
The two covered bowls and the large un-
covered one are for water, while the two small
ones at the end of the third row are drinking-
Fig. 22.— BRASS AND COPPER WORK.
cups. The plate on the left of the lower row
has an enamelled edge ; next to it is the bottom
of a workbag in silver-gilt. In the centre is a
are in existence some kris blades which are
very finely inlaid with inscriptions in gold and
silver. One of these is in the Perak Museum,
Pig. 24.— JADAN AND NIELLO WORK.
large pillow-end for use at vi'eddings, and then
come two silver plates.
Inlaying the precious metals into the baser
is of comparatively rare occurrence, but there
and is reproduced above. According to native
tradition, the artisan who made it also made
nine others. The Sultan for whom he worked,
not wishing him to go on with the manufacture
244
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
MALAYAN JUNGLE PRODUCTS.
of them and so depreciate the value of those
ah-eady made, had him put to death. True or
otherwise, there is a very distinctly Oriental
flavour about this narrative ; and it will doubt-
less be remembered that a similar case actually
occurred to an unfortunate Russian architect.
The iron or steel cutters used for cutting up
betel-nuts are occasionally inlaid in the most
elaborate manner with silver, while some of
the bronze cannon have inscriptions on them
also inlaid in silver.
A quite distinctive art is the inlaying of
wooden articles, like walking-sticks, handles of
weapons, &c., with tin. The design is cut into
the wood, care being taken that it is slightly
undercut. It is then covered with clay and
dried. Molten tin is next poured in through a
gate which has been left for the purpose.
When cold the clay is removed, and the
surface of the tin filed up and polished.
The art of enamelling is also known to the
Malays. The ware is called Jadam, which is
equivalent to niello in England. The piece is
prepared by chiselling out the pattern rather
deeply, or, more correctly, by cutting out that
portion which is to be the ground of the
pattern. The depressions are then filled in
with the enamel and the piece is fired so that
the enamel melts. It is next ground down and
polished. The result is a silver design with a
blue-black ground. An inferior variety is filled
in with a material resembling hard pitch. This,
however, is generally used on brass articles
only. Another form of this work resembles
cloisonne. The base is copper, and the pattern
is chiselled out in it. Then gold is carefully
fitted into the recesses and the copper hammered
so as to fix the gold firmly in place. It projects
from the copper, and this space between the
gold lines is filled with black enamel, which is
melted and subsequently polished. In this
ware the design is of gold and the ground of
polished black enamel.
There are shown in Fig. 24, at A, B, and C,
three Peiidiugs, or waist buckles of Jadam
ware. The central one, C, has inscribed on it
an Arabic charm. D is a silk-winder of the
same ware, while E is a silver Pending which
is cut out ready for enamelling. The buckle
(G) is of brass and black enamel, and the
tobacco-box (F) is of the gold and enamel
Malayan form of cloisonne.
lapan, that is "eight gold," is an alloy in
which there are eight parts of gold to two
parts of copper ; this is the quality used on
good work, and is equal to 19-carat gold. A
copper-coloured alloy of lower standard than
Q-carat gold is known as Swasa. Besides the
repousse work, golden articles are often em-
bellished with wire- work, spangles, and faceted
beads of gold.
Malayan gold is coloured a deep red by
chemical means, as the natural-coloured gold
is not admired. This colouring, however, soon
rubs off, and requires frequent renewal on those
articles which are subjected to much wear.
The uses to which gold and silver are
applied are more numerous than would be
supposed by those who have seen little of the
home-life of the natives. Chimbals — the small
covered metal boxes in which the betel-nut,
lime, gamber, and other things chewed with
the S/;'//«-leaves are kept — are very often made
of silver, or silver and gold, or wholly of the
latter metal. Water-jars, drinking-cups, plates,
and spoons, as well as pillow-ends, the mount-
ings of weapons, and objects of personal
adornment, are frequently made of one or
other of the precious metals.
In recent years the coarser and cheaper
work of Chinese silversmiths has, to a great
extent, replaced that of the Malay smiths. At
my suggestion an attempt has been made by
the Government to counteract this regrettable
tendency by instituting an Art School at Kuala
Kangsa. In it various Malayan arts and
crafts are taught by native teachers. It is too
early to say what will be the results of this
endeavour, but a fair number of pupils have
been and are being trained in the school.
Painting, by which is meant the production
of pictures in colours, or even in monochrome,
is quite unknown to the Malays. Religious
feeling is probably responsible for this to a
great extent, for they obey to the letter the
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M.
MALAY HANDIWORK.
Gold is worked by the same methods as
silver. Several qualities are used, the fineness
being reckoned by parts in ten ; so that Mas
prohibition contained in the second command-
ment, and carefully avoid representing both
men and animals.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
245
As an adornment to a fiat surface pigment is
very seldom employed, but carved surfaces are
often elaborately coloured with oil paints. The
use of paint on the Tupas walling to houses
has been previously mentioned. The colours
employed on wood-carving are generally reds,
blues, greens, and yellows, and gilding is often
introduced as well.
Water-colours are employed for painting
texts from the Koran and for illuminating
manuscript books. It is considered, as it used
to be in the Middle Ages in Europe, a meri-
torious action to make a written copy of a
sacred book. The writing in some of these
manuscripts is of exquisite execution, and
years are sometimes spent in completing one
volume.
Printing, as understood by us, is not done by
Malays, but, to a very limited extent, printing
with wooden type is known. The type con-
sists of long pieces of wood with a letter
carved on either end. They are inked, and
each letter is separately impressed on the
paper.
Mr. Leonard Wray, I.S.O., M.I.E.E..
F.Z.S., M.R.P.S., &c., son of the late Mr,
Leonard Wray, and a brother of Mr. Cecil
Wray, British Resident of Pahahg, was
appointed Director of Museums of the Fede-
rated Malay States in 1904, after having been
for upwards of twenty years Curator of the
Perak Museum at Taiping, and for over ten
years State Geologist. Born in 1852, Mr.
Wray was educated privately, and entered
the Perak Civil Service in 1881. The following
year he was appointed Superintendent of the
Government Hill Gardens, Larut. He has
published a work on " Alluvial Tin Mining,"
and has contributed various scientific papers to
the Kcw Bulletin, the Journal of the Royal
Asiatic Society, the Jonrnal of the Anthropo-
logical Institute, the Pharmaceutical Journal,
and the Journal of the Society of Arts, besides
the Perak Museum Notes and the Journal of
the Federated Malay States Museums. He is a
corresponding member of the Pharmaceutical
Society and local correspondent of the Anthro-
pological Institute. It is interesting to recall
that Mr. Wray collected and prepared the
Perak exhibits for the Colonial and Indian
Exhibition of 1886 and for the Imperial
Institute. He has done much exploring and
collecting, thereby adding largely to the
known flora and fauna of the Malay Penin-
sula. He was instrumental in getting the
export duty on tin ore raised in 1898 and again
in 1904, by which means the revenue of the
Federated Malay States has been augmented
by several millions. The plans for the first
roasting furnace erected in the Federated
Malay States were prepared by him. The use
of this furnace spread rapidly amongst the
Chinese, and large quantities of tin ores,
previously unworkable, became of value. The
erection and working of the first cyanide plant
in Perak, at Bukit Mas Mine, was superin-
tended by Mr. Wray, who since 1896 has been
an examiner under the Inventions Enactments.
The establishment of the Malayan Art School
at Kuala Kangsa was due to his suggestion.
He resides at Taiping, and is a member of the
New Club there.
d
LEONARD WRAY, I.S.O.
(Director of Museums.)
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HEALTH AND HOSPITALS
THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.
HE Government Medical
Department of the
Straits Settlements is
under the direction of
the principal Civil
Medical Officer, who is
generally resident in
Singapore." His medi-
cal staff consists of :
(i) Two Colonial Surgeons, the Principal of
the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay
States Medical School, the Port Health Officer,
^ and ten Assistant Surgeons at Singapore ;
(2) Two Colonial Surgeons, a Resident
House Surgeon, and a Deputy Health Officer
at Pinang ;
(3) Two Colonial Surgeons and three
Assistant Surgeons in Province Wellesley ;
(4) A Colonial Surgeon and three Assistant
Surgeons at Malacca.
A large proportion ot the Assistant Surgeons
are Indians, or other natives of the East, most
of whom have qualiiied at Madras.
Practically all the hospitals are maintained
and controlled by the Government. They
comprise :
(i) The General, Tang Tock Seng, Prison,
Leper, and Lock Hospitals at Singapore, and
the Quarantine Camp at St. John's Island ;
(2) General, Pauper, Prison, Lock, Balik
Pulau, Lamut, European Small-pox, Pulau
Jerejak Leper, and Jelutong Hospitals at
Pinang ; a Quarantine Camp ; and the Dindings
Hospital ;
(3) The Butterworth, Sungei Bakap, and
Bukit Mertajam Hospitals in Province Welles-
ley;
(4) The General, Pauper, Prison, Alor Gajah,
and Jasin Hospitals at Malacca.
The Government Analysts' and Government
Veterinary Surgeons' Departments also come
witliin the purview of the Medical Depart-
ment. The Principal Civil Medical Officer is
the Registrar-General of Births and Deaths in
the Straits Settlements and the Director of
Meteorological Returns.
Infantile mortality accounts for about 20
per cent, of the total number of deaths in the
colony. This very high percentage is in all
probability attributable to a want of knowledge
on the part of parents or guardians, and to
the scarcity of qualified midwives practising
among the poor. The spread of venereal
disease is also a contributory cause.
The native disease of heri-beri is very pre-
valent, as will be seen from the following
return of the cases treated in the hospitals ;
1
Year.
1903
Cases Treated.
Deaths.
4
1,919
647
1904
2,631
879
I90S
1,958
575
1906
1,712
296
The total number of deaths from beri-beri
registered during 1906 was 1,507, as compared
with 1,888 in 1905 and 2,287 '" 1904. From
November, 1904, all the prisoners in Singapore,
and from the middle of 1905 all the patients
in hospitals in the several settlements, and
the prisoners in Pinang and Malacca, were
fed on parboiled rice, and reports from all
quarters speak well of this change as reducing
the death-rate. There are, however, no
reliable data on which to form a decided
opinion as to whether parboiled rice is
really a prophylactic against the disease. Its
curative properties appear to be demonstrated
by the reduction in the percentage of deaths in
each of the pauper hospitals, but it must be
borne in mind that a large number of the
cases admitted were of a very mild type, and
that the deaths due to beri-beri outside the
hospitals were also fewer. During 1907 there
was an outbreak of cholera in Singapore
which accounted for many deaths. Enteric
fever attacked 186 persons in Singapore alone
in 1906, and was responsible for 79 deaths,
the figures for the rest of the colony being
17 and 6 respectively. The great scourge
of the settlements, however, is phthisis in
its many forms. This fell disease claimed
no fewer than 2,709 victims during the year
under review. It is principally due to over-
crowding and bad sanitation, and is con-
sequently more prevalent in the large centres
than in the rural districts. In Singapore alone
it was responsible for 1,664 deaths. To diarrhoea
662 persons succumbed, and to dysentery 932.
From the table on the next page, showing the
estimated population and the birth and death
rates for the years 1905 and 1906 in each of the
settlements, it will be seen that the death-rate
is double the birth-rate in Singapore and
Pinang, whereas in the Dindings, Province
Wellesley, and Malacca — which are agricul-
tural districts with a settled population — the
births keep pace with the deaths.
The total number of admissions into the
hospitals of the colony, excluding the Lunatic
Asylum, was 24,696 in igo6 and 23,762 in 1905.
The percentage of deaths to the total number
of patients treated fell from IS'6 in 1903 to
1479 in 1904, to I4'03 in 1905, and to I4'0i in
1906. Tables I. to III. show the diseases
246
responsible for the greatest number of admis-
sions and deaths in 1905 and 1906.
Vaccination is performed either by the
Government Vaccinator or by other licensed
vaccinators. The total number of vaccinations
performed throughout the colony in 1906 was
15,054.
The Straits Settlements and Federated Malay
States Government Medical School was opened
in July, 1905, and has made encouraging pro-
gress. It is located in the old Female Lunatic
Asylum buildings, which were altered and
equipped for the purpose. The Hon. Mr. Tan
Jiak Kim and Mr. W. D. Barnes, Secretary for
Chinese Affairs, took a prominent part in the
establishment of the school. In the first term
23 students were enrolled, of whom nine were
Chinese, six Eurasians, five Tamils, one Cey-
lonese, one Malay, and one European.
During 1905 the Legislative Council passed
an Ordinance requiring the registration of
qualified medical practitioners and prohibiting
unqualified men from practising. •
The total expenditure on the Government
Medical Department during igo6 was 515,713
dollars. In addition to this there was an
expenditure of 12,842 dollars on the Govern-
ment Analysts' Department, and of 18,867
dollars on the Veterinary Surgeons' Depart-
ment.
SINGAPORE.
THE GENERAL HOSPITAL.
The premier medical institution of Singapore
is the Government General Hospital, which is
advantageously situated near the Sepoy Lines.
The buildings stand on the summit of a slight
eminence, and are surrounded by beautiful
grounds.
For a long time after the occupation of
Singapore there was no Government hospital
for the sick seamen of vessels lying in the
harbour, and the only available accommoda-
tion was at a private hospital conducted by
Dr. Martin. Eventually, in about 1840, the
Government opened a small European Sea-
men's Hospital, but there is some doubt as to
its first locality. Subsequently, however, it
was transferred to Pearl's Hill, at the same
time as the Tan Tock Seng Hospital (1844), and
it remained there until the Indian Mutiny
occurred and the construction of Fort Canning
was decided on. Temporary accommodation
was then found for it in a small house in
Armenian Street, and natives were housed at
the foot of Government Hill. Finally, in 1861,
the new buildings in Bukit Timah Road were
occupied, and the name of the institution was
quietly changed to "The General Hospital."
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
247
Estimated Population and Bikth and Death Rates, 1905 and 1906.
Settlement.
Estimated Mean
Population.
Births.
Deaths.
Birth Ratio
per Mille.
Death Ratio
per Mille.
1905.
1906.
. 1905-
lc)o6.
1905.
1906.
1905.
1906.
1905-
1906.
Singapore
Pinang
Bindings
Prov. Wellesley
Malacca
252,373
131,307
4.352
118,779
97,013
258,423
131,917
119,652
4,4"
97,387
5,755
2,215
149
3,707
3,608
5,726
2,613
162
4,129
4,624
11,122
5,437
148
3,851
3,905
10,247
5,516
152
3,610
3,615
22-68
19-90
37-22
3476
47-66
22-27
1679
3378
30-98
37-05
44-07
41-41
34-01
32-42
40-25
32-65
41-81
34-46
30-17
37-12
Total ...
603,824
611,790
15,434
17,254
24.463
23,140
28-57
25-23
40-51
37-82
I. — General Diseases.
Dysentery
Malarial fever ...
Beri-beri
Phagedaena
Tubercle of lungs
-Venereal diseases
Rheumatism . . .
Anaemia
Debility
1,088
2,778
1,958
280
882
2,105
608
423
470
Deaths.
405
300
575
50
533
88
6
112
325
1906.
1,668
2,859
1,712
157
984
2,371
635
330
426
254
296
65
571
SO
9
86
95
II. — Local Diseases.
1905-
igo6.
Admissions.
Deaths.
Admissions.
Deaths.
Diseases of the nervous system (including
admissions to the Lunatic Asylum less
cases transferred there from other hos-
pitals)
Diseases of the respiratory system (not in-
cluding phthisis)
Diseases of the digestive system (including
diarrhoea)
Diseases of the skin
60s
661
1,989
2,744
155
144
462
9
756
841
1,976
2,685
247
150
391
27
III. — Injuries.
1905-
lgo6.
Admissions.
Deaths.
Admissions.
Deaths.
General and local
1,670
77
1,878
69
The accommodation was severely taxed by
patients from H.M. ships and the mercantile
marine, and Sir H. Ord was considering the
advisability of building a third block when a
long-expected event brought relief. This was
the opening of the Suez Canal, -which revolu-
tionised the trade of the port, and, instead of
there being a large number of English vessels
in harbour for weeks, waiting for cargo, the
trade was carried by canal steamers, which
remained but a few hours. The floating
population was thereby decreased, and con-
sequently there were fewer patients seeking
admission to the hospital. But in June, 1873,
cholera, in an epidemic form, broke out at
Kampong Kapor and the Lunatic Asylum.
The patients of the General Hospital were
hastily removed to the Sepoy Lines buildings,
left vacant by the removal of the Indian native
regiment, but temporarily occupied by the
police. The General Hospital buildings in
Bukit Timah Road were reserved for cholera
cases, and were supplemented by a temporary
structure on the Racecourse Plain. -When the
epidemic abated, a strong protest was made
against the General Hospital having to revert
to its old and less healthy quarters in Bukit
Timah Road, and it has remained near Sepoy
Lines ever since. The premises were rebuilt
in 1882 and enlarged in 1906, at a total cost of
102,310 dollars. The institution is now replete
with modern appliances, and has a splendid
staff of medical men and nurses.
The main building contains ten officers'
wards — six with two beds each, and four vvith
one bed each ; two seamen's wards, containing
16 beds ; seven female wards — five of them
containing three beds each, one with four
beds, and one with six beds ; two large native
wards containing 64 beds each, besides two
special rooms and an observation cell. In
addition, there are two separate wards or
buildings, the first containing three rooms
accommodating one, six, and ten beds respec-
tively, and the other containing five rooms,
accommodating two beds each in two rooms,
one bed each in two rooms, and six beds in
one room. There is also a lock-up with 12
beds, and four other observation cells. The
greatest number of patients in the hospital at
any one time during 1905 was 208. The daily
average number of inmates is I4S'4.
The hospital is entirely supported by
Government, but patients are charged for their
maintenance at various rates, according to
their position in life. The fees are as
follo-ws :
<"or separate -ward (officers)
„ Officers' ward, single bed
Per day.
. 18.00
5.00
,, Seamen's ward
■ 17s
„ Female ward, separate room ..
8.00
„ Female ward, 1st class
. 5.00
„ Female ward, 2nd class
■ 175
„ Natives
0.20
,, Police-constables (Sikhs)
,, Police-constables (native)
. o.is
0.06
Europeans certified to be paupers are treated
free of charge, and there are special fees for
Government officers.
During 1906 there were admitted to the
hospital 3,368 patients, as against 3,042 in
1905, and 3,161 in 1904. Of the 3,368, 606
were Europeans, 2,405 natives, and 357 native
police. There were 285 deaths.
The total expenditure of the General Hospital
during 1906 (exclusive of personal emoluments
included in the general expenditure on the
Medical Department of the Straits Settlements)
was 32,811 dollars.
The nursing staff consists of a head nurse,
nine fully qualified nurses, and seven pro-
bationers.
THE XAN TOCK SENG HOSPITAL.
The Tan Tock Seng Hospital for the sick
poor of Singapore is one of the most important
charitable institutions in Singapore. It is
named after the founder, Mr. Tan Tock Seng,
a Chinese merchant, who had a remarkable
career in the settlement. He was born in
Malacca, but came to Singapore soon after the
foundation of the settlement with no capital but
industry and thrift. He started as a vegetable,
fruit, and fowl seller, going to the country to
buy and returning to the town to sell. Having
saved a little money, he opened a shop on the
river-side. Afterwards he joined in some
speculations, and by this means made most
of his wealth. He was made a Justice of the
Peace by Colonel Butterworth, and was the
first native to receive such an appointment.
His benefactions were numerous, and he was
accustomed to bear the expense of buryino-
poor Chinese. ''
In 1844 Tan Tock Seng intimated his willing-
ness to defray the cost of building a hospital
for the poor, and the foundation-stone was laid
at Pearl's Hill on July 25th. The building
origmally cost 7,000 dollars, which was entn-ely
borne by Mr. Tan Tock Seng, and it was his
intention to endow the building ; but in the
early part of 1850 he passed away at the age of
fifty-two years, and the intention was thwarted.
The hospital was originally managed bv a com-
mittee of Chinese, By 1852 the building had be-
come overcrowded, and there was urgent need
of enlargement. Unfortunately, the committee
was faced with a lack of funds, but the difficulty
248
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
was eventually solved by Mr. Tan Kim Cheng,
son of the founder, generously defraying the
cost — 3,000 dollars. The following inscription
on stone was fixed at the hospital gate :
"This Hospital
for the
Diseased of all Countries
was built A.D. 1844,
at the cost of
Seven Thousand Dollars,
wholly defrayed by
Tan Tock Seng.
The wings were added
and large improvements effected
at the cost of
Three Thousand Dollars,
wholly defrayed by
Tan Kim Cheng,
Son of the Founder."
After the Indian Mutiny the Indian Govern-
ment required the hospital buildings for military
purposes, and a larger structure was erected on
low-lying ground on Balestier Plain, bordering
on Serangoon Road. Frequent protests were
made by those in charge, but no steps to secure
any improvement were taken for a long time.
Eventually, however, the revenues increased,
ward after ward was added, and Mr. Tan Beng
Swee, father of the Hon. Mr. Tan Jiak Kim,
built a tile-roofed ward at his own expense.
Eventually, after the colony had been trans-
ferred to the control of Downing Street, atten-
tion was drawn to the unsatisfactory state of
the hospital by the medical men of the place,
and the result was a despatch from the Secretary
of State to the effect that Government was to be
responsible for all hospitals, whether built as
charitable institutions or not. The Government
grants were increased, and the Tan Tock
Seng Hospital became a model poorhouse and
infirmary combined.
In 1880 an Ordinance was passed incor-
porating the institution, which has ever since
been directed by a committee of management
consisting of the Colonial Secretary, the
Principal Civil Medical Officer, the Inspector-
General of Police, the Assistant . Colonial
Secretary, the Protector of Chinese (all e.x-
offlcio), Mr. C. B. Buckley, and five repre-
sentatives of the Chinese. subscribers, including,
as stipulated by the Ordinance, one of the
male heirs of the founder. The present
descendant of Tan Tock Seng on the board
is Mr. Tan Boo Liat, his great-grandson.
Vacancies are filled by the votes of donors of
at least 1,000 dollars or subscribers of at least
12 dollars a year.
The hospital has been very generously
supported by the Chinese and other members
of the native community. In 1857 a wealthy
Arab merchant named Syed Allie bin
Mahomed al Junied presented it with a piece
of land in Victoria and Arab Streets, and
considerable revenue has been derived from
this source. Other lands have been given to
the hospital from time to time, including a
site which belonged to one of the great
Chinese secret societies, and, vesting in Mr.
Gan Eng Seng on its dissolution, was by him
generously made over to the hospital in 1892.
A sum of 4,000 dollars was bequeathed by Mr.
Wee Boon Teck, and there have been many
other generous donors, as will be seen from
the Chinese biographical section of this book.
But the bulk of the expense of the institution
is borne by the Government, who last year
contributed 49,050 dollars out of a total revenue
of 58,541 dollars. The expenditure amounted
to 58,656 dollars. This is independent of
medicines and medical assistance, which are
supplied by the Government.
As time has gone on and the population of
Singapore has increased, the accommodation
of the hospital in Serangoon Road has been
taxed to its uttermost extent. Moreover,
statistics have again and again proved that
the removal from the high airy site on Pearl's
Hill to the waterlogged ground on Serangoon
Road has been the cause of serious, and
sometimes fatal, illness among the patients.
The matter came to a head about 1898, when
the disease of beri-beri became very prevalent
and caused many deaths. A determined
effort was made to induce the Government to
sell the Serangoon site and rebuild the
hospital ; and at the time of writing a new
hospital, on a site given by the Government
in Mandalay Road, is nearing completion.
The estimated cost is 250,000 dollars.
In the early days, private medical men in
the settlement gratuitously attended the
hospital, but during the greater part of its
existence the institution has been medically
supervised by the Government Medical
Department. It was not, however, until the
beginning of 1906 that a Government Resident
Medical Officer was appointed. The present
staff consists of the Resident Medical Officer,
three assistant surgeons, ten dressers, eight
apprentice dressers, five hospital assistants,
and a clerk. In addition to the main hospital
there is a leper ward, a quarantine camp, and a
pauper ward for females in Bukit Timah Road,
and a beri-beri hospital at Passir Panjang.
The present committee of management
consists of Mr. C. N. Buckley, the Hon. Mr.
Tan Jiak Kim, and Messrs. Wee Kim Yam,
Tan Boo Liat, Lee Cheng Yan, and Yau Ngan
Pan, in addition to the five ex-officio members.
Mr. Arthur Knight has been the secretary
since 1883.
The balance-sheet shows a surplus of 54,181
dollars. The average number of patients, who
are mostly Chinese, in the hospital exceeds 500.
OTHER HOSPITALS IN SINGAPORE.
The other hospitals in Singapore, all of
which are maintained by Government, are
the Lock Hospital, the Prison Hospital, the
Quarantine Camp, and the Maternity Hospital.
The Lock Hospital, at Kandang Kerbau, con-
tains seven native wards (including a new ward
for Japanese patients) and a European ward,
and there are, in all, 68 beds. The rates
charged are one, two, or three dollars a day,
according to the financial position of the
patients. Poor Asiatics and the poorer class
of Europeans and Eurasians may be admitted
free of charge, if inquiry shows that they are
not able to pay anything.
The Prison Hospital contains two large
wards with 20 beds in each, and fourteen
smaller wards containing altogether 38 beds.
The Maternity Hospital is centrally situated
in Victoria Street, but the premises are quite
inadequate for carrying on the work of such
an institution in a satisfactory manner, and a
new hospital on a better site will shortly be
erected. The admissions during 1906 num-
bered 98 — the largest number recorded in the
history of the institution.
There is a quarantine station in St. John's
Island for the segregation of contacts from
India and China. It was rebuilt on the most
approved lines in 1905 at a cost of 322,160
dollars. The station provides accommodation
for about 2,000 persons, and contains twenty
association wards and three isolation wards.
The extent of the Government quarantine
operations is shown by the fact that during
1906 363,788 passengers and 129,233 members
of ships' crews were examined on arrival in the
colony. New premises for the accommodation
of the quarantine camp in Singapore are
shortly to be erected near the new Tan Tock
Seng Hospital. When these are completed
they will be taken over by the municipality,
and a special staff will be appointed. A leper
asylum adjoins the quarantine station.
There is also a large lunatic asylum near the
General Hospital, built in the years 1884-88
at a cost of 250,000 dollars. During 1906 the
average daily number of inmates was 290. The
recovery rate was 4i'56 per cent. About 20
per cent, of the patients cannot be induced to
do anything and another 16 per cent, make
believe at work ; but the balance are very
industrious, and are carefully employed in the
loom sheds, spinning cotton, in kitchen and
household duties, &c., and they are encouraged
by being provided with extras. The European
patients amuse themselves with draughts, chess,
cards, tennis, and football, and they spend the
warmer portion of the day in the verandahs
reading magazines and papers. The expendi-
ture on the asylum, exclusive of personal
emoluments, amounted in 1906 to 24,622
dollars.
GENERAL HOSPITAL, PINANG.
The General Hospital, which was built in
1882 at a cost of 90,997 dollars, is pleasantly
situated at Sepoy Lines, near the racecourse.
It contains eight officers' wards, which have
accommodation for fifteen patients ; three
European female wards, containing four beds ;
six native male wards with 74 beds ; and one
native female ward containing 10 beds. Native
and European lunatic cells also adjoin the build-
ing, and an outdoor dispensary is run in connec-
tion with the institution. Patients are charged
at the same rates as at the Singapore General
Hospital. In the outdoor dispensary, medi-
cines supplied are charged at various rates,
according to the financial position of the
patients. During 1906 1,553 patients were
admitted, of whom 194 were Europeans, 910
natives, and 458 native police. Eighty-seven
deaths took place in the hospital (S Europeans
and 82 Asiatics), giving a percentage of 5'38
to the total number of cases treated. Pinang
Hospital during 1906 cost the colony 10,517
dollars, exclusive of personal emoluments.
OTHER HOSPITALS IN PINANG.
In the Pauper Hospital, now known as the
District Hospital, there are twelve large wards,
giving accommodation for 431 patients. The
cost of maintenance (exclusive of salaries)
during 1906 was 25,844 dollars. Three
thousand nine hundred and sixty-six patients
were admitted, and the percentage of deaths to
the total number of cases treated was 1749.
The Prison Hospital has two general wards,
two contagious diseases wards, and one
European ward. In the Lock Hospital, which
adjoins the Prison Hospital, there are four
wards and 82 beds. Three hundred and
seventy-four persons were admitted to these
two institutions during igo6, and 5'io per
cent, of the total number of cases treated
proved fatal.
Balik Pulau Hospital has two general wards,
one contagious diseases ward, one police
ward, and two European wards. It contains
altogether 64 beds. The admissions in 1906
numbered 316.
The European Small-pox Hospital has two
wards with two beds in eSch. It was built in
1894 at a cost of 1,970 dollars, but, happily, was
not required in 1906.
In the Leper Hospital at Pulau Jerejak there
are fourteen wards, one of which contains 48
beds, while three contain 40, three 34, and
seven 16. During 1906 496 lepers were
treated. Of these 138 died, 21 absconded, and
1 was discharged, while 336 were still in the
institution in January, 1907. The percentage of
deaths to the cases treated was 27'82. There is
also a small leper ward for females at Jelutong,
where, also, the quarantine camp is situated,
Lumut Hospital in the Dindings has a general
ward and a contagious diseases ward, and 180
cases were treated within their walls in igo6.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
249
PROVINCE WELLESLEY HOSPITJILS.
The largest hospital in Province Wellesley
is at Butter worth. The institution contains a
European ward, a contagious diseases ward, a
police ward, and five general wards. Alto-
gether 114 patients can be accommodated at
one time. In 1906 700 cases were admitted,
and of these 84, or 11 '44 per cent., proved
fatal.
Bukit Mertajam Hospital has four wards
(including a female ward and a contagious
diseases ward), containing 70 beds. During
igo6 703 cases were treated, and the percentage
of deaths was 16-21.
Sungei Bakap Hospital has five wards
containing 72 beds. Six hundred and seventy-
three patients were admitted in igo6, and I2'2i
per cent, of the cases treated died.
There are also in Province Wellesley five
estate hospitals maintained by the plantation
owners and under Government supervision.
MALACCA HOSPITALS.
In the General Hospital there are five wards,
and they contain 19 beds. The number of
patients admitted in 1906 was 228, and the
percentage of deaths was 3-4.
There are ten wards in the Pauper Hospital,
and they contain 261 beds. During 1906 the
cases treated numbered 2,819 and the deaths
172, or 8-51 per cent. The Prison and Leper
Hospitals and the Quarantine Station have but
one ward each, and the number of patients
treated is very small.
Durian Daun Hospital was built in 1882-84
for 28,657 dollars. With enlargements and
alterations made from time to time the total
cost of the building as it now stands has been
85,220 dollars. During 1906 367 cases were
under treatment, and the number of deaths
was 27, or 7-35 per cent.
At Alor Gajah there is a small hospital,
which was built in 1889 at a cost of 3,882
dollars. There are only two beds — kept for
emergency cases — the institution being chieiiy
used as an out-door dispensary.
The District Hospital at Jasin has four wards
and 82 beds. In 1906 791 patients were
admitted, and 53, or 6-42 per cent., of them
died.
The total cost of maintaining the hospitals in
Malacca territory in 1906 (excluding personal
emoluments) was 14,617 dollars.
THE INSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL
RESEARCH.
The Institute for Medical Research, situated
on the Batu Road, Kuala Lumpor, is designed
insure that the investigations carried out shall
be as thorough as modern equipment and
appliances can render them.
Foremost amongst these investigations
comes the inquiry which is being pursued
into the cause of beri-beri, a disease which
is responsible for so much mortality here and
elsewhere amongst the Chinese. Attention is
being specially directed to an examination of
the rice theory so strongly advocated by Dr.
Braddon . This theory holds that rice prepared
in the Bengal manner, or a modification of it,
will not cause the disease ; this method of
preparation, it is thought, removes or renders
innocuous an injurious agent believed to be
contained in ordinary rice. Many factors
operate against the investigators, however, and
much patient research has yet to be carried out
before the sea! of scientific approval may be
affixed to the theory.
The experience of other countries — India,
China, Sumatra, Nhatrang, Indo-Chine, the
Philippines, and elsewhere — has been so
unfortunate in connection with outbreaks of
surra that when cases were notified in the
Federated Malay States there was con-
siderable apprehension amongst the local
authorities lest the disease should here
develop into a scourge. The investigation
of trypanosomiasis has, therefore, been
carried on for some time past, and among
the more interesting series of experiments
conducted have been those with biting flies.
For the purposes of these experiments an
insect-proof stable of special design has been
constructed. The results obtained from these
experiments, and from numerous tests for
trypanosomes by animal inoculation, show
that trypanosomiasis is endemic, and is being
imported in Siamese and Indian cattle. The
measures to which the research points as those
which should be taken lie not in remedial
treatment, in which direction no very
encouraging results have been obtained by
the numerous investigators of the subject, but
in the early recognition and destruction of
infected animals.
The Government chemist is mainly occupied
with the duties pertaining to a public analyst.
There is, however, a considerable amount of
medico-legal work to be performed. From
time to time his attention is directed to the
investigation of various problems. Thus the
so-called anti-opium plant was made the subject
of analysis, as a result of which no specific
active principle was isolated, and it would be
impossible to state on what grounds the action
of this remedy is based. The plant is known
to botanists as Combrcftnn sundaicum.
The entomologist has been engaged in a
study of the lite-histories and habits of ticks
and biting flies, and in the investigation of
man or qualified investigator is allowed access
to the institution for the purposes of study.
The Institute is, in short, a handsome
contribution by the Government to the
advancement of scientific knowledge.
FEDERATED MALAY
STATES.
The Medical Department of the Federated
Malay States has not yet been federated, each
State being under a State Surgeon, but the
Principal Civil Medical Officer of the Straits
Settlements is also Inspector-General of Medical
Institutions in the Federated Malay States, and
as such makes two tours of inspection a year
and presents reports to the Resident-General.
The Government Medical Staff consists of :
A State Surgeon, three Senior District Sur-
geons, seven District Surgeons, and two Vete-
rinary Surgeons in Perak ;
A State Surgeon, two Senior District Sur-
geons, three District Surgeons, and a Veterinary
Surgeon in Selangor ;
A State Surgeon and a District Surgeon in
Negri Sambilan, and
A State Surgeon and three District Surgeons
in Pahang.
Fifty-two hospitals are maintained by the
Government, and they are distributed as
follows : 19 in Perak, 18 in Selangor, 8 in
Negri Sambilan, and 7 in Pahang. In view of
the large number of Tamil labourers imported
into the States and the consequent increase in
the demand for hospitals, it has been made
compulsory for estate proprietors to provide
hospital accommodation for their coolies.
Four beds have to be maintained for every 100
coolies on an estate, a qualified dresser has to
be employed, and an adequate supply of certain
drugs has to be kept in stock. The estate
hospitals are under the supervision of the
Government medical officers.
The chief scourges with which the medical
staff has to contend are malaria — mostly pre-
valent in Selangor and Negri Sambilan — beri-
beri, dysentery, diarrhoea, and pulmonary dis-
eases. Infantile mortality is very high in all
the States. Owing to the lack of completeness
in the organisation of the medical depart-
ments, it is impossible to give proper vital
statistics for the Federated Malay States or
to show the full extent of the ravages of the
diseases enumerated above. Some idea of the
prevalence of the chief diseases may be
gathered from the following table of the
numbers of cases and deaths among the
patients treated in the State hospitals during
1906 :
Beri Beri.
DVSENTEEY.
Diarrhoea.
M.4LARI.4.
Pulmonary Diseases.
No. of
Cases
Treated.
Deaths.
Percent.
of
Deaths.
No. of
Cases
Treated.
Deaths.
Percent.
of
Deaths.
No, of
Cases
Treated.
Deaths.
Percent.
of
Deaths.
No. of
Cases
Treated.
Deaths.
Percent.
of
Deaths.
No. of
Cases
Treated.
Deaths.
Percent.
of
Deaths.
Perak
Selangor
Negri Sambilan
Pahang
2,78s
1,896
1,010
449
886
36S
75
76
31-0
19-2
7-4
i6-2
2,599
1,224
1,232
506
775
437
342
125
29'0
357
28-0
247
1,208
910
383
127
331
344
126
32
27-0
37-8
33-0
25-2
4.991
3,397
2,545
1,221
220
348
94
35
4-4
10-2
3-6
2-8
1,731-
948
379
2l6
598
262
113
51
34-0
27-6
30 '0
23-6
to be a centre for the investigation of tropical
diseases as affecting man and animals. In
connection with the Institute is the District
Hospital, containing some five hundred beds,
and from the hospital is obtained a large
amount of clinical material.
At the disposal of the staff is one of the finest
series of laboratories that can be found out of
Europe, and no expense has been spared to
plant pests, one of the most dangerous being
the white ant, which attacks rubber-trees,
eating out the heart-wood.
In conclusion it only remains to be said
that the Government is desirous in every way
of facilitating the study of diseases in men,
animals, and plants, and has placed at the dis-
posal of the staff almost every appliance that
can conceivably be required. Any medical
It must be remembered that in a considerable
proportion of the cases sent to the hospitals
the diseases are in such an advanced stage
that they are incurable. Malaria is a much
more terrible scourge than appears from the
table, because it often induces other diseases,
especially dysentery and. diarrhcea, which
prove fatal.
In Selangor the efforts of Dr. Watson, Disti-ict
260
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Medical Officer at Klang, in combating malaria
among the coolies have been attended with
considerable success. The chief preventive
measure adopted was the administration of
daily doses of quinine to every coolie employed
in the district.
The number of births and deaths registered
in the four States of the Federation during 1905
and 1906 was :
NEGRI 5AMBILAN.
The hospitals in Negri Sambilan are the
general, European, and prison hospitals at
Seremban, and the district hospitals at Port
Dickson, Kuala Pilah, Jelebu, Tampin, and
Mantin. Eight thousand nine hundred and forty-
eight in-patients and 14,755 out-patients were
treated by the medical staffs of these institutions
Yorkshire College, and the University of
Munich. He passed the examination of the
Institute of Chemistry of Great Britain and
Ireland, and was elected an associate (A.I.C.)
in 1892, and F.I.C. four years later. He
graduated B.Sc. with first-class honours in
chemistry at the Victoria University in 1893,
and M.Sc. in 1897. He was elected to an
i85i-Exhibition Science Research Scholarship
Perak.
Selangor.
Negri Sambilan.
Pahasg.
Births
Deaths
Estimated population ...
1905-
8,293
12,500
400,000
igo6.
7,675
12,952
413,000
1905.
2,857
6,756
252,520
1906.
2,820
8,303
283,619
1905.
3,197
3,065
"9,454
1906.
2,489
3,935
121,763
1905.
1.997
2,337
100,000
1906.
1,752
1,997
100,000
It will be seen that there has been a decrease
in the number of births in all the States, and
an increase in the number of deaths in Perak,
Selangor, and Negri Sambilan. The heavy
toll of life which the virgin jungle takes as
the price for opening it up for rubber cultiva-
tion explains in large measure the heavy death-
rate in the Western States. In Selangor in
1905 the number of deaths was two and a
quarter times as great as the number of births,
and in 1906 almost three times as great.
PERAK.
The Government General Hospitals of Perak
are situated at Taiping, Kuala Kangsa, Batu
Gajah, Gopeng, Ipoh, Kampar, Teluk Anson,
Tapah, Parit Buntar, Bagan Serai, Selama,
Lenggong, Tanjong Malim, and Grit. In addi-
tion to these there are prison and lunatic
asylum hospitals at Taiping and Batu Gajah,
and leper asylums at Pulau Jerejak and Pulau
Pangkor Laut. In 1906 the total number
of cases treated in all the State hospitals was
27,178, and in addition 50,345 out-patients were
attended by the Government medical staff.
The deaths which occurred in the hospitals
numbered 3,824, giving an average percentage
to cases treated of 14-07. The percentage of
deaths to cases treated was highest in the
lunatic asylum hospitals, and amounted to
26-56 ; at Pulau Jerejak and Pulau Pangkor Laut
it was 23-8 and 21-73 respectively. Next in
order came the hospitals at Ipoh (18-43 per
cent.), Taiping (1808 per cent.), Gopeng (17-59
per cent.), Batu Gajah (16-24 per cent.), and
Kampar (16-13 per cent.). At the Taiping prison
hospital the percentage was only 3-20, the lowest
in the State, and of the general hospitals the
lowest percentage of deaths was 4-31 at Selama.
The total expenditure on the Medical Depart-
ment of the State was 318,000 dollars.
SELANGOR.
There are eight hospitals at Kuala Lumpor—
the European, general, district, infectious
diseases, Tai Wah, prison, leper, and lunatic
asylum hospitals. The other hospitals of the
State of Selangor are the district hospitals at
Sungei Besi, Klang, Kuala Langat, Kuala
Selangor, Kajang, Kuala Kubu, Serendah, and
Rawang, and the beri-beri hospital at Jeram,
and the infectious diseases hospital at Port
Swettenham. The total number of cases
treated in these institutions in 1906 was 18,963,
and 42,536 out-patients were also attended.
The deaths among the inmates numbered 2,428,
or 19-25 per cent, of the cases treated. The
percentage of deaths to cases treated was 37-7
at Kuala Kubu, 28-0 at Sungei Besi, 27-7 at
Kuala Langat, and 23-5 at Serendah. At the
Kuala Lumpor European hospital the percent-
age of deaths was only i-6.
in 1906. Of the 8,948 cases treated in the
hospitals, 957, or 7-4 per cent., died. The per-
centage of deaths to cases treated was highest
at Kuala Pilah, namely, 134 per cent. ; at
Mantin it was io-8, and at Tampin 10-5. The
lowest percentage was 1-9 in the European
hospital at Seremban.
PAHANG.
The hospitals of the Eastern State of the
Federation are the general and prison hospitals
at Kuala Lipis and Pekan and the district
hospitals at Raub, Bentong, and Kuantan.
Four thousand two hundred and twenty-six
in-patients and 12,684 out-patients were treated
by the hospital staffs during 1906. Of the in-
patients 439, or 16-92 per cent., died. At
Pekan hospital 21-42 per cent, of the cases ter-
minated fatally, at Kuantan i6-o6 per cent., and
at Bentong 9-99 per cent. The lowest percent-
age of mortality was 4-32 at Kuala Lipis general
hospital.
Dr. Donald Keith McDowell, C.M.G.,
who has been Principal Civil Medical Officer
of the Straits Settlements since 1903, has had
varied experience in different parts of the
Empire. He was born in September, 1867,
and educated at Edinburgh University, where
he took the diplomas of L.R.C.P. and L.R.C.S.
He also obtained the Glasgow degree of
L.F.P. & S. In January, 1894, he was ap-
pointed Government Medical Officer in the
Leeward Islands, and he remained there until
in November, 1895, he became Assistant
Colonial Surgeon, Gold Coast. During the
same year he saw active service as Medical
Officer in charge of the Hausas and Denkera
levies in the Ashanti Expedition, and received
the Ashanti star. From September, 1896, until
January, 1897, he was attached to the Lagos ex-
peditionary force, and received the medal and
clasp. He was on Lord Roberts's staff as
Medical Officer in charge of colonial troops
at her Majesty's Jubilee celebration, and the
Jubilee medal was awarded to him. In i8g8
he was for six months Acting Principal
Medical Officer of the West African Frontier
Force, Northern Nigeria, and he was con-
firmed in that appointment in 1900. From
May to December of the same year he was the
Principal Medical Officer of the Ashanti Field
Force. During the operations he was twice
mentioned in despatches, and for his services
he received the medal and clasp, and in the
following year was decorated C.M.G. In 1902
he served on a committee at the Colonial
Office, London, to formulate a scheme for
improving the West African Medical Service.
Dr. F. Dent, the Government Analyst and
Science Lecturer to the Straits and Federated
Malay States Medical School, is the eldest son
of the late Rev. Richard Frankland Dent, M.A.,
Vicar of Coverham, Yorks. He was born at
Carlton-in-Coverdale, Yorks, on July 9, 1869,
and was educated at Leeds Grammar School,
in 1894, and proceeding to Munich University,
took the degree of Ph.D. magna cum laude
in 1897 with a thesis entitled " Ueber Urethane
und Derivate Derselben," which was reprinted
in Liebig's " Annalen," vol. 302. In 1905 he
was made M.Sc. ad eundem of the University
of Leeds. Dr. Dent held the following appoint-
ments before coming to Singapore : private
assistant to Professor A. Smithells, F.R.S.,
F.I.C, one year; demonstrator in chemistry,
Yorkshire College, one year ; assistant in the
laboratory of Mr. Thomas Fairley, F.R.S.E.,
F.I.C, Public Analyst for the City of Leeds
and the North Riding of Yorkshire, four years ;
and chief chemist to the Sierra Company,
Ltd., Burgos, Spain, four years. He was
appointed Assistant Government Analyst and
Opium Inspector, Straits Settlements, in July,
1905, and has held his present appointment
since March, 1906. Dr. Dent married in Burgos,
Senorita Carmen de Colsa y Miraperceval,
daughter of the late Ilmo. Seiior Don Enrique
de Colsa y Nash (barrister and sometime
Lieutenant-Mayor of Madrid) and great-grand-
daughter of General Sir William Nash, who
accompanied the Duke of Wellington's army
to Spain in the Peninsular War, and afterwards
married and settled down in that country.
Dr. R. L. Thornley.— The Health Officer
and Bacteriologist for the Federated Malay
States is Dr. Robert Lewis Thornley, M.D.
Lond., M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., D.P.H., who was
born in 1874. He assumed his duties in
September, 1905.
Dr. D. Bridges. — At Kuala Kangsa an
effort is being made by Government to in-
troduce the use of European medicines
amongst the native population. Dr. Bridges,
District Surgeon, who has the work in hand,
has already persuaded many Malays to adopt
Western methods in this respect, and has assur-
ances of native patients when the Malay
hospital is founded shortly. The institution
will be devoted to Malays, whose customs re-
specting food and so forth will be adhered to
rigidly. One Malay boy from the local Malay
school has been sent to the Straits Medical
School at Singapore to be trained as an apothe-
cary, and in time the doctor will probably be
the only person connected with the hospital
who is not Malay. Dr. Bridges, M.R.C.S.,
received his training at Charing Cross Hospital.
For two years he was in charge of the Euro-
pean Hospital, and for six months in charge of
the District Hospital, Selangor. He takes a
keen interest in the Malays and their habits,-
and seems well suited to the work he has
undertaken.
Dr. Malcolm Watson, M.D., M.B., CM.
Glasg., and D.P.H. Camb., was born in 1873,
and was appointed District Surgeon under
the Selangor Government in 1900. Since
January, 1906, he has been Senior Surgeon
in charge of the Klang District, and his
efforts to check the scourge of malaria there
have been remarkably successful.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
251
HILL=STATIONS AND
SANITARIA.
By a. Hale, District Officer, Larut
AND Kriax.
The rules of the Civil Service allow Govern-
ment officers six weeks' full-pay leave every
year, or three months every two years, as well
as twelve months' half-pay leave at the end
of every six years' resident service. Very
few natives of a cold climate can live in the
tropics for an extended period without frequent
changes, and the exigencies of the service and
want of ready-money at the proper time more
often than not make it impossible for officers
to take the yearly six weeks' leave. This fact,
and the necessity for a few weeks' change after
built. There are also quarters for the Perak
Superintendent of Government Plantations and
a private bungalow. Communication with the
outside world is maintained by means of a
post and telegraph office, and all the bungalows
are connected with Taiping by telephone. A
short description of each establishment will
oerhaps be of interest.
" The Cottage " — the Resident-General's
private residence — is situated on Caulfield's
Hill at an elevation of 4,513 feet above sea-level,
and at a distance, by path, of nine miles from
the foot of the hill, which is 142 feet above
sea-level and half a mile from Taiping. Like
that of all the other houses on the hill, the
roof is of corrugated iron, but unlike all the
others, which have wooden walls, " The
Cottage " is built of stone and rubble quarried
on the spot. It was commenced in 1884, and
from the foot of the hill, and stands at an
elevation of nearly 3,700 feet. It has this year
been further improved by the addition of a
small annexe, suitable for one or two bachelors.
"The Federal Bungalow" is to be built
this year for the use of officers of the
Federal Establishment on a site just below
"The Hut" at an estimated cost of 10,672
dollars. This bungalow, unlike the others,
will be roofed with asbestos tiles. It will con-
sist of two distinct sets of quarters, connected
by a covered way.
" Maxwell's Hill "—the first small house for
the use of Perak Government officers — was
built in 1887 at a cost of 600 dollars. Sub-
sequent additions and improvements have
brought the cost up to 2,350 dollars. The house
stands on a terrace at an elevation of 3,396 feet
above sea-level, and about six and a half miles
_ _ _ _ ... J
rTO^\
... -^ \>: '""
... . ' '■'■Si'
-
^"""tV. S^
MAP
PATHS &. BUNGALOWS
uARUT Hills
Scale 16 Chains _t.o_an_ Inch
".^•i^
fever attacks and other illnesses incident to
the tropics, led the Government to provide
suitable retreats, to which members of the
Civil Service and their families could resort for
a rest from the heat of the low country.
PERAK.
Perak, as the earliest developed and most
important State of the Federation, naturally
took the lead in this necessary provision for the
well-being of its servants. As early as 1884
the first sanitarium was started on the Taiping
hills. The good work thus inaugurated has
continued up to the present, and now there
is an important hill-station on the Gunong
Hijau range, just above Taiping, which
promises in the near future to develop into a
resort for the whole of the peninsula, as it is
the most conveniently situated and best adapted
site yet obtained for such a purpose.
At the time of writing there are five Govern-
ment bungalows on the hill, and a sixth is being
8,000 dollars was spent on it during 1884, 1885,
and 1886. Further additions and improve-
ments were made to it during 1887, 1889, and
1890, bringing the total cost up to 12,000
dollars.
"The Box" is the private residence of the
British Resident of Perak. It is on a hill-top
4,076 feet above sea-level and nearly eight
miles from the foot of the hill. There is a
very beautiful garden of roses round this
bungalow, which was built in 1897 for 5,000
dollars. A water supply and subsequent
additions cost another 6,400 dollars.
" The Nest " — a private bungalow, originally
built for a Singapore family, but now belong-
ing to the American Mission — is situated on
a ridge just below "The Box" and is always
fully occupied by the numerous members of
the Mission.
" The Hut," for the use of Perak Government
officers, was built in 1889 at a cost of 2,000
dollars, to which must be added 500 dollars
for later additions. " The Hut " is seven miles
from the foot of the hill. The quarters for the
Superintendent of Government Plantations and
the post-office are close to this bungalow,
which, as well as " The Hut," is situated in
a large clearing used as a vegetable garden
and as a grazing ground for the Government
herd of cattle.
"The Tea Gardens," for the use of Perak
Government officers, is built on a ridge four
and three-quarter miles above the foot of the
hill, at an elevation of 2,152 feet above sea-level.
It was erected in 1887 for 3,600 dollars, and
subsequent additions have cost another 5,100
dollars. As the name implies, there was
originally a tea plantation here, and in the
" Perak Annual Handbook " for 1892 it is
recorded that about 50 acres of Assam hybrid
tea was, at that date, " doing as well as any
in Ceylon." It was a Government experiment
and is now neglected, the clearing being used
as a grazing ground for cattle.
The meteorological records of the hill
stations are rather meagre, for there has been
252
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
no constant record kept at any one place. It
is difficult, therefore, to make <t very exact
comparison, but the following items are given
to show the difference between the tempera-
ture on the hills and on the plains. The highest
temperature recorded in the year 1905 at
Taiping was 94°, and the lowest 68° ; at the
Trigonometrical Station on Gunong Hijau —
elevation 4,750 feet, or 237 feet above " The
Cottage " — in December, 1905, the highest
temperature recorded was 8i'5° and the
lowest 55°. It may be taken that the average
temperature at an elevation of 3,000 feet is
about 60° Fahrenheit at night and 73° in the
day. This is a very beneficial change to
people who are not natives of the tropics.
The total rainfall recorded at Taiping during
1905 was I58'48 inches, Taiping being the
wettest station in the State, except Kampar.
The record at Maxwell's Hill was I96'85 inches,
and at " The Cottage " 197-02 inches. February,
with 8-47 inches, was the driest month, and
September, with 23-56 inches, the wettest on
the hill.
As will be seen by the map, the bungalows
are all reached by well graded paths, which are
practicable for ponies or for chair transport.
Ladies and invalids are usually carried up in
chairs, which require from six to eight coolies
each, four men carrying the chair at a time,
whilst the remainder rest. The cost per
coolie ranges between one dollar each to " The
Cottage" and 50 cents to the "Tea Gardens."
But the paths, about 6 feet wide, very well
kept, and mostly in the shade of the forest,
make it only an easy morning's walk to " The
Cottage " for a vigorous man. A great feature
of this hill-station is the Government garden
and the herd of cattle. English vegetables
and flowers will not grow on the flat, and the
native purveyor of milk is not noted for his
honesty. A month's stay on the hill does not,
therefore, mean only rest and a change of
temperature — it means also a very important
change of diet and the pleasures of a flower
garden. The Superintendent of Government
Plantations reports that the revenue derived
from the sale of vegetables, flowers, milk and
butter produced on this hill-station amounted
to 2,087.20 dollars for the year 1905. French
beans, carrots, beet-root, lettuce, cabbage,
celery, and leeks all did well ; peas, turnips,
tomatoes, parsnips, and asparagus are only in
the experimental stage as yet, but prospects
of growing them are encouraging. Some idea
of the value of these gardens to the com-
munity may be gained from the statement
that twenty-six kinds of English vegetables
(several of them in two or three varieties) from
the gardens were exhibited at the Pinang
Agri-Horticultural Show ; that a large basket,
containing a dish each of about six kinds of
vegetables, can be purchased for 50 cents and
a large bunch of roses or of violets for 25 cents,
and that 2,343 bunches of roses and 466
bunches of violets were sent away during the
year, as well as 5,087 bottles of milk and 42 lbs.
of butter. What is now required to popularise
the Taiping hill-station is the erection of a
good hotel and the establishment of a pony
or mule service for riding and a bullock service
for transport of baggage, failing, of course, the
construction of a mountain railway. All these
things will come in time, as the States become
more populated with Europeans. At present
there is very little chance for the general public
to get a holiday on the hills, because, although
the Government bungalows are designed for
their use on payment of a small rent, as well
as for officers of the service, the latter naturally
have the first option, and there is very rarely
room for anybody else.
Having written at some length on this hill-
station, very little beyond a bare record seems
necessary concerning other places in the
States, because it will only require the lapse
of time and the expenditure of money to
develop each of them as may be required and
to the extent of the individual capabilities of
the sites.
At Gunong Kiedang, in the province of
Kinta, two bungalows have been erected, one
in the year 1892 at a cost of 5,500 dollars, and
the second in 1902, costing 5,000 dollars. The
elevation is 2,826 feet above sea-level. This
station is only about eight miles from Ipoh.
There is a first-class cart road for half the dis-
tance ; the other half is a bridle-path.
"The Hermitage" was originally built for
the British Resident of Perak, and stands at an
elevation of 3,251 feet on the Gunong Bubu
range. It is easily reached by road and bridle-
path from Padang Rengas Station on the main
line. It has lately been sold to an Ipoh doctor,
who uses it as a private sanitarium and garden.
SELANQOR.
On Bukit Kutu there is a bungalow at an
elevation of 3,200 feet, and nine miles by road
and path from Kuala Kubu station on the main
line. There is also a Government rest-house
at the highest point of the pass on the main
trunk road into Pahang from Selangor, at an
elevation of 2,700 feet. This is very convenient,
as the Federal motor-buses and cars, running
every day, pass the door.
There are two Government bungalows at
Dusun Tua, about 17 miles by road from Kuala
Lumpor. At Dusun Tua there is a hot spring,
bathing in which is said to be beneficial. At
Pulau Angsa, an island off the coast between
the Selangor and Klang rivers, there is a rest-
house where sea-bathing may be enjoyed.
NEGRI SAMBILAN.
A bungalow has been built at Sri Menengok,
on Gunong Angsi, at an elevation of 2,626 feet.
The main line goes through the pass between
Rembau and Sungei Ujong near the foot of
Gunong Angsi, and the flag-station at Per-
hentian Tinggi is only four and a half miles
from the bungalow, making this the most easily
reached of all the hill-stations at present. It is
only twenty hours' journey from Singapore,
and will be much less when the railway through
Johore is finished. There is a bungalow close
to the sea-beach at Port Dickson, which is a
favourite resort for invalids, the sea-bathing
being good and the climate dry and salubrious.
PAHANG.
There are no hill stations or sanitaria as yet
established in Pahang.
PINANG.
Advantage has been taken of the Pinang
hills by the Government and by private indi-
viduals to erect several houses at elevations
between 2,000 and 2,500 feet. There is a
Government house called " Bel Retire," and
there are three other Government establish-
ments,named respectively "The Cflhvalescent,"
" Fern Hill," and " Belle Vue." Besides these
there are " Strawberry Hill," belonging to Mr.
Van Someren ; " Richmond," to the Vermont
family ; " Lomond," to Mrs. Presgrave ; " Grace
Dieu," to Mr. Anthony ; " Mount Edgecumbe,"
to Mr. Hogan ; and " Highlands," to Towkay
Chung Thye Phin. Most of these residences
may be hired for short periods on application
to the owners, at fair rates, and they are very
useful retreats for convalescents, or people re-
quiring a change to a cooler climate. Messrs.
Sarkies Brothers own the " Crag Hotel,"
which consists of detached bungalows for
families and a bachelor's establishment. There
is a post-office and telephone station on the
hill, near Government House, and another at
the Crag Hotel. Transport is very easy, and
will be greatly improved when the hill railway
is in working order. At present the project is
in abeyance, although the line has been com-
pleted. The best months in which to visit the
Pinang Hills are January, February, March,
and April. The rainfall is much lighter than
on the Taiping Hills, and at equal levels the
temperature is about one degree higher.
MALACCA,
The Government bungalow at Tanjong
Kling, about seven miles from the town of
Malacca, is a large, comfortable, and well-
furnished house, under the control of the
Superintendent of Works and Surveys, Public
Works Department, Malacca. Being situated
close to the sea, bathing may easily be enjoyed.
There is also a large rest-house at Ayer Panas,
14 miles from Malacca, where there are hot
springs and a bath-house. A motor service
from Malacca runs to within two miles of the
rest-house.
SINGAPORE.
Changi is the only Government health resort
really suitable for the public in the island of
Singapore. It is 14 miles from town by road ;
but there are several nice seaside bungalows
owned by private people, which can be hired
by arrangement.
Mr. Abraham Hale, the writer of the above
article, is the District Officer for Larut and
Krian. He was born in Sussex in 1854, and was
educated at St. Clement Dane's Holborn Estates
School. For a time he worked under his
father in the estate office of Lord Sheffield's
Sussex properties, and was subsequently a
farmer on his own account. He came to the
Federated Malay States in 1883, and after en-
gaging in tin mining for a short time, entered
the Civil Service. His first substantive appoint-
ment was that of Inspector of Mines and Assist-
ant Magistrate, Kinta, which he received in
1885. In 1887 he was sent to the Negri Sam-
bilan to assist the Hon. Martin Lister, and
administered the provinces on the Malacca
border for ten years, being the first officer in
charge of Rembau. During this period he often
acted as Resident for the Hon. M. Lister. In
1897 he was appointed District Officer at Kuala
Selangor, and two years later at Klang. He
became Collector of Land Revenue and Registrar
of Titles at Kuala Lumpor in 1899, and received
his present appointment in 1904. Mr. Hale is
chairman of the local Sanitary Board and of
the Board of Visiting Justices. He is an Official
Visitor to the Asylum, and Government Ex-
aminer in Malay for Perak. He has made a
study of Malayan subjects, is the author of a
pamphlet on the Sakais, and is a contributor
to the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of
which learned society he is a member. He is
a member of all Perak and Selangor clubs, and
is on the committee of the \ew Club, Taiping.
^
THE PRESS
By W. makepeace, M.J.I.
ONSIDERING that ttie
purely European popu-
lation of ttie Straits
Settlements and the
Federated Malay States
is certainly less than
ten thousand, including
the troops, the fact that
they support eight daily
papers in English may be taken as evidence
that the "freedom of the Press" is thoroughly
appreciated by the inhabitants. Of course, the
number of English-speaking natives, par-
ticularly Chinese, is rapidly and constantly
growing. The English schools of the colony
turn out annually a considerable number
of pupils from the upper standards more
or less familiar with English, and, as years
go on, the knowledge of the language will
become more common, although it will be
long before the easy lingua franca of the East —
Malay — will cease to be the ordinary medium
of conversation between the European and
the unlettered native. Spoken Malay has so
great a vogue that it is somewhat curious
that the written language should not be more
used. The Arabic characters will probably
never become common, and the Roman-
ised Malay, although of value to natives for
communicating with one another, is hardly
likely to supplant English. The first news-
paper was published in Pinang in 1805, and in
the hundred years that have elapsed since then
newspapers have sprung up like mushrooms
in all the settlements. Some have survived,
but the majority have gone to disprove the
common saying that any fool can run a
newspaper.
The following is a fairly complete list of
the newspapers that have been published
in British Malaya, but it does not include
a number of weekly and other periodical
publications that have had a life of a year or
two and have never seriously entered the
Press arena.
"Singapore Chronicle, 1824-37.
Singapore Free Press, 1835.
Straits Times and Singapore Journal of
Commerce, 1845.
Eastern Daily Mail, 1904.
"Malacca Observer, 1826-29 ; 1888-90.
"Prince of Wales Island Gazette, 1805-27.
"Pinang Register and Miscellany, 1827-28.
"I'he Government Gazette of Prince of Wales
Island, Singapore, and Malacca, 1828-30.
"Prince of Wales Island Gazette, 1833.
Pinang Gazette, 1838 (as a weekly).
"Straits Chronicle, 1838 (as a weekly).
Straits Echo.
"Selangor Journal, 1890-98 (circ).
Perak 'Pioneer (Taiping), 1894.
Malay Mail (Kuala Lumpor), 1896.
Times of Malaya (Ipoh).
The asterisk (*) denotes papers that have now
ceased.
Mention must also be made of the Chinese
newspapers, of which there are two in
Singapore and two in Pinang. Newspapers
have also been published in Tamil and Malay.
These native newspapers, however, seldom
discuss matters of public interest to the
community, but, as a rule, confine themselves
to police news, wonderful occurrences, with a
bare summary of telegraphic news, and no
news of the world outside the circle of their
own readers.
The first Singapore newspaper was actually
edited by the Resident Councillor, who was
then (the seat of Government being in Pinang)
the chief Government officer in the settle-
ment. As it began when the settlement was
only five years old and lasted as long as the
old Press Laws, which required all copy to be
submitted to Government, it may readily be
understood that, though it may have helped to
form public opinion, it was not as independent
as are the newspapers of the present day in
the Straits.
The first general news recorder of any sort
to be published in the Federated Malay States
was the Selangor Journal, a fortnightly octavo
publication, edited by Mr. John Russell,
Superintendent of the Government Printing
Office. The five volumes of this journal
constitute a valuable record of the social and
general history of Selangor from 1892 to 1897.
In 1894 a weekly newspaper was established
at Taiping, Perak. Two years later Mr.
J. H. M. Robson. who was then in charge of
the Land Office at Kuala Lumpor, left the
Government service in order to start the
Malay Mail. This journal was the first " daily "
newspaper published in the Federated Malay
States. There are now two others, published
at Taiping and Ipoh respectively.
In the early days of the colony- there was a
Press censorship, but it is not easy now to
determine what its exact scope was. The
Singapore Chronicle of 1828 mentions that
the censor had struck out some items from the
Pinang Register of September 17th, which the
editor then had printed on a separate slip
of paper and circulated with the Register.
This action the Chronicle characterised as a
very bold step. In March, 1833, Mr. Bonham,
the Resident Councillor, wrote to the editor of
the Chronicle that, on his recommendation,
the Supreme Government had sanctioned the
discontinuance of the Press censorship, and
that the proof-sheet need not be sent to him
any more. The editor's article on the subject
quoted an old remark of Blackstone that to
subject the Press to the restrictive powers of a
licenser was to make all freedom of sentiment
liable to the prejudice of one man and make
him the arbitrary judge of controverted points.
During the Indian Mutiny the newspapers of
the Straits were subject to the rigid restrictive
measures passed by the Government of India
to prevent seditious publication. A public
meeting was held in Singapore to protest
against this resti'iction being extended to the
Straits Press, and so much disapprobation was
expressed in India, and England also, that the
Act so far as it related to English journals was
repealed in June, 1858.
It is stating the obvious to assert the in-
dependence of the Press of the Straits and
Federated Malay States to-day. Each and all
the newspapers criticise Government and
municipal action without fear or hope of
favour. Indeed, their attitude is often similar
in character to that of the Scotch elder of the
kirk, who, if he put little in the collection-box,
"could aye objec'." The value of this out-
spoken criticism has, however, been often
testified to by Governors and statesmen, and
in a colony constituted as ours is, the use of
the Press to keep the Government and the
governed in touch is an asset of value. Of
popular representation there is practically
none. Therefore those who are anxious to
bring to the notice of Government an abuse,
a defect in the law or its administration,
suggestions for its improvement or the public
weal, make full use of the columns of the
Press. It is gratifying to be able to chronicle
that in this respect the newspapers of the
colony and Federated Malay States are
appreciated by both sides, and the history of
journalism in the Straits shows that its con-
ductors have ever been mindful of the high
duties they owe to the public and their readers.
In the earlier days of the colony the news-
papers were conducted by men with no pro-
fessional experience of journalism, and very
able men some of them were, with a thorough
knowledge of the colony and the people who
had to read the newspapers. The personal
element was strong in those days, and it is not
yet eliminated from the conduct of the Press,
as, indeed, it never will be in comparatively
small communities. For the past quarter of a
century, however, the ranks of professional
journalism at home and in the colonies have
been drawn on, and men who have made their
254
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
mark in Fleet Street tiave made their way
tiere, and, perhaps, found their way back again.
The Straits Press has not been backward in
securing good contributors, even before the
era of newspaper syndicates. For instance.
editor always wears a stiff collar. The relief
of Mafeking sent a thrill through the Empire
that found a responsive echo in the breasts of
Singapore. Business Singapore rejoiced, and
Singapore's brokers found themselves not over-
W. GEAEME ST. CLAIE.
(The doyen of the Press in the Straits Settlements and Editor and part proprietor of the Singapore Free Press.)
some of Rudyard Kipling's stories were pub-
lished in the Singapore Free Press at the same
time that they were appearing in magazines at
home. The Straits Times, too, has frequently
drawn on local writers of eminence, such as
Sir Frank Swettenham and Mr. Hugh Clifford.
Henry Norman also contributed to the local
Press. Of editors who have been in Singapore,
probably Mr, Arnot Reid was the most original
and enterprising, and his decease, following
on retirement from the Straits Times, cut short
an energetic life.
An incident connected with the Press
occurred during Mr. Raid's editorship that
suggests journalistic vicissitudes in the wilds
of Texas or the mining fields of California
rather than in a staid colony where the
burdened with business. To vary the monotony,
some eight or ten got Mr. H. Abrams's four-in-
hand and drove up to Government House to
e.xpress their congratulations to the Governor.
In the plain, forcible language that charac-
terised Mr. Arnot Reid, the editor of the Straits
Times, he penned a scathing leading article
which so roused the ire of some of the younger
bloods that they determined to wait on him
and express their annoyance in the form of a
whipping. Mr. Reid had heard of this, how-
ever, and the deputation found a policeman
outside tlie door and a very business-like
looking revolver on the table by the side of
the editor, who expressed his determination
of using it on the first man that laid a finger
on him. The deputation were rather taken
aback by this resolute attitude, and after some
hard words they withdrew, but for some days
afterwards Mr. Reid was escorted by a Sikh to
and from the office, and the revolver remained
as a desk ornament. The matter blew over in
time, and many people thought the editor and
his common-sense attitude over the mafficking
came out of it better than did his threatening
assailants.
There have been few libel actions of impor-
tance, though a Pinang editor, since dead,
was imprisoned for criminal libel. Contempt
of court is another almost unknown offence by
the local Press, although on one occasion the
reporters of the Singapore papers were soundly
rated by a Chief Justice for giving the racing
names of witnesses instead of their true names.
It was a case against the committee of the
Sporting Club, and in their private capacities
they did not wish their names bandied about
the world. But the relations between the
Press, the Bench, and the Bar have always
been of the most friendly character. The
same may be said of the police, who are
ready to admit that on occasions the Press
can strengthen their hands.
The members of the Press have always
considered it their duty to support public
movements of value, and some of them have
done good work for the community. Mr.
W. G. St. Clair is the father of the Singapore
Volunteer Artillery and of the Singapore Phil-
harmonic Society. For many years in succes-
sion he shot in the Interport Shooting Match
against Hongkong and Shanghai. Mr. Arnot
Keid was the founder of the Singapore Rifles,
a product of the South African War, and since
disbanded. Mr. C. N. Buckley, who conducted
the Singapore Free Press for three years, has
probably had more to do with public questions
in the colony than any other resident. In
matters of public subscriptions and general
work for the community the members of the
Press have always been to the front, and, not
content with being leaders of opinion, they
have also been men of action.
THE "SINGAPORE FREE PRESS."
The Singapore Free Press was originally
founded in 1835 by Mr. William Napier, Mr.
Lorrain, Mr. Boustead, and Mr. Coleman. It
was so named because the repeal of the
Gagging Act in that year left the Press free
from censorship. Mr. William Napier edited
the paper till 1846, when he left for home.
Mr. Abraham Logan then took charge, and
remained as editor and proprietor for over
twenty years, finally settling down in Pinang,
where he died. 'The paper continued as a
weekly till 1869, when it ceased publication.
It was revived by Mr. C. X. Buckley in 1884.
The late Mr. Jonas D. Vaughan, who was the
last editor of the first series of the Singapore
Free Press, became a regular contributor to the
re-issue until his death. Amongst other pro-
minent contributors who assisted to maintain
the personal continuity was the venerable
William Henry Read, C.M.G., who was also
one of the principal leader-writers in the
weekly issue, and still, though twenty years
retired from the colony, shows by occasional
letters that he takes an interest in its affairs.
In 1887 the Singapore Free Press was converted
into a daily, the promoters being Mr. C. N.
Buckley, the late Mr. John Eraser, Mr. John
Cuthbeitson, Mr. David Neave, and the late
Mr. T. Shelford, C.M.G. Mr. W. Graeme
St. Clair arrived in February of that year to
be the first editor, and he still occupies the
editorial chair. Mr. Walter Makepeace joined
the staff in June, 1887, and the paper was first
issued as a daily on July l6th. The weekly
issue was continued as a mail edition, contain-
ing the local news of the week. In 1895 Mr.
St. Clair and Mr. Makepeace became the pro-
prietors. In 1906 the format of the paper was
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
255
changed to an eight-page demy (twelve pages
on Wednesdays and Saturdays), and a new
press, driven by a 6-h.p. electric motor, was
installed. At the same time the paper was
issued as a morning daily. The policy of the
Singapore Free Press has always been that of a
sane and sound Imperialism and the support of
British influence and prestige in the Far East ;
in local affairs the upholding of the principles
of liberty and good government and the sup-
port of the Legislative Council against undue
dictation from the Colonial Office, as, for
instance, in the " seven years' war " over the
arbitrary methods employed by the Imperial
Government as to the military contribution.
Mr. William Graeme St. Clair.— The
doyen of the Press in the Straits Settlements,
Mr. W. Graeme St. Clair, editor of the Singa-
pore Free Press, was born on March 27, 1849,
and educated at the Royal High School, Edin-
burgh, Edinburgh Institution, Ewart Institute,
and Edinburgh University. In 1874 he was
appointed headmaster of Moulmein Town
School, Burma. He was one of the original
members of the Moulmein Volunteer Rifles in
1877, and in 1885 shot for India in the Kola-
pore Cup team at Wimbledon. During his
brief stay at home he did much political leader-
writing. Afterwards he came out to Singapore
on appointment to the staff of the Free Press,
of which he has been editor since his arrival
in B'ebruary, 1887. Mr. St. Clair has always
taken a keen interest in the volunteer move-
ment, and he personally initiated the formation
of the Singapore Volunteer Artillery in August,
1887. To his enthusiasm for rifle-shooting was
mainly due the inauguration of the Interport
matches between Singapore, Hongkong, and
Shanghai, in which competitions he shot in the
local team tor ten years and acted as captain
for five years. During the disturbances in
Pahang in 1892 he served from July nth till
November 4th as Acting Assistant Commis-
sioner, 1st Perak , Sikhs, in the Pahang
Expeditionary Force under Lieut. - Colonel
almost unknown, and diflicuU tract of country
and captured a party of rebels. For these
services he received the thanks of his Excel-
pore Philharmonic Society in i8gi, and he is at
present president and hon. conductor of that
body. He is also the senior survivor of the
i r
BDITOE, MANAGER, AND STAFF, "SINGAPORE FREE PRESS."
lency the Governor. In 1901, at the request
of the Government, he carried out the organisa-
tion and equipment of the Singapore Volunteer
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COMPOSING ROOM, "SINGAPORE FREE PRESS."
R. S. Frowd Walker, C.M.G. ; was appointed
by the Governor to the executive charge of
Raub District, and was chief Transport and
Commissariat Officer to the expedition. He
also led a force from Raub into an unexplored,
Rifles. Before he retired Mr. St. Clair attained
the rank of major and was officer commanding
the S.V.A. As a musician Mr. St. Clair is one
of the best-known amateurs in the colony. To
his initiative was due the formation of the Singa-
original members of the Edinburgh University
Musical Society, founded in 1867. During his
stay in Burma he arranged for military bands
the Burmese melody " Kayathan," which
arrangement was subsequently, at the time
of the occupation of Upper Burma in 1886,
adopted by the Imperial Government as the
Burmese National Anthem. For this service
he received the thanks of the Political and
Secret Department of the India Office. Mr.
St. Clair was one of the promoters of the
Singapore branch of the Straits Settlements
Association in 1888, and during his long
sojourn in the colony his pen has had a
forceful influence in the furtherance of all
movements tending toward the public good.
Amongst Mr. St. Clair's recollections and ex-
periences are his hearing Louis Kossuth
speak, seeing Lord Palraerston, hearing
Charles Dickens read, making the acquaint-
ance of Thomas Carlyle, and receiving a visit
from General Aguinaldo in the office of the
Singapore Free Press. It was through Mr. St.
Clair that Aguinaldo was introduced to Mr.
Spencer Pratt, American Consul-General in
Singapore, with the result that Aguinaldo was
invited by Admiral Dewey, by telegram to
Mr. Pratt, to go up to Hongkong and join
him. Mr. St. Clair is a member of the local
clubs and of the Sports Club, London.
Mr. Walter Makepeace.— One of the
best-known and most popular journalists in
Malaya is Mr. Walter Makepeace, who came
to the East in 1884 and has been manager and
sub-editor of the Singapore Free Press since
1887. His writings have come to be generally
regarded as one of the principal features of that
journal, which has acquired a high literary
reputation throughout and beyond the Far
East. Mr. Makepeace is a member of the
Institute of Journalists. To his journalistic
talents and managerial abilities have to be
added his knowledge of the country, in which
he has lived for nearly a quarter of a century.
Mr. Makepeace has always taken an active part
256
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
in social movements in the colony. He is a
prominent Freemason, and the first President
of the Board of Benevolence ; holds a com-
mission in the Singapore Volunteer Artillery,
of which he was an original member ; and is a
member of the Raffles Library and Museum
large general printing and publishing trade, for
which there is installed an up-to-date plant,
with a modern bindery and fast-running
machinery.
no service connections or official obligations,
but aims honestly to serve the public interest in
all cases. It is noted for its full local and com-
mercial reports, its literary style, and many
WALTER MAKEPEACE.
(Manager and part proprietor, Singapore Free Press.)
Committee. He was born at Coventry in
1859, and educated at the Midland Institute,
Birmingham.
THE "STRAITS TIMES."
Slowly, but very surely and prosperously, the
Straits Times has forced its way to the front in
COMPOSING BOOM, "STRAITS TIMES."
After passing through a long succession of
changes and trials, extending over half a
century, the Straits Times now enjoys a large
and influential circulation throughout the Straits
Settlements and the Federated Malay States, and
EDITOR, MANAGER, AND STAFF, "STRAITS TIMES.'
Eastern Asia, and to-day the daily 12-page issue
and the weekly Straits Budget are very widely
read and quoted. The business embraces,
besides the production of these two papers, a
a reputation for the higher journalism second to
none in the whole of the Far East. The Straits
Times is a thoroughly independent paper. It
is not devoted to any special interest. It has
special and distinctive features. The area of
its circulation embraces the whole of the Middle
and Far East — the Straits Settlements, the
Federated Malay States, Philippine Islands,
Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Siam, the Netherland
Indies, and French Indo-China. It is primarily
and essentially a paper for news, and the files
of the daily or weekly editions, recording the
progress of this section of the world's activities,
afford practical and valuable data for reference
purposes.
The Straits Times, however, has not through-
out the whole of its three-score years' existence
been able to boast its present prosperity. Over
half a century ago a young man named Robert
Carr Woods arrived at Singapore from Bombay
in search of an outlet for business energy. This
sunny little island, then only passing through
its infant days as a British possession, was a
small place with one weekly paper, and in the
early part of 1845 the Straits Times first saw
the light. Mr. Woods, with only a weekly to
produce, also practised as a lawyer, and he soon
made the newspaper a financial success.
The Crimean War, which broke out that
year, gave rise to a craving for the latest news
from Europe, and an enterprising man bearing
the alien name of Simonidas started a daily
paper under the title of the Local Reporter.
Although this venture was short-lived, its
failure pointed to greater possibilities under
practical management, and in 1857, amid the
stirring events of the Indian Mutiny and the
Second China War, Mr. Woods launched the first
daily edition of the Straits Times. It was small
in size, and had to face a hard struggle before
it justified its existence. After the paper had
been enlarged, in i86o, the burden of running
a daily and of following a lawyer's practice
became too great for Mr. Woods, and he took a
partner into the newspaper business. Before
his death Mr. Woods became an Acting Judge.
After a series of changes, Mr. John Cameron,
a seafaring man and a member of the Royal
Geographical Society, became part-owner and
editor of the Straits Times. He was the author
of a book entitled "Tropical Possessions in
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
257
Malayan India,'' which was published in 1865.
During this gentleman's editorship the Straits
Times was issued in three forms — in daily,
weekly, and overland editions. After a few
years the daily edition was dropped, Mr.
T. H. RBID.
(Editor, Straits Thnes.)
Cameron, like his predecessor, Mr. Woods,
finding the work of producing it too great a
task in conjunction with his control of a large
commercial firm.
In 1868 the offices of the Straits Times, at
that time situated over a local ship chandlery
store, were completely destroyed by fire.
Nothing daunted, Mr. Cameron at once re-
moved to the late Mr. J. F. Hansen's printing
works, and issued the paper next day as
usual.
Rivals lasted only for a while, and for nearly
seventeen years the Straits Times held a
journalistic monopoly in the colony. On the
death of Mr. Cameron, Mr. A. Duff, his partner,
continued to run the journal on the same lines,
and at his demise the firm was dissolved, a Mr.
Marshall succeeding to the editorial chair in
1884. This gentleman's views, however,
proved to be distasteful in many places, and
only three years later there was another
change. Mr. Adams, a trained journalist, came
out from London, and with considerable energy
planned many improvements in the general
policy and management of the paper, but he
was, tmhappily, cut off by an early death.
This brings us down to more recent history.
There are many residents in the Straits who
remember the advent of Mr. Arnot Reid, under
whom the Straits Times entered upon a new
era. Mr. Reid was a thoroughly experienced
journalist, and had served on newspapers in
Scotland and in England. He tackled fear-
lessly and independently local and Imperial
questions, and successfully urged many re-
forms. It was Mr. Reid's boast that he had
made the Straits Times the foremost paper in
the Far East. It was under his persuasion that
Sir Frank Swettenham and Mr. Hugh Clifford
contributed to the Straits Times serial articles,
which were afterwards published in book form,
the works in both instances receiving such
encouraging reception that both gentlemen
took to authorship with success. Mr. Reid's
unwearied exertions shattered his health, and
in 1900, when the paper passed into the hands
of a company, Mr. Reid went home so broken
in health that his death soon followed.
Mr. E. A. Morphy succeeded to the editorial
chair. He left for England in 1906, and was
succeeded by the present editor, Mr. Thomas
H. Reid, one of the best-known journalists East
of Suez. The other members of the literary
staff are Messrs. E. J. Dingle, H. Lee, E. A.
Snewin, J. H. Whitaker, and O. E. O'Reilly.
Mr. O. F. Odell is secretary to the company.
Mr. Thomas H. Reid, F.J.I. — Beginning
his career in 1885 in the Abcrdciii Free Press,
the nursery of some of the most prominent
journalists of the past fifty years, Mr. Reid, the
present editor of the Straits Times, has had a
most interesting experience. He joined the
staff of the CItiiia Mait, Hongkong, in l8gi,
and three years later was its editor, becoming
in the following year part-proprietor. Be-
tween 1891 and 1904, when he sold out his
interest and left for England, he was eye-wit-
ness of vast changes in the so-called " Unchang-
ing East," and as special correspondent of the
limes, the Standard, New Yorli Herald, and
other important journals, had no small share in
moulding pubhc opinion in Europe and America
on Far Eastern politics and affairs. He accom-
panied Admiral Dewey's fleet on the outbreak
of the Spanish-American War, in 1898, and was
the only English newspaper correspondent to
witness the destruction of Admiral Montojo's
squadron in Manila Bay. He afterwards
entered the city and obtained an interesting
interview with the defeated Admiral. Follow-
E. J. DINGLE.
(Manager, Straits Times.)
ing the fortunes of the United States Army in
the subsequent operations, Mr. Reid added to
his reputation by a noteworthy feat in journa-
listic tactics which enabled the Xeiv Yorlt Herald
to publish details of the capture of Manila city
many hours ahead of all its rivals. So highly
did Mr. J. Gordon Bennett esteem Mr. Reid's
energy and journalistic instinct, that when the
Fihpino Insurrection broke out he promptly
invited him to proceed again to the front. Mr.
Reid's prolonged stay in Hongkong gave him
an intimate knowledge of the people and
politics of the Far East, and the fact that he
now represents in Singapore the Times, the
Standard, and the Morning Post, is testimony
of the highest character of Mr. Reid's reputa-
tion with London editors. During his brief
stay in London, he was engaged on the editorial
staff of the Standard, in the important position
of news editor. He resigned, however, in order
to devote himself to magazine and free-lance
work. Mr. Reid is a Fellow of the Royal
Colonial Institute and a Fellow of the Institute
of Journalists. He has contributed articles to
the Contemporary Review, the Engineering Maga-
zine, and most of the leading London and pro-
vincial dailies, and down to his return to Far
Eastern journalism wielded a facile pen as
London correspondent of an Anglo-Indian
journal.
Mr. Edwin J. Dingle.— The manager of
the Straits Times Pre.-s, Ltd., Mr. Edwin J.
Dingle, came out from London to join the firm
in 1904, and is still quite a young man. He
comes from an old journalistic slock. His
father was one of the original promoters of the
London Evening News, and several members
of the family are still in the forefront of Lon-
don journalism. Having received his training
on the Lanneeston Weekly News, in Cornwall,
Mr. Dingle started his career on the Western
Daily Press of Bristol, in which town he acted
as special correspondent to several London
dailies. In igor, soon after the opening of the
new mail service from Bristol to. Kingston, Mr.
Dingle made several trips to Jamaica, contri-
buting to West of England and London papers
many descriptive and commercial articles on
the West Indies. On his return they were pro-
duced in book form, and secured a large sale
at home. Removing from Bristol, Mr. Dingle
was appointed sub-manager of a new paper at
Norwich — the Eastern Morning Gazette — and
after a year or two's association with his
brother in a publishing business, he left
London for the Straits.
THE "EASTERN DAILY MAIL."
Until 1905 Singapore could not boast a
single morning paper. In September of that
year Mr. Rangasamy Pillay, proprietor of the
Caxton Printing Works, met the deficiency
by starting the Eastern Daily Mail. The paper
was published at the modest price of 5 cents
a copy, and at once became popular. "Though
only twenty months have now elapsed since its
birth, it is full of vigour and promise. During
the first year it was confided to the care of
some European journalists, but its nurse was
changed six times, and Mr. Rangasamy Pillay
experienced considerable difficulty in saving
its fife. From the commencement of the
second year the editorship of the paper was
placed in the hands of a Parsi journalist, Mr. S.
Kavasji, of Bombay, and it has since made
considerable headway. The proprietorship of
the paper and the Caxton Printing Works
changed hands in December, igo6. The entire
concern, including the Eastern Daily Mail,
S. KAVASJI.
(Editor, Ensterii Daily .Vail.)
Ca.xton Printing Works, and a weekly Tamil
paper published hv Mr. Rangasamy, was
bought up by the Straits Press Syndicate, and
Mr. S. Kavasji was appointed the sole manager
of the syndicate, as well as being editor. At
258
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
the time of its birth the Eastern Daily Mail was
only a four-page daily paper, but since Mr.
Kavasji's advent the size of the paper has been
increased to six pages, with from sixteen to
twenty solid columns of reading matter.
Persian and Urdu poems, which were pub-
lished. In 1876 the first volume of his series of
" Practical Receipts for Arts and Sciences "
was published in the Gujarati language, and
University, entered the Grant Medical College,
where he studied medicine and surgery for five
years. He left the college in 1884 and started
in medical practice. During the same year he
F. E. SMITH.
(Manager, Eastern Daily Mail.)
Mr. Sorabji Kavasji is a Parsi. He was
born on June 9, 1859, in Bombay, where his
father and his grandfather were medical practi-
tioners. At the age of seven Mr. Kavasji had
gone through four books of the Gujarati
language, and before he was nine he had
acquired enough mastery over the English
language to render into Gujarati interesting
subjects from Bow Bells. These translations
were published in some Gujarati monthly
magazines, and this was the beginning of his
GENERAL STAFF, " PINANG GAZETTE."
that series was swiftly succeeded by a large
number of other works. For various publishers
he wrote more than two-score works in
Gujarati, English, Persian, and Urdu. In 1878
LITERARY STAFF, " PINANG GAZETTE."
journalistic career (1869-70). In two years
more he had made enough progress in the
Persian and Urdu languages to be able to act
as an interpreter, and to compose several
he took up the editorship of a monthly Gujarati
journal, Gool-Afshav, and continued in the
position for eleven years. In 1879 Mr. S.
Kavasji, as an undergraduate of the Bombay
accepted the editorship of the Ripon Reporter,
the first daily evening paper in Bombay. He
relinquished this position in order to join the
Veterinary College at Bombay in 1886. Here he
obtained the first Champion Prize of the college
during the first year, and was able simul-
taneously to secure for three successive years
the Government Scholarships and the Free
Studentship of the college. During the second
year of his college life he was awarded a prize
for writing an essay on the " Cattle of Gujarat."
His name appears in the college calendar
among the first batch of the graduates of the
Bombay Veterinary College (G.B.V.C), 1889.
In the same year he was appointed veterinary
officer in charge, Mounted Military Battalion
(Burma). In 1896-97 he had the honour to
occupy the chair of the Professor of Materia
Medica, Therapeutics, and Hygiene at the
Bengal Veterinary College at Calcutta. He
returned to Bombay in 1899 and became editor
of a Gujarati daily paper, Akhbar-i-Soudagar.
In 1905 he joined the editorial staff of the
Parsi, and remained upon it until he-came to
Singapore to edit the Eastern Daily Mail.
THE " PINANG GAZETTE."
From the meagre records available, we find
that the first forerunner of this journal was
established in 1805, under the style of Prince of
Wales Island Gazette. It ceased to appear in
August, 1827, but was revived in July, 1833.
Four years later, a paper called the Singapore
Chronicle, stopped publication, and its type and
press were bought by Mr. F. Carnegy, a
merchant of Pinang, and shipped to that settle-
ment. With the help of this additional plant,
the Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle
appeared under its present title as a weekly
paper. It was published in an office on the
site occupied to-day by Messrs. McAlister &
Co.'s godowns. In this new publication the
Prince of Wales Island Gazette appears to
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
259
have been merged. Some years later the
newspaper passed into the hands of Mr. James
Richardson Logan, wlio acted as editor and
manager until his death in the early seventies.
His son, Mr. Daniel Logan, afterwards
Solicitor-General, managed the paper for a
few months until the appointment of the next
editor, Mr. William Adam Blair CuUin, of
Trinity College, Dublin, who drew a salary of
a hundred dollars per month and occupied
free quarters over the office. In his editorial
duties he was assisted by Mr. F. Watson Mackie,
an employee of Messrs. Boustead & Co. After
being editor for a few years, Mr. Cullin bought
the paper, and in 1878 turned it into a bi-
weekly, published on Wednesdays and Satur-
days. In 1881 a daily advertising sheet was
issued. In 1887 Mr. CuUin sold the concern
to Mr. James Young Kennedy, a well-known
public man, and for some years President of
the Municipality. Under this management
the paper began to appear three times a
week in 1890, and in the following year it
was converted into a daily. In 1901 a public
H. WELHAM.
(Editor, Piiiang Gazelle. )
company acquired the property, but Mr.
Kennedy still retained a large interest in it.
In 1904 there occurred a disastrous fire,
which destroyed the newspaper offices and
the newspaper files. But thanks to the
strenuous efforts of Mr. Silas C. Penny, who
was then editor, the publication was not sus-
pended ; type was borrowed from a native
press, and a sheet by no means voluminous,
but still bearing the title and imprint, was
produced. Like almost every other news-
paper, the Gazette has had its ups and downs,
but its position as the leading English journal
of Pinang has never been seriously challenged.
It has seen many rivals come and go, and
has always remained the recognised organ
of the European community of Pinang.
Since the time when the Pinang Gazette was
turned into a private company, the board
of directors has customarily included the
Chamber of Commerce representative on the
Legislative Council. Among the editors who
conducted the Gazette in past days, following
upon Mr. Cullin, were Messrs. J. Y. Kennedy,
F. C. Berger, C. J. Skinner, Edmund Wood-
house, Archibald Kennedy, J. A. Shearwood,
David Brown, R. W. Egerton Eastwick,
Robert Young, E. F. Skertchly, and Silas
Campbell Penny. The present editor, Mr.
Herbert Welham, was appointed in January,
1905.
Mr. Herbert Welham, the editor of the
Pinang Gazette, was educated at the Universi-
ties of Bonn, Munich, and Paris, was foreign
editor of Galignani's Messenger, Paris, in
igoi-2, London correspondent of L'Eclair,
Paris, 1902-3, and foreign editor of the Car,
London, 1903-4.
Mr. Jas. T. Dobbie, assistant editor, before
joining the staff of the Gazette, was editor of
the Springburn Advertiser, Glasgow ; sub-editor
of the Siam Oliserver, Bangkok, and of the
Straits Echo, Pinang.
Mr. E. C. Cullin, chief reporter, is a son of
the former editor and proprietor, and is jo^nt
author of the " Early History of Pinang."
THE CRITERION PRESS AND " STRAITS
ECHO."
The Criterion Press was started in the year
1883 as a commercial lithographic press, with
a capital of only a few hundred dollars, by
Mr. Lira Hua Chiam, a native of China, who
had for many years made Pinang his home,
and who has since been appointed headman
of the Chinese community in Pinang and a
Justice of the Peace. Mr. Lim Hua Chiam
entrusted the conduct of the business to his
younger son, Mr. Lim Seng Hooi, under whose
careful management the little concern pros-
pered exceeding!)'. Machinery, printing type
in all the principal languages of the Straits
Settlements — English, Chinese, Malay, and
Tamil — and all the other accessories of an
up-to-date press were gradually acquired with
the bulk of the profits derived from the
business, which continued to be a purely com-
mercial press until the year 1894. In that year
a Chinese daily paper, the Pinang Siti Poe, was
published, and four years later witnessed the
birth of a Malay weekly, the Chahyah Pulau
Pinang — two journals which to this day are
the only Chinese and Malay newspapers, re-
spectively, in the island. As is generally the
case nowadays when a private enterprise has
achieved more than a fair measure of success,
from the Chinese. At this time, in spite of the
most gratifying signs of prosperity, Pinang
had remained for years with but one English
newspaper. It was felt by the Directors of
the new company that another English organ
LIM SENG HOOI.
(Managing Director, Straits Echo.)
of the Press was really needed, the aim and
object of which should be to see fair play and
to obtain justice for the people — hence the
motto, " Fiat justitia ruat ccelum," of the new
daily, which, under the name of the Straits
Echo, was launched on June i, 1903. Mr.
Chesney Duncan, a thoroughly experienced
Hongkong journalist, was engaged as the
GENERAL STAFF, "STRAITS ECHO."
the Criterion Press was, in the year 1902,
turned into a limited company, with Mr. Lira
Seng Hooi as the managing director, the share-
list receiving very strong support, especially
editor, and no expense was spared to make the
new journal a success, which, indeed, it has
been, even beyond the most sanguine expecta-
tions of its founders, for the " people's paper,'
260
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
as the Straits Echo is now generally known,
soon enjoyed a wide circulation. Started as a
six-pager, it was found necessary within the
next tour months to increase the size of the
Straits Echo to eight pages, and since Septem-
ber, 1905, two pages have been added on
Mondays and Saturdays in order to provide
room tor the overflow of the advertisements.
In Mayi 1906, owing to a disagreement with
the directorate, Mr. Duncan's connection with
the Straits Echo ceased, and the editorship of
the paper devolved upon Mr. E. F. Skertchly,
who had already filled the editorial chair on
the Honglsong Daily Telegraph and, later, on
the Pinaiig Gazette. Mr. Skertchly, however,
died of meningitis on May 8, 1907, and the
vacancy was filled by Mr. Ung Bok Hoey, the
manager and associate editor of the paper.
Mr. Ung Bok Hoey, who is in his thirty-
fourth year, was born in Pinang and received
his early education at Pinang Free School.
After carrying off the half-dozen or so scholar-
ships given in that school, he won one of the
two Queen's Scholarships awarded by the
Government of the Straits Settlements, in 1903,
and left in August of the same year for
London, where he joined King's College and
the Middle Temple for the purpose of qualifying
UNG BOK HOEY.
(Editor, Straits Eclio.)
for the Bar. Ill-health, however, interfered
with his studies, and ultimately, in 1897,
obliged hira to abandon his intention of follow-
ing the law as a profession. It was not, how-
ever, until the end of 1900 that he returned
to his native land, where he remained until
August, leaving then for the Siamese province
of Renong, near the isthmus of Kra, as English
Secretary to the Governor. In January, 1905,
in response to an offer from the directors of
the Criterion Press, he resigned from the
Siamese Government service, and returned to
Pinang to take up the posts of secretary to the
Criterion Press and publisher of the Straits
Echo. In May, 1905, he was appointed
manager of the paper, and three months later
associate editor as well-. It was Mr. Ung Bok
Hoey who started the idea of the World's
Chinese Students' Federation, which was
inaugurated in Pinang in 1905. He became
its first hon. sec. He is a member also of
the Chinese Recreation Club, Pinang, and has
been a Fellow of the Royal Colonial Institute
since 1894.
Mr. Lim Hua Chiam. — Fifty-eight years
ago Mr. Lim Hua Chiam, then a youth of
thirteen years, left his native Fokhien village
and settled in Pinang. He obtained employ-
ment in a small Chinese store, and by thrift
was able, at the end of ten years, to start
business on his own account. He commenced
trading to Achin, and as in those days all
goods were carried in " junks," and the pirates
of the straits were no imaginary beings, every
trader carried his life in his hands. At this
tiiTie every day of Mr. Lim's life was full of
incident, and many were the narrow escapes
which he had. The Dutch-Achinese war
ruined trade, and Mr. Lim Hua Chiam had to
find another opening for his energies. He
had a considerable knowledge of Chinese
drugs, and, turning this to account, he opened
a Chinese druggist's shop in Pinang which is
to this day a flourishing concern. In the year
i88j he established a lithographic press, to
which other kinds of printing were afterwards
added. The history of this venture is outlined
above. Mr. Lim Hua Chiam was appointed
headman of the Lim Kongsi, and became the
leader of his community in Pinang. He was
one of the first members of the Chinese Ad-
visory Board, appointed when the Chinese
secret societies were giving the Government
a lot of trouble, and was one of the first
trustees of the Chinese Town Hall. He was
inade a member of the committee of the
Chinese Lum Hua Ee Hospital, was elected a
Fellow of the Society of Arts in 1900, and was
appointed a Justice of the Peace for Pinang in
1905. He is seventy-one years of age, and has
a large circle of friends, by whom he is held
in high esteem.
Mr. Lim Seng Hooi, son of Mr. Liin Hua
Chiam, is the managing director of the
Criterion Press, Ltd. He was born in 1872,
and received his education at the Pinang
Chinese School. In 1885 he took charge of
the Criterion lithographic press, and under his
direction the business made great strides. In
1888 a letterpress department was added ; in
1894 the Sin Poc, the first Chinese newspaper
in Pinang, was issued ; and in 1898 a Malay
newspaper, the Chahyah Pnlau Pinang, was
published. In 1903 a limited liability company
was floated to take over the concern and the
Straits Echo was founded, Mr. Lim Seng
Hooi is a member of the Chinese Recreation
Club, the Cycling Club, and the Pinang Mutual
Improvement Association.
THE "ORIENT" AND THE " YIJAYAN."
Mr. N. R. Partha, sole proprietor of the
comparatively new tirra of Partha & Co.,
N. B. PABTHA.
(Editor,)
printers and commission agents, of 94, Robinson
Road, Singapore, is a native of Tanjore, India,
and was educated there and in Cevlon. He
was on his way to England via America to
complete his studies when circumstances com-
pelled him to stay at Singapore. Here he
found large numbers of his countrymen with
practically no organisation for guarding
their interests and apparently very inade-
quately represented. iVIr. Partha decided to
make an attempt to improve their condition,
and, with this object in view, in April, 1907, he
founded a small daily paper entitled the Orient,
and also the Vijayan, an Anglo-Tamil organ,
which is the first paper of its kind to be
published in the Straits Settlements. In an
article entitled " Raison d'Etre " that appeared
in the first number of the Orient, a four-page
paper published at i cent a copy, it is .stated
that the mission of the organ is "to foster
healthy relations between Orientals and
Westerns, to bring about bettet- understanding
and create a feeling of friendliness and good
fellowship." Both the Oric»i and Vae Vijayan
are edited by Mr. Partha, who is also the
founder-director of the Singapore Indian
Institute, formed for the purpose of educating
Indians of all classes in matters social and
political.
THE "PERAK PIONEER."
As its name imports, this widely read paper
was the pioneer of journalistic enterprise in
the Federated Malay States. Conditions were
far different, not only in the Malay States,
but in the Straits also, when the enterprising
proprietor, Mr. Syed Abul Hassan Ibnay
Burhan, launched the venture. The very
adjuncts of modern .civilisation which are
now conspicuous features of the Federated
Malay States had scarcely made themselves
manifest when the first number of the
paper was issued as a quarto four-page
bi-weekly on July 4, 1894, The difficul-
ties which the founder had to contend with
can be scarcely realised by those who now
get cheap and rapid transit by rail, motor-
car, and a regular line of coasting and ocean
steamers. The Straits were in those days
almost terra incognita to the classes from
which the working and composing staff had
to be drawn. The very name of the Straits
carried with it vague ten ors to those who
.would cross " Kala Pani " to take up work in
these regions. The journalistic staff, too, had
to be imported. To secure reporters and
correspondents was no easy matter. The
overwhelming majority of the English resi-
dents weie officers of the Government, and
the fear of incurring the displeasure of their
oflicial superiors deterred them from con-
tributing to the columns of the paper.
But, despite all obstacles, the founder perse-
vered in his efforts until the paper attained to
the position of a recognised authority on
Federated Malay States affairs, its policy being
.marked by fearless independence and straight-
forward criticism of inen and measures in the
public interest. In the result, though other
papers followed in its footsteps years after,
the Peral; Pioneer still retains its place in the
public esteem. The four-page quarto in due
course developed into a four-page folio
journal ; and on January i, 1901, it was
converted into a tri-weekly issue, which soon
expanded into six pages. The support and
appreciation extended to it on all hands
encouraged the proprietor to transform it into
a daily paper froin March i, 1905. It is now
an eight-page paper with a daily service of
Renter's telegrams and the. latest news relating
to the Federated Malay States and the
Straits Settlements, besides general and
interesting intelligence from all parts of the
world.
The Pioneer during its career has had to
TWENTIETH CENTUEY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA 261
The First Issue.
"PBBAK PIONEER."
S. A H. Bt'EHAN (Proprietor).
The Prixting Offices.
buffet many a storm which has arisen around
it owing to the unflinching discharge of its
duty, but it has safely weathered them all, and
continues irr its persevering course of catering
to every public and advocating the redress of
their grievances. Job work of all kinds is
undertaken. At one time the Pinaiig Maritime
Journal was printed at this press, which also
gave birth to two Malay papers entitled Scri
Perak and Jajahan Malayn. A Tamil paper
called Perak Varthamanan was also printed
and published at this office.
THE "TIMES OP MALAYA."
This eight-page daily newspaper, owned by
the Times of Malaya Press, Ltd., vi'as established
in Ipoh in the spring of 1904, in furtherance of
the mining, planting, and mercantile interests
of the Federated Malay States and Straits
Settlements. It is an independent journal,
there being no subsidy received either from
the Government or any section of the com-
munity. The capital was subscribed in Malaya
by British subjects, the principal shareholders
being Mr. A. R. Adams, Mr. E. W. Presgrave,
Messrs. Robert Young, F. Douglas Osborne,
W. R. H. Chappel, the Straits Trading Company,
Ltd., and Eu Tong Sen, the latter a British
subject of Chinese descent.
The first editor was Mr. Silas C. Penny,
lately editor of the Autocar, London. For
some time considerable difficulty was experi-
enced in making headway, and about eighteen
months after its debut the paper was still
making only slow progress. At this stage Dr.
R. M. Connolly, one of the leading residents of
the district, was appointed managing director
and also assumed charge of the editorial
department. Under him the prospects of the
paper improved, and when, at the end of 1906,
he decided to take a trip to the Homeland,
Mr. Chesney Duncan, who had launched the
CHESNEY DUNCAN.
(Managing Editor, Times of Malaya.)
Straits Echo five years previously, was ap-
pointed managing editor. During his regime
further substantial progress and improvements,
including the change of the sub-title to Planters
and Miners' Gazette, have been effected, with
the result that the paper is to-day extremely
popular in the Federated Malay States. It is
especially well informed on mining and plant-
ing matters, arrangements having been made
recently to secure a regular and plentiful supply
of mining news from England, Australia, the
United States, France, the Far East, and various
parts of the Middle East, and to obtain a
special rubber news service from London, in
order that all the latest available information
respecting crops, declaration of dividends,
new flotations, state of the markets, and so
forth, may be placed before the subscribers to
the paper as speedily as possible. During the
present year the offices have been removed
into new and commodious premises in the best
part of the town, close to the Post and Tele-
graph Offices. The directors of the Times
of Malaya Press, Ltd., are Messrs. Robert
Young, J. H. Tatlock, F. Douglas, and Osborne,
with Mr. W. Cecil Payne, A.S.A.U., as managing
director and secretary.
The journal, apparently, has a bright future
before it, for it is not only established in what
is generally conceded to be " the commercial
centre of the Federation," but, owing to the
policy adopted of putting forth special efforts
to foster the interests of the mining, planting,
and commercial communities, its utility and
. popularity will assuredly keep pace with the
rapid development of the vast resources of the
country, of which irrefutable evidence is to be
witnessed on all sides as the observant Koiurtc/zc
— taking advantage of the excellent railway
service, which owes so much to the genius and
unflagging zeal of Mr. C. E. Spooner, C.M.G.
— travels from Malacca in the South to Pinang
in the North, breaking the journey at the
262
TWI^NTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSI0:NS OF BRITISH MALAYA
various thriving mining and planting centres
cii route,
Mr. W. Cecil Payne, managing director
■of the Times of Malaya, is a member of the
Institute of Incorporated Accountants. He
has followed his profession in Ipoh for some
years with great success, and is now interested
in several local ventures. His offices are in
Towkay Chung Thye Phin's buildings.
Mr. Chesney Duncan. — Few editors can
have had as varied an experience of the East
and of Eastern journalism as Mr. Chesney
Duncan, the managing editor of the Tunes of
Malaya and Planters and Miners' Gazette, Ipoh,
Perak. Born on September 15, 1854, and edu-
cated at that celebrated public school, Clifton
College, Mr. Duncan found his way to the Far
East upwards of a quarter of a century ago,
and took part, as an assistant in the Korean
Customs, in the opening of the Hermit
Kingdom to the trade and commerce of the
world in 1883. But journalism had strong
claims upon his energy and ability, and thus
it came about that he soon left the customs and
then, while holding the position of instructor
in a Japanese schcol in Seoul, the capital,
acted as correspondent for the Hongkong
Telegraph, Japan Gazette, Shanghai Mercury,
and China Times (Tientsin), and as occasional
correspondent of the China Mail (Hongkong).
Later, becoming a resident of Hongkong, Mr.
Duncan took an active and beneficent part
in public affairs in that island colony.
the public weal, for in 1894 he was presented
with a gold medal and a testimonial from the
community of Hongkong for his services
during the terrible plague epidemic of that
year. The Government, too, showed its
appreciation of his knowledge and devotion
to duty, for he was mentioned in despatches
to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and
was presented by H.E. Sir W. Robinson, then
Governor of Hongkong, with the Queen's
Diamond Jubilee silver medal and ribbon.
In 1895 he attained his first editorship — that
of the Hongkong Telegraph — which he held
for several years. During his long residence
in Hongkong and other parts of the Far East
he had acquired a wide knowledge of " things
Chinese," including an insight into native life
and thought. He acquired special knowledge
of South China, and, in consequence, was able
to be of such service to Lord Charles Beresford
on his memorable tour in China in 1898 that
he received the thanks of the distinguished
Admiral for his valuable assistance. The
outbreak of the Boxer trouble in 1900 saw
him proceeding to the front to represent the
Daily Mail. Another London paper, too, the
Globe, had the advantage of his services as
its correspondent for many years. How keen
and indefatigable a correspondent Mr. Duncan
was is shown by the fact that he was the
first to send home the gist of the secret
Cassini Convention which precipitated the
late war between Japan and Russia, the Globe
quently, the directors of the Times of Malaya
were fortunate in securing his services as
managing editor, and the paper has greatly
increased in popularity since he took charge
of it. Needless to say, Mr. Duncan is a firm
believer in the brilliant future lying before
Ipoh as the centre of the great tin-mining
industry of the famous Kinta Valley, as well
as in his paper's capacity to advance in
prosperity with the town and effectively
reflect and give voice to the life and interests
both of the great mining industry and of that
younger and not less important body, the
planters. He is one of the founders of Lodge
Scotia (1003 S.C), Pinang ; an old member of
Lodge Zetland (325 E.G.), Hongkong ; and a
member of Lodge Kinta (3212 E.C.), Ipoh.
Mv. Duncan was the first to publish a work
on Far Eastern affairs, in 1889, when his
" Korea and the Powers," issued from the
Shanghai Mercury^ Press, created something of
a stir in the Orient, owing to the expose it
contained of Russian designs in North and
Central China and Korea, His work was
favourably reviewed by an army officer in the
autumn of 1889, the critique appearing in the
leading columns of the Army and Navy
Gazette. After publication of Mr, Duncan's
brochure, Mr. Henry Norman, M.P., and Lord
Curzon visited the Far East, their impressions
and views being published in due course and
forming valuable additions to our knowledge
of Far Eastern affairs.
"^?^&C<
J. H. ROBSON (Proprietor).
'MALAY MAIL.
The Office).
organising the British Mercantile Marine
Officers' Association and taking a large share
in promoting and ultimately carrying through
the Sunday Labour Ordinance — a measure
which has since served as the model for
similar legislation throughout British Crown
colonies. Xor were these all his efforts for
being the first, through Mr. Duncan's exer-
tions, to publish startling information relative
to the Convention. After much strenuous life
in China, Mr. Duncan in 1903 accepted service
in a quieter sphere in Pinang, where he
organised and edited the Straits Echo, later
becoming its editor-in-chief in 1905. Subse-
" MALAY MAIL."
The first daily newspaper published in the
Federated Malay States was the Malay
Mail, which made its debut in December,
1896. It was printed in a small shop-
house, on the site of the new Kuala
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA 263
Lumpor Post Office, with a very poor
outfit of plant bought from a Singapore
paper which had just about that time ceased
pubUcation. The first editor was Mr. J. H. M.
Robson, who was also part proprietor. His
partner was a Government official, who vyas
so conscientious that he never either supplied
further enlargement of the paper. With the
exception of those gentlemen whose names
have been already mentioned the permanent
staff is entirely Asiatic. The compositors are
immigrants from Southern India, the book-
keeper is a Chinese, the proof-reader an
Indian. In general the Asiatic staff take a
Titles for the whole State. He resigned his
Government appointment in order to start the
Malay Hail. He now carries on business
as a land and investment agent, chiefly on
behalf of Towkay Loke Yew, the well-known
Chinese millionaire. He has been a trustee
of the Victoria Institution, a Visiting Justice at
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
The GovERsniENT Printing Staff, J. E. Tyler (Government Printer), axd the Composing Room.
an item of news or offered an opinion. For
four years Mr. Robson personally conducted
the paper, after which it was enlarged, and
the venture was turned into a limited liability
company. A little while later the editorship
was taken over by Mr. S. C. Yeomans, a
Cambridge graduate, and the publishing office
was removed into a new building, belonging
to thj company, at the end of Java Street.
Mr. Yeomans occupied the editorial chair for
over four years, and did much to improve
the paper and increase its revenue. Mr.
Robson, during the same period," was
managing director of the company, a position
which he still holds. The present editor is
Mr. F. M. Price, a Cambridge graduate, who
had joined the staff as assistant to Mr.
Yeomans after a brief journalistic apprentice-
ship in the office of the London Times. Early
in 1907 it was found necessary to secure
more commodious premises, and arrange-
ments were made for the acquirement of a
block of four new houses in Java Street. ' At
the same time a new and larger printing
machine was procured from England, with
an electric motor for driving purposes. This
machine has recently been installed in the
new premises, and is capable of printing an
eight-page paper of large size. The company
employ a European printer, and may ulti-
mately undertake jobrprinting as well as a
keen interest in the paper, this being especially
true of the worthy Tamil foreman, T. Pat-
manabha Mudaliar by name, who regards
it almost as a pet child of his own. It is
interesting to note that, although the Malay
Mail gives free utterance to criticism of the
Government, the leading officials have always
given the journal their support and maintained
friendly relations with the gentlemen respon-
sible for its production. A good deal of space
in the Mail's columns is devoted to matters
affecting rubber planting, in which industry
a large number of Europeans are engaged
in this neighbourhood ; and several special
supplements have been produced containing
full details of all the well-known rubber
properties in the country.
Mr. John Henry Matthews Robson,
formerly editor and now managing director
of the Malay Mail Press Company, is the
eldest son of the Rev. Dr. Robson, of Guild-
ford, Surrey, and was born on May 8, 1870.
In 1889 he went to Ceylon as a premium pupil
on a tea estate, and later in the same year
entered the service of the Selangor Govern-
ment. During the succeeding seven years he
was in charge of the sub-districts of Rawang
and Sepang, acted as District Officer of Klang
and Ulu Langat Districts, and in 1896, when he
left the service, was Acting Collector of Land
Revenue at Kuala Lumpor and Registrar of
the gaol, and from 1905 to 1907 an unofficial
member of the Kuala Lumpor Sanitary Board.
He is a committee member of the Hare School
Endowment Fund and of the Lake Club. His
name appears on two publications — " Selangor
Laws, i8g6," and "People in a Native State,"
He is an ardent motorist, and, socially, is a
charming man to meet.
THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS GOVERN-
MENT PRINTING OFFICE.
This department executes all the Govern-
ment printing for Singapore, Pinang, Province
Wellesley, Malacca, the Dindings, Christmas
Island, Labuan, and Brunei. The magnitude
of its operations may be gauged by the fact
that at least 4,000 different kinds of depart-
mental forms are regularly kept in stock.
From this press issue the Government
Gazette, a weekly publication, and the annual
departmental reports, quarterly and annual
returns of imports and exports (the former
being a bulky volume of 380 closely printed
pages), the Blue Book, annual colonial
estimates, Civil Service list, Agricultural
Bulletin, and a large number of smaller
publications. A fair amount of charitable
matter, also, is printed free of cost. To cope
with all this work there is a staff of 113 men of
many nationalities^Malays, - Chinese, Indians,
264
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
local Portuguese, and Eurasians — under the
direction of Mr. J. E. Tyler, the superintendent,
who is the only European on the premises.
Mr. Tyler has had nearly twelve years'
experience of dealing with mixed native races,
and to this may in large measure be attributed
the smooth and amicable -working of the de-
partment. Not only the printing, but also
all the bookbinding, ruling, embossing, and
indiarubber stamp-making is done by this
department, the two last-named items, as well
as stereotyping, having been introduced by
the present superintendent. The building in
which this work is done is adjacent to the
Secretariat and other Government departments
near the Esplanade, and it is well equipped
with modern machines and appliances, to
which are shortly to be added a Lanston
monotype, two up-to-date folding machines,
and additional printing and bookbinding plant.
The present premises, consisting of two floors
and covering two acres of ground, have only
recently been erected to meet the ever-growing
demands, which are likely to be increased
very considerably next year, when the printing
for the Tanjong Pagar Dock Board, now a
Government concern, will be taken over.
Hitherto this work has been divided between
twelve local firms.
"IN TINLAND."
To meet the requirements of the important
mining interest in the Federated Malay States
there is a weekly newspaper published in
Kuala Lumpor enlitled In Tiiiland. It con-
sists of eight pages of mining news, and, as
it is the only journal of its kind in the Malay
States, it has proved a welcome and interest-
ing addition to the Press of the country. It
contains brightly written notes on mining
matters generally, personal paragraphs, share-
market quotations, a commercial diary, mining
returns, &c.
Mr. George Bain, the editor and pro-
prietor, has been in the States for twenty-iive
years, and during the whole of that time he
has been connected with mining districts.
GEOBGE BAIN.
(Editor, In Tiiiland.)
Hence he is an authority on the subjects with
which the paper deals, and his opinions are
valued. At present he holds the position of
private secretary to Mr. Loke Chow Thye,
one of the largest mine-owners in the States.
His oflices are at Xo. ii. Barrack Road. He is
an enthusiastic amateur photographer, and has
a splendid collection of views, mostly relating
to mining, which he recently reproduced in the
form of picture postcards, and which met with
a keen demand. He was first in business in
Perak, where he acted as secretary to the
Amateur Photographic Society, the first society
of the kind to be formed in the States. He has
resided in Kuala Lumpor for four years.
ERASER & NEAYE, LTD.
The printing department of this firm dates
back to 1843, when it was established as the
Mission Press by B. P. Keasberry. It was
taken over by John Frazer and D. C. Neave in
1879, and by the present limited company in
1898. It has had many habitations : Battery
Koad, Robinson Road, and Raffles Quay ; and
the rapid extension of the business has recently
necessitated a further removal — this time to
handsome and commodious premises in Siak
Street. The plant includes six Wharfedale and
six platen machines, driven by a Tangye's gas-
engine, and the staff numbers about a hundred
skilled workmen under European supervision.
The business is mostly of a general commercial
character, but in addition " The Singapore and
Straits Directory," " The Singapore and Straits
Diary," " The Malay Handbook," and other
local publications are produced. The manager
is Mr. T. G. Scott, who joined the firm in 1884.
THE FEDERATED MALAY STATES
GOYERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE,
A monument to the remarkable progress of
the Federated Malay States is the building in
which all the printing and publishing is done
for the Government, and which stands next
the Chartered Bank, at right angles to the
other Government offices in Kuala Lumpor.
PRINTING WORKS OP FRASEB & NEAVE, LTD., SHOWING COMPOSING AND MACHINE ROOMS.
LLOYD'S GREATER BRITAIN PUBLISHING COMPANY, LTD.— THE STAFF.
MisB Edith Ashley. 3. H, A. Cartwright (Sub-Editor). _ ^.h. Zweiger. 5. A. Stubbs. 6. J. W. Dexny.
g J. E. HOLDSWORTH.
I. O. T, BREAKSPE.4R.
7. H. T. JENSEX (Manager, G. R. Lambert & Co., Photographers). 8. Reginald Lloyd (General Manager).
10. Arnold Wright (Editor). 11. Somerset Playke (Manager). 12. F. Gaediner-Browx. 13. R. Gartner,
15. W. H. Bright. 16. A. Kaulfuss (Photographic Artist). 17. L. T. Delaney. 18. Geow Teck Shexg
20. Thomas Panther. 21. L. Muthukrishna. 22. The Office Boy.
(See p. 266.)
14. E. Maxxheimer.
ig. J. Addy
M
266
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
There is one feature about this building which
immediately attracts the attention of the
observer — viz., the absence of the covered-in
ways which characterise other buildings in
Eastern cities. The object in dispensing with
these, it seems, was to avoid loss of space and
to secure a maximum of light.
It was in 1890 that Mr. J. Russell, the
superintendent, started a printing-office for
the Selangor State Government on a site
adjoining the old public offices on the hill
overlooking the padang. His staff then num-
bered only ten, and his plant was even less
imposing than his staff. Some two years
previously the Perak Government had estab-
lished a printing-office in Taiping. It was not
long before it became necessary to enlarge the
building, staff, and plant at Kuala Lumpor,
and in i8g8 the construction of the existing
offices was commenced, work being trans-
ferred to them towards the close of the
following year. In 1904 the Perak office was
closed and the staff and plant were trans-
ferred to Kuala Lumpor, where it had been
decided to centralise all the Government
printing and publishing in one department.
At the close of 1906 the staff consisted of the
superintendent, two European assistants, and
close upon 200 workmen — most of them Indian
— while the plant included thirteen printing
machines (six cylinder machines and seven
platens) and a stereotyping foundry.
The department is responsible for the print-
ing of the Government Gazette for each of the
four States in the Federation, two Gazettes in
the vernacular, the annual official publications,
and the annual volumes setting forth the
legislation enacted in each State during the
twelvemonth. The forms and books for official
use in 1906 numbered 2,511 different kinds
— and this total excluded the Federated Malay
States Railway work, all of which, with the
exception of ticket-printing, is done by this
department. At the time of writing further
additions to the building are in hand, and
probably before many years have passed
another removal will be necessary in order
to obtain still further enlargements.
LLOYD'S GREATER BRITAIN PUBLISH-
ING COMPANY, LTD.
The compilers of the series of " Twentieth
Century Impressions '.' are engaged in an
enterprise which must commend itself to all
who hold the Empire dear, for they are
endeavouring to gratify the great unspoken
wish which animated the Empire-builders of the
past, which breathed in the utterances at the
recent Colonial Conference, and which dwells
in the hearts of Britons the world over — the
wish that the mother country, the colonies, the
dependencies, all the integral parts of the
immense Empire which idolises and reveres
the name of freedom, may come to have that
knowledge, each of the other, which leads,
through the establishment of a better under-
standing, to solidarity.
The present volume, dealing with the Straits
Settlements and the Federated Malay States,
is the fifth of the series. It introduces the
reader to a part of the Empire which is,
to a great extent, terra incognita, but which,
owing to the rapidly developing tin and
rubber industries, promises in the near future
to take a very prominent place in the com-
mercial world.
With the volume in his hands the reader mav
J. ELLIS BROWN, J.P.
(Chairman of Directors.)
judge of it for himself, and a moment's reflec-
tion whilst he is glancing through the table of
contents will convince him that he possesses
something of greater interest if he seeks
general information about Malaya and its
inhabitants, or of greater utility if he wants a
commercial guide to the country, than anything
which has hitherto been produced ; for it is
not the labour of one man, with a bias towards
some particular industry or branch of study,
but the joint product of many minds, every
article in the book having been either con-
tributed by an expert upon the subject with
which he deals or written up by a trained
journalist from carefully sifted information.
Many difficulties have been experienced in
the compilation of the work, owing largely to
the absence of anything like full and complete
records of the past history of the territory, to
the distances which separate the scattered
units of the Straits Settlements, and to the
changes that are taking place almost daily
in the constitution and personnel of the
Government departments, a large portion of
the territory having passed under the pro-
tection of the British only within comparatively
recent years. In so far as we have been enabled
to cope with these difficulties we acknowledge,
with sincere gratitude, our indebtedness to
many gentlemen who have imparted to us the
knowledge they have acquired by long
residence in the peninsula ; our obligations to
planters and other gentlemen who have placed
conveyances at the disposal of our representa-
tives when means of transport have been
anything but easy to procure ; and our deep
sense of the invariable courtesy shown to
members of our staff by heads of departments
and other Government officials.
The pictorial section of this volume repre-
sents an amount of labour of which only those
responsible for it can have any conception.
The rapid deterioration of photographic
materials, and the sjiortness of the actinic day
in the Far East, together with the seemingly
inevitable delays experienced before portraits
and really representative photographs of com-
mercial operations could be secured, were but
a few of the adverse circumstances with which
the compilers had to contend.
During the past twelve months the staff has
been considerably augmented from England,
in order that operations might be carried on
concurrently in Ceylon, Malaya, and China.
The directorate of Lloyd's Greater Britain
Publishing Company, Ltd., includes some of the
best-known and most substantial business men
and financiers in South Africa. Mr. J. Ellis
Brown, J.P., the chairman of the company,
was Mayor of Durban for many years. The
deputy-chairman, Sir Benjamin Greenacre, is
head of the great Durban firm of Harvey,
Greenacre & Co., and deputy-chaii'man of the
Natal Bank, Ltd. The other directors are
Mr. Maurice Evans, C.M.G., M.L.A,, the Hon.
Mr. Marshall Campbell, M.L.C., managing
director of the Natal Sugar Estates, Ltd., the
largest concern of its kind in South Africa ; and
Mr. Alexander Harvey Rennie, resident partner
(in Natal) of the "Rennie" Steamship Com-
pany. All these gentlemen are also on the
directorate of the Xatal Trust and Finance
Company, Ltd., Sir Benjamin Greenacre being
the chairman. The secretary ' of Lloyd's
Greater Britain PubUshing Company, Ltd., is
Mr. Henry Ernest Mattinson, F.I.A.X., and
the auditor is Mr. George Mackeurtan. The
head offices are in the Club Arcade, Durban,
and the London office is 2, Tudor Street, E.C.
EDUCATION
By J. B. ELCUM, B.A. Oxox. (Director of Public Instruction, Straits Settlements and
Federated Malay States).
CARCELY any steps were
taken by the East India
Company or by Govern-
ment to provide educa-
tion for the children of
the colony until 1872,
when an Education De-
partment was formed.
No schools of impor-
tance were established by the Government,
and no, system of supervision of schools was
provided. The East India Company did,
however, subscribe towards the foundation
of schools in the different settlements, and
paid yearly towards their maintenanctf.
The first school established in the colony
under British auspices was the Free School at
Pinang, opened on October 21, 1816. This
is now a large and successful school for the
teaching of English.
In Singapore the Raffles Institution was
founded in 1823 through the efforts of Sir
Stamford Raffles. Originally designed to serve
as a great Eastern college for the preservation
and dissemination of Eastern literature as well
as for English teaching, it became, in fact,
merely an EngUsh school, on much the same
lines as other English schools in the colony. On
January I, 1903, it was handed over, with the
Raffles Girls' School (opened in 1884), by the
trustees, to the Government. The boys' school
has since been turned into a secondary school,
only pupils who have passed Standard IV.
being admitted.
The High School, Malacca, known until 1878
as the " Free School," was opened in 1826.
It was supported by the balance of an old
Dutch fund and by private donations, and was
managed by a committee of Malacca residents.
It passed into the hands of the Government in
1878.
Schools were opened by the Christian
Brothers in Singapore and Pinang in or
about the year 1852. These schools received
from the first Government support, and have
now each about a thousand pupils. The
Christian Brothers also, a few years back,
took over St. Francis School, Malacca, which
had been previously managed by the French
Mission.
Convent schools were established in Singa-
pore and Pinang in 1851, and later in Malacca.
Other schools have been opened in the different
settlements from time to time by religious
bodies of various denominations. The most
important of these have been the Anglo-
Chinese schools, opened by the American
Episcopal Methodists in Singapore in 1886
and in Pinang some years later.
In the Federated Malay States all the Eng-
lish schools have been founded since 1883.
The Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpor was
the outcome, in the first place, of the desire of
his Highness the late Sultan Abdul Samad of
Selangor and ten of the chief native inhabitants
of Kuala Lumpor to erect a memorial of the
Jubilee of the late Queen Victoria. The original
building was completed in 1893. The school
is managed by trustees, and receives a large
amount of Government and public support,
the proceeds of an education rate in Kuala
Lumpor being handed over to it.
King Edward's School in Taiping, formerly
called the " Central School," was founded by
the Government, but was a few years ago
handed over to the management of trustees.
The Christian Brothers have a school at Kuala
Lumpor, and there are convent schools at
Taiping, Kuala Lumpor, and Seremban. The
American Episcopal Methodists have compara-
tively large English schools in Kuala Lumpor
and Ipoh, as well as smaller schools in other
places.
A very interesting school was opened at the
beginning of 1905 at Kuala Kangsa, in Perak.
This is a residential school for the education in
English of Malay boys only. It was started
with most inadequate buildings and equip-
ments, but at once became popular among
the Malays, and has, in the short time it has
been in existence, done very successful work.
It is hoped that the establishment of this
school may lead to the training of a reason-
able number of Malays to take an adequate
share in the government of their States. It
is attended by Malays from other States as
well as Perak, and it is hoped shortly to ex-
tend it very considerably, new and adequate
buildings being in course of construction.
Very little was done for vernacular educa-
tion until after the establishment of the colony
in 1867. In Singapore the Rev. Mr. Keasberry
had a Malay school, and a few Malay schools
in the different settlements were wholly or
partly supported by Government. Very little
appears to have been done by private schools
for the Chinese, Tamils, and other Asiatics.
Malays had, however, in many villages schools
of a sort where the boys were taught, not
Malay, but to read the Koran. The char-
acter in which Malay is written is adapted
from the Arabic, with some slight variations,
267
but the parrot-like repetition of chapters of the
Koran in a language they were not taught
to understand did not enable Malay boys to
read or write their own language. The schools
where Chinese and Tamil are taught under
the auspices of Government are few and small.
There are, however, in most of the towns a
considerable number of private Chinese schools.
Several have lately been established in which
the Mandarin dialect is taught. These schools
do not appear in the returns of the Education
Department.
Government Control.
In 1870 a Select Committee of the Legislative
Council of the Straits Settlements was appointed
to inquire into the state of education in the
colony. In accordance with the advice of this
Committee the Government in 1872 established
an Education Department, the head of which
held the title of Inspector of Schools, Straits
Settlements. The first Inspector of Schools
was Mr. A. M. Skinner, who devoted his
energies at first chiefly- to establishing and
bringing into order a system of vernacular
education in Malay. The Government has
endeavoured from that time on to provide for
Malays a free education in their own language,
and while every assistance has been given, by
grants in aid and building grants, to the estab-
lishment of English schools by missionary
and religious bodies and, where necessary, by
the establishment of English schools by the
Government itself, parents have been required
to contribute at any rate a part of the cost of
the education of their children in English.
A similar policy has been pursued in the
Federated Malay States. The administration
in each State before federation was in the
hands of a State Inspector of Schools, except
in Pahang, where education is still so back-
ward that no inspector has even yet been
appointed. In 1898 a Federal Inspector of
Schools was appointed.
In the Straits Settlements English education
and Malay vernacular education have grown
about equally. In the Federated Malay States,
however, English education progresses but
slowly. The Education Departments in both
the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay
States rapidly grew in importance. The In-
spector of Schools, Straits Settlements, became
the Director of Public Instruction, Straits Settle-
ments, with assistants in Pinang and Malacca.
The title of Federal Inspector of Schools was
not, however, changed. In 1906 it was decided
to amalgamate the Education Departments of
268
rWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
the colony and native States under one tiead.
The Director of Public Instruction is now
assisted by Inspectors of Schools — one for
Singapore and Malacca, one for Pinang, and
one each for Perak, Selangor, and Negri Sam-
bilan, with an Assistant Inspector of Schools,
in addition, for Perak.
It is hoped shortly to assimilate entirely the
educational system of the colony and the
Federated Malay States. The codes hitherto
in force, though very similar, have contained
certain important differences, and the methods
of administration have differed still more.
General Figures.
The total number of children in average
enrolment at schools of all kinds in the Straits
Settlements and Federated Malay States (ex-
cluding private schools of which no statistics
can be given, but which are not numerous or
important), was in igo6 approximately (exact
figures not being available for Pahang) 38,380, of
which number 34,120 were boys and 4,260 were
girls. The total number of pupils in average
attendance was 32,c87, or 83'6 per cent. Of
the whole 38,380, 21,304 were attending school
in the Straits Settlements and 17,076 in the
Federated Malay States.
These numbers appear small at first sight in
comparison with the population, but it must be
remembered that of all the races and classes
which compose the mixed population of the
Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States,
only Malays and Eurasians are settled under
normal conditions, and only with them is the
proportion of children to adults such as prevails
in most countries.
The census of 1901 showed that in the
Straits Settlements 41 per cent, of the Malay
population and 42 per cent, of the Eurasian
were under fifteen years of age, while amongst
Europeans the proportion was only 19J per
cent., amongst natives of India 18 per cent.,
and amongst the Chinese 15 per cent. In the
Federated Malay States the child population
among the Chinese was even lower. In
Selangor only 7'5 per cent, of the Chinese were
under fifteen years of age.
The cause of real education is terribly handi-
capped by the fact that the Malays and Chinese
are almost entirely indifferent as to whether
their female children are taught anything or not.
Even when Malay or Chinese girls do attend
school they almost invariably leave before they
are old enough to have learnt anything of real
use. Indeed, Malay and Chinese women in the
Straits and Federated Malay States maybe said
to be almost entirely uneducated. The home
influences for boys, as well as girls, are con-
sequently all against real education. This is a
lamentable fact, which many years of effort have
succeeded in improving to only a very small
extent. Very nearly half the total number of
children of school-going age are, of course,
girls, and yet only 4,260 girls attended school as
compared with 34,120 boys. Of the 4,260 girls
in attendance at school in igo6 2,500 belonged
to the colony and 1,760 to the Federated
Malay States. Out of these, 1,742 girls were
attending English schools in the colony and
644 in the Federated Malay States, while 758
in the colony and 1,031 in the Federated Malay
States were at Malay schools, there being also
85 girls at Tamil schools in the Federated
Malay States. At the English schools the
majority of the girls are Europeans and Eura-
sians, while at English boys' schools the
Chinese form by far the largest element.
A very large increase has, however, taken
place of late years in the number of children
attending school. In the Straits Settlements
in igoo there were in enrolment at English
schools 7,528 children, and at vernacular
schools 7,404. In igo6 the figures had grown
to g,94i and 11,363 respectively. In the
Federated Malay States there were, in igoo,
1,629 children in average enrolment at English
schools and 6,494 at vernacular schools.
These numbers had increased in igo6 to 3,219
and 13,857.
In igo6 there were in the Straits Settlements
35 English-teaching schools and 174 vernacular
schools, and in the Federated Malay States
22 English or Anglo-vernacular schools and
263 vernacular schools. Of the vernacular
schools, all, except a very few in which Tamil
and Chinese are taught, are purely Govern-
ment schools for the teaching of Malay.
EXPENDITIRE.
In 1906 the Government of the Straits Settle-
ments expended on education (not reckoning
expenditure on buildings) 366,310.48 dollars.
From this has to be deducted receipts, chiefly
for fees in Government schools, amounting to
37,675.25 dollars, leaving a net expenditure of
328,635.23 dollars, or 15.42 dollars per pupil.
The total expenditure on education by the
Government of the Federated Malay States
was 263,876.80 dollars, or 15.45 dollars per
pupil.
The Existi.vg System.
In both the Straits Settlements and the
Federated Malay States the Malay vernacular
schools are financed and managed entirely by
Government. The majority of the English-
teaching schools are managed by their own
governing bodies, and receive a grant-in-aid
from Government. The few Tamil and
Chinese vernacular schools are also grant-in-
aid schools.
Grants-in-aid in both places are at present
based on the number of children presented at
the annual inspection, a grant of so much per
head being given at various rates, according to
the average degree of merit shown, as well as
a small grant for discipline and organisation,
based on the number of pupils in average
attendance.
There are seven standards in the English
schools, and, in order to obtain clerical work
of most kinds, it is necessary for boys to have
obtained a certificate that they have passed
Standard VII.
The attendance at English boys' schools is
very satisfactory, and is continually increasing,
the Chinese showing great anxiety that their
sons should obtain an English education.
Secondary Education.
At all the large and important English
schools there are classes for the continued
instruction of boys who have passed Standard
VII. As a rule there are Cambridge Local
classes and commercial classes. Singapore
and Pinang are centres for the Cambridge
Local examinations, and between 100 and 200
candidates, boys and girls, have generally in
recent years gone up for, and done fairly well,
in the senior and junior examinations. These
examinations were also formerly taken in the
Federated Malay States. They were dropped
for a few years, but Kuala Lumpor was again
made a centre in 1907, and at the time of
writing a fair number of candidates are
expected to present themselves.
The great prize and the great inducement
to take up secondary work has, in the Straits
Settlements, been the Queen's Scholarships.
Two of these have hitherto been given yearly.
They have not always been of the same value,
but of late years they have been for £"250 a
year, tenable for not more than five years.
The winners of these valuable scholarships
go to some seat of learning in the United
Kingdom and generally qualify for some
profession, .in occasional scholarship on the
same lines has been given in the Federated
Malay States. In the Straits it is now pro-
posed to give only one of these scholarships
yearly, and to expend the money so saved on
the improvement of local education.
The large majority of boys who acquire an
English education become clerks. Although
the local schools have in the past turned out
many men who have developed into admirable
clerks, the average seventh standard boy has
been found to be not really satisfactory.
Government were the first to take action with
a view to providing a better-trained class of
clerk, and about seven years ago offered a
special grant for boys trained in a " commercial
class " in shorthand, typewriting, book-keeping,
and composition. Many of the leading schools
in the Straits have now established successful
" commercial classes." In the Federated
Malay States, although provided for by the
Education Code, they have scarcely yet made
a real start. The Chambers of Commerce in
Singapore and Pinang have encouraged the
movement by the offer of prizes and certificates,
awarded on examinations conducted by them-
selves.
Technical Education.
Very little has been done in the way of
technical education. In the commoner handi-
crafts the newly-imported Chinese labourer is
willing to work for so little and for such long
hours that he holds the field. It might be
thou,ght that a training in civil, railway, and
mining engineering would be useful and popu-
lar among intelligent youths. Attempts have
been made to provide this. The colony has
given a number of industrial scholarships to
boys apprenticed to various engineering firms ;
but they have never been popular. A more
ambitious attempt has been the establishment
of the Treacher Technical School at Kuala
Lumpor. This has not hitherto attracted a
satisfactory class of students, and so far has
proved a failure. It is so easy for boys to
procure posts as clerks directly they leave
school that it seems almost impossible at
present to induce them to take up any other
line of work. The only encouraging sign in
this direction is the large and satisfactory
science class now established at Raffles Insti-
tution in Singapore. A small amount of tech-
nical education in carpentering, basket-making,
&c., is given in some of the Malay schools of
the Federated Malay States.
Training of Teachers.
The supply of local teachers for English
schools has always been inadequate and un-
satisfactory. Teaching has been unpopular
among the more intelligent young men, and
local teachers have been badly paid. Many
attempts have been made to remedy this state
of things, .i training class for girls at Raffles
Girls' School has done fairly well, but boys
could not be induced to enter a training school.
A normal class for those already teaching was
started two years ago at Kuala Lumpor, and
similar classes are now being started in Singa-
pore, Pinang, and Taiping. The teachers go
through a two-year course, and receive a
bonus of 200 dollars on quahfying. These
classes, which are held for about five hours a
week out of school hours, are not so satisfactory
as a regular training college would be, but
failing the latter, it is hoped they may effect
some real improvement in what "has hitherto
been the very unsatisfactory supplv of local
teachers. The Government has in tlie last five
years greatly improved the pay given to its
local teachers, and the aided schools have more
or less followed suit.
The Malay Government schools aim at giving
a very elementary education only to the peasant
Malay population, both in the colony and in
the Federated Malay States. Reading and
writing both in Malay and in "Romanised"
characters, elementary arithmetic, and geo-
graphy are the subjects taught. The course
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
269
is divided into four standards in the colony
and into five in the Federated Malay States.
Attendance at these schools is compulsory on
Malay boys in Malacca and Province Wellesley,
and in the States of Selangor and Negri Sarabi-
lan. It is not so at present in Singapore,
Pinang, Perak, and Pahang.
Teachers for the Malay schools of both the
colony and the Federated Malay States are
trained at the Malay College in Malacca, the
course being a two-year one, and the students
residing in the college. In the Federated
Malay States drill and a little technical in-
struction are added to the curriculum. Needle-
work is taught in all the girls' schools, and in a
tew sarong-weaving, basket-making, and the
making of pillow-lace are also taught.
Reformatory.
There is a reformatory at Bukit Timah,
seven miles from the city of Singapore. The
boys here learn to read and write Romanised
Malay, are drilled, work in the garden, and
receive instruction in a trade — either carpenter-
ing, shoemaking, or tailoring. The boys also
do their own cooking and bread-making. Some
boys have turned out well, but many relapse
into crime. The differences of race and re-
ligion among the boys make the work of
reform here peculiarly difficult.
Mr. John Bowen Elcum, B.A., Director
of Education in the Straits Settlements and the
Federated Malay States, is the son of Mr. Hugh
William Elcum, solicitor, of 13, Bedford Row,
London, and was born on November 18, i860.
He was educated at Highgate School and at
Queen's College, Oxford, where he graduated
I3.A. In 1884 he became a cadet in the
Straits Settlements Civil Service, and was
successively Acting District Oflicer for South
Malacca, Central District, Province Welles-
ley, and the Dindings. In 1893 he became
Acting Sheriff of Singapore. In 1895 he
was appointed Acting Inspector of Schools,
and in the next few years, in addition
to discharging the duties of that position, he
acted as Official Assignee and Registrar of
Deeds, Collector of Land Revenue, and Officer-
in-Chargeof theTreasury,Malacca; First Magis-
trate at Singapore, and Insjiector of Prisons.
He was confirmed in the appointment of
Inspector of Schools for the colony in 1898,
and in 1901 the title of the office was altered to
that of Director of Public Instruction. From
October, 1904, Mr. Elcum was Financial Com-
missioner of the Federated Malay States, and,
shortly after it was decided to amalgamate the
Education Departments of the Straits Settle-
ments and the Federated Malay States, he was
appointed Director of Education. Mr. Elcum
is a member of the Singapore Club and of
several other local clubs, and his principal
recreations are chess, golf, and croquet. He
passed the Government final examinations in
Malay in 1886, in Chinese (Kheh) in 1891, and
in Chinese (Hokien) in 1897. He married in
1888 Ethel Harriet, daughter of Thomas
Augustus Fox, late Harbour Master of Pinang.
Mr. H. B. Collinge.— The Inspector of
Schools for Perak is Mr. Henry Bernard
Collinge, who has held the appointment since
1890. Mr. Collinge, who is in his forty-sevenlh
year, was educated at Salford Catholic Gram-
mar School, Valladolid, Spain, and at St. Bede's
and Owens College, Manchester. For five
years he was Headmaster of St. Joseph's Insti-
tution, Singapore, and in 1887 became Head-
master of St. Francis' School, Malacca. Whilst
holding his present appointment he has also
acted as Federal Inspector of Schools. He has
published two very useful works — a " Hand-
book on Romanised Malay " and a " Manual for
Malay Teachers." He resides in Taiping.
Mr. L. McLean.— The Inspector of Schools
for the State of Selangor is Mr. Lachlan
McLean, B.A. Cantab., who was born in 1877
and entered the Civil Service as a cadet iji 1900.
After holding several minor appointments, he
passed in Cantonese and law, and in 1904 was
appointed Acting Revenue Auditor, Negri
Sambilan. In the following year he took up
his present appointment. At present he is
on leave.
Mr. Frank Adrian Vanrenen, Acting
Inspector of Schools, Selangor, is the son of
the late General D. C. Vanrenen, of Chelten-
ham. He was born at Southampton in 1868,
and was educated at Charterhouse School and
at Cambridge University, where he graduated
B.A. in 1891. After being a schoolmaster in
England for some time he went to Austraha,
and was engaged in farming there for six years.
He vi'as appointed Assistant Inspector of
Schools, Perak, in igoo, and Assistant Master
of the Malay Residential School at Kuala
Kangsa in 1905.
Mr. William Thomas Chapman, B.A.
Cantab., is ihe Inspector of Schools in Negri
Sambilan. He was born on December 25,
1876, and became a cadet in the Negri Sam-
bilan Government service in 1899. The
positions which he has filled include those of
Acting Collector of Land Revenue, Acting
Magistrate, Seremban, Acting District Oflicer,
Christmas Island, and Acting Second Assistant
Protector of Chinese, Singapore.
RAFFLES INSTITUTION,
SINGAPORE.
By C. M. Phillips, M.A., LL.B., Jesus
College, Cambridge.
At a meeting of the principal inhabitants of
Singapore at the Residency, on April i,
1823, Sir Stamford Raffles submitted a minute
suggesting the advantage and necessity of
forming an institution in the nature of a college
embracing the following objects : —
(i) " To educate the sons of the higher
order of natives and others ;
(2) " To afford the means of instruction in
the native languages to such of the
Company's servants and others as may
desire it ;
(3) " To collect the scattered literature and
traditions of the country, with what-
ever may illustrate their laws and
customs, and to publish and circulate
in a correct form the most important
of these, with such other works as
may be calculated to raise the char-
acter of the institution, and to be useful
or instructive to the people.
" Raffles."
The Reverend Robert Morrison, D.D., the
distinguished Chinese scholar and famous
missionary, then read a paper suggesting that
the Anglo-Chinese College at Malacca, at that
time under the Dutch, should be removed to
Singapore and amalgamated with the proposed
institution.
Officers were then appointed : W. \\'ilber-
force, M.P., and C. Grant, M.P., were among
the patrons, and Dr. Morrison (at whose
suggestion the meeting had been convened by
Sir Stamford) was the first vice-president.
The proposal to amalgamate the college at
Malacca with the institution at Singapore (an
arrangement never carried out, the college
being subsequently removed to Hongkong) led
to some modification of Sir Stamford's original
ideas, and it was finally decided that the
institution should consist of three departments
viz. : — '
(i) A Scientific Department for the com-
mon advantage of the several colleges
that may be established ;
(2) A Literary and Moral Department for
the Chinese, which the .\nglo-Chinese
College afforded ;
(3) A Literary and Moral Department for
the Siamese, Malays, &c., which
was to be provided for by the
Malayan College.
On May 20, 1823, Sir Stamford, who had
already raised some 17,500 dollars, wrote to
the Government of Bengal that, subject to
the confirmation of the Honourable Court of
Directors of the East India Company, he had
appropriated for the use of the institution (1) a
monthly grant of 300 dollars, (?) an allotment of
ground near the town, and (3} 500 acres of un-
cleared ground for each of the departments
on the usual terms.
Sir Stamford approved of the plan of the pro-
posed building, personally chose the site, and
on June 5, 1823, laid the foundation stone of
the present institution. On June 9th he left
Singapore never to return.
From this point the history of the institution
falls into five distinct periods : —
(A) 1823-8.
No sooner was Sir Stamford's back turned
than there were indications of influence at
work in the Government adverse to the institu-
tion and its objects. A month after his de-
parture the question was raised as to the
advisability of disbursing money for the
building before confirmation of the grants of
ground appropriated to the institution had been
obtained. On November 6th the Government
of Bengal, in reference to Sir Stamford's letter,
stated that, though the utility of such an institu-
tion was unquestionable, there was no urgency
justifying its establishment without the previous
sanction of the Supreme Council — a proceeding
that was not prudent at a time when it was
doubtful whether Singapore would continue to
remain a British possession.
The promised Government donation and
allowances being for the moment withheld.
Sir Stamford, to provide against inconvenience
arising from a want of funds, wrote (January
23, 1824) from Bencoolen to the Resident at
Singapore requesting the continuance of the
Government monthly allowance in aid of the
institution, holding himself personally re-
sponsible for any amount not confirmed by the
Court of Directors.
Finally, on May ii, 1825, the Court of
Directors conveyed its sanction to the grants
and endowments originally made by Sir Stam-
ford Raffles. Notwithstandingthis, the monthly
grant was still withheld.
On February 7, 1826, the Resident, in a
report to Bengal on the promotion of education
in tne settlement, stated that the native in-
habitants were not sufficiently advanced to
derive advantage from the enlarged system
of education held out by the institution, and
suggested in its place the establishment of
schools affording elementary instruction only,
in English, Chinese, and Malay ; the schools
subsequently, if expedient, to be united with
the institution. As a matter of fact, such
elementary schools had been established under
the patronage of the institution.
On January 5, 1827, the trustees were in-
formed that the Government subscription was
to be appropriated solely to the establishment of
elementairy schools for natives.
For many years the monthly allowance was
withheld, and, when repeated applications
were made, it was reduced for a time to 100
dollars, later raised to 200 dollars, and never
paid in full till a comparatively recent date So
much for the allowance.
As to the grants of land, the Government
notified the public on January 9, 1827, of its
intention of resuming on May isi all grants of
land not built upon or applied to the purpose
for which they were originally intended. On
January nth, only two days later, the trustees
of the institution were informed that certain
lands (the 500 acres f(ir each department) were
270
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
included in the list resumable hy Government,
and they were called upon to transfer the
property to the oflicers of the 25th Regiment,
who, on their arrival, not being able to rent a
house on any terms, had been permitted by the
Government to erect a bungalow on the land,
no other spot being available. Apart from the
doubtful right of resuming land granted to an
institution for its permanent support, resump-
tion, according to the public notice, was not
intended to take place till May ist. However,
on February 27th the trustees, probably deem-
ing the ground in question not worth the
expense of clearing, renounced all claim to it,
thus alienating, as time has shown, the most
valuable property of the institution.
Later, in the same year, the trustees made an
unsuccessful attempt to dispose of the institu-
tion to Government, and, in the next, proposed
to invest the funds of the institution to form a
town hall and reading-room.
On November 20, 1828, they apparently held
their last regular meeting, for there is not
building, it should be placed at the disposal of
the trustees of the institution for the erection of
the monument.
On January 5, 1836, the trustees, whose
number had now dwindled down to two, held
a meeting, approved of and accepted the plan
proposed by the subscribers to the monument,
and nominated patrons and trustees. Subscrip-
tion lists were opened in Singapore, and on
receipt of a letter from Mr. J. R. Morrison (son
of Dr. Morrison) in China, stating that he had
collected upwards of 1,000 dollars, with the
promise of an additional sum whenever the
building was completed, a further meeting of
the trustees was held (May 20th), at which it
was determined to commence the repairs forth-
with .
In 1834 a school had been opened in High
Street by an association calling itself " The
Singapore School Society." The school en-
joyed support both from the Government and
individuals, but, from the perishable nature of
the materials with which the building was con-
BAFFLBS INSTITUTION, SINGAPORE.
anywhere any trace of further proceedings or
deliberations on their part until January 5, 1836.
(B) 1828-36.
Fund's being early exhausted, the building,
ill-constructed from the outset, was left in an
unfinished state and unused. In 1832 a local
paper referred to it as " a ruin " and " an eye-
sore to the inhabitants of the settlement." It
may be conveniently mentioned here that the
original design of the building was in the form
of a cross with two wings. The wings were
only added later, one in 1839 and the other in
1841. The next, and so far the last, enlarge-
ment was in 1875, when the Government, at its
own expense, added the present Prize Hall and
three-storied wing adjoining it.
(C) 1836^1.
On January i, 1836,, at a meeting of sub-
scribers to a monument intended to be erected
to the memory of Sir Stamford Raffles, it was
thought that they would best perpetuate the
remembrance of his services by endeavouring
to complete the institution founded by him for
the purposes of education ; and it was agreed
that, as soon as a sufficient sum could be raised
by additional subscriptions for completing the
structed, it soon became necessary to take
measures to provide a more suitable and per-
manent one for the accommodation of the
scholars. This led to the idea of obtaining
and repairing the building originally designed
for the institution. The school committee
were empowered to act in conjunction with
the trustees of the Raffles Institution and monu-
ment funds. An application to the trustees, on
September 15, 1837, to occupy the building for
educational purposes was agreed to, and in
December, 1837, the classes in High Street were
transferred to the institution, which now, for
the first time, was used as a school. The
trustees, however, reserved to themselves, in
the event of funds ever being available for
carrying out the original intentions of the
founder, the right to re-occupy the building
on giving one year's notice and refunding the
money (1,800 dollars) that had been advanced
by the school for repairs.
Inconvenience subsequently arising from
there being two authorities connected with the
institution, whose views and interests, however,
were the same, it was decided on August 9,
1839, that the whole should be vested in the
trustees of the institution, that the school com-
mittee should deliver to the trustees all their
funds and property, and that the trustees should
appoint a school committee of a certam number
of members from their body annually.
In 1839 the trustees obtained from the Govern-
ment a formal grant of the present site
occupied by the institution, and also of the
ground where the convent now stands. Requir-
ing funds to complete the institution, a portion
of the original foundation being as yet unbuilt
on, they disposed, in 1840, of the land now
occupied by the convent, and later, in 1845,
of Institution Hill, then lying waste and pro-
ducing no benefit. This transaction brought
in 360 dollars yearly, and was considered at
that time a good stroke of business. The
institution was thus early left with only the
block of ground on which it now stands. Ten
years later, in 1855, it seemed doubtful if even
this portion would be retained, a communica-
tion being received from the Government
expressing the opinion that the popularity and
usefulness of the schools would be increased
by selling the present building and establishing
with the proceeds schools in central positions
in the town. It should here be explained that
the position of the institution had always been
considered bad, owing to its distance from the
most populous part of the town. Sir Stamford
Raffles, however, had been looking ahead, and
to-day no better situation for the institution
could be found.
It is interesting to note that in 1838 the
institution was divided into an English school,
with an upper and a lower department, a
Chinese school, and a Malay school. This last
was abolished in 1842. There were boarders
and day scholars. Religious exercises were
given, but it was not obligatory for any boy to
attend. Printing was undertaken in the hope
of increasing ' the school funds, while from
1842 the western wing was used as a library.
On March 4, 1844, a girls' school, with boarders
and day scholars, was opened in the building.
In 1856 the institution held three separate
departments — a boys' boarding department,
a girls' school, and a department for day
scholars of all nationalities. As only a few of
the boarders and some of the day scholars paid
school fees, it was suggested, in 1857, that fees
should be exacted from those capable of paying,
a suggestion apparently carried out, for in
1859 the name " Singapore Institution Schools "
appears instead of " Singapore Institution Free
Schools " as previously. Sir Stamford Raffles
intended the building to be called " The Institu-
tion." Until 1867, however, it was known as
the " The Singapore Institution," though there
is correspondence in 1861 showing that it was
sometimes called " The Raffles Institution," its
name since 1867.
Down to 1857 school records, with one or
two exceptions, give lists of the trustees and
also of those forming the school committee.
Thence to i860 only the school committee
are mentioned. General regulations enacted
in 1853 appear to show that the whole adminis-
tration and management of funds was vested
in the school committee, which was annually
elected by the subscribers to the school, to
whom they made an annual report, an arrange-
ment which lasted till 1861, when the affairs
of the institution were reorganised by a decree
of the Supreme Court.
In 1857 the whole question of the trust
became the subject of a friendly suit between
the Government and two of the trustees.
After considerable delay the Court, on May 31,
1859, declared " the educational establishment
called ' The Singapore Institution ' to have
been well founded, established, and endowed
as a charity by the late Hon. Sir Thomas
Stamford Raffles," and ordered the Registrar
to inquire into the original endowments of
the institution, and by whose default any
parts had since been forfeited or lost ; to
propose a plan for the application of the funds
according to the intention of Sir Stamford
Raffles, or as near to it as circumstances
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
271
permitted ; and to appoint twelve trustees, with
arrangements for filling vacancies. The report
of the Registrar, published on May 9, i860,
declared the resumption of land by the Govern-
ment in 1827 to have been unjust, and the
meeting of the trustees in 1836, and their
acts and those of their successors, to have
been irregular and liable to be set aside. It
appointed patrons and trustees, four to be
considered a quorum for ordinary business,
and seven for the election of new trustees, or
for extraordinary business, or for voting large
disbursements, and advised the new trustees to
make application to the Government for the
land unjustly resumed and for the payment
in full of the original monthly allowance.
Eventually on April 27, 1861, the Supreme
Court adopted this report in every particular.
(D) 1861-1902.
The trustees appointed by the Supreme
Court took charge of the building and of all
the property belonging to the institution on
June 15, 1861. The committee, elected by the
subscribers to the boys' schools, at the same
time resigned their functions into the hands
of the trustees. The new trustees immediately
took steps to obtain restitution of the institution
lands, but, unfortunately, some difficulty arose,
and the matter was allowed to drop. The
whole question was considered anew in 1873,
but lapse of time had rendered the sales valid
even if they were originally invalid. In 1874,
however, the Government undertook to keep
the institution building in repair, thus freeing
the institution funds of a considerable expendi-
ture. A fixed yearly allowance of 5,940 dollars
was also granted in compensation for the
land resumed. This allowance was increased
in 1891 to 7,940 dollars.
In 1871 a separate department was established
for Siamese pupils sent by the King of Siam,
the girls' school being removed from the
institution to provide the necessary accom-
modation. The scheme fell through, however,
the next year, the pupils leaving Singapore on
the establishment of an English school in
Bangkok. Again, in 1875, a wing was erected
for the sons of Malay Rajas and chiefs. No
pupils came and so the lower part of the
building was used for class-rooms, the
remainder being occupied until 1887 by the
Raffles Library and Museum.
In 187s the Government established branch
schools and offered the management to the
trustees of the institution. This offer was
accepted, but, on the arrangement proving
undesirable, the management was transferred
in the following year to the Government.
In 1883 the boarders in the boys' school were
removed to the house in Beach Road vacated
by the girls, and again in August, 1884, to a
house opposite the school where the KafHes
Hotel now stands. On the lease expiring in
September, 1887, the boarding establishment
was discontinued. As there had been founda-
tioners since 1840, it was decided to maintain at
least twelve. This number gradually dwindled
down, and ultimately the last foundationer
left in i8g6.
To encourage higher education, a class for
physical science and chemistry was established
in 1889 by Government. Classes were held
at the institution, but not under the manage-
ment of the trustees, the intention of the
Government being to build a Government
Science School. Shortly after his arrival the lec-
turer was also appointed Government analyst,
but, his services as a teacher not always being
available, the classes were abandoned in 1891.
The analyst's office and laboratory, however,
remained in the institution till 1895.
In November, 1891, the trustees urged the
Government to make the institution a Govern-
ment College. The then financial position of
the colony postponed the consideration of
the question. In 1901 there was some agitation
for an improvement in the educational methods
and facilities of the colony, and in 1902 a
Commission of Inquiry was appointed by the
Government. In April, 1902, they reported :
"The trustees of the Raffles Institution have
urged the Government to take over the school
on the grounds that management by the
trustees, who are constantly changing, is un-
satisfactory, and that they find it impossible to
maintain an adequate staff of fully qualified
teachers from home, as they are not able to
offer pensions, and the funds of the institution
do not permit them to give as good terms as
those received by Government teachers." The
commissioners recommended that the institu-
tion should be taken over by Government, and
in October the Government announced that, in
response to the appeal of the trustees, they
would take over and administer the Raffles
Institution Schools.
(E) 1903.
On January i, 1903, the Government assumed
the direct management and control of the
Raffles Institution.
The institution is now an English school
confining itself to instruction in the upper
(Standards V., VI., VII.) and secondary classes,
and relying chiefly on the Government branch
schools, where instruction is limited to
Standard IV., for its supply of material.
Education is unsectarian. After the ordinary
English course, '• special " and commercial
classes carry on the secondary work of the
institution. Included in the "special," which
prepares pupils for the Cambridge Junior and
Senior Local and Queen's Scholarship exam-
inations, is a science department (restarted in
igoi) giving instruction in general experi-
mental science and experimental mechanics.
The commercial class was started in July, 1903,
to meet the great and constant demand for
clerks in mercantile offices and in the town
generally, and is encouraged by the local
Chamber of Commerce, which holds an
examination annually and offers prizes and
certificates to successful candidates. The major
portion of the instruction is devoted to short-
hand (Pitman's), typewriting on several different
makes of machines, and a general business
training.
A training class for local teachers was opened
in 1906. The teaching staff consists of ten
European masters, either graduates of British
universities or certificated, two of whom are
technical masters and ten locally engaged
masters, possessing the Cambridge Local Senior
Certificate.
The number of scholars is between five
hundred and six hundred. With a view to the
gradual giving-up of primary instruction, the
trustees, in 1888, raised the standard of admis-
sion to Standard II., but in 1899 the school was
again thrown open to the two lowest standards.
Since then, however, the extra accommodation
required for the science and commercial classes,
and the increasing number of pupils passed on
from the branch and similar schools, have led
to the gradual abandonment of the lower
standards. In October, i9o6,it became necessary
to stop further admission to Standard IV. In-
struction is now (from October, 1907) confined
to Standard V. and upwards.
From the beginning of 1873 a uniform fee of
15 cents monthly was exacted in advance from
each boy ; in 1876 this was varied from
25 cents to I dollar, according to the class ; in
1878 it was fixed at 50 cents for the lower and
1 dollar for the upper school ; in May, 1898, it
became 10 dollars throughout ; and in Julv,
1907, it was raised to 2 dollars a month. In the
" special " and commercial classes the fee has
always been 3 dollars monthly. Fees are
payable quarterly and in advance.
The institution enjoys large prize and scholar-
ship funds given by private individuals and
by the Government.
Holidays amount roughly to ten days at
Christmas, a month at the Chinese New Year,
and a month in the middle of the year. There
is no school on Saturdays.
Adjoining the school building is a large
field where football (Association) is more
favoured than cricket, and where athletic
sports are held annually. A miniature rifle
range, with disappearing targets, was fitted up
early in 1907.
A Volunteer Cadet Corps with drum and
fife band was formed in January, 1902. It
was intended for boys of all schools, but till
the end of igo6 was practically maintained
and continued by Raffles boys only. It is
armed with the '303 Lee-Enfield carbine, and
is equipped by the Government. The corps,
now 150 strong, consists of three companies,
one from each of the three leading schools in
the settlement. The cadets form a portion of
the Singapore Volunteer Infantry and join the
Regular and Auxiliary Forces in all parades
and field manoeuvres.
THE RAFFLES GIRLS' SCHOOL.
The girls' school, consisting of boarders and
day scholars, was opened in the Singapore
Institution on March 4, 1844. To provide
accommodation for a Siamese department, the
school was removed in 1871 from the institu-
tion building to an adjacent house in Bras
Basah Road rented for the purpose. In 1877,
on the rent being increased, the school was
moved a little distance down Beach Road. As
the building was unsuitable and the situa-
tion inconvenient, the trustees in 1881 com-
menced building a school on their own
ground near the boys' school, the Government
contributing 6,000 dollars. On July 23, 1883,
the building was completed and occupied. In
1888 an addition was made to one of the
wings, the Government paying half the ex-
pense ; and later, in 1904, a training school
was erected by the side of the main building.
The girls' school for long had been managed
by a committee of ladies, the trustees merely
finding funds. In 1878, however, as a part of
Raffles Institution, it was placed under the
direct management and more immediate
control of the trustees. At the same time it
was arranged that the school should be
regularly visited by ladies for bringing observa-
tions and suggestions before the trustees.
Subsequently, however, in August, 1888, the
lady visitors were formed into a " Ladies'
Committee " to undertake the supervision of all
affairs in the girls' school, the trustees reserv-
ing to themselves matters relating to the
appointment of teachers and expenditure on
items over 20 dollars.
For financial reasons the boarding depart-
ment was closed at the end of 1893, and the
question of closing even the day department
was taken into consideration. Succeeding years,
however, found the school self-supporting. On
January i, 1903, together with the boys'
school, it was taken over by the Govern-
ment.
Mr. C. M. Phillips, M.A., LL.B., son
of the late Mr. C. Phillips, of Shalbourn,
Wiltshire, and of Singapore, is the Principal
of Raffles Institution. He was born in Singa-
pore in 1870, and educated at York House,
Reading, Berks, and other schools. He re-
turned to Singapore in 1886, entered Raffles
Institution as a pupil, and competed for the
Queen's Scholarships, which were then of
i:2oo value for four years. In 1899 he gained
the first scholarship, and entered Jesus' College,
Cambridge, where he remained until 1893, taking
his B.A. and LL.D. degrees with second-class
honours. Returning to Singapore, he vifent to
Raffles Institution as Assistant Master. In
272
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
1897 he proceeded to the II.A. degree. Subse-
quentlj' he was appointed Assistant Principal,
and in 1907 was promoted Principal. He has
also acted as Director of Public Instruction.
He is the captain commanding the Singapore
C. M. PHILLIPS, M.A., LL.B.
(Principal, Raffles Institution, Singapore.)
Cadet Corps, and a prominent member of the
Singapore Rifle Association, shooting being
his favourite recreation. He is the author
of a book entitled "The Malay Peninsula"
(historical and geographical), which was pub-
lished at home in 1906, and is intended,
principally, for use in the English schools of
the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay
States.
ST. JOSEPH'5 INSTITUTION.
The premier Roman Catholic educational
institution in Singapore is St. Joseph's Institu-
tion, which has been established for over half
a century. Founded in 1852 by the Christian
Brothers, it has done consistently good work
ever since in training the boys of the colony,
and on the occasion of its jubilee, in 1902, the
college was incorporated. The existing im-
posing building in Bras Basah Road is a new
one, and was erected under the supervision
of the present director, the Rev. Brother
Michael, six or seven years ago, but the
number of pupils seeking admission has grown
so rapidly that further additions are now
being maide. In the older building there
was accommodation for 80 boys, and when
the enlargements have been completed there
will be room for between 1,200 and 1,300.
The institution is divided into three depart-
ments— elementary, special, and commercial.
The elementary department is taught according
to the Government code, and boys are admitted
to the special or commercial departments after
passing Standard VII. The fees in the
elementary department are 2 dollars (4s. 8d.)
a month, and 3 dollars (7s.) in the other two
sections. A limited number of boarders reside
on the premises. A good secondary education,
including the Queen's Scholarship Standard,
is given in the higher sections, with special
instruction in shorthand, book-keeping, type-
writing, and correspondence in the commer-
cial department. The school is staffed by
26 masters, of whom 15 are Brothers and
II secular masters. The college premises
are built in the most modern style suited to
the requirements of a tropical climate. The
land on which they stand was a royal grant
from the Government for educational pur-
poses. There is a fine playground, four and
a half acres in extent, opposite the school in
Bras Basah Road, and a thoroughly equipped
gymnasium on the grounds. In the Queen's
Scholarship examination, held in 1905, this
institution obtained the first, second, and third
scholarships, and in that held in 1907 it secured
the first and third.
OUTRAM ROAD SCHOOL,
SINGAPORE.
This school was opened in February, 1906,
by his Excellency the Governor, Sir John
Anderson. The number of pupils now on the
roll is 502, of whom 93 per cent, are Chinese.
The handsome and spacious school building
comprises eighteen large classrooms, with
headmaster's room, assistant masters' room,
and lady teachers' room. Attached to the
school is a fairly large playground. Mr. W. J.
Parry is the headmaster.
PINANQ FREE SCHOOL.
Pinang Free School, one of the leading
educational institutions in the Straits Settle-
ments, has had a long career of usefulness.
\\'ithin its walls manv of the foremost resi-
dents of the northern settlement have been
equipped for the battle of life, as will be seen
from the biographical sketches appearing in
this book.
The leading spirit in founding the Free
School was the Rev. R. S. Hutchings, Colonial
Chaplain of Pinang in 1815. It was he who
submitted to the Governor of that day a
proposal for the establishment of a public
school in Prince of Wales Island, with sug-
gestions for its management. His Excellency
received these suggestions favourably, and
appointed a committee to investigate the subject.
In response to an appeal to the public,
subscriptions to the amount of 10,867 dollars
were received between 1816 and 1824. In
addition to this the Governor promised, on
behalf of the East India Company, a. donation
of 1,500 dollars, a monthly subscription of
200 dollars, and a piece of ground, then known
as Church Square, as a site for the erection
of the school buildings. By the original
scheme there were to be two schools — one
for boys and the other for girls — and there
were to be boarders as well as day scholars
in each. The school was to be conducted "on
the plan adopted by Dr. Bell at Madras." It
was laid down " that great care should be
taken that the prejudices of parents averse to
the Christian religion should not by any means
be violated." Fees were to be paid by those
who could afford them, but children from a
distance, or whose parents were incapable of
supporting them, were to be maintained and
clothed at the expense of the school. It was
intended that, if possible, the children of
"Malayan, Chooliah, and Hindustani parents,"
who were not desired to learn English, should
be taught their own languages, and that, in
addition to the ordinary elementary subjects of
instruction, the children should " at a proper
age be instructed in useful employments as
carpenters, smiths, shoemakers, tailors, book-
binders, &c." The idea of teaching children
handicrafts, however, has never come to frui-
tion, though a brief attempt in this direction
was made in 1853.
A day school for boys was opened on
October 21, 1816, at a house in Love Lane,
and continued to be conducted on rented
premises until buildings were opened in 1821
on the site still occupied by the school. The
boys' day school has continued without inter-
ruption from 1810 to the present day.
A girls' school was opened in 1817. From
1821 to 1828 it ceased to exist, but it was
reopened in the latter year, to be again and
finally closed in 1851.
The boys' boarding school lasted from 1826
to 1864. In 1821 two classes for the instruc-
tion of Tamils and Malays respectively in their
ST. JOSEPH'S INSTITUTION, SINGAPORE.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
273
ftii'iil
■m^
PINANG FREE SCHOOL.
own languages were opened on the school
premises. The Tamil school lasted till 1823,
and the Malay school till 1826. From 1821 to
1839 there was a branch Malay school at
Glugor. Tn 1837 a Malay school was opened
at Ayer Itam, but it lasted for a few months
only. In 185S a Malay school was opened at
Bayar Lepas. It was very soon transferred to
Glugor, where it lasted till 1863.
In August, 1817, when the school had been
opened the greater part of a year, the number
of boys on the roll was 49. In 1830 there
were 90 boys, but by 1840 the numbers had
fallen to 80. By 184S, however, the number
rose to 173. This large increase seems to have
been due to a sudden awakening on the part of
the Chinese to the value of an English educa-
tion. There were 296 boys in i860, 274 in
1870, 573 in 1880, 798 in 1900, and 837 in igo6.
The education given in the early days of the
school appears to have been confined to read-
ing, writing, arithmetic, and religious know-
ledge. As years went by other subjects were
added, but the character of the school was
entirely elementary until 1891, when, with
the express intention of raising the type of
education given, the committee appointed a
University man as headmaster in the person of
Mr. Hargreaves, previously assistant master in
Leatherhead school. Mr. Hargreaves held the
headmastership for thirteen years, and his
success may be judged from the fact that
during that time no fewer than ten Queen's
Scholarships tenable at English Universities
were gained by his pupils. The school is now
under the control of Mr. R. H. Pinhorn, M.A.,
headmaster, who is assisted by a staff of 8
European masters, and 16 Chinese, Malay, and
Indian teachers.
All the instruction is given in English, and
no native languages are taught. As less than
3 per cent, of the boys know anything of
the language when they first come to school,
the great problem is to teach them English
as quickly and as thoroughly as possible. The
adoption within the last three years of the
direct method of modern language instruction
has already more than justified itself, and the
results will undoubtedly become more and
more apparent as boys who are now in the
lower forms work their way to the top of the
school.
There are at present 837 boys in the school,
all of whom are day scholars. Of these no
fewer than 78 per cent, are Chinese. The
pupils include children of six or seven years of
age, who have not been to school previously,
and youths of eighteen and nineteen. At the
time of writing, 30 per cent, of the scholars
were fifteen years of age or over. Boys in
the top form, after passing the senior Cam-
bridge Local examination, compete for Queen's
Scholarships provided by the Straits Settle-
ments Government entitling the holders to
enter an English University.
The school possesses the following scholar-
ship prizes : The " Gottlieb " Scholarship of
60 dollars per annum ; the " Tanku Syed
Hussein" Scholarship of 84 dollars per annum,
for Mahomedan boys only; and the "Lee Boon
Choe " Scholarships of 30 dollars and 20
dollars per annum respectively ; the "Diamond
Jubilee " Scholarship of 20 dollars per annum ;
the " Centenary " Gold Medal ; the " Yeap
Gek Ee Neoh " Prizes (interest on 1,000
offered by the Government to promising boys
from the vernacular schools.
The outdoor side of school life is not
neglected. There is a flourishing Association
football club, and during 1906 a cadet corps,
which shows every sign of vigorous life, was
started under the command of the second
master, Lieut. W. Hamilton.
Fees are charged at the rate of 3 dollars a
month for boys in the upper school, and 2
dollars in the lower and preparatory schools.
In addition to the ordinary Government grant-
in-aid (he school receives a special fixed grant
of 1,000 dollars a month from Government,
and all ordinary repairs to the buildings are
executed by the Public Works Department
free of charge. The ordinary annual income
of the school amounts to about 53,000 dollars.
It is derived from the following 1 sources :
THE MASTERS, PINANG FREE SCHOOL.
dollars given for facility in English conversa-
tion) ; the " Ghi Hin Society " trust, giving
free education to six Chinese boys ; and the
" Shaik Imam " trust, giving free education to
twelve Mahomedan boys. In addition, there
are about forty boys holding scholarships
boys' fees, about 42 per cent. ; special grant
from Government, about 23 per cent. ; ordinary
grant-in-aid from Government, about 20 per
cent. ; annual subscription from Chinese, about
8 per cent. ; and interest on investments, about
7 per cent.
274
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
The present handsome pile of buildings in
Farquhar Street was erected piecemeal. The
half near St. George's Church was built in
i8g6, and the other half ten years later. In
both cases the necessary money was provided
partly by Government grants and partly by
public subscription, of which the Chinese con-
tributed 98 percent, in 1896 and 86 per cent, in
IQ06. The school premises are situated on land
the area of which is about two and one-third
acres. The size of the playground is quite
inadequate for the needs of the school, and
negotiations are in progress for its extension
by the purchase of an adjoining piece of land.
The available inside accommodation is also
taxed to the uttermost, and boys have con-
stantly to be refused admission owing to lack
of room.
The constitution of the Pinang Free School
is regulated by an Ordinance passed by the
Government of the Straits Settlements in
1905. This Ordinance provides that the affairs
of the school shall be managed by a committee
consisting of not fewer than ten or more than
sixteen persons. Certain local officials hold
office cx-officio. The remaining members are
appointed by the Governor, but, on vacancies
occurring, the committee have the privilege
of submitting names to his Excellency for
appointment.
At the present time (August, 1907) the
following gentlemen constitute the committee :
the Hon. the Resident Councillor (the Hon. Mr.
R. N. Bland) ; the Colonial Chaplain (the Rev.
F. W. Haines) ; the Inspector of Schools (Mr.
A. E. Pringle) ; the Assistant Protector of
Chinese (Mr. D. Bently) ; the Assistant
Treasurer (Mr. G. Copley) ; the Auditor (Mr.
W. A. Bickriell) — all cx-officio members — and
Messrs. A. D. Neubronner, C. G. May, Gau
Ngoh Bee, Cheah Tek Thye, Leong Lok Heng,
Chung Thye Phin, Yeoh Guan Seok, Lim
Eovv Hong.
Mr. R. H. Pinhorn, M.A., Headmaster of
Pinang Free School, is the son of the Rev. C. A.
Pinhorn, Vicar of Hanney, Berks. He was
born in 1871 and was educated at Wolver-
hampton School and Keble College, Oxford,
where he took second-class honours in modern
history. In 1896 he was appointed assistant
master at the Royal Masonic School, Bushey,
Herts, and remained there until he was ap-
pointed to his present position in December,
1904,
ANGLO-CHINESE SCHOOL.
Within the past twenty years the American
Methodist Episcopal Church has established a
chain of schools from Singapore through the
B'ederated Malay States to Pinang. One of
these is the Anglo-Chinese School, Pinang. It
was first opened on May 28, 1891, in a shop-
house in Carnarvon SIreet, and on the first day
only one scholar put in an appearance. The
numbers, however, gradually increased, and
when the school closed for the Chinese New
Year (February, 1892), more than sixty boys
had been enrolled. By 1893 the school had
acquired five houses in Carnarvon Street in
which scholars were being trained. The Rev.
G. Fj Pykett, of the Anglo-Chinese School,
Singapore, was appointed Principal in April
of that year, and the school grew so rapidly
that in 1896 the present magnificent school
building in Maxwell Road was erected at a
cost of 21,000 dollars. Since then the school
has continued increasing in numbers and
efficiency, and quite recently an adjoining
building, formerly used as the Anglo- Chinese
Girls' School, was purchased for the accom-
modation of the primary department. There
are now 900 scholars on the books, of whom
80 per cent, are Chinese, about 12 per cent.
Malays, and the balance Tamils, Eurasians, and
a few Europeans. The teaching staff numbers
26, including 4 ladies. Seven of the teachers
are Europeans, the remainder being Chinese,
Eurasians, and Malays. The school is financed
by a Government grant-in-aid, by school fees
at the rate of 2 dollars a head a month, and
by subscriptions, raised both locally and in
America. The scholars vary in age from six
to twenty years, and the school curriculum
carries them as far as the junior and senior
Cambridge Local examinations and the com-
mercial examination of the Chamber of
Commerce. In September, 1903, the school
was refurnished throughout on up-to-date
lines, including American automatic desks, at
a cost of 6,000 dollars, subscribed by several
Chinese gentlemen of Pinang. There is at
the school a well-selected library, given by
Mr. Foo Choo Choon, and scholarships have
been founded by Messrs. Khoo Hun Yiang,
Tye Kee Yoon, and Lean Leong Fee. About
6 per cent, of the scholars, sons of poor parents
or orphans, are educated free. The religious
instruction consists of simple Bible lessons,
with no denominational teaching, and although
scholars may be withdrawn from this part of
the curriculum if the parents desire it, it is
significant that within the last -seven years
there has been only one instance of advan-
tage being taken of this " conscience clause."
At the back of the institution is a playground
250 feet long and 160 feet wide. The school
property includes also a large block of shop
buildings; so that the school premises may be
enlarged as required in the future. The Anglo-
Tamil School in Dato' Kramat Road and the
Anglo-Chinese Schools at Bukit Mertajam and
Xibong Tibal are offshoots from the parent
school. They accommodate together close on
300 scholars.
ANGLO-CHINESE GIRLS'
SCHOOL.
The establishment of an Anglo-Chinese Girls'
School in Pinang was a natural corollary to the
founding of the Anglo-Chinese Boys' School.
It was started about 1892 in the Priory, Northam
Road. In 1903 it acquired a site and bnilt a
school, boarding school, and Deaconess' Home
in Pinang Road, the entire cost being met by
funds from the United States of America.
When, in the early part of 1907, these pre-
mises were required for the boys' school, the
girls were housed in the Winchell Home,
Anson Road. This commodious residential
bungalow is admirably suited to the purpose,
and the only disadvantage is that, on account
of the growing tendency of the Chinese to
have an English education given to their
daughters, the Home will soon be too small to
meet the requirements of the school. There
are altogether about 150 scholars, of whom 30
are boarded in the Home, the remainder being
day scholars. Chinese form by far the largest
proportion of the scholars, but there is a
sprinkling of Eurasians, Tamils, and Malays,
The staff consists of Miss Lily, the head-
mistress, and nine assistants. A sound educa-
tion up to the seventh standard is given, and
the religious teaching consists of optional
simple Bible teaching, but the withdrawals
from this are ,very few. The school fees
for day scholars vary from i dollar to 2
dollars a month, according to age, and these,
together with the Government grants-in-aid,
form the chief local sources of income. About
half the total cost of the upkeep of the school
comes from the Mission headquarters and
generous donors in America. The Winchell
Home, which has about seven acres of grounds
beautifully laid out as gardens, tennis courts,
and such like, is valued at about 32,000 dollars.
The Rev. Q. F. Pykett, who has been
Headmaster of the Pinang Anglo-Chinese
School since 1893, was born on December 20,
1864, at Brandon, Grantham, in England.
Educated at Hough, Grantham, he became
assistant master at Rawmarsh Free Grammar
School, Rotherham, and at All Saints', Plum-
stead, Woolwich. He came to Singapore as
a teacher in the Anglo-Chinese School in
February, 1901. In addition to his scholastic
duties he does a considerable amount of ver-
nacular missionary work, and was for some
years the Presiding Elder of the Pinang
District of the Mission.
ST. XAVIER'S INSTITUTION.
St. Xavier's Institution, founded in 1852,
and originally known as St. Xavier's Free
School, is one of the oldest centres of educa-
tion in Pinang. It owes its inception to the
Roman Catholic Order known as the Christian
Brothers, whose endeavour was, and has been
always, to provide a thorough education, both
in primary and secondary departments, to
students of all nationalities. For some years
its development was gradual. The central
part of the present building was erected in
1858, and testimony to the foresight of the
management was shown by the fact that
EEV, BROTHER JAMES.
(St. Xavier's Institution, Pinang.)
within the last fifteen years rapid progress
has marked the work of the institution. In
1892 the attendance, formerly under a hundred,
increased nearly sixfold, while by 1907 it had
risen to the record number of 1,150. From
time to time the main building has been
enlarged, and plans have been recently ap-
proved for the erection of a new wing at a
cost of 35,000 dollars. Half of this sum will
be provided by the Government and the other
half by public subscription. The wealthy
Chinese of Pinang, who have been exceed-
ingly generous in supporting the school since
the beginning, have already promised 13,000
dollars towards this outlay. When the work
is completed the school buildings will have cost
100,000 dollars, and will form a distinguished
pile in a classical style of architecture. The
most striking feature of the building is a
large statue of St. John Baptist de la Salle, the
founder of the congregation of the Brothers,
who lived in the latler part of the seven-
teenth century and instituted class teaching
as distinguished from individual instruction.
Members of his congregation are now to be
met with in almost every country in the world,
THE ANGLO-CHINESE SCHOOL, PINANG.
The Headmaster (Rev. G. F. Pykett) and Teaching Staff, with View of the Building and Gkovps of the Scholars.
276
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
continuing his work and keeping it abreast of
the times. Since 1879 St. Xavier's has been a
registered grant-in-aid school, and has been
remarkably successful in training boys for the
junior and senior Cambridge Local examina-
tions, for the Queen's Scholarship, and for the
Pinang Chamber of Commerce commercial ex-
amination, as well as in training pupil-teachers.
The instruction in English begins in the lowest
classes, many of the pupils joining the school
without knowing a word of the language. The
" natural " method of teaching through the
medium of objects, pictures, and diagrams is
adopted. In all the standards " conversation
lessons " or " class talks " are held, and thus
correct pronunciation land expression are in-
sured. In the secondary classes particularly
the aim is to fit the pupils for the practical
business of life. Lessons in commercial corre-
spondence, book-keeping, and kindred subjects
are regularly given, and opportunity is afforded
for practice in typewriting. For the past ten
years the results of public examinations have
been most satisfactory. Four of the Queen's
chaplain of Pinang, who taught a few girls
on the verandah of her private house. The
school was first organised as a regular
institution in 1884, with the object, princi-
pally, of bringing within the reach of every
class of English-speaking girls a thorough
English education. But with the increased
desire of the Chinese to have their children
educated in English the scope of the school
was enlarged, and now the majority of its
hundred scholars are Chinese girls. The
institution is governed by a body of trustees
appointed by the Government, and is examined
annually by the Director of Public Instruction.
Owing to the limited accommodation afforded
by the school buildings, over sixty girls had
to be refused admission last year. The
Government grant-in-aid, school fees, and
subscriptions, principally from members of
St. George's Church, are the sources of
income.
Girls in the higher standards are prepared
for the junior and senior Cambridge Local
examinations, and the general high standard
three large wings. There are altogether about
500 scholars, including 150 orphans, 120 paying
boarders, and 230 day pupils. The Govern-
ment makes a special monthly grant of 100
dollars towards the upkeep of the orphanage ;
the grant-in-aid earned by results amounts to
between 2,000 and 3,000 dollars a year. The
balance of the yearly expenditure (about
16,000 dollars) is raised by public subscription,
school fees, and the sale of fancy work,
bouquets, and other articles made by the
Sisters and the orphans. The scholars are
mostly Chinese, the remainder being Eura-
sians and Tamils. Comfortable accommoda-
tion is provided for the boarders, who are
charged 23 dollars a month in the first class
and 15 dollars in the second class. The
charges for day scholars are i dollar a
month up to the fourth standard, and 2
dollars afterwards. Religious teaching, which
is in the Roman Catholic faith, is optional.
The teaching staff consists of 17 European
choir Sisters and 14 lay Sisters. Quite recently
the institution was incorporated.
'^r'^i>i^^^~''i^:'^f<
ST. XAVIER'S INSTITUTION, PINANG.
and ten of the Government Scholarships have
been gained, and for the past two years all
the prizes offered by the Pinang Chamber of
Commerce have been carried off by the pupils
following the commercial course.
There are on the books 825 Chinese scholars,
300 Eurasians, and 25 Tamils. Of these about
230 board in the school, as also do a number
of orphan children who are educated free.
Another 150 day boys receive tuition gratis
on the recommendation of benefactors.
The charges made are 26 dollars a month
for first-class boarders and 20 dollars for
second-class boarders, the day scholars being
charged 2 dollars a month up to the seventh
standard, above which the fee is 3 dollars.
Religious instruction is given in the Roman
Catholic faith, but this is only compulsory to
children of Roman Catholic parents. The
teaching staff comprises 17 European Brothers
and 14 Chinese and Eurasian lay masters.
ST. QEORQE'S GIRLS' SCHOOL.
St. George's Girls' School, in Pinang, had
its origin in a very humble way. It was
started by Mrs. Biggs, wife of a former
of excellence of the school reflects great credit
upon Miss Constance Jones, the head-mistress,
and her staff of four assistant teachers.
Religious instruction is given according to
the teaching of the Church of England, and
is under the superintendence of the Colonial
Chaplain (the Rev. F. W. Haines), but the
children of parents who do not belong to
the English Church may be withdrawn during
the hours of religious instruction.
THE CONVENT.
The Pinang Convent, standing upon a site
embracing three acres and extending from
Farquhar Street to the sea, is one of the
most valuable properties in the centre of the
town. It was founded about i860 by the
French Order of Les Soeurs du Saint Enfant
Jesus, and the good it has done in educating
girls of all nationalities since its inception is
immeasurable. The site was given to the
Order by the Missions des Etrangeres, and
the first small building was erected by public
subscription raised locally and in Europe.
From time to time additions have been made
to the original buildings, which now comprise
HIGH SCHOOL, MALACCA.
The High School at Malacca is a Govern-
ment school for boys, and occupies two
commodious buildings situated on the side
of St. Paul's Hill. The school was originally
named the " Free School," and dates back to
1826. It was first supported by the balance
of an old Dutch fund and by private donations,
and was managed by a committee of the
principal residents of Malacca.
The school at that time appears to have
been a central school, and classes for various
nationalities were attached to it, in which
the children were first taught in their own
vernacular and afterwards transferred to the
English school.
In 1878, the funds at the disposal of the
committee being insufficient to enable them
to employ efficient masters, the Government,
at their request, agreed to take over the
school. It then became the Malacca High
School, and shortly afterwards was removed
to the newly constructed building in which it
is now accommodated.
During the last five or six years the number
of pupils has increased considerably, and
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
277
additional accommodation lias had to be found
to meet tliis increase. There are at present
about 530 boys, mostly Chinese, in attendance,
with a staff of 15 teachers, consisting of 4
Europeans and 11 local masters. The school
prepares boys for the Government examina-
tions and for the Cambridge Local examinations.
The Malacca Diamond Jubilee Scholarship,
founded in 1898, has been won each year by
a High School boy.
In 1902 a cadet corps of 50 boys was
started in Malacca in connection with the
Malacca Volunteer Corps, and to this the
High School contributed its quota of 25 boys,
the remaining 25 being drawn from the St.
Francis School. Eventually the corps became
exclusively the High School Cadet Corps.
At present the corps numbers 80, and is in
a flourishing condition. It is under the
command of Captain Howell, the Head-
master, who is assisted by Lieuts. Stockwell
and Mackenzie. A miniature range has re-
cently been constructed in the school play-
ground to encourage the members of the
corps to practise shooting. Shooting is also
carried on throughout the year with very fair
results at the Bukit Sebukor range with the
■303 carbine under service conditions.
Mr. James Howell, Headmaster of the
Malacca High School, was born in London in
1862 and was educated and trained for the
teaching profession in the metropolis. In
1881 he was appointed Assistant Master of the
Pinang Free School, and three years later
became Headmaster of the Malay College,
Singapore. In 1890 he was transferred to
J. HOWELL.
(Headmaster, Malacca High School.)
Malacca as Superintendent of Education, and
was given his present position in 1893. For
several years he has been the tennis champion
of Malacca. He is a y.P. for the settlement.
MALAY EDUCATION IN
MALACCA.
The progress of education among Malavs
has attained to a high standard in Malacca,
where, in a territory about as large as North-
umberland, there are 64 vernacular schools for
boys and 13 for girls. In these schools 5,000
Malay children are instructed by 194 teachers
of their own nationality. The Malay boy
enters school at the age of seven, and after
five years he is able to read and write his own
language both in Romanised and Malay char-
acters, to do arithmetic in the Straits and
English standards, and to show a fair know-
ledge of the world around him. In the girls'
schools, native industries, such as lace-making
and sarong-weaving, are encouraged. The
school teachers are recruited from the most
Mr. W. Hargreaves, M.A., consented to take
up the headmastership of a residential school,
bringing to the furtherance of the scheme an
experience of thirteen years as Headmaster of
the Pinang Free School. The High Com-
missioner refused to accept the scheme in its
entirety, but consented to the establishment of
an experimental school for three years. So
successful was the venture that his Excellency
has now sanctioned the building of a spacious
school with accommodation for 150 boys.
The new building, which will cost some 120,000
GOVERNMENT GENERAL SCHOOL, MALACCA.
promising scholars, who become pupil-teachers,
and then receive two years' training in college
in the art of teaching. Malays are showing
an increased interest in the education of their
children, and there is keen competition among
the scholars to enter the teaching profession.
Mr. H. T. Clark, Principal of the Govern-
ment Malay College and Superintendent of
Malay Vernacular Schools, Malacca, was born
in 1878 and received his education at Cullam
College, Oxfordshire. He was appointed Assis-
tant Master of Raffles Institution, Singapore, in
1905, and has held his present appointment
since December, 1906.
MALAY RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL,
KUALA KANGSA.
The history of the Malay Residential School
at Kuala Kangsa, though -brief, is probably
one of the most interesting in the annals of
educational progress in the Federated Malay
States. In 1904 Sir William Treacher, then
Resident-General, and Mr. R. D. Wilkinson,
then Federal Inspector of Schools, conceived
the idea of starting a residential school for
Malays of high class, conducted, so far as
circumstances permitted, on the lines of an
English public school. The reason for the
step was that boys who were supposed to be
in attendance at day-schools were anything
but regular in their attendance, with the result
that the Malay was coming to be regarded as
indolent and ignorant, and in no way fitted to
take his part in the work of life.
dollars, will, it is hoped, be ready for occupa-
tion during igo8.
Great interest is taken in this school by the
Sultan of Perak, who told the boys at a recent
annual prize distribution that the day had
passed when a boy's future was established
simply because he was the son of a Sultan :
now, even the son of a Sultan would have no
position in the world unless he acquired know-
ledge to supplement the advantages of his
birth.
To show how well the school has progressed
it may be mentioned that out of 73 boys on the
register 71 passed in the recent Government
Inspector's Examination — 19 in the seventh
standard— and Mr. Wilkinson reported : " The
school is annually contributing an appreciable
number of qualified Malays to the Federated
Malay States Government service. Sixteen
have entered the service, six of whom are
holding higher positions than Government
clerkships."
Mr. Hargreaves, who took his degree in
Dubhn, is extremely popular with the boys.
He has two assistants, Messrs. R. C. W
Rowlands and Abdul Majid.
VICTORIA INSTITUTION,
SELANQOR.
This school is the outcome of a movement
to provide a permanent memorial at Kuala
Lumpor of the Jubilee of Queen Victoria's
reign. When the fund for this purpose was
opened in 1887, the form which the memorial
278
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
should take had not been decided upon, but
the subscribers eventually agreed to expend the
money upon an institution " to be maintained
for the purpose primarily of providing in-
struction in the English language to day
scholars o£ all nationalities and classes, and for
other educational purposes."
arithmetic, writing, drawing, singing, &c.
The lower school, consisting of Forms I. to
IV., is open to boys under thirteen years of
age. The course includes reading, writing,
arithmetic, composition, geography, drawing,
singing, gymnastics, and drill. The upper
school comprises Forms V. to VII. In addition
VICTORIA INSTITUTION CADET CORPS, KUALA LUMPOR.
The idea originated with the late Mr. Yap
Kwan Seng (Captain China), Mr. Loke Yew, and
the late Mr. Tambusami. Mr. W. H. Treacher,
C.M.G. (now Sir W. H. Treacher, K.C.M.G.),
the British Resident, Selangor, brought it to
the notice of H.E. Sir Cecil Clementi Smith,
G.C.M.G., Governor of the Straits Settlements,
who received it with the warmest approval,
while H.H. the Sultan and the Raja Muda
showed their sympathy in a practical manner.
At a meeting of subscribers in June, 1893, it
was resolved to appoint twelve trustees for the
management of the affairs of the Institution,
and the British Resident of Selangor (Mr. W.
H. Treacher) was elected president.
The school is situated in the centre of the
town of Kuala Lumpor, and the grounds, with
the excellent playing-fields, occupy about five
and a half acres.
The foundation stone of the first block of
permanent buildings was laid by Mrs. W. H.
Treacher (now Lady Treacher) on August 14,
1893, and the following year the school was
opened, providing accommodation for about
a hundred boys. From time to time fresh
blocks of buildings have been added, including
a fine gymnasium, and there is now accom-
modation for about six hundred boys. This,
however, is not sufficient for the numbers of
those who seek to enter the school, and efforts
are being made by the trustees to obtain the
means for erecting another building, containing
several classrooms and a large assembly hall.
Early in the year 1894 the first Headmaster,
Mr. Bennett E. Shaw, M.A. Oxon., was
appointed, and this gentleman still holds the
post. He has a staff of 22 European and
Oriental assistants.
The school is divided into three departments.
The preparatory department is located in
a separate building and carried on entirely by
lady-teachers. Boys are received from six to
nine years of age, and are taught to speak
English by the "natural ' method, reading,
to the subjects taught in the lower school, the
course includes English history and literature,
mathematics, science, geometrical and model
drawing, book-keeping, typewriting and com-
mercial subjects. The highest forms are com-
posed of those boys who are studying for the
commercial or Civil Service examinations, or
who wish to enter for the Cambridge Local
and scholarship examinations, and the course
Hood Treacher, K.C.M.G., value 120 dollars per
annum, open to boys under seventeen years of
age who have been pupils in this school for
two years, tenable for two years. (6) The
Rodger Medal, founded by Sir John Pickersgill
Rodger, K.C.M.G., and awarded annually to
the best scholar in this school, (c) Apprentice
scholarships, value 5 dollars per mensem,
awarded by the Selangor Government to boys
desirous of learning a trade, {d] Prizes of
school-books awarded by the trustees to boys
who distinguish themselves throughout the
school. ((") " The Steve Harper Memorial
Fund," from which school-books are provided
for certain boys whose parents are in poor
circumstances.
The majority of the boys leave the school at
the age of sixteen years, and the chief object of
the trustees is to provide a sound English educa-
tion for such boys, so that they may then be
fitted to enter the service of the Government,
to engage in commercial pursuits, or to study
in special schools for the various professions.
Great attention is paid to all details which affect
the health and general well-being of the boys,
and a carefully graduated system of physical
drill and gymnastics includes the whole school.
The effects of this system are very noticeable
in the cadet corps, which forms the highest
division in the physical exercise course. To
the corps is attached a fife and drum band.
Of late years singing has been introduced
with excellent results. It is found that boys
of all nationalities, if taught young, not only
appreciate good English music, but also possess
sweet voices and are capable of performing
creditably at school concerts. School plays are
successfully performed and excite very great
interest, even among the younger boys, who
seem able to follow with ease and to ciiticise
intelligently such a play as " The Merchant of
Venice."
An enactment for the incorporation of the
trustees of the Victoria Institution and for other
purposes was passed by H.H. the Sultan in
Council in March, 1899, llr. J. P. Rodger (now
Sir John Rodger, K. C.M.G.) being at that time
British Resident. The endowment is provided
by an education rate in the town of Kuala
Lumpor and by Government grants. The
school is now managed by thirteen trustees
VICTORIA. INSTITUTION, KUALA LUMPOR.
of study follows the requirements made from
time to time by the Education Department of
the Government and the various examining
bodies.
The following scholarships and prizes are
open to pupils in the school : {a) The Treacher
Scholarship, founded in honour of Sir William
(three cx-officio), of whom the Secretary to the
Resident, Selangor, is the chairman. The
present trustees are as follow : Ex-officio — Mr.
E. Burnside (Acting Secretary to Resident),
chairman ; Dr. E. A. O. Travers (State Sur-
geon) ; Mr. E. M. Baker (District Treasurer).
Elected — Messrs. G. H. Day, A. M. Pountney,
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA 279
J. R. O. Aldwoith, W. F. Nutt, W. E. Horley,
B. E. Shaw, Tamby Abdullah. Teh Seovv Therig,
Lee Khong Lam, and Chan Sow Lin.
Through the generosity of the Government
and the liberality of the trustees there is little
to be desired in the equipment of the school,
which compares favourably with the majority
of English schools in the matters of playground
space, classroom accommodation, school furni-
ture, apparatus for teaching, and general
arrangements, which, especially in a tropical
climate, influence to such a great extent the
quality of the work done in a school.
KINO EDWARD'S SCHOOL,
TAIPING.
Formerly housed beneath an attap roof, this
school now occupies commodious premises on
received previously. They had also to be at
their offices for the greater part of their time,
and attended the school only an hour or two
once or twice a week as they could be spared.
In August, 1907, a new method of training was
introduced by which the students are required
to attend a full two years' course prior to join-
ing the Government service. The subjects of
instruction are those required for the Public
Works Department Subordinate Examination,
and are divided into sections as follows : Junior
Division — Algebra, building materials, building
construction, surveying, earthwork and roads,
plan drawing, and estimating. Senior Division
— Plain trigonometry, elementary statics, build-
ing materials, building construction, surveying,
earthwork, and road-making, bridges and
applied mechanics. The school was named
the Treacher Technical School after Sir William
Hood Treacher, K.C.M.G., a former Resident-
KING EDWABD'S SCHOOL, TAIPING.
one of the finest sites in Taiping. The build-
ings, situated in the Station Road, were opened
at the beginning of igo6bylhe Sultan of Perak.
During the last few years the number of boys
in daily attendance has increased from 150 to
450, necessitating a corresponding increase in
the staff, which now comprises a European
headmaster, four European and eleven other
assistants. The Headmaster, Mr. R. F. Stainer,
B.A., London, has occupied his position for
close upon eleven years. The boys are chiefly
Chinese, but Malays, Tamils, Eurasians, Bur-
mese, Sikhs, Siamese, and a few Europeans
are also in attendance. They aim, as usual
amongst boys in this country, at Government
service. The committee of management is
made up of the following gentlemen : the
Secretary to the Resident (chairman), the
Inspector of Schools, the English Chaplain {ex-
officio), the Rev. Father Mariette, Mr. W. H.
Tate, Mr. W. Hargreaves, Towkay Foo Choo
Choon, and Towkay Chung Ah Yong.
TREACHER TECHNICAL SCHOOL.
One of the most recent educational innova-
tions in Selangor was the establishment by the
Federal Government of a technical school in
Kuala Lumpor in 1906. The principal object
in the formation of this institutioti was to pro-
vide specialised instruction for the apprentices
in the Public Works and Railway Departments
of the Government service, and the whole cost
was borne by the Federal Government. During
the first few months of its existence the insti-
tution was not successful in attaining its special
objects, principally owing to the fact that the
pupils were not required to pass any qualifying
examination and that a large proportion of the
available time had to be devoted to giving them
elementary instruction which they should have
General of the Federated Malay States. It
is at present temporarily held in what was
formerly the Museum on Bukit Nanas Hill.
Mr. D. H. Laidlaw is the headmaster.
ST. JOHN'S INSTITUTION,
KUALA LUMPOR.
St. John's Institution, Kuala Lumpor, is one
of the many schools in the Straits Settlements
and the Federated Malay States founded by the
Christian Brothers. It was started in January,
1904, with 42 boys, and the Brothers had
great difficulty in bringing the first scholars
up to the fourth standard. The attendance
increased rapidly during the next two years,
and a large permanent building became a ne-
cessity. The foundation stone was laid in
November, 1906, by Mr. Conway Belfield,
British Resident in the State of Selangor, and
the total cost of the new building — which
"provides accommodation for 500 scholars —
was 59,000 dollars. Towards this sum the
Federated Malay States Government gave a
building grant of 20,000 dollars, and the
balance was raised by voluntary subscriptions,
largely contributed by the Chinese of Selan-
gor. There are now 300 scholars in seven
standards in the school, and the teaching staff
consists of the Rev. Brothers Gilbert (director),
Cyril, Augustus, Felix, Andrew, and Joseph,
and four lay assistant masters. The school
adjoins the Church of St. John the Evangelist.
METHODIST BOYS' SCHOOL,
KUALA LUMPOR.
The existing Methodist Boys' School in Kuala
Lumpor was preceded by a small Anglo-Tamil
school, which was opened by Dr. Kensett on
July 6, 1897, in a small shop-house in Batu
Road. There were only three boys present at
the opening, but two years later the roll con-
tained thirty-seven names. In September, 1899,
the Rev. S. Abraham took charge of the school,
and it remained under his management until
March, 1904, when the number of pupils had
increased to nearly ninety — all of whom were
Tamils. Unfortunately the school at this time
had no buildingof its own, and the classes had,
therefore, to be conducted in a shop-house, a
bedroom serving as the upper standard class-
room. Under such conditions it was impossible
for the institution to grow, and so, when the
Rev. W. E. Horley, the present Principal, was
appointed he set to work to secure a suitable
building. The use of an old fruit market in
Malacca Street was granted to him by the
Sanitary Board for the purposes of the school in
1902, and the attendance increased immediately.
In the middle of 1904, however, the Sanitary
Board gave the managers of the school notice
to quit the old fruit market, as it was wanted
for coolie lines. Thereupon the school was re-
moved to the Mission Hall premises in Sultan
Street, where it was housed until August 21,
1905.
In December, 1904, the foundation-stone of a
new building was laid by Mr. D. G. Campbell,
Acting British Resident of Selangor, in the
presence of his Excellency the Governor (Sir
John Anderson, K.C.M.G.), the Chief Justice
(Sir William Hyndman-Jones), and a large
gathering of people, including nearly all the
Europeans and leading Chinese and Tamils of
Kuala Lumpor. The school, which had been
designed to accommodate about four hundred
boys, was formally opened on August 2E, 1905,
by Mr. H. Conway Belfield, the British Resident,
among others present being Sir William Taylor,
K.C.M.G., Resident-General of the Federated
Malay States. It was announced at the time
that the cost of the building had been almost
fully subscribed by the friends of the school.
The Methodist Boys' School was now estab-
lished upon a proper footing, and boys of all
nationalities were welcomed to it. It aimed at
being a first-class English school, teaching the
English subjects of the Government Code, in
EBV. W. E. HORLEY.
(Methodist Boys' School, Kuala Lumpor.)
the same way as other schools, but with this
addition, that each day some time should be
devoted to teaching the vernaculars : Tamil,
Chinese (Mandarin, Hakka, and Cantonese), and
Romanised Malay— it being felt that a boy
should not only know English, but also be able
280
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
to read in his own language or in Romanised
Malay.
From an enrolment of 125 boys in July, 1905,
the attendance had risen in April of the follow-
ing year to nearly 400 — a record of which the
managers might well be proud. Additional
classrooms were required, and in July, 1907,
the foundations of eight new classrooms were
laid, thus giving accommodation for 250 more
boys. Mr. Loke Chow Thye generously bore
most of the cost of one wing. Many generous
friends have contributed funds for free scholar-
ships, and one of the Principal's old pupils,
Towkay Eu Tong Sen, has given the institution
a fine library, while Mr. K. Dorasamy Pillai
defrayed the cost of building the central hall.
Other improvements are being made, including
the erection of a gymnasium by Mr. Wee Hap
Lang, and the levelling of the cricket and foot-
ball ground for the use of the boys by Mr. Loke
Yew. Some idea of the cosmopolitan character
of this excellent school may be gathered from
the fact that the pupils are representative of
nine races and five religions.
In February, 1907, Mr. R. McCoy, B.Sc,
was appointed to the Vice-Principalship of the
school, in which there is now a staff of 14
teachers.
CONVENT OF THE HOLY INFANT
JESUS, KUALA LUMPOR.
The first Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus
was opened in Kuala Lumpor in 1899. The
Sisters, who had vainly searched for a house all
day, at last, about seven o'clock at night, were
offered a building which stood in the midst
of a large garden on the Ampang Road. This
was the country house of a Chinese lady, who
rented it to the Sisters for 45 dollars per month.
The convent was opened by the Rev. Mother
St. Andre (who had formerly been directress
of the General Hospital at Singapore), with two
choir nuns, two lay Sisters, and a young lady
teacher. 'The establishment was placed under
Government control by the late Federal In-
spector, Mr. Driver, and some thirty pupils
were entered on the register. In the second
year of the school's existence the number of
children in attendance — both boarders and day
scholars— had increased to sixty.
At the beginning of March in that year
Father Letissier, who was in charge of the
Chinese Girls' Home, was compelled by ill-
health to go to France, and the Government
handed over to the Sisters' care thirty-five
Chinese girls and women of the Home. That
was the commencement of the orphanage
Owing to the number of orphans left by Tamil
coolies who died during the construction of
the railway lines at Rajang, the convent became
so crowded and so infected with sickness that
the Lady Superior was obliged to look around
for another house. After a great many diffi-
culties, chief of which was want of funds, had
been overcome, the present building, which
was then known as the Victoria Hotel, was
bought from Dorasamy, a rich Tamil. As the
Lady Superior had no means of paymg for the
house, the Government allowed a money
lottery to take place, and the first prize of
20,000 dollars was given to the convent to pay
off the debt.
At present there are the Lady Superior and
8 choir nuns, 9 lay Sisters, 22 boarders, 60
orphans, and 100 day scholars, besides a
" creche " for babies, of whom there are now
12 under the Sisters' care. Later on the Lady
'Superior hopes to open a Refuge for Women.
The children attending the school are Euro-
peans, Eurasians, Chinese, Tamil, Portuguese,
and Sinhalese. There is a workshop, super-
intended by two Sisters, in which the bigger
orphan girls are taught all kinds of fine needle-
work, goldwork, and beadwork. Pupils are
prepared for the Cambridge Local examina-
tions and for the Government examinations,
which are held by the State Inspector of
Schools at the end of each year. The convent
is purely self-supporting and entirely inde-
pendent of the Mission ; its resources come
from teaching music, French, &c. The Sisters
only appeal to the public when new classes
have to be built.
The Lady Superior St. Augustin, who arrived
in Kuala Lumpor about three years ago to
teach music, took charge of the convent as
directress in January, 1907. The Lady Superior
St. Andre, who started this convent on her
return from France, which she had visited on
account of ill health, was placed in charge of
Taiping Convent.
RELIGION
THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND.
HE establishment of the
Church of England in
British Malaya dates
back to 1817, in which
year St. George's
Church, Pinang, was
built by the East India
Company.
In 1834, at a meeting
of residents presided over by Bishop Wilson,
of Calcutta, it was resolved to erect the
Church of St. Andrew's, Singapore. The
building was completed in 1838, and was
consecrated on September loth of that year
by Bishop Wilson, who came from India for
the ceremony. The cost of erection — close
upon 11,000 dollars — was met by contributions
from the Government, the Society for the
Propagation of Christian Knowledge, the
Bishop of Calcutta, and the Calcutta Church
Building Fund, while a certain sum remained
over to be collected from pew-rents. Early
in 1853 the church was pronounced to be
unsafe, and the foundation stone of the present
cathedral was laid on March 4, 1856, by the
Bishop of Calcutta, the Rev. W. J. Humphrey
being chaplain. Captain Donald MacPherson,
of the Madras Infantry, designed the plans
for the new cathedral, which was erected at
the cost of the East India Company. The
consecration ceremony was performed by the
Right Rev. Dr. Cotton, Bishop of Calcutta,
on the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul,
Saturday, January 25, 1862. The Metropolitan
stayed six days in Singapore, visiting and
preaching in most of the local institutions.
In 1856 Bishop McDougall, of Labuan and
Sarawak, in conjunction with the Chaplain,
Mr. Humphrey, established St. Andrew's
Mission in Stamford Road, Singapore. Bishop
McDougall was the first Bishop of Labuan
and Sarawak, and also the first colonial
Prelate to be consecrated out of England, the
ceremony in this case taking place at Cal-
cutta.
The Society for the Propagation of the
Gospel began its work in the Straits Settle-
ments in 1861, the Rev. E, S. Venn being
the first missionary. In 1874 the Rev. J.
Moreton, the Chaplain of Pinang, and
formerly a missionary of the society, drew
attention to the need for missions in the
Federated Malay States, and two years later
the society set apart a grant for supporting
a missionary chaplain in Province Wellesley.
Services were arranged for the scattered
populations at various centres, and were held
in police-stations, court-houses, and private
dwellings, as was found most convenient.
The separation of the Colonial Government
from the Indian regime took place in 1867,
and the first Colonial Chaplain, the Rev. J. A.
Beccles, was appointed in the following year.
Following upon this change, the Chaplains,
who up to that lime had been appointed to
local stations for short periods and then
recalled to India, were made permanent
incumbents. Ecclesiastical jurisdiction over
the Straits Settlements was transferred in
1869 from the Bishop of Calcutta to the
Bishop of Labuan and Sarawak. Dr.
Chambers, who was consecrated in this year
to succeed Bishop McDougall, was thus the
first Bishop of the newly constituted see
of Singapore and Sarawak. The Bishop
visited the new portion of the diocese in
1870, arriving in the roads on p'ebruary
13th on board the colonial steamer Rainbow.
An address of welcome presented to the
Bishop was signed by the Rev. J. A. Beccles,
the Hon. J. F. A. MacXair, the Hon. J.
Shelford, the Hon. Captain Shaw, Lieut.
Brown, and others. At the time of this
visitation the long-debated question of the
hour at which evensong should be held on
Sundays was discussed, and half-past five,
the present hour, was fixed. The Bishop
also acceded to the request to make St.
Andrew's his cathedral.
The Rev. G. F. Hose, Colonial Chaplain of
Malacca, became Acting Colonial Chaplain of
Singapore in 1873, and was confirmed in
his appointment in the following year. In
December, 1874, he was also appointed the
first Archdeacon of Singapore. In 1881
(May 26th) he was consecrated Bishop of
Singapore and Labuan, and was installed in
his present cathedral on November 27th of
that year.
Spiritual jurisdiction over Chaplains and
members of the Church of England in the
island of Java was committed to the Bishop
of Singapore and Sarawak in 1881. The
Colonial Chaplain, the Rev. T. Meredith, was
instituted Archdeacon of Singapore in 1882.
The Rev. John Perham became Colonial
Chaplain in i8gi, and was instituted Arch-
deacon in the same year. He was succeeded
by Archdeacon Dunkerley in 1894.
In recent years the Straits Settlements have
greatly prospered, but their progress has been
equalled, if not excelled, by the rise and
growth of the Federated Malay States — Perak,
Selangor, Negri Sambilan, and Pahang — in
which are four resident European Chaplains
and two Tamil priest - missionaries. In
Borneo mission work among the Dyaks and
Chinese has also made big strides. In
these circumstances it is generally felt that
the time has come when the Straits Settle-
ments and Federated Malay States should
constitute a single see, distinct from Labuan,
Sarawak, and British North Borneo. This
scheme has been set on foot and has been
largely supported by societies at home, but
there still remains a considerable sum to be
collected from local and private sources before
it can be realised. At present the Bishop
spends six months in Borneo and six months
in Smgapore. Both places having outgrown
this arrangement, the work and organisation
are suffering in consequence.
In Singapore there are a Colonial Chaplain
and an Assistant Chaplain at the cathedral.
The present Chaplain is the Rev. H. C. Izard,
M A. During his absence on leave the Rev.
Frank J. Swindell, Chaplain of Malacca, is
acting in his stead. The Rev. Andrew Smith
is the Assistant Chaplain. There are two
churches in Singapore in connection with
the cathedral. One is St. Peter's Church,
Stamford Road, originally St. Matthew's Mis-
sion Church, the priest in charge of which
is the Rev. Richard Richards (S.P.G.),
formerly stationed at Kudat, in North Borneo.
The other is St. Matthew's, Sepoy Lines,
consecrated on March 16, 1894, which is
served from the cathedral and ministers to
an outlying district where are situated the
gaol and the General Hospital, with large
European staffs in each establishment. There
is a good mission school attached to St.
Peter's Church, with a roll of 280 scholars.
Other institutions connected with the
cathedral are St. Andrew's House — opened
by H.E. Sir C. C. Smith on September 7,
1891— and St. Mary's Home. The first-named
is a boarding-house for boys who are members
of the Church of England and attend school
in Singapore. It provides accommodation
for 50 inmates. St. Mary's Home, situated
opposite Government House gates in Tank
Road, offers a home to girls attending school
in Singapore or employed in business houses.
It is also used as an orphanage and home for
destitute children. There are now about 60
girls in the institution, which is largely
dependent on pubhc charity The girls
employed in business houses pay the maximum
fees, and assist the matron as far as possible.
The activities of the Church of England in
Pinang come under four heads : namelv, St.
George's Church, in the charge of the Colonial
Chaplain, a Tamil Mission, a Chinese Mis-^ion,
and several schools. The Tamil Mission dates
from 1871, when a catechist was sent bv the
S.P.G. to form a Church among the Tamils
resident in Pinang. There is now a Tamil
congregation numbering 109, and includ-
ing 56 communicants under the care of the
282
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Rev. D. A. Peter, a Tamil priest. The Chinese
Mission was started in 1887 by the late Rev.
L. C. Biggs, who was then Colonial Chaplain
at Pinang, and there is now a congregation of
about a hundred, of whom between forty and
Selangor —
St. Mary's, Kuala Lumpor (S.P.G.).
St. Barnabas', Klang.
(Chaplain of Selangor and a Tamil mis-
sionary priest.)
Peter, Thomas, Bartholomew, and St. Andrew
(tenor, 27 cwt.). The pulpit and the bells were
dedicated on February 6, 1889, the seventieth
anniversary of the settlement of the colony.
The bells are from Taylor's foundry, Lough-
ST. ANDREW'S CATHEDRAL, SINGAPORE.
The Choir and Organ.
The Cathedral.
fifty are communicants. This mission is con-
ducted by a Chinese catechist appointed by
the S.P.G. These missions are financially
assisted by the congregation of St. George's
Church and by the Society for the Propagation
of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. The Church
of England schools include St. George's Girls'
School and the Anglo-Tamil Boys' and Girls'
Schools.
The Archdeaconry.
There is an Archdeaconry of Singapore, but
at present the office is vacant. The churches
comprised in the archdeaconry are as follows :
Singapore —
St. Andrew's Cathedral.
St. Peter's, Stamford Road (S.P.G.).
St. Matthew's, Sepoy Lines.
St. John's, Jurong (served from St. Peter's).
(Colonial Chaplain and Assistant Colonial
Chaplain.)
Pinang —
St. George's Church.
(Colonial Chaplain and a Tamil missionary
priest.)
Malacca —
Christ Church.
(Colonial Chaplain of Malacca and Chaplain
of Negri Sambilan.)
Negri Sembilan —
St. Mark's, Seremban.
Perak, South-
Holy Trinity, Batu Gajah (S.P.G.).
(Chaplain of Kinta.)
Perak, North —
All Saints', Taiping (S.P.G.).
(Chaplain of Taiping and a Tamil mission-
ary priest.)
Province Wellesley —
St. Mark's Church, Butterworth (S.P.G.).
(Chaplain of Province Wellesley.)
St. Andrew's Cathedral, the premier
English church in the colony, is an imposing
pile, situated on the Esplanade, Singapore,
in a spacious enclosure. It is of Gothic design
and is crowned by a graceful spire, which
serves as a landmark to mariners many miles
out at sea. The building was begun in 1856
and was consecrated in 1862. Though thus
not yet half a century old, the exterior of the
sacred edifice has assumed a venerable appear-
ance by reason of stress of weather and rapid
tropical decay — an aspect the realism of
which is heightened by the bright verdancy
of the lawn. In respect of its interior, the
cathedral conforms to the best accepted ideas
of beauty in ecclesiastical architecture. The
pulpit viJas presented by the Governor, the late
Sir Cecil C. Smith, G.C.M.G. The bells, eight
in number, were the gift of the heirs of
Captain J. H. Eraser, of the Honourable East
India Company. The names of the bells are :
St. Matthew (treble, 4 cwt.). Saints James, Paul,
borough. The organ was built by Walker,
and originally stood in the west gallery,
whence it was removed to its present position
in 1887. The choir-stalls were presented as a
thank-offering by Mrs. J. J. McBean in 1901.
A beautiful reredos was erected to the glory of
God and in loving memoi-y of Emily Harriet
Hose, the wife of the Bishop of Singapore and
Sarawak, who died in 1904. It was designed
by Mr. Charles Blomfield, and depicts in a
large central panel "The Adoration of the
Shepherds." This central panel is supported
on either side by two figures, also in panels, of
St. Andrew and St. Peter, St. Andrew being
the patron saint. The altar is flanked on
either side by-four small panels of monograms.
All the panels are of opus sectile, and show
exquisite colouring. The sanctuary rails were
erected in memory of Thomas Shelford,
C.M.G., who died in 1900, while the brass
eagle lectern, bearing the date 1873, per-
petuates the memory of Flora Hastings Shel-
ford. The gallery at the west end of the
church — the singing gallery — was a later
addition to the building, and was erected in
August of 1862 to accommodate the new organ
and the choir. In 1867 a new choir-organ was
erected in the chancel, which was then ar-
ranged to accommodate the choir.
St. George's Church, Pinang, is in the
Doric style of architecture and was built by
the East India Company in 1817. The thick
walls and generally substantial nature of the
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
283
edifice are due to the fact that it was built
entirely by convict labour. An inscription
over the entrance reads : " By the munificence
of the English East India Company and under
the auspices of their Governor, W. E. PhilUps,
Esq., the foundations of this Church were laid
in the year of Our Lord 1817, and in the
following year, under the administration of his
successor, Colonel Alexander Bannerman, the
erection was completed by Captain R. Smith,
Engineer." In the middle of the churchyard
is a memorial to Captain Francis Light, the
founder of Pinang. The church and the site
on which it stands are Government property,
and are maintained at the Government's
expense. In the early part of 1907 the church
was re-roofed. It is lighted by electricity, and
electric fans have been installed. Round the
walls of the church are several interesting
carved memorial tablets. Seating accommoda-
tion is provided for between 200 and 300
persons.
Christ Church, Malacca, was built by the
Dutch in the seventeenth century. It was
consecrated by the Bishop of Calcutta in 1838.
The church contains many interesting old
monuments and tablets, erected both by the
Dutch and English residents. There are only
two representatives remaining of the old Dutch
families — Miss Baumgarten and Mrs. Neubron-
ner — both of whom belong to the Church of
England. The rest of the congregation con-
sists of Government officials and planters.
Between twenty and thirty generally attend
evening service. The photograph of the
building that we reproduce was kindly lent
to us by Mr. Howell.
The Colonial Chaplain at Pinang is
the Rev. Frank William Haines, eldest son of
the late Mr. William Haines, manager of the
Old Bank, Oxford. Born in that city in 1858,
he received his education at Christ College,
Brecknock, and at Jesus College, Oxford, where
he graduated in 1885. He was ordained deacon
in 1887, and priest in the following year.
Government Tutor and Chaplain, and Inspector
of Schools in the State of Selangor. In 1899
he was appointed by the Secretary of State
to the Colonial Chaplaincy of Malacca, and
Cambridge, where he graduated B.A., and he
look Holy Orders in 1861. During the same
year he became curate of Roxton with great
Barford, Beds, and four years later accepted
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ST. GEORGE'S CHURCH, PINANG.
was promoted to the Pinang Chaplaincy in
June, 1901. The Rev. Frank Haines is a surro-
gate of the diocese, and is also Chaplain
and Hon. Captain of the Pinang Volunteer
Corps.
a curacy at Holy Trinity Church, Marylebone,
London. In 1868, after taking his Master's
degree, he came to Malacca as Colonial
Chaplain, and five years later was transferred
to Singapore in a similar capacity. He was
THE ENGLISH CHURCH, MALACCA.
THE RIGHT REV. BISHOP HOSE.
From 1887 till 1889 he was curate of Thorn-
bury, Gloucestershire, and after serving for
a short time as Chaplain of Sunningdale
School, Berks, he was appointed in 1889
The Bishop of Singapore, Labuan, and
Sarawak, the Right Rev. George Frederick
Hose, M.A., D.D., was iborn in September,
1838. He was educated at St. John's College,
made Archdeacon of Singapore in December,
1874, and was ordained Bishop in 1881, having
the degree of D.D. conferred upon him in
the same year. He was largely instrumental
284
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
in founding the Straits branch of the Royal
Ahiatic Society, of which he is the president.
The Rev. F. G. Swindell, Acting Colonial
Chaplain, Singapore, was born in December,
1874, at Worcester, and was educated at
REV. FRANK G. SWINDBLD, M.A.
(Colonial Chaplain.)
Pocklington School, and at St. Catherine's
College, Oxford. He was ordained deacon in
1898, held the curacies of Boxley and Maid-
stone, and, after being ordained priest, was.
to St. Andrew's Cathedral, Singapore, to act
for the Rev. H. C. Izard (on leave). He is a
son of the Rev. T. G. Swindell, Vicar of
Sedgeley, near Dudley.
The Rev. Hubert Collison Henham
has been S.P.G. Missionary in Province
Wellesley since 1892, but at the time of writ-
ing he was acting as Colonial Chaplain of
Malacca and Xegri Sambilan. The son of the
late Mr. John Henham, of Kent, he was born
at Crundale in that county in October, 1863.
He received his education at King's School, and
at St. Augustine's College, Canterbury. In
1888 he was ordained deacon and went to
Bombay as an S.P.G. Missionary. In 1892 he
was transferred to Province Wellesley, and
two years later was ordained priest.
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH.
The Roman Catholic Church in the Straits
Settlements and the Federated Malay States,
as in most Eastern countries, dates back to the
seventeenth century, when Portugal was the
dominating power in the Far East, the establish-
ment of missions under royal patronage being
an integral part of the colonising policy of the
Portuguese. Her missionaries were the first
to settle in Indo-China and Manila, and a
Church was founded in the seventeenth century.
But the principal force in the development
of the Church in Malaya has been, and still is,
the French Society known as the Societe des
Missions Etrangeres, and it is impossible to
follow succeeding events without noting the
origin of this body. It was founded in Paris
in 1659 to fill a long-felt want — a supply of
secular priests who would undertake the
training of native clergy — at the instance of a
Jesuit missionary, Father F. Derhodes, who
was stationed in Tonkin at the time. From
the first there was much jealousy between the
Portuguese and the new Society, whose mis-
sionaries, on account of Portugal's command
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, TAIPING.
in 1902, appointed S.P.G. Chaplain at Kuala
Lumpor, in the Federated Malay Slates. After
remaining there for four years he served for
a year at Malacca, and was transferred in 1907
of the seas, were compelled to come to JIalaya
via Persia. The first missionaries of the
Missions Etrangeres left Europe in 1660, and
succeeded in arriving at Bangkok two years
later. There they established a house, but it
occurred to theni that they had not founded
a head institution in Paris to keep them well
supplied, and so, despite the fact that there
was no such thing as a mail service, one of
their number returned to establish a head-
quarters.
The original idea was to have Houses of
Refuge for missionaries in times of trouble,
as well as training centres for native clergy,
and during the war in Tonkin these houses
were crowded to overflowing, and again during
the Boxer rebelHons in China. Now that such
troublous times are happily past, the houses
are used as seminaries.
During the first ten years the new Society
sent 23 missionaries to the East, and this
number had risen to 96 by the beginning of the
eighteenth century. Between 1840 and 1888 64
missionaries had been sent to the Straits ; 13 had
died in Singapore, 3 in Malacca, and 2oin Pinang.
Before 1840 the names of the clergy were
included in the Mission of Siam. P"or 240
years the Societe des Missions Etrangeres has
carried on the mission in the Far East, and
now has establishments in Japan, Tonkin,
Cochin-China, Siam, Korea, Tibet, Pondicherry,
the Malay Peninsula, and Burma. Accord-
ing to its annual report for 1906, the Society
now has in all 34 bishops and 1,324 mission-
ary priests on the foreign field. From 1666
until 1688 the Eastern headquarters of the
Society were at Pondicherry, from 1700 to
1732 at Canton, and from 1732 to 1847 at
Macao. Since 1847 they have been at Hong-
kong, and at the present time all the mission
literature is printed there, and publications
are issued in as many as a dozen Eastern
languages and dialects. The principles upon
which the Society is conducted are that each
priest must be satisfied with his j'early allow-
ance for his support and the assurance that in
case of extreme old age or illness he will not
be neglected. It is an inherent obligation that
no missionary may possess landed property
of his own in the mission to which he is
appointed, except with the consent of the
Bishop, and even if this be gained, the property
must pass at his death to the mission or to a
church or school in connection with it.
The first Roman Catholic missionary to visit
Singapore seems to have been the Rev. Father
Imbert, who was asked by the Bishop of Siam
to obtain information about the state of religion
in the new settlement on his way to China in
1821. In 1824 the Catholics in Singapore wrote
to the Bishop to send a priest, and he, fearing
it might be said that he had no jurisdiction
in the place, applied to the Sacred Congrega-
tion of the Propagation of the Faith in Rome,
and a decree was sent giving him authority.
In the meantime a Portuguese priest, named
Francisco da Silva Pinto e Maia, who came
from Goa, in India, whither he had been sent
from Macao, established himself as the Roman
Catholic pastor of the place. When shown
the jurisdiction granted to the Bishop of Siam,
he admitted its authenticity, but refused to re-
cognise the Bishop's jurisdiction. This led to
continually recurring contentions between the
French and Portuguese clergy, which only
ended in 1886, when the whole matter was set
at rest by a long concordat by Pope Leo XIII.,
dated Rome, June 23rd. This gave ordinary
jurisdiction to the French Mission, but gave to
the Bishop of Macao jurisdiction over the
Portuguese congregation and the premises
actually occupied by the Portuguese clergy.
The result has been that all have since worked
with great harmony for the good of both
communities, and the Straits Settlements and
Federated Malay Straits have been placed
under the jurisdiction of "the Titular Roman
Catholic Bishop of Malacca resident in the
Straits Settlements."
It would be impossible to get a better idea of
the condition of affairs in the early days than is
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
285.
afforded by a memorandum written over lialf
a century ago, relating to ttie Roman Catliolic
clergy in the Straits, which says : " Priests
nearly all French secular clergy, belonging to
the Societe or Congregation des Missions
Etrangeres. Sole object, religious ; no earthly
motives, no political intercourse with their
country, no interference in political service.
They profess to belong to no party, no political
creed, no ambition but the propagation of the
Christian religion, and, with it, education and
civilisation. For maintenance, they receive
120 dollars a year. There are twenty in the
Straits with a Bishop. Admission to Society
a great favour. Small pay, no pension. When
coming out, expected that they entertain no
idea of ever quitting it [the Society], and that
they are prepared to die in the scene of their
labours."
Two characters are outstanding in the history
of the Roman Catholic Church in Singapore
itself. One is the Rev. Pierre Paris, who
formed the Societe des Missions Etrangeres in
1854. He left Antwerp for the Straits Settle-
ments on June 27, l8S5. After a short stay in
Pinang, he went to Malacca, where he learnt
the patois spoken by the Portuguese there, and
Tamil, and Chinese (several dialects). Coming
to Singapore, he spent long hours trudging
about in the jungle between the different huts
of his congregation. He might be seen on
Sunday morning trudging along Serangoon
Road with his Chinese umbrella in one hand
and a stick in the other. He had said Mass
and preached in Chinese at Serangoon, and
was walking seven miles into town to hold
service in Tamil at eleven o'clock. After that,
he would hold a service in the gaol ; at two
o'clock he taught the catechism to Chinese
children, and at three o'clock he conducted
evening service in the Chinese church of St.
Peter and St. Paul. The week he spent seeing
his flock at his house, or in their own little
huts, teaching the catechism, and giving other
instruction. He died at the age of 61, in 1883,
after twenty-eight years' arduous labours in the
Straits. The second notable padre is the Rev.
Father Beurel, who laboured for thirty years,
(1839 to 1868) in the colony. The estab-
lishment of the Brothers' School, now known
as the St. Joseph's Institution, particulars of
which are given elsewhere, was entirely due to
him ; and he spent the whole of his private
means, which were not inconsiderable, on
church buildings.
At the present time the Bishop of Malacca,
Mgr. Barillon, resides in Singapore. He is
assisted in evangelical work in the Straits
Settlements and Federated Malay States by
some thirty-five European missionaries, who
all belong to the Missions Etrangeres. The
development of the Church has been com-
mensurate with the economic progress of the
colony. The adherents and communicants
belong to various nationahties, and meet in the
same building where there is only one church.
But in towns like Singapore, Pinang, and
Kuala Lumpor, where there are several
churches, particular churches are assigned to
the various sections of the community, accord-
ing to the language spoken — English, Tamil, or
Chinese. The number of Roman Catholics in
the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay
States connected with the French Mission at
the last Church census, in August, 1905, was
24,200, of whom there were about 5,000 in
Singapore. The total number is approximately
composed of the following nationalities :
Europeans, 1,000 ; Eurasians, 5,000 ; Tamils,
5,000'; and Chinese (mostly Khehs, Teichings,
and Cantonese), 12^000. The majority of the
Christian Tamils were baptized in India, but
most of the Chinese were baptized in the
diocese. At Ayer Salak (near Malacca) and
near Port Dickson there are small com-
munities of Christian aborigines, but the
Malays have been found to be inaccessible.
The French Mission is supported partly by
funds sent fr<3m Europe, where religious
societies collect alms for the purpose, and
partly by local funds. Generally speaking, a
community becomes self-supporting after a
short time, especially when it is Chinese.
There are three principal churches in Singa-
pore—the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd,
(English), the Church of St. Peter and St.
Paul (Chinese), and the Church of Our Lady
of Lourdes (Tamil). There are two smaller
churches on the island— St. Joseph's at Bukit
Timah, and St. Mary's at Serangoon, both of
which are used by Chinese worshippers. The
foundation stone of the Church of the Good
Shepherd was laid on June 18, 1843.
The community of Malacca is gradually
decreasing, and the beautiful church of St.
Francis Xavier there affords accommodation
for at least twice the present number of com-
municants. In Negri Sambilan there is a
church at Seremban, and there are chapels at
Port Dickson, Mantin, and Titi.
In Selangor there are two churches at
Kuala Lumpor— St. John's (English and Tamil),
and the Church of the Holy Rosary, a fine
building in pure Gothic style, and there is a
little chapel at Kadang.
In Perak there are three churches at Taiping —
the Sacred Heart (English), St. Paul (Chinese),
and St. Louis (Tamil), and churches at Ipoh,
Batu Gajah, Tapah, Teluk Anson, and Bagan
Serai.
The town of Pinang has three churches —
the Assumption (English), St. Francis Xavier
(Tamil), and Our Lady of Sorrows (Chinese) —
and there are two other churches in the island,
namely, at Pulo Tipus and Balik Pulan. There
are three in Province Wellesley — at Bukit
Mertajam, Machang Buboh, and Matang
Tinggi.
Johore and Pahang have no resident mis-
sionaries. The latter State is visited at intervals,
and Johore Bahru has regular services once a
month.
Schools.
Every mission, however small, has a school
or schools attached. In large towns Ihey are
given during school hours, and the Roman
Catholic pupils are sometimes in a minority.
The Christian Brothers have schools in Pinang,
Taiping, Kuala Lumpor (in course of erection),
Malacca, and Singapore, and in some cases
orphanages are attached. The schools are
maintained bv Government grants, school fees,
and, in a small degree, by subscriptions from
Europe. Mention ought to be made here
of two Roman Catholic institutions that arc not
directly connected with the diocese of Malacca,
namely, the General College of the Missions
des Etrangeres at Pinang, and the Procure
CHINESE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHUBCH
KUALA LUMPOR.
House at Singapore. The former was founded
in 1807, with the object of educating clerical
students, and twenty years ago there were
there some 150 students from Japan, Korea,
China, Annam, Siam, and Burma, who used
the Latin language for ordinary conversation.
\ow that the Far East affords protection to
every one, each of the Missions has its own
clerical college, so that the Pinang institution
has been shorn of its former splendour, and
contains now only twenty students, most of
whom come from Burma. The Procure House,
Singapore, was established in 1857, and is the
ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, SEREMBAN.
under the management of Christian Brothers
(for boys) and the Sisters oi the Holy Infant
Jesus (for girls). These schools are not de-
nominational ; religious instruction is not
residence of the Procureur or Procurator, who
manages the temporal affairs of the Society.
Procure houses were also used formerly as
stopping-places for the clergy passing from
286
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
one diocese to another, and as resting-places
for invalids.
In addition to and distinct from the above-
mentioned churches and schools, there are in
Bishop D. E. Barillon, the head of the
Roman Catholic Church in Singapore and of
the diocese of Malacca, was born on October
1 8, i860, at Lemau, in the diocese of Chartres,
CATHEDRAL OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD, SINGAPORE.
Singapore and Malacca two Roman Catholic
Churches under the Portuguese jurisdiction of
Macao. Each of these has about 2,000 ad-
herents, composed mostly of Eurasians of
Portuguese descent. The Church of St. Joseph,
Singapore, was pulled down in 1906, and its
place is being taken by a much larger edifice.
Schools for boys and girls are attached to these
missions.
Cathedral of the Good Shepherd. — The
principal Roman Catholic church in Malaya
is the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd at
Singapore. This edifice was erected in 1845
at the corner of Bras-Basah Road and Vic-
toria Street, on a site granted to the Missions
des Etrangeres. It lays no claim to architec-
tural beauty, being simply a cruciform building
of plain Renaissance style, with a steeple at one
end. On each side of the altar is a small chapel
behind a row of Greek pillars ; these two
chapels form the arms of the cross. The in-
terior of the church is so extremely plain that
it might be mistaken for a public hall. The
floor is paved with white marble, and the
slightly concave ceiling is of plaster, gilded in
a very simple pattern. Along one side of the
cathedral are half-a-dozen stained glass win-
dows, which were inserted a couple of years
ago at' a cost of 1,000 dollars, and round
the walls are a series of small oil-paintings
representing the stations of the Cross. The
cathedral cost about 20,000 dollars to build,
and provides seating accommodation for 1,000
persons.
Church of St. Peter and St. Paul,
Malacca. — The Roman Catholic Church of
St. Peter and St. Paul at Malacca is believed
to have been erected by the Portuguese some
four hundred years ago. It is built upon twelve
pillars, representing the twelve Apostles. The
front portion of the building was reconstructed
in 1819. The vicar is the Rev. Father A. M. des
Santos, and he is assisted by two other priests
in ministering to a congregation numbering 500.
in France. He was educated there and
ordained priest in 1884, after which he came
out to Singapore as a missionary. After some
years' experience out here, he was called back
to France and made a professor in the Seminary
for F'oreign Missions. In 1904, however, he
returned to the Straits Settlements as Bishop.
Father Couvreur. — The Rev. Nicholas
Justin Couvreur, Pi'ocurator of the Missions des
Etrangeres at Singapore, was born in 1855
M
'-''^IPl^H^
^'^/^'■im^^-
'■^^ J
^ S^^^-^^-' 1
:1v . . ' - ._ ,.!
REV. FATHER COUVREUR.
(Prociireur de la Societe des Missions Etrangeres,
Singapore.)
at Grancy-sur-Ource (Cote d'Or), France, and
was educated at the ecclesiastical colleges of
Langres and Paris. He first came to the East
as Vice-Procurator of the Missions des Etran-
geres at Hongkong in 1878, and two years later
became the Procurator for the same body at
Singapore, He is one of the best-known social
and financial figures in the Straits Settlements,
and has charge of the real estate belonging to
the Mission. He is considered one of the ablest
financial experts in the Far East, and, although
he is a French citizen, he was selected by the
Government as Assessor to sit with Chief
Justice Sir Lionel Cox in the case of the expro-
priation of certain property belonging to the
P. and O. Company and Messrs. Jardine,
Matheson & Co., and required for the
construction of the Singapore and Kranji
Government Railway in 1904.
THE AMERICAN METHODIST
EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
It would be no exaggeration to say that the
rapid growth of the American Methodist
Episcopal Church in British Malaya is one of
the most remarkable developments among
the foreign missionary enterprises of the world.
Twenty-two years ago two American Methodist
missionaries arrived in Singapore ; they had
not been sent to form a Mission, nor were they
invited to do so by the few Methodists who
then resided in the colony. But when they
saw the possibilities of the field, they decided
to stay and labour in it. From this humble
origin has sprung the largest Free Church in
Malaya, a Church which owns property in the
Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States
worth at least a million dollars, prosecutes
missionary work in nine languages, has its
own Mission press, and educates in its schools
between four and five thousand children.
It was in February, 1885, that the two pioneer
missionaries arrived in Singapore. They
came as the guests of the late Mr. C. Phillips,
who was then in charge of the Sailors' Home.
One of them was the well-known Dr. J. M.
Thoburn, who has since served as one of the
Missionary Bishops of American Methodism ;
the other was the Rev. William F. Oldham,
who is now the Methodist Bishop in Malaya.
By permission of the Municipal Commissioners
these gentlemen were. granted the use of the
Town Hall in which to hold services in the
English tongue. Many people of various
races were attracted to these gatherings, and
after a few weeks the first organisation of a
Methodist Episcopal Church was attempted.
The Rev. W. F. Oldham was the .first pastor
and Messrs. J. Polglase, F. J. Benjafield, and
Maurice Drummond were the Church officers.
It is interesting to note that Messrs. Polglase
and Benjafield still hold office in the Church.
From the beginning this little company
undertook to conduct a self-sustaining Church
without any help from the Home Societies.
Services were continued in the Town Hall
with Mr. Oldham in charge. The congregation
was composed of many races, but the English
language, in which all the services were
conducted, served as a common tie.
At this time Mr. and Mrs. Oldham opened a
small private school in the house in which they
lived for the instruction of the children of
European and Chinese merchants. This step
led in time to the establishment of the series of
important schools which are now the mainstay
of the missions financially. When the nupber
of scholars was too large for Mr. Oldham's
house, a small school was opened in Amoy
Street for the iteaching of Hok-kien Chinese
and English. The school grew rapidly, and
through the kindness of Sir Cecil Clementi
Smith, the then Governor, a grant of land in
Coleman Street, at the foot of Fort Canning
Hill, was made .to the Mission, and the Chinese
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
287
merchants of Singapore, headed by Messrs.
Tan Keong Saik, Tan Jiak Kim, Tan Kim Seng,
Song Ong Siong, and others, helped Mr.
Oldham to erect a school and dwelling-house
upon the site. Shortly afterwards the same
gentlemen assisted the Mission to purchase the
fine property in Orchard Road, now occupied
by the boarding-school named, after its founder,
" Oldham Hall."
Mission work was carried on in Malay and
Tamil, and a numerous congregation in each
of these languages was gradually built up.
The Malay-speaking Babas now worship in
their own church in Middle Road in what was
formerly the Christian Institute, owned and
conducted by the late Mr. C. Phillips and a
few others. (Mr. and Mrs. Oldham were joined
in 1888 by several other missionaries, notably
by the Rev. R. W. and Mrs. Munson, and the
Rev. B. F. West, M.D., and Mrs. West. The
Munsons left the Mission some years ago, but
Dr. and Mrs. West still remain, and for nineteen
years have been devoted missionaries in the
colony.)
In i8go the Rev. J. C. Floyd became super-
intendent of the Mission and Mr. C. E. Kelso
principal of the school. Dr. H. L. E. Luering
was deputed to open a mission on the Kapuas
river, in Borneo, and Revs. D. D. Moore and
B. H. Balderston were appointed to Pinang,
where an Anglo-Chinese school and EngHsh
and Tamil Churches were soon established.
In 1891 a printing press was set up under the
management of Mr. W. G. Shellabear, who
resigned his commission in the Royal Engineers
to join the Mission, with which he has ever
since been identified. Mr. Shellabear is a fine
Malay scholar, and has done most of the later
Malay revision for the British and Foreign
Bible Society. He has also written several
Malay hymns, a series of text-books, vocabu-
laries and a dictionary.
In 1893 a "Mission Conference" was formed.
This cut the Mission off ecclesiastically from
India and gave it an independent life.
In 1895 the first Methodist Missions were
opened on the Malay Peninsula, William T.
Stagg being appointed to Ipoh, while Batu
Gajah and Teluk Anson were visited from time
to time. The Mission spread rapidly to other
centres and Kuala Lumpor, Taiping and Bukit
Mertajam were soon occupied. At Ipoh an
Anglo-Chinese School was opened and in
Pinang the indefatigable Dr. West added a
theological school to his other labours. The
formation of a strong Methodist Boys' School
in Kuala Lumpor in 1904 completed a chain of
schools from Singapore to Pinang.
In 1900 the Mission embraced the Philippine
Islands, but four years later the Philippine
Mission was converted into a distinct ecclesi-
astical entity, though] it still remains under the
same episcopal supervision. In 1903 and 1904
two colonies of Chinese agriculturists in Sibu,
Borneo, and Sitiawan, Perak, respectively, came
under the religious care of the Mission, which,
in 1906, was extended to Java, where the Rev.
and Mrs. J. R. Denyes, and, later, the Rev. and
Mrs. C. S. Buchanan, have occupied mission
stations in and about Batavia and Buitenzorg
and on the Tjisaroea estate. In West Borneo
a small mission is under the care of the Rev.
C. M. Worthington.
Soon after the opening of the Mission in
Singapore, Miss Sophia Blackmore, of Sydney,
Australia, was appointed to work amongst
women in the settlement, and, as the Mission
extended, the lady missionaries were increased
in numbers, with the result that they are found
in nearly all the stations of the Mission. These
ladies have opened girls' schools wherever they
have gone, and the Rev. J. A. B. Cook, in his
" Sunny Singapore," ascribes the initial growth
of Chinese female education in this region to
the labours of the women of the Methodist
Episcopal Church.
The record of the " Malaysia " Methodist
Mission during the twenty-two years of its
existence is one of continual expansion, made
possible by the gifts of friends on the field
and in America, supplemented by help from
England, Germany, and Australia. The IVIission
workers have been drawn from all these lands,
and not the least valuable and effective are the
young men and women of many races who
have been found and trained on the field.
A rapid survey of the Mission as it now exists
(1907) shows that the chief forms of activity
are three ; educational, evangelistic, and pro-
pagandist.
The educational work includes the schools
for boys known as the Anglo-Chinese Schools
in Singapore, Pinang, Ipoh and Kuala Lumpor,
with several smaller schools elsewhere. More
than three thousand five hundred boys are
enrolled on the school registers. The Theo-
logical School, which has been partly endowed
by Mr. S. Hamilton, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
is known as the Jean Hamilton Training School
for native preachers.
There is also an admirable group of girls'
schools in Pinang, Taiping, Kuala Lumpor,
Malacca, and Singapore. These are boarding
and day schools, and the girls are taught in the
vernacular as well as in English. Nearly a
thousand girls, ranging from infant classes to
young women taking the Cambridge Local
examination, are found in these well-appointed
institutions.
Evangelistic vi'ork is carried on in the four
districts of the Conference under the general
oversight of the presiding elders, the Revs.
W. T. Cherry (Singapore), H. L. E. Luering
(Pinang), W. E. Horley (Federated Malav
States), and J. R. Denyes (Netherlands Indies).
These men, assisted by the missionaries, native
pastors and helpers, are engaged in preaching in
nine languages and dialects to the heterogene-
ous community. From among these peoples has
been gathered a Church-membership of about
Singapore under the direction of the Rev. A. J.
Amery, pastor of the English congregation.
Much preaching is done outside of the stated
places of worship, and it may be safely said
that during the year there are from five to ten
hearers to one Church member. The popula-
tion, however, is shifting and migratory, and
in several stations the records show that the
percentage of removals each year is from
twenty to twenty-five. It is therefore necessary
to gain 100 per cent, every four or five years
to keep any given Church-membership from
showing a decrease. Far more important than
any array of figures is the planting of orderly
Christian homes where the mother shares with
the father the affection and respect of the house-
hold ; where marriage holds sanctity, and
parenthood means moral obligation to train
the children properly. Such homes are found
throughout the Mission, speaking many lan-
guages, but holding common sentiments of life
and duty.
The use of literature is greatly prized by this
Mission, which is painstakingly and laboriously
building up a Mission Press under the care of
the Rev. W. T. Cherry. The ultimate object
of this press is to create and diffuse religious
literature in the polyglot tongues of the land.
To do this with but small initial plant and no
endowment is a task to try the stoutest heart ;
but it is being done. The little press first
begun by Mr. Shellabear is now producing
many books and tracts, and is issuing several
religious monthly papers. A large and well
equipped building is in progress of erection in
a commanding locality, and the Mission is full
of hope that at no distant future a continuous
stream of healthful literature in English and
in the vernaculars will issue from its portals.
Bishop Oldham.— The Rev. William Fitz-
james Oldham, B.A., D.D., has been Bishop of
the American Methodist Episcopal Church in
South Asia — from Madras to the Philippines —
SIDE ELEVATION
FROr
PLAN OF THE AMERICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SINGAPORE.
two thousand five hundred persons, who wor-
ship in eighteen church buildings and in several
rented houses. Among these churches is the
well-appointed structure now being erected in
since 1904. He received his education at
Alleghany College, Pa., and at Boston Univer-
sity, where he graduated B.A. and D.D. In
1885 he came to Singapore primarily for
288
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
educational purposes, but, upon his own
initiative, he founded a self-supporting Mission
of his Church as well as the Anglo-Chinese
School. He remained for five years, and, after
BISHOP W. F. OLDHAM, D.D., LL.D.
seeing the Mission firmly established, returned
to the U.S.A. and accepted a pastorate. In
1894 he founded the chair of missions in the
Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, and for
four years previous to becoming Methodist
Bishop of South Asia he was Assistant Mis-
sionary Secretary in Chicago.
THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
The Presbyterian Church of Singapore
dates from 1856, but Presbyterians were
among the very first, along with other Free
Churchmen, to hold Christian services in the
settlement. Sir Stamford Raffles no sooner
founded the colony in 1819 than, being a man
of real Christian character and sympathies, he
invited the London Missionary Society, then at
Malacca, to send a missionary. The Rev.
Samuel Milton arrived in the same year to
work among the Chinese and Malays and to
minister to the small European community.
By 1847 the London Missionary Society's
connection with the Straits ceased, all their
workers having been passed on to China,
except the Rev. B. P. Keasberry, who elected
to remain at his own charges until his death
in 1885.
After a period of worshipping first with
the London Missionary Society's missionaries
and then with the Episcopalian section of the
community, the Presbyterian. Churchmen de-
cided to have a minister of their own order,
and the Rev, Thomas McKenzie Frazer, M.A.,
arrived on October 25, 1856. He was chosen
by the famous Edinburgh preacher, the Rev.
Thomas Guthrie, D.D. Then followed this
goodly succession of able men : the Revs.
John Mathison (1861-66), William Jeffrey
(1866-69), Matthew J. Copeland (1870-71),
William Dale (1871-75), now the Foreign
Missions' Secretary of the Presbyterian Church
of England, William Aitken, M.A. (1876-83),
Alexander Stuart MacPhee, B.D. (1883-89),
now of Durban, Natal, George Murray Reith,
M.A. {1889-96), now of Edinburgh, S. Stephen
Walker, M.A. (1896-1906), now of Bristol, and
the present minister, John Adam Gray, M.A
(igo6).
This Church, since 1872, has been under the
Presbytery of London, but all its ministers, so
far, have been Scotsmen. The members,
elders, and deacons have been of many
nationalities. Many of the office-bearers have
been prominent business men, who took a
keen interest in the welfare of the colony and
its institutions. Among them may be men-
tioned Dr. Couper, William Scott, John Ander-
son, Dr. Robert Little, Matthew Little, Dr.
Robertson, James ■ Guthrie Davidson, Isaac
Henderson, Alexander Johnston, William
Young, Robert Park, Charles Phillips (a most
devoted voluntary Christian worker here for
over forty years), and William Alexander
Pickering, C.M.G. (the founder of the Chinese
Protectorate), Jasper Young, Thomas Cuthbert-
son, Andrew Currie, Robert Jamie, Colonel
Samuel Dunlop, R.A., C.M.G., William Mc-
Kerrow, J. M. Allinson, Frank Warrack, Robert
Allan, W. Grigor Taylor, Robert Yates, A.
Richardson, R. Risk, J. S. Robertson, John
Graham, B. L. Frost, Theodore Page, and
George M. Preston.
The church, in Orchard Road, Singapore,
was built in 1878, and has a good organ, the
gift of Mr. Thomas Cuthbertson. There are
no endowments, but the Church is self-support-
ing by voluntary contributions. There have
seldom been any benefactions, but the Manse
was the bequest of the late John Baxter, and
the late Dato' Meldrum of Johore left a legacy
which yielded some 3,000 dollars, but this will
soon be more than exhausted in making
CHINESE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OP ENGLAND, SINGAPORE— H.E. THE GOVERNOR, SIR JOHN ANDERSON, K.O.M.G.
LAYING THE FOUNDATION STONE.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
289
necessary repairs to the church buildings.
The services on Lord's days are at 8 a.m. and
5.30 p.m., and on Wednesdays at 5.15 p.m.
The Synodical Committee of the Presby-
terian Church of England sent its first ordained
missionary (the Rev. J. A. B. Cook) to Singa-
pore in 1881. He has had as his colleagues for
work among the Chinese the Revs. Archibald
Lament, B.D., 1890-97 (now of Wemblv, Lon-
don), Campbell Moody, M.A., igbi (of
Formosa), and, since 1902, William Murray,
M.A., who was formerly minister of Pinang,
which Church, as well as that of Rangoon,
is also in the London Presbytery. The work
is carried on entirely in Chinese, except at the
Prinsep Street Church, which is the head-
quarters of the Chinese Christian Association.
Here English and Malay are used. The other
churches, under the episcopal oversight of the
Mission, are at Muar and Johore on the main-
land, and Bukit Timah, Seranggong, Paya
Lebar, Gaylang, Tek-kha and Tanjong Pagar
Road, where there is also the " Su Po Sia," or
Chinese Reading Room, in which some event-
ful meetings of great importance have taken
place. There are many Presbyterians in
British Malaya, who associate with the
Church life of the places in which they find
themselves.
THE BIBLE SOCIETY.
The British and Foreign Bible Society have
been carrying on their unobtrusive propaganda
in the Oceanic Archipelago for close upon a
century. The first auxiliary was formed in
Java in 1814, when that country was a British
possession, and Sir Stamford Raffles became
its first President. In ]8i6 branches were
formed in Malacca and Pinang, and two
years later Sir Stamford Raffles established
an auxiliary at Bencoolen, and, in addition to
being its President, acted for awhile as
hon. sec. In about 1824 a committee was
appointed in Singapore to direct the Society's
operations in the Straits Settlements, the
Federated Malay States, Java, Sumatra, Celebes,
the lesser Dutch Islands, Boi-neo, and the Philip-
pines. In their vast area, which has an
estimated population of 36,000,000, close upon
a million and a half copies of the Scriptures
have been circulated during the last twent}--
five years. The present staff consists of 5
European agents and sub-agents, and about
30 native colporteurs.
The first translation of the Bible info Chinese
was carried out under the Society's auspices,
and was printed and issued at Malacca. In
the same year the revision of the existing
Malay version of the Gospels and of the Acts
and the completion of the remainder of the
New Testament was undertaken, and a few
years afterwards these were being widely
circulated. Since then several other Malay
translations and revisions have been made, and
at the time of writing what is expected to
become the standard translation of the whole
Bible into Malay was nearing completion.
Trans'ations have also been made for practi-
cally all the native peoples of the Oceanic
Archipelago, including all sections of the
natives of India and China, the Javanese,
Dyaks, Bugis, Madurese, Sanguirese, Nias,
Macassar, Pangasinans, and Tagalogs.
YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN
ASSOCIATION.
The establishment in Singapore of a branch
of this valuable and worldwide institution
is of very recent date. It was in the closing
year of the nineteenth century that a number
of missionaries and other Christian workers
petitioned the English National Council of
Y.M.C.A.'s for the establishment of a branch
for the young men of Singapore. In response
to this appeal the National Council sent out
Mr. R. D. Pringle in the spring of 1903, and
in the following June a branch was opened
with rooms at the corner of Stamford Road
and Armenian Street. The first president was
the Hon. W. R. Collyer, I.S.O., Attorney-
General of the Straits Settlements, and the
Association was controlled by a body of
directors which included the Archdeacon of
Singapore, the ministers of the Methodist and
Presbyterian Churches, civil servants, and
representative business men in the city. The
The j'ear 1906 saw the inauguration of a new
forward movement. The Association having
outgrown its premises, his Excellency the
Governor granted a valuable site in Stamford
Road for the erection of a new building. The
preliminary plans for this structure provide
for a basement and two main floors, which
will comprise reading, recreation, refreshment,
and claijs room-^, a gymnasium, soldiers' and
sailors' rooms, and fourteen bedrooms. It is
hoped that funds will permit the provision also
of a sea-water swimming bath. The estimated
cost of the scheme is 60,000 dollars (a little
THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, SINGAPORE.
Association has always received the warm
support of the Government, and the merchants
of the city have shown their warm and practical
sympathy by furnishing the rooms from top
to bottom, and by contributing generously
towards the funds. Early in the history of
the Association, Government permission was
granted to use a portion of the old gaol site
for tennis and of the Raffles' Reclamation
for football. A valuable feature of the Singa-
pore work is the boarding-house carried on
in the Association premises. This is of great
service to young men newly arrived in the
colony as a temporary residence until they can
find a permanent home.
over ;t'7,ooo), towards which the members will
themselves contribute at least i^7i,ooo. A
cjuvass of the city has already resulted in
the promise of several handsome donations ;
and in the spring of 1907 Mr. R. D. Pringle,
the General Secretary, went to England on
furlough, intending to obtain financial assis-
tance for the new scheme from the Old
Country.
The branch is under the patronage of his E.\-
cellency the Governor (Sir John Anderson,
K.C.M.G.), the Rt. Rev. the Bishop of Singapore
and Sarawak, and the Hon. E. C. Hill. It is
controlled by a board of directors consisting of
the Hon. W. H. Shelford (President) ; Jlr.
'290
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
J. Polglase (Vice-President) ; Mr. S. Tomlinson
iHon. Vice-President) ; Mr. A. W. Beam
(Hon. Vice-President) ; Mr. Percy Gold (Hon.
Treasurer) ; the Revs. H. C. Izard, J. A. Gray,
and P. \. Hunter, and Messrs \V. D. Ash-
down, H. L. Coghlan, F. J. Benjafield, R. J.
Bartlett, A. Proctor, R. D. Stamford, and J. H.
Whitaker ; with Mr. R. D. Pringle as General
Secretary.
From Singapore the work of the Association
has spread to Kuala Lumpor and Pinang.
The Kuala Lumpor branch was publicly
opened on October 27, 1905, by Mr. Justice
(now Sir \V. H.) Hyndman Jones, and the
due share of attention. A library was
started by the Vice-President, Mr. H. C.
Redges, Protector of Chinese, who gene-
rously presented three hundred volumes.
The President is Mr. James Craig, M.I.M.E.,
and the Hon. Sec, Mr. Edward Carter. The
branch is managed by a board of directors
representing the Protestant Churches of the
town.
The birth of the Pinang Association dates
from the early part of 1905. The first premises
were situated in Beach Street. In igo6 it was
found necessary to take larger rooms, and
these were found in a spacious house in
CHINESE BOOK TEMPLE AT IPOH.
membership at the commencement was
150. Suitable rooms were secured in
Watkin Street, and these have been since
added to by the incorporation of the
next house, in order to meet the growing
needs of the Association, wliich now has 390
members on its books. It has been decided to
build much larger premises at a heavy cost,
and it is hoped that the Government will
grant a suitable site. Classes in book-keeping,
building construction, magnetism and elec-
tricity, and shorthand have been generously con-
ducted gratis by prominent residents of the
town, and have attracted no fewer than 130
pupils. Athletics and the other features of
y.M.C.A. work have also received their
Burma Road, where accommodation for
boarders has also been provided. The Pinang
branch has been run on similar lines to that
at Kuala Lumpor, and it is noteworthy that
the Association football team, during the first
years of its existence, won the League
Championship.
The total membership of the Y.M.C.A.'s
in British Malaya is now about 600. Of these
there are 170 at the Singapore headquarters,
and 50 at a new Chinese branch that was
opened in the city quite recently ; 300 at
Kuala Lumpor, and 80 at Pinang. The
membership includes men of many races —
Europeans, Americans, Eurasians, Indians,
Ceylonese, Chinese, Japanese, and Malays.
YOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN
ASSOCIATION.
The Y.W.C.A. in Singapore owes its origin
to Miss Cooke, mistress of the Chinese Girls'
School, and a few European ladies, who in
1875 gathered together a handful of Christian
Straits-born Chinese girls and held meetings
in the schoolroom. The membership, originally
only 18, is now 170. A branch has been
formed in Pinang, and associated also with
the parent body at Singapore are little bands
of members meeting in different parts of the
Federated Malay States and Sarawak.
Since its formation the Singapore Associa-
tion has been housed in various temporary
premises. In 1896 it was reorganised and placed
on a sounder footing by Miss Eyre, and in 1906
a large and admirably situated house in River
Valley Road was taken. This house has
served a double purpose, as a boarding-house
and a meeting-place. The membership in-
cludes Europeans, Eurasians, and Chinese, but
Europeans constitute the largest section. All
meet on an equality, and no" racial difficulty has
ever been experienced. The Association has
confined itself to work among English-speaking
women, and it has sought to assist members
spiritually, intellectually, socially, and physi-
cally. Regular devotional services are held,
a well-selected library of books is at the service
of the members, periodica! social gatherings
and picnics are held, and the grounds of the
house are laid out for tennis, badminton, and
croquet. The boarding facilities are not much
used by permanent residents, but serve a useful
purpose in accommodating ladies who are
passing through the port.
The Association is in a sound financial posi-
tion. A sum of 2,000 dollars has been set aside
to assist members who have to return home,
and there is d. fund for the benefit of neces-
sitous travellers. The Association is affiliated
to the World's Committee of Y.W.C.A.'s, by
whom the General Secretary (Miss F. Ellis)
was sent out. It is under the patronage of
the Bishop of Singapore and Sarawak, and is
locally managed by the following committee :
Lady Evelyn Young, Mrs. Dewar, Mrs. Fisher,
Mrs. Watkins, Mrs. Wreford, Miss Gage-
Brown, Miss Blackmore, Miss Brown, and Miss
N orris.
The Pinang Association was started only a
few years ago, and after passing through a
period of depression, has recently been re-
organised by Miss Fairburn. It has now a
membership of about forty. The Y.W.C.A.
members in the States arrange occasional
gatherings among themselves, and keep in
touch with the Singapore headquarters.
CONFUCIANISM, BUDDHISM,
TAOISM.
By Dr. Lim Boon Keng.
The early Chinese settlers in Malaya brought
with them the religion which they had ob-
served in their native land, namely, Confucian-
ism, Buddhism, and Taoism.
Chinese Buddhism, which has been propa-
gated in Korea, Annam, and Japan, more
closely resembles the Thibetan Lamaism,
through which it has undoubtedly filtered,
than the pure, assthetic, and philosophic
religion of Buddha. Throughout Malaya, and
especially in Pinang and Singapore, there are
several monastic orders and imposing Buddhist
temples. In many of the temples there are,
in addition to images of the Buddha and
Buddhist saints and deities, gods and goddesses
which are indigenous to China. Ma Tsu Pu,
who is worshipped in China by all seafaring
men, is regarded by Straits Buddhists as their
patron goddess. The God of War, Kuan Ti,
1 & 3. MALAY MOSQUES.
2 & 5. HINDOO TEMPLES.
4. CHINESE TEMPLE.
292
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
the patron saint of the Manchu Dynasty, is
also commonly worshipped, although there
are no temples in Malaya speciallv dedicated
to him. The fact that Kuan Ti and Ma Tsu
Pu are merely deified individuals, the records
of whose lives are known to students of history,
indicates that, to a large extent, Chinese
number and variety all the gods of the
Pantheons of either ancient Greece, Rome,
Eab^'lon, or Egypt. The faith, however, is
quite decadent in modern China and its
adherents are drawn from the lower classes of
the community. The Taoist professors, of
whom there are very few in Malaya, are occa-
CHINESE ROCK TEMPLE AT IPOH.
is generally represented by the fig^reof an od
ma'n holding a staff, and on /^^^y. Chine e
grave there is a small shrme dedicated to
"aU educated Chinese in Malaya are Confu-
cians Thev despise those practices of
Buddhists that are vulgar, although many of
them for conventionality's sake, allow then-
womenfolk to call in the aid of Buddhist
priests in the event of a death taking place in
the house. The majority of Chinese, however,
profess to reconcile the three religions— in
fact, to reconcile all religions. All gods,
according to them, are to be reverenced, and
were it not for the exclusiveness of Christians
and Mahomedans, both Christ and Mahomed
would long since have been included among
the gods worshipped in their temples. As a
matter of fact, it is a common thing for Chinese
in Malaya to attend Christian churches and
Mahomedan mosques, although they are not
adherents of either faith, and frequently votive
offerings are made by non-Christian Chinese to
the I^oman Catholic Church at Easter and to
Mahomedan mosques and Hindu Temples on
the occasion of festivals. A striking instance of
their catholicity of mind is afforded by the fact
that already Marco Polo, the Venetian traveller,
is worshipped in Canton as a sort of saint. The
real Confucianists, however, are agnostics ;
that is to say, they profess ignorance of the
supernatural ' and of a future life. Firmly
believing in Destiny and Providence, they
confess the inability of the human mind to
comprehend the infinite, and Confucius advises
that caution should be exercised in believing in
ghosts or spirits. He defines knowledge as a
recognition of what is really known, and a
humble confession of what we do not
know. In his own life he strictly carried out
this teaching. He was punctilious in his
worship of spirits according to the custom of
Buddhist worship is a sort of hero-worship.
The Buddhist religion, however, exercises very
little influence over the people, although
children are taught by their parents the simple
truths of Buddhist teaching, such as the
necessity for leading a just life, being kind to
animals, and charitable in judging other men.
The Chinese invoke the aid of the Buddha
just as Roman Catholics invoke the aid of
their saints. The Buddhist priests are illiterate
and do no preaching. They live on the
credulity of the public, who consult the images
of the Buddha by a kind of sortilege, and
obtain prescriptions for diseases as well as
advice on all sorts of matters. The method
adopted is to shake a number of sticks until
one falls out. This is presented to the priest,
who selects a corresponding one from a
stock upon which are written picturesquely
worded prescriptions and advices composed
by sages of previous ages, and interprets its
meaning to the supplicant. The wording of
these sticks displays considerable ingenuity.
A European gentleman, who, for curiosity's
sake, sought to know whether his impending
journey from Singapore to China would be
accomplished safely, received the cryptic
answer : " There is a man pursued by a tiger.
The bright stars in the heaven shine brilliantly."
The first sentence was interpreted to portend
danger, and the second to indicate that the
danger would be encountered successfully.
A Chinese gentleman whose mother had been
pronounced by the doctor to be dying desired
to know if her life would be spared. The
answer given him by the priest read : " The
autumnal tints are appearing upon the trees.
The fruits are being gathered. The grain
is ripe unto harvest." The meaning ascribed
to this was that the woman would die, and the
prophecy was fulfilled !
The Taoist religion has a Pdutheon of spirits,
genii, immortals, gnomes, iSrc, that equals in
CHINESE PRIESTS AND CEREMONIALS.
sionally called in to exorcise evil spirits from
haunted houses and to deliver persons who are
believed to be possessed of a devil. The two
chief Taoist deities are Yii Huang Shang Ti,
(" the Pearly Emperor "), who is the supreme
ruler of the Taoist heavens, and Ta Pe Kung
C' God in the spirit of tlie earth"). The latter
his time, but that, in his opinion, was merely a
conventional conformity to social custom. It
was in accordance with his teaching that no
established custom of a community should be
upset without grave and reasonable cause, and
unless some definite good was to be the result.
Confucius seems in this respect to be a con-
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
293
servative, but in reality the spirit of his teaching
was far in advance of anything that has existed
in China. The book called " The Great Study "
is a short programme of the work which Con-
fucianism has awaiting humanity. In that
little work it can be seen at a glance that
progress is the watchword of Confucianism.
Unfortunately, the followers of Confucius, like
those of other great teachers, have blindly
taken up isolated precedents for their guidance
and neglected fundamental principles. Con-
fucius lived in a time of general decay and
great unrest, when disorder and immorality
were sapping the foundations of civilisation.
The best thing to arrest anarchy at the time
was such a conservatism as would serve to
keep together institutions, which, however
defective, might still be depended upon to
restrain the lawless from violence and rebellion.
This conservatism, instead of being regarded
in the true light of a temporai-y expedient
adopted in special circumstances, has been
regarded by many as the very foundation of
Confucius's teaching. The real truth is that
Confucianism is a growing culture, and
changes with the needs of the times. Distinc-
tion must be made between the pure principles
0|f Confucianism, as enunciated in the classical
books, " The Four Books and Five Classics,"
and the scholastic Confucianism of the literati
of China. One may compare these for illustra-
tion with the Christianity of the Gospels and
the ecclesiastical government of the Roman
Church. By the unjustifiable apotheosis of
Confucius, the Emperor of China is elevated
to a sort of Pontifex Maximus, and the Man-
darins and literati become a species of high
priests who alone are good enough to enter the
precincts of the Temple of Confucius in order
to offer sacrifices to the saints. Temples of
Confucius have been erected in every provin-
cial centre and town of importance in China.
They are always Government institutions and
the highest officers must dismount when passing
them, wliile the manes of Confucius are accorded
the same honours as are given to the reigning
Emperor, Confucius has therefore been styled
"The Throneless King" ; he is also known as
" The Most Holy Teacher of Myriad Ages."
The essence of Confucian teaching is,
however, very simple. Based on filial piety,
it includes a sincere altruism which, nurtured
in the family circle, will, in course of time,
extend gradually to the neighbourhood, to the
country, and to the world. It teaches that the
performance of human duty is the highest
excellence to which man can attain. It looks
forward to an age of culture, when every man
and woman will be enlightened, and when
universal peace will reign among the nations.
This consummation can only be arrived at
when every individual has learnt fully his
duty to his parents, to his family, to his country,
and to himself as a man.
Confucianism remained comparatively a
dormant power until some ten or fifteen years
ago. Since then it has shown a wonderful
power of revival, and has stirred up the minds
of the scholars, and has influenced the policy of
the Government in China. The majority of
Straits Chinese are undoub'edly strongly jn
favour of it, and in British Malaya and Java an
extensive propagandist work has been main-
tained.
In Japan, also, there has been a great revival
of Confucianism, and in the spring of IQ07 a
numerouslv attended meeting was held in Tokio
to express the indebtedness of Japanese civilisa-
tion to the teaching of the sage and to revive
the celebration of the annual feast in his honour.
In British Malaya Confucianism is practised
in all its purity as an ethical cult, and there
is no attempt at the deification of the teacher as
in China. It has no temples and no priest-
hood. Sacrifice to the dead on the anniversaries
of their births and deaths is the only form of
adoration observed. Confucius agreed to the
retention of this primitive form of worship
because he believed that it would do good to
the heart of the living.
POLICE
THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.
By Captain W. A. CUSCADEN, Inspector-General of Police, Straits Settlements.
HE straits Settlements
Police Force is a large
and well - disciplined
body of more than
2,000 men under the
control of an Inspector-
General (Mr. W. A.
Cuscaden), who is as-
sisted by a Resident
Superintendent in each of the three settlements
of Singapore, Pinang, and Malacca.
a jemadar or sergeant, and eight peadas or
constables, with another jemadar and nine
peadas supported from a night-watch fund
subscribed to for this particular purpose by
the merchants. In 1841 the force had in-
creased to 3 European constables, 14 officers,
and no policemen, but so frequent had armed
robberies and attacks upon the person become
about this time that a public demand was
made for additional protection. Shortly
afterwards the force was placed under the
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE.
officers and men, and from that time onwards
it has kept pace with the growth of the colony
in area, population, and commercial import-
ance.
The force now embraces European, Sikh,
Malay, and Kling contingents. Its authorised
strength at the end of 1906 was as under : —
In 1821, two years after Singapore passed
into the hands of (he British, the police work
was entrusted to Mr. F. J. Barnard, whose
staff consisted of a Malay writer, a gaoler.
control of Mr. T. Dunman, who effected great
improvements in its organisation and disci-
pline, as well as in the suppression of crime.
By the year 1^49 the force comprised 218
'94
Europeans.
Inspector-General of Police
I
Superintendents
3
Assistant superintendents
8
Police probationers
3
Chief detective inspectors
2
Chief inspectors
3
Inspectors
21
Sergeants
•• 23
Constables
.. 42
Natives.
Jemadar
I
Sub-inspectors
'
Sergeant-majors
14
Sergeants
43
Corporals
•■ 133
Lance-corporals
■ 149
Police constables
.. 1,807
Total 2,255
The rates of pay per year are as under-
mentioned : —
Inspector-General of Police
Superintendents
Assistant superintendents
Probationers
Chief detective inspectors
Chief inspectors
Inspectors £^°°
Native officer
Sergeant-majors
Sergeants
Corporals
Lance-corporals
Constables
;£goo to ;£ 1,000
^■420 to ;£ 720
;g36o to £420
^■225 to ;t35o
;4'330 to ;£:36o
A270 to ^330
to ;f225 to ;g240
$600
$360 to $420
$252 to $312
S180 to $228
*I44 to I180
9io8 to $144
The laws and rules which regulate the
poHce are Ordinance i of 1872 and 11 of 1885,
together with general regulations and police
regulations framed from time to time by the
Governor in Council.
The control of the force is vested in the
Inspector-General of Police, subject to the
orders of the Governor. Formerly the senior
appointments were generally given by the
Secretary of State to officers transferred from
1. THE OFFICERS AT SINGAPORE. 2. THE OFFICERS, INSPECTORS, AND SERGEANTS AT PINANG.
3, THE CENTRAL POLICE STATION, PINANG. 4. THE CENTRAL POLICE STATION, SINGAPORE.
5. THE OFFICERS AND INSPECTORS AT MALACCA.
296
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
the police forces of other colonies, but now
candidates are selected only from men who
have passed a Civil Sei vice examination simi-
lar to that for Indian police cadetships.
Each settlement— Singapore, Pinang, and
Malacca — forms a separate police district under
a superintendent, who is the chief police
officer. Each district is divided into divisions
under an inspector, these are divided again
into sub-divisions under non-commissioned
officers, and each subdivision is divided into
beats over which constables have charge
during the time they are on duty. Each
division has an appropriate local name and
means of two steam launches at Singapore
and one at Pinang.
ST.A.TE OF Crime.
During 1906 there was less crime than
formerly, owing, no doubt, to the banishment
of habitual criminals. The number of arrests
made by the police was 22,613, a decrease of
1,769 as compared with the preceding twelve
months. This reduction was due principally
to instructions having been given to the police
to proceed by summons for petty offences.
The number of offences reported to the police
1. MAJOR H. BARRY DE HAMEL. 2. W. A. CUSCADEN.
(Chief Police Officer, Pinang.) (Inspector-General of Police, Straits Settlements.)
3. J. D'ARCY TBAVBRS SYMONDS.
(Chief Police Officer, Malacca.)
is also designated by a letter, as "A" Central,
&c. In every division there are several police
stations, situated as conveniently as possible
in the centres of population, and each station
has its own men and number. The adminis-
trative and executive staff occupy central
offices in South Bridge Road, Singapore, oppo-
site the Police Courts building.
The police are employed on guard and
escort duties as well as on beats, and are
liable to be called out to quell serious disturb-
ances. The Sikhs and Europeans are armed
with Martini-En field rifles and bayonets, the
jMalays with Snider rifles and sword bayonets.
The police harbour work is carried on by
was 16,885 o"^ 346 less than in 1905. The
decreases in the principal offences reported
in the three settlements were as follows :
murder 4, rape 2, unnatural offence 6, causing
hurt 72, gang robbery 34, robbery 62, house-
breaking 106, theft 320, forgery 3, extortion 2.
The increases were principally in less serious
offences.
The number of persons banished was 509
(of whom 434 were criminals, and 16 morphia
injectors), as against 460 in the previous year.
This method of dealing with aliens proves very
effective, but it cannot be enforced against
British subjects. The finger-impressions and
records of 2,558 prisoners were added to the
records, thus bringing the total up to 12,716.
Of 4,893 persons examined, 658 were identihed
by means of finger-impressions as having been
previouslv convicted.
In forrner years a good deal of trouble was
given by the' Chinese secret societies, but this
was not the case in 1906. Gambling was kept
fairlv well in check. \o attempts were made
to open " Wayseng ' or " Wah-Way " or other
public lotteries on a large scale. Gambling in
Chinese clubs, however, was prevalent in
Pinang. The secretaries were called before
the Secretary for Chinese Affairs, and were
warned that if they continued to allow the
clubs to be used as ordinary " gambling-hells "
their conduct would be brought to the notice
of the Government. It had a good effect.
Until November 13th Singapore was free
from any disturbances. On that date a quarrel
took place between some Hokiens and Teochew
boatmen which culminated in a series of dis-
turbances. At first it was confined to the
town, and the police were able to handle it
without much difficulty, but, unfortunately, it
soon spread to the country as far as Tiong
Bharu, Siglap Gaylang, and Seranggong,
where attacks were made by gangs of men on
each side on isolated dwellings, and it was
only when strong patrols of police under
European officers were sent out that this was
put a stop to. The heavy sentences imposed
by the magistrates on persons caught in the
act had a salutary effect. The disturbance had
nothing whatever to do with secret societies,
as was alleged by some at the time. The
president and members of the Chinese Chamber
of Commerce, both Hokiens and Teochews,
deserve the greatest credit for the help which
they so readily gave to the police by going
from house to house, speaking to the people,
and getting them to open their shops and thus
restore confidence. The Singapore Tramway
Company also rendered every assistance in
moving bodies of police from place to place
during the riots. The police worked well
during this trying time, and the Governor
showed his appreciation of their services by
granting them three days' pay. The Chinese
detectives, however, showed up badly, and it
was well that the police had not to depend
much upon them for any information. In a
subsequent despatch received from the Colonial
Office, Lord Elgin said : " I note with satis-
faction the conduct of the Inspector-General
and the officers under his cominand in connec-
tion with the disturbances amongst the Chinese
in November."
Morphia was introduced into the colony by
some European chemists and administered as
an antidote for the opium habit. The cure,
however, proved to be worse than the disease.
The poorer classes soon found that morphia
was cheaper than opium, and the European
chemists did a roaring trade. The opium
farmer, to protect himself, began importing
the drug ; but as soon as it was brought to
the notice of the Government he was pro-
hibited from doing so, and the last farmer
was not allowed to import it at all. .A-ll the
same a large illicit trade was carried on, and
morphia was imported from London and Ger-
many. This trade was only exposed by the
finding of certain correspondence at Ipoh in
connection with a seizure of morphia at
Pinang. The source of supply is now from
China and Japan.
During the year under review 627 cases
were disposed of by the chief police officers,
and 21, log by the magistrates, while 124 were
sent for trial to the Supreme Court. This is
an improvement upon the preceding twelve
months, when the figures were 23,648 and
191 respectively.
The return of crime in the force itself showed
a decrease of 892 in the cases disposed of by
the chief police officers and of 6 in the number
of dismissals.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF RRITISH MALAYA
297
FEDERATED MALAY STATES.
By Captain H. L. TALBOT, Commissioner of Police, Federated Malay States.
AT the present tim- the policing of these
States is carried out by a force composed
of Asiatics, principally natives of the Punjab
and Malays, officered by Europeans. The
force is under the supreme control of the
Commissioner of Police, who is responsible
only to the Resident-General.
The authorised establishment of the uni-
formed branch for the year 1907 is as
follows : —
One Commissioner, 2 Deputy Commissioners
II Assistant Commissioners, 5 Probationers,
2 Chief Inspectors, 44 Inspectors (all Europeans
except one Assistant Commissioner, Raja Alang,
son of the Sultan of Perak) ; 2 native officers,
1 10 non-commissioned officers, 1,258 constables,
and 12 buglers — Indians ; 2 sub-inspectors, 164
non-commissioned officers, and 1,103 constables
— Malays. There are also 145 detectives, prin-
cipally Chinese.
Attached to the force and under its orders
for discipline, &c., are: (1) A small body of
India^l mounted men forming the Sultan of
Perak's bodyguard ; (2) some marine police —
Malays ; and (3) a small veterinary force. In
addition, numerous '' extra " and "additional"
constables are engaged, under Sections 17 and
iH of thePolic; Force Enactment (Selangor 8 of
1905),' to perform the duties of firemen, watch-
men, &c.
The force is divided into five detachments or
contingents : —
([) Perak. (Deputy Commissioner, Mr.
W. W. Douglas.)
(2) Selangor. (Deputv Commissioner, Mr.
H. M. Hatchell.)
(3) Negri Sambilan. (.Assistant Commis-
sioner, Mr. W. L. Conlay, Acting.)
(4) Pahang. (Assistant Commissioner, Mr. D.
Butler, Acting.)
(5) The Depot, Kuala Lumpor. (Assistant
Commissioner and Adjutant, Captain A. McD.
Graham.)
The extent of country to be policed is about
26,330 square miles, and there are some 195
police-stations or posts. Pahang, the largest
of the four States, has but 25, while Perak has
80. The contingents are divided into police
districts which, as a rule, are under a European
officer (Inspector).
The Federated Malay States force may be
termed an armed police force. It is under
strict discipline, and is given a fair training in
drill. The very great amount of police duty
which the men are called upon to perform in
large towns like Kuala Lumpor and Ipoh, and
in all mining districts, interferes considerably
with their "military" training. They fire an
annual course of musketry at the nearest range
up to 500 yards. All recruits have to pass a
certain musketry test before being drafted out.
The men are armed with the -303 M,-E.
carbine and rifle, but the latter is being
gradually replaced. Previous to this the arms
were M.-H. rifle and carbines. These
weapons are retained for use in stations as
being more suitable for escort and patrol
work.
Men are enlisted anywhere in the Federated
Malay States, and, provided they pass a
satisfactory medical examination, they are sent
to be trained at the depot, Kuala Lumpor. The
standard of height and chest measurement is
— for Indians 5 feet 8 inches, and 33 inches ;
and for Malays— 5 feet 2 inches and 32 inches.
Some ditliculty is experienced in obtaining
suitable recruits and, consequently, in turning
out fairly trained men quickly enough to
complete the increased establishments. The
plague in the Punjab has had the eftect of
considerably reducing the numbers of Indians
offering themselves for service, while the
opening of estates, railways, &c., in the
Federated Malay States, and the consequent
demand for labour at high rates of wages, keeps
away the better-class Malays. Another factor
that operates against recruiting is the dislike
of the Malay for discipline and fixed hours.
Notwithstanding this, a well-trained and keen
Malay is about the best native policeman
obtainable, and there are some excellent men in
the Federated Malay States force. For beat
duty, patrols, and sentry work, however, the
Indian is eminently superior.
On engagement Indians have to sign an
agreement for five years, but Malays sign on
for three only. .-Vfter ten years' service, and
provided he is forty-five years of age, every
man is entitled to a pension amounting to
pensionable establishment with £180 a year
salary, free partly-lurnished quarters, and
uniform. Subject to passing an elementary
examination in Malay and professional subjects
they are transferred to the pensionable
establishment and their pay is increased to
;^200 per annum, with ^'15 per annum
personal allowance every three years till they
are promoted to the first class, in which
they receive £2y> a year. The pay of the
Chief Inspector commences at £'iO0. Ap-
pointments to the higher or "commissioned "
grades are made from probationers appointed
after an open competitive examination held
in London for appointment to Indian, Hong-
kong, Straits Settlements, and Federated
Malay States forces. On arrival, probationers
have to study some dialect in Chinese, and,
rfi
1
M
^^Hj^^'^ '-.
J
THE POLICE AND CADET CORPS, MALACCA.
fifteen-sixtieths of his annual salary, with
one-sixtieth extra for every year over ten, up
to forty-five-sixtieths. The men are paid well,
the commencing salary being 12 dollars per
mensem, with free quarters, uniform, &c.
Indians, however, only draw 11 dollars till thev
are considered fit for ordinary duty. In
Pahang, owing to the expense of living, there
is a 15 per cent, non-pensionable allowance.
The pay of native officers or sub-inspectors,
the highest position to which natives can rise,
is 60 dollars per mensem. Men get free
medical attendance and very good quarters,
and are very well off, all things considered.
Eui^oPEA.v Officers.
Inspectors are appointed locally on the
recommendation of the Commissioner sup-
ported by the Resident-General with the
approval of the High Commissioner, or else
they are engaged at home from suitable
applicants from the Royal Irish Constabulary
or Metropolitan Police.
_ Those engaged locally have nearly all been
either in the army or navy or some police
force. They are at first placed on the non-
after six months proceed to China for about two
years and pass a very stiff examination. On
their return they are attached lo a headquarter
office, and have to qualify in Malay and law
and finish all their examinations within 3J
years of their arrival. They are then made
Assistant-Commissioners at a salary of ;^36o
per annum, and may in the dim future rise
to ^^840 per annum.
The system of probationers has only recently
been started. Formeiiy officers were ap-
pointed by the High Commissioner with the
approval of the Secretary of State. At the
present time five of the ten senior officers
actually serving were formerly inspectors.
In very deserving cases when there is marked
ability promotions will, no doubt, continue to
be made from the inspectors to the higher
grades.
Police officers are for leave and pension
purposes under the same regulations as other
officers in the Federated Malay States Service,
except that not oftener than once in seven years
inspectors are granted twelve months' half-pay
leave with free second-class return passages to
Europe, for themselves, their wives, and two
children.
X
•298
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
A Retrospect.
It is only since September, 1896, that the
Federated Malay States force has become
federal. In that year Mr. H. C. Syers was
appointed Commissioner of Police, and in-
structed to reconstruct on similar lines the
police forces of Perak, Selangor, Pahang,
Sungei Ujong, and Xegri Sambilan. Mr.
Syers was at that time Captain Superintendent
of the Selangor Force. Unfortunately, and to
the regret of all who knew him, Mr. Syers
was killed by a seladang in July, 1897, before
he had time to accomplish his task. On his
death. Captain H. L. Talbot, second in com-
mand of the Malay States Guides, was appointed
Commissioner, in which appointment he has
remained ever since.
In 1903 the estimates for the whole force
appeared under the one head, " Federated
Malay States Police," for the first time. Prior
to that each contingent had its own estimates,
&c.
Perak.
In i8g6 Perak was policed by a very effi-
ciently trained Military Police Battalion, called
the 1st Perak Sikhs, under Lieut.-Colonel
R.,S. F.Walker, C.M.G. From this body of
men was formed, on July i, i8g6, the nucleus
of that very fine regiment the Malay States
Guides. The Indians not specially selected for
the- Guides formed, with their Malay fellows,
the Perak Police Force, which in 1903 was
merged into the Federated Malay States Police
Perak Contingent. The Perak Sikhs were
formed from the Perak Armed Police in July,
1884, under the command of local Major
R. S. F. Walker (Captain 28th Foot). The
Perak Armed Police were, apparently, first so
called in about 1879, when they comprised a
distributed over the States as follows : 250 in
the Larut District under an Assistant-Super-
intendent and two In'spectors ; 150 in the
Kuala Kangsa district under an Assistant-
Superintendent and an Inspector ; and 100 in
the Bandar Bharu district under an Inspector.
They were armed with short Snider rifles and
bayonets. Lieut. Swinburne, of the 80th
Regiment, was placed in command of this
force and of the Resident's bodyguard of 200
men that was enrolled at the same time. The
total annual cost of the police force was 57,000
dollars, and of the Guard 26,220 dollars, if the
salary of the superintendent (3,000 dollars) be
divided equally between them. It is interesting
to note that the total force in the Kinta district
twelve months later was 75 of all ranks,
whereas now, thirly years later, it has grown
to 570, and this is not really sufficient.
Before the time of Major Swinburne and his
force some police were brought over from
Pinang immediately after the Perak War. The
headquarters in Perak were originally at
Bandar Bharu. In about 1879 they were
removed to Taiping, where they remained until
June last, when they were transferred to Ipoh,
as the most central and convenient place.
SELAX(iOR-. .
In consequence of the unsettled state of
affairs that prevailed in Selangor, the Sultan
in 1874 requested the Colonial Government to
send him officers to assist in the government
of the country. In reply to this appeal, Mr.
Davidson was despatched to Klang and Mr.
Swettenham to Kuala Langat. A police force
was established by Mr. Davidson, with head-
quarters at Klang. ' 4!
Xo authentic record can be found of this
force, but according to Sir Frank Swettenham
men, all of whom were Malays. Some time
afterwards Indians were added.
The force was armed with Snider carbines.
Martini - Henri carbines coming into use
much later. These, in turn, were superseded
by the 303 weapon at present in use. The
men received 8 dollars per mensem. The only
European officer at this time was Captain
Syers, who joined on March i, 1875, and was,
unfortunately, killed by a seladang in Pahang
on July 13, 1897.
In 1 88 1 the force was composed of a super-
intendent (salary 150 dollars per mensem), a
senior inspector (salary 80 dollars per men-
sem), a junior inspector (salary 70 dollars per
mensem), 2 sergeant - majors, 31 non-com-
missioned officers, and 143 constables.
The headquarters were removed to Kuala
Lumpor from Klang in 1882.
Xegri Sambilan.
It has not been possible either in the Head-
quaiters Office or in the Secretariat to find any
records of the force in Sungei Ujong farther
back than 1889. It is, however, on record that
Mr. W. W. Douglas was appointed Super-
intendent of Police, Sungei Ujong, on October
I, 1881. At that time the Sungei Ujong force
was separate from the Xegri Sambilan force.
The Negri Sambilan force was probably
directly under the Resident, who lived in Kuala
Pilah. At one time the police in Jelebu were
administered under the superintendence of the
Resident of Selangor. All these units were
merged into one force, the N'egri Sambilan
Police, under Captain Mackenzie, somewhere
about October, 1891. They were originally
armed with Sniders, M.-H. carbines being
substituted later. No Police Force Enactment
can be traced earlier than 1897.
PINANG POLICE FORCE.
body of some six hundred men, under the
command of Major Paul Swinburne.
The formation of Ihe police force was
authorised in a letter from the Colonial
Secretary of the Straits Settlements to the
Acting Resident, dated October 21, 1876.
The strength was fi.xed at 500 non-com-
missioned officers and men, who were
("British Malaya," page 221), reUable police
forces were only established in each State in
1878, the non-commissioned officers and men
being obtained from the British forces that
were stationed in the colony at the time.
The first Residents were also Chiefs of Police.
The first authentic report (dated October, 1879)
shows that the force was composed of 227
In 1885 the strength of the Sungei Ujong force
was : I superintendent and i inspector, 8 non-
commissioned officers, and 124 constables —
Malays ; 2 non-commissioned officers, 41
police-constables, and 3 buglers — Sikhs.
In 1897 the combined force comprised :
I superintendent and i inspector, 24 non-
commissioned officers and 210 constables^
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
299
Malays ; 4 non-commissioned officers, 50
constables, and 3 buglers— Sikhs.
At the present time the European staff
consists of I Assistant-Commissioner and 5
inspectors, and the men are armed with -303
M.-E. carbines.
Pahang.
Pahang did not come under British protec-
tion " officially " till the appointment, in October,
1888, of the first British Resident (Mr. J. P.
Rodger). A police force was organised, appa-
rently, by Mr. H. C. Syers, then Superintendent
of Police at Selangor, who, about the end of
March, 1889, proceeded to Pahang (Pekan)
with some Sikh Volunteers from the Selangor
force. In any case, the Pahang force may be
considered to have come into being early in
1889, its first chief being Mr. D. Lockart, who
died about November, iSgr. It was armed
with Sniders, replaced at the present day by
M.-E. '303 carbines.
Mr. H. Sumner, who joined the force as an
inspector in October, 1889, was in charge from
November, 1891, to March, 1892, and again
from June, 1895, to February, 1896. He was
appointed Chief Inspector on September 30,
1897, and was promoted Assistant Commissioner
and Chief Police Officer on January i, 1900.
It is practically entirely due to Mr. Sumner
that the men of the Pahang contingent are
such a fine, well-disciplined, and well-trained
body as they are. They did excellent service
in the Pahang disturbances of 1892 and 1894.
Mr. Sumner himself did particularly good
work when with the Resident and the Sultan
up the Semantan in 1892, and later on with
Lieut. -Colonel Walker and Mr. Hugh Clifford.
Mr. Sumner, who was connected with this con-
tingent practically from its formation, died,
universally regretted, from heart failure on
August 23i-d, 1907.
Crimk.
Compared with those of previous years, the
criminal statistics for igo6 give cause for
satisfaction. During the twelve months 33,452
cases engaged the attention of the police, whose
efforts in 25,444 of these cases were successful.
The percentage of reports to "discoveries,"
therefore, worked out at 76-4, while, excluding
breaches of labour contracts, the percentage
was as high as 85-2. The figures for each of
the four States except Negri Sambilan showed
an improvement upon those of the previous
year, as will be seen from the following table :
Reports. Discoveries.
Perak 883 decrease 463 increase
Selangor 1,107 increase 1,587 increase
Negri Sambilan 266 decrease 325 decrease
Pahang 589 decrease 367 decrease
There was a striking decrease of 18 per cent,
in the number of thefls committed in 1906 when
compared with the total for 1905, the figures
being respectively 5,589 and 6,836.
Of serious crime there were 325 fewer reports
and 88 more "discoveries" than in 1905.
There was a great decrease in housebreaking,
highway robbery, and serious thefts, and an
appreciable decrease in gang robberies. The
number of murders recorded was also a little
lower, though the total of 58 was almost as high
as that for the United Kingdom. This is all the
more surprising in view of the fact that there
were no murders in Negri Sambilan or Pahang.
The percentage of " discoveries " to reports was
34, which may be considered satisfactory in
view of the facilities that exist for escaping
justice. It is gratifying to observe that, whereas
in 1897 there were 1,735 reports of serious
crime, with 486 " discoveries," the figures for
igo6 were 658 and 278 respectively.
During the twelve months under review 411
persons (of whom 387 were Chinese) were
banished as against 97 in 1905. Considering
these figures in relation to the great reduction
in serious crime, it appears quite clear that the
freer use of the Banishment Enactment has
been of the greatest benefit.
In the Commissioner's office at Kuala
Lumpor there is an up-to-date Criminal
Bureau, where the finger impressions of all
persons arrested on a seizable offence are
A MALAY POLICEMAN.
classified and registered. This bureau was
organised and brought to its present valuable
and efficient state by Mr. W. L. Conlay,
Assistant Commissioner.
The total expenditure of the force for the
year 1907 was estimated at 945,086 dollars.
W. A. Cuscaden (Inspector-General of
Police). — The Inspector-General of Police,
Mr. William Andrew Cuscaden, was formerly
Captain and Instructor of Musketry in the
4th Battalion of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.
In 1879 he was Assistant Inspector of the Gold
Coast Constabulary, and in the following year
Civil Commissioner of the Taquah gold-mining
district. He first came to the Straits Settle-
ments in 1883 as Chief Inspector of Police,
and between 1883 and 1897 w-as Acting Super-
intendent at Pinang, Malacca, and Singapore.
In the latter year he was made Superinten-
dent at Malacca, and in 1901 was promoted
Acting Inspector-General of Police of the
Straits Settlements. He is a Municipal Com-
missioner of Singapore.
Major H. B. de Hamel.— The Superin-
tendent of the Police of Pinang and Province
Wellesley is Major Hargrave Barry de Hamel,
an old Charterhouse scholar, and a son of Mr.
F. H. de Hamel, late of the Board of Trade. He
was born in London in December, 1871, and
received a commission as second lieutenant
in the Londonderry Artillery in 1889. After
having held the rank of captain for three years,
he was seconded for service, in 1895, on the
West Coast of Africa, and commanded the
Hausas, of the Denkera Levies, in the .-Vshanti
expedition in 1895-96, for which he received
a star and a gratuity. From thence he came
to the Straits, and was appointed an Assistant
Superintendent of Police in June, 1897. He
acted in that capacity in Singapore, Pinang,
and Province Wellesley until 1905, having
meanwhile been gazetted major, and, in the
latter part of 1905, was seconded as Acting Com-
missioner of Police in the Kinla district of
Perak. He has held his present appomtment
since May, 1907.
Mr. Ralph Mathew Legge Dulton, the
present Acting Assistant Superintendent of
Police at Pinang, has a practical acquaintance
with Far Eastern colonies. Born in Yorkshu'e,
in 1882, he was educated at King's School,
Canterbury, and at the Royal Military Academy,
Woolwich. He entered the Royal Artillery as
second lieutenant in July, 1903 ; was gazetted
first lieutenant in Julv, 1905 ; and served with
the Roval Garrison Artillery at home, in Hong-
kong, and in the Straits Settlements. In June,
1907, he was seconded for duty with the Straits
Settlements Police. His recreations are sailing,
swimming, and riding.
Captain W. M. L. Bower, Assistant
Superintendent of Police, Province Wellesley,
is the second son of Mr. Harold Lance Bower,
of Liverpool, and was born in 1878. He was
educated at the Merchant Taylors' School,
Liverpool ; joined the 3rd Volunteer Batlahon
Liverpool Regiment as second lieutenant ;
was promoted to the rank of captain in March
1900, and transferred in 1902 to the 4th
Liverpool Regiment, Militia Battalion. In 1902
lie was attached to the Cheshire Regiment,
at Chester, and accompanied a draft of South
Wales Borderers to South Africi. In the
succeeding year he was seconded for service
in the Straits Settlements Police. Captain
Bower, who is a member of all the Pinang
clubs, is an enthusiastic musician and acts as
conductor of the Pinang Choral and Orchestral
Society. His residence is at Butterworth.
Captain D'Arcy Symonds, Superinten-
dent of Police, and Commandant of Malacca,
comes from a family which has for many
generations been associated with the services.
He is a son of the late General Symonds, a
cousin ofthe late Admiral Sir Thomas Symonds,
K.C.B. (late .-Admiral of the Fleet), and was born
on October 20, 1855, at Southsea. He was
educated at the Royal Navy School, New
Cross, and at Victoria College, Jersey. In
1876 Captain D'Arcy Symonds joined the 5th
Royal Irish Lancers, and in 1879 volunteered
for service with the 17th Lancers in the
Zulu War. He took part in the cavalry action
at the battles of Erzenguyan and Ulundi, and
received the medal and clasp. Subsequently
he transferred to the 9th Lancers tor service
in the Afghan War, and served in India from
i88o till 1885. Two years later he received
a commission in the l6th Lancers, and
in 1887, was placed on the reserve list. He
was then appointed to command the Gold
Coast Civil Police, but resigned in 1890 upon
being invalided home. He was appointed by
the Secretary of State Assistant Superintendent
of Police for Pinang in May, l8gi. Captain
D'.ircy Symonds is also Superintendent of the
Fire Brigade, Coroner for the town of Malacca,
and a Justice of the Peace.
Captain H. L. Talbot. — One of the most
popular men in the Federated ilalay States Civil
Service is Captain H. L. Talbot, the Chief
Commissioner of Police. Born in 1863, he
is the eldest son of the late Lieutenant-
Colonel H. L. Talbot, of the Royal Artillery.
After passing through Wellington and Sand-
hurst, he joined the army as a lieutenant in the
Royal Dublin Fusiliers in 1883. Eleven years
laterhe received his company in the King's Own
Royal Lancaster Regiment, but resigned his
commission in November of the following
year. He served in the Bombay Staff Corps,
and subsequently entered the service of the
Perak Government as Assistant Commissioner
of the 1st Perak Sikhs. He was sent to
Pahang in command of the detachment of the
Perak Sikhs at the time of the second series of
disturbances in 1S94 ; but two days after his
arrival on the scene of hostilities he was
severely wounded, and spent eight weeks in
300
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF HRITISH MALAYA
the General Hospital at Singapore. Since his
appointment as Commissioner of Police,
Federated Malay States, in 1897 he has been
largely responsible for the many improve-
ments in the force, and in 1903 he began
bringing into line the different police systems
obtaining in the four States. He has followed
practically every kind of sport. He played
cricket for Bedfordshire in the early eighties,
and during his residence in the East has, at
different times, captained the Perak, Selangor,
and Singapore teams, as well as teams repre-
senting the Federated Malay States and Straits
Settlements. Football also claimed him as a
devotee in his younger days, and latterly he
has held the position of president of the
Selangor Golf Club after serving for four
years as hon. sec. He has taken an
active part in horse-racing ever since its
introduction to the Federated Malay States,
and has been interested in such well-known
horses as "Touch Not," "Why Not?" and
" Essington." For three years he was hon.
sec. of the Selangor Turf Club, and he has
served on the Selangor Racing Association
Committee practically since its formation.
Captain Talbot married Edith Clementi, a
daughter of Sir C. C. Smith, G.C.M.G., a
former Governor of the Straits Settlements.
He is a member of the Naval and Military,
Sports, and M.O.C. Clubs, and of several clubs
in the Federated Malay States, including the
Lake Club at Kuala Lumper, of which he has
been president for the past five years. His
address is Kuala Lumpor, Selangor.
Captain A. McD. Qraham. — The Assis-
tant Commissioner and Adjutant of the Federal
Police Force is Captain Alfred McDowell
Graham. Born in 1869, and educated in
Dublin, Captain Graham came lo Perak in
1892 as an Inspector of the Perak Sikhs. He
saw active service in 1894, and later in the
same year acted as Adjutant of the Perak
Sikhs. He was transferred to the Malay
States Guides Regiment in 1896, was Adjutant
for four years, then Wing Commander, and
acted as second in command. In 1904 he was
appointed to the Federated Malay States Police
as Adjutant of the force. He was gazetted
Second Lieutenant, 3rd Battalion Highland
Light Infantry, in i90i,andLieutenant(local and
temporary), and Captain (local and temporary)
in the same year. Captain Graham, who
resides in Kuala Lumpor, and belongs to most
of the local clubs, is a polo player of no little
skill ; in former days he played football (both
Rugby and Association) and cricket.
Mr. Howard Montagu Hatchell, born in
1870, Deputy Commissioner of Police for
Selangor, came to the State in 1890 as chief
clerk in the District Office, Kuala Kubu. After
holding other positions and passing in the
Malay language, he became Acting Assistant
Superintendent of Police, Kuala Lumpor, and
subsequently Acting Deputy Commissioner of
Police for Selangor.
Mr. W. W. Douglas.— The Deputy Com-
missioner of Police in Perak is Mr. William
Willes Douglas, who has been dischargingpolice
duties in the native States since 1878, when, at
the age of eighteen, he was made an Inspector
of the Perak Armed Police. His subsequent
career embraced the offices of Superintendent
of Police and Prisons, Negri Sambilan ; Col-
lector and Magistrate, Port Dickson ; District
Officer, Klangj and Acting Commissioner of
Police under the Fedeial Government. In
1906 he received, in addition to his Federal
appointment, the post of Superintendent of
Prisons, Taiping.
Mr. Qeorge Percy Cuscaden, Assistant
Commissioner of Police at Taiping, is the son
of Captain W. A. Cuscaden, Inspector-General
of Police of the Straits Settlements. He was
born in Dublin in 1883, and was educated
at Corricg School, Kingstown, Ireland. For a
few months in 1902-3 he was attached to the
Royal Irish Constabulary. He came out to
Malaya as Acting Assistant Superintendent of
Police, Straits Settlements, in December, 1903,
but in the following May transferred to the
Federated Malay States Civil Service as Assis-
tant Commissioner of Police at Taiping. For
some time he filled a similar position in
Selangor, but reverted to his former appoint-
ment in 1907. He acted as Chief Police
Officer in Negri Sambilan during part of
May and June, 1906, and passed in Malay
in July of the same year. He is a Justice
of the Peace for the Straits Settlements and
is a member of all Taiping and Kuala Lumpor
Clubs.
Mr. William Lance Conlay, Assistant
Commissioner of Police, Negri Sambilan,
arrived in the Federated Malay States in 1893.
He had previously qualified in Hindustani and
Persian, and seen service in Great Britain and
India with the 21st Hussars. In the following
year he took part in the expedition to Pahang,
where later he acted as European Instructor.
He remained in Pahang until 1902, holding
various appointments in Raub, Rompin,
Temerloh, Kuanlan, Pekan, and Ulu Pahang,
and then entered the Federal service as
Assistant Commissioner of Police and Super-
intendent of Prisons, Negri Sambilan.
Mr. D. Butler, Assistant Commissioner of
Police at Pahang, began his career in the
Federated Malay States as an engineer in con-
nection with the Railway Construction Depart-
ment, Perak. For a time he was Inspector of
Mines at Larut, and was then attached to the
Land Revenue Department. In 1903 he was
appointed Assistant Commissioner of Police at
Taiping under the Federal Government. He
held several similar appointments until, in
September, 1907, he succeeded the late Mr. H.
Summer as Assistant Commissioner of Police,
Pahang.
PRISONS
THE STRAIT5 SETTLEMENTS.
OVERNMENT prisons
are established at Singa-
pore, Pinang, Malacca,
the Dindings, and
Christmas Island. There
are also thirteen " lock-
ups" scattered over the
various parts of the
colony. During 1906
11,323 persons were incarcerated for civil and
criminal offences, and of these 11,482 were
released or died during the twelve months,
leaving at the end of the year 1,273 still in
confinement. The daily averages were :
o- „ 'Criminal
Smgapore | (,(^11
Pinang \^""}'"^^
" (Civil
,, , f Criminal
Malacca j^^j^ji
Four hundred and four criminals were
banished during the year. The number of
Asiatics sentenced to terms of imprisonment
lgo6.
1905-
920-00
995-00
53-90
84-83
300-91
385-31
25-19
32-81
24-07
36-81
9-53
8-35
exceeding one year was 142, as compared with
256 in the previous twelve months. There
were 1,473 re-convictions, as against 1,795 '"
1905.
At the end of the year the number of
prisoners at Singapore in the middle grade, in
which prisoners pass the greater part of a long
sentence, had fallen to 278. The short-sentence
grade was swollen temporarily by 150 com-
mitments for rioting. The continual drop in
the numbers of the lower grade will, it is
believed, be followed by a reduction in the
middle grade, as long sentences expire ; and it
is thought that the decrease in long sentences
is probably due to the removal of large
numbers of habitual criminals from the
colony.
In the latest report of the Superintendent of
Prisons in Pinang (Mr. E. Howard), it is
pointed out that at the end of 1906 there were
in prison 51 vagrants, about whom the follow-
ing observations are made : " The gaol is not
the proper place for these men. They are
physically very dirty, and ought to be kept
entirely apart from the other prisoners.
Morally, on the other hand, they are not
criminals, so that the association, to a certain
extent unavoidable in the Pinang prison, is
obnoxious both to vagrants and prisoners."
In his report for 1906, the Acting Inspector of
Prisons (Mr. G. Hall) states that during the
year it was made lawful to compel persons
sentenced to simple imprisonment to do some
kind of work. Rules were also framed for
keeping prisoners serving sentences not ex-
ceeding two years at stone-breaking all their
time, and for providing a special diet for
prisoners sentenced to 14 days' imprisonment
or less.
The majority of the short-sentence prisoners
are required to perform daily tasks of stone-
breaking ; while those undergoing lengthy
terms of confinement are engaged indoors as
tailors, carpenters, blacksmiths, masons, white-
washers, printers, dhobies, mat-makers, rattan
workers, and painters. In 1906 the prisoners
in the colony manufactured articles to the
value of 11,961 dollars, in addition to breaking
stones. On Christmas Island prisoners under-
going rigorous imprisonment perform outdoor
work, such as felling timber, clearing ground,
&c., in the Government reserve. The total
cost of maintaining the prisons of the colony
during the twelve months was 192,394 dollars.
FEDERATED MALAY STATES.
THROUGHOUT the Federated Malay
States the prisons are constructed upon
the most modern lines, and are staffed by
efficient European warders, assisted by native
assistant warders, who are mostly recruited in
the North of India. In the four States there
are twenty-two prisons, besides temporary
"lock-ups" attached to the district police-
stations.
On January r, 1907, there were 1,689
prisoners — 166 civil and 1,523 criminal — in
the gaols of the Federated Malay States, as
compared with 1,925 at the beginning of 1906.
Four hundred and forty-eight long-sentence
and 3,897 short-sentence prisoners were sent
to Federated Malay States prisons in 1906,
as against 396 long-sentence and 4,680 short-
sentence prisoners in the previous year. Of
le-convictions there were 1,210 in 1906, or 113
less than in 1905. The reduction in the number
is largely attributable to the increased number
of habitual criminals who were banished
during the year under review. All prisoners
in the Federated Malay States who are
physically able are employed at some form of
revenue-earning labour. Those who are only
undergoing short sentences are engaged in
breaking stones for use on the Government
roads ; while those serving long terms are
employed indoors in industrial occupations
such as rattan-working, printing, and book-
binding. In the convict establishment it is
intended shortly to teach trades to the prisoners
in order that they may be able to earn an
honest living upon their release, and that they
may defray a part of the cost of their main-
tenance in prison. After deducting the revenue
derived by the Government from work done
by prisoners, the total cost of maintaining the
Federated Malay States prisons in 1906 was
239,010 dollars.
In Perak there are prisons at Taiping, Batu
Gaja, Selama, Kinta, Grit, and Tanjong MaHm.
At Taiping is the chief convict establishment
of the Federation, and it is now undergoing
enlargement. -When it is completed it will
afford accommodation for 630 inmates. All
prisoners sentenced to imprisonment for terms
of twelve months or over in any of the States
are to be incarcerated there ; and for all the
long-sentence prisoners from Selangor, Negri
Sambilan, and Pahang sent there an equal
number of short-sentence prisoners from Perak
are to be transferred to the gaols of the other
States. The number of long-sentence prisoners
in the Taiping convict establishment on
January i, 1907, was 491.
The prisons in the State of Selangor are at
Kuala Lumpor, Klang, Kuala Selangor, Kuala
Langat, Kuala Kubu, Serendah, and Kajang.
The largest of these is the State prison at the
Federal capital, which has accommodation for
540 prisoners. On January i, 1907, there were
altogether 504 prisoners in all the gaols of the
State, as compared with 605 on January i,
1906.
The principal prison of Negri Sambilan is
at Seremban, the capital. There are also
prisons at Jelebu, Kuala Pilah, and Tampin.
The total daily average number of prisoners in
the State in 1906 was 166, as compared with
J 58 in 1905 and no in 1904. A new ward to
house 24 prisoners was added to the Seremban
prison in 1906.
The prisons of Pahang are at Lipis, Raub,
302
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MAEAYA
Bentong, Pekan, and Kuantan. Excluding
Kuantan, the return for which is not available,
there were 142 prisoners in the State prisons
on January i, 1906. During the year 344
were admitted, 360 were discharged, and
II escaped, leaving 132 still incarcerated on
January i, 1907.
Mr. Leonard Powney Ebden, B.A.
Cantab., Barrister-at-law, who is at present
acting as Legal Adviser and Public Prosecutor
in the Federated Malay States, in place of Mr.
F. Belfield, holds the substantive appointment
of Inspector of Prisons, Straits Settlements,
and First Magistrate, Pinang. He was born
which he has been posted ; for instance, he was
one of those chiefly instrumental in designing
and laying out the public gardens in Kuala
Lumpor.
Lieut. =CoIoneI R. S. F. Walker, C.M.G.,
Commanding Officer of the Malay State Guides,
is the Inspector of Prisons in the Federated
Malay States. A sketch of his career appears
under the heading " Mililary and Volunteers."
Mr. E. S. Hose is the Inspector of Prisons
in Selangor. His biography will be found
under the heading " Kuala Lumpor Sanitary
B 'ard," of which body he is the chairman.
Mr. John Fortescue Owen has seen close
Senior Magistrate, Registrar of Titles, and
Superintendent of Prisons, and to these duties
were added, in 1907, those of Chief Assistant
District Officer, Kinta, and Registrar of Titles,
South Perak. Mr. Owen also acts as Officer
in Charge of the State during the absence of the
Resident from headquarters. He resides at
Kuala Lipis.
Mr. A. B. Voules. — The Superintendent of
the Convict Establishment at Taiping is Mr.
Arthur Blennerhasset Voules, B.A. Cantab.,
who was born in 1870, and was appointed at
the age of twenty-two a junior officer in the
Perak Civil Service. Early in his official career
PEDBEATED MALAY STATES CONVICT ESTABLISHMENT.
2. BooKBixDiN'G Department. 3. Recreation.
4. Rattan Workshop.
in 1864, and was educated at Charterhouse.
His first appointment was that of Assistant
District Officer, Rawang, and Acting Secretary
to the Resident of Selangor, in 1889. Subse-
quently he held the posts of Acting Magistrate,
Kuala Lumpor ; Acting Third Magistrate,
Pinang ; Collector of Land Revenue and
Registrar of Tilles, Selangor ; Warder of Mine=,
Perak ; Collector of Land Revenues, Larut ;
Acting Senior Magistrate, Selangor and Negri
Sambilan ; District Officer of Larut and Krian ;
and senior Magistrate of Selangor and Negri
Sambilan. Mr. Ebden has taken the greatest
interest in the development of the districts in
upon thirty years' service in the Federated
Malay States, and for the greater portion of
the time his duties have lain in Pahang. He
came out in 1889, and held the post of Acting
Collector and Magistrate of Kuala Pahang.
He occupied similar positions in Rompin.
Temerloh, and Kuantan, until l8g6, when, on
return from leave, he became Superintendent
of Ulu Pahang. He was transferred to Negri
Sambilan as District Officer, Coast, in 1899,
and on his return to Pahang he acted as Secre-
tary to the Resident, Senior Magistrate, Warden
of Mines, and Protector of Chinese. In 1903
he became Acting District Ofticer, Kuala Lipis,
he held collectorships in Larut, Kuala Kangsa,
and Krian, and magistracies in Matang and
Larut. He was transferred to Selangor as
Registrar of Courts in 1899, and later in the
same year came underthe Federal Government.
Chief amongst his numerous appointments
have been those of Acting Assistant Secretary
to the Resident-General, Acting Inspector of
Schools, Acting Commissioner of Mines, and
Registrar of the Supreme Court. He acted as
Senior Magistrate for Selangor and Negri
Sambilan from May, 1904, to the end of the
following year, and in July, 1906, was given the
position which he now occupies.
i-^-
<CPiT
Jic:^^
^
-5^2^.
RAILWAYS
N no direction has the
beneficent result of
British influence in
Malaya been more
striliingly manifest than
in the opening up of
the territory, with all
its rich commercial
possibilities, to the
outer world by the introduction of rapid means
of communication between the important
mining and agricultural centres and the coast.
This enterprise has served not merely to
cheapen the cost of transport, and give a
remarkable fiUip to trade, but it has also
yielded a large and direct revenue. Credit for
its conception is mainly due to Sir Frank
Swetlenham, a former Governor of the Straits
Settlements and High Commissioner for the
Federated Malay States, who was responsible
for the Malay States lines, with the exception
of the eight-miles branch in Larut, from Taiping
to Port Weld, and the twenty-four-miles brancli
in Siingei Ujong, from Seremban to Port
Dickson, which was built by a private com-
pany. When he first recommended the
construction of the Province Wellesley line it
was disapproved, but when he repeated all the
arguments in favour of the project and pressed
to be allowed to undertake it, Mr. Chamberlain,
who was then Secretary of State for the
Colonies, gave his sanction on the ground
that, if the value of a great work could be
satisfactorily demonstrated, the sooner it was
taken in hand the better.
IPOH STATION.
BNGGOR BRIDGE.
Until a quarter of a century ago railways
were unknown in the jungle-clad peninsula,
but within the next year or so a line will
traverse the whole of the east coast States from
Prye on the mainland, opposite Pinang in the
north, to Singapore in the south, a distance of
nearlj' five hundred miles, with outlets to the
seaboard at Port Weld, Teluk Anson, Port
Swetlenham, Port Dickson, and Malacca. At
the present time the Una tenninates on the
frontiers of Johore, but, with the consent of the
Sultan, who is an independent ruler, a railway
of 120 miles in length is now in course of
construction through this State.
When this is completed a night passenger
service will be inaugurated, and the question of
conveying the mails overland will, no doubt,
be considered. Some day in the future it is
probable that through communication will be
established with Calcutta by means of a link-
line through the intervening territory. In the
meantime consideration will have to be given
to the East Coast States — Kelantan, Trengganu,
and Pahang — if they are to share in the
prosperity which is now enjoyed by their
neighbours. Railway routes through a part of
this country have already been surveyed.
30-1
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
THE FEDERATED MALAY
STATES RAILWAYS.
Like the history of the Federated States
themselves, the history of railway enterprise
and development in the Malay Peninsula
affords an instance of remarkable progress in
Malay States Railway became one concern,
establishing through communication between
Pinang and Seremban. The first through
passenger train from Perak was that conveying
H.H. the Sultan of Perak and suite from Kuala
Kangsa to Kuala Lumpor on July 17th of that
year to attend the Conference of Chiefs of the
Federated Malay States. . The regular service
added, bringing the total up to 31,060,657
dollars, apportioned roughly as under :
Perak
Selangor ...
Negri Sambilan
19,000,000
10,000,000
2,000,000
THE YARD, KUALA LUMPOR.
recent years. Railway construction was started
in a modest way in Perak, and the first section
— an eight-mile line running between Taiping
and Port Weld — was opened for traffic in June,
1885. The construction was carried out by
two divisions of Ceylon Pioneers, lent by the
Government of Ceylon. Before this work was
completed a more ambitious scheme was em-
barked upon by Selangor, with the result that
Kuala Lumpor was connected with Klang, 21
miles distant, in 1886, and with Port Swetten-
ham three years later. The track lay through
difficult country, with a considerable bridge
over the Klang river. The colony adv3Di;ed
the necessary funds, but long befoie the line
could be completed the colony, being in want
of money, applied for, immediate repayment,
and it was fortunate that the rapid progress of
the State made it possible to satisfy this
demand and complete the line out of current
revenues. Soon afterwards the railway was
opened for traffic, and earned a profit equal to
25 per cent, on the capital expended. For both
the Selangor and the Perak railways- a metre
gauge was. adopted, and that system has been
maintained in all sub.'iequent railway construc-
tion in the Malay States ; but the weight of the
rails, originally 46J lbs. to the yard, has been
increased. A very high standard of excellence
was adopted in this early work, no gradient
being steeper than i in 300, and no curve more
severe than 15 chains radius. Later on,
however, it was found advisable to relax
these concUtions.
Extension of the systems proceeded but
slowly until after the federation of the Protected
Malay States, in 1896, when increased activity
in the work was evinced. The disconnected
sections of railway in the States were linked
up by a main trunk line, and the Federated
commenced a month later. At that date there
were 339 miles of line open for traffic, 65 miles
having been completed since the beginning of
the year.
Up to 1903 the capital account of the Federal
railways was 22,734,816 dollars, and in that
year a further sum of 8,325,841 dollars was
The dividend earned on this capital was 6-o6
per cent., as compared with 5'88 per cent, in
1902. The average capital outlay per mile of
Hne open was 91,365 dollais. The total
revenue amounted to 3,685,834 dollars, and the
working expenses to 1,804,149 dollars. The
proportion of working expenses to gross re-
ceipts was 48-95 per cent., compared with 53-44
in 1902, and was the lowest for ten years.
The continuation of the main trunk line from
Seremban to Tampin, and thence to Malacca
during 1905 constituted another notable ad-
vance in railway communication in the
Federated Malay States. A through daily
mail train service was started on February ist
between Kuala Lumpor and Pinang, calling at
the principal stations. The distance, about 242
miles, was covered in 11 hours 2 minutes, the
longest stops being at Ipoh, 10 minutes, and
Taiping, 8 minutes. Another service started
towards the close of 1905 was from Kuala
Lumpor to Malacca, and vice versa in the day,
a distance of 196 miles for the return journey.
In October, 1906, the last section of the main
line between Tampin and Gemas, a distance
of over 32 miles, was opened, thus completing
the railway to the southern frontier station of
the Federated Malay States, a total length from
Prye (on the mainland opposite Pinang) of 351
miles. In addition to the 429 miles of main
and branch lines that were open to traffic at
the end of the year, there were 61 miles of
sidings, thus bringing the total mileage of
railroad in operation up to 490 miles. Ex-
cluding the sidings, the railway system now
comprises :
Main Line, Prye to Gemas Station
Branch lines (77 miles 54 chains!
Taiping to Port Weld
Tapah Road to Teluk Anson ...
Batu Junction to Batu Caves ...
Kuala Lumpor to Port Swettenham
Tampin to Malacca
M.
CIi.
351
13
7
17
17
05
5
21
27
01
21
10
Total
428 67
CENTRAL WORKSHOPS, KUALA LUMPOR.
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EH P
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a "
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306
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
The passenger fares are 6, 4, and 2 cents pei"
mile foi- the first, second, and third classes
respectively.
During 1906, 4,013,083 dollars was added to
capital account, which on December 31st stood
=1' 41.275,000 dollars, the apportionment in
Federated Malay States. The average capital
outlay per mile of line open was 96,248 dollars
at the end of 1906, or 2,248 dollars more than
in the preceding twelve months. The gro^s
receipts amounted to 4,774,124 dollars," To this
sum passengers, goods, &c., contributed
SEBEMBAN STATION.
respect of all works executed and lines con-
structed being as follows :
Pinang (including steam ferries)
Province Welleslev
Perak
Selangor ...
Negri Sambilan ...
Malacca Territory
578,200.15
2,247,235.69
17,075,108.51
12,032,856.71
7,621,892.76
1,719,712.03
$41,275,005.85
4,564,099 dollars, an increase of 715,438 dollars
over the figures for 1905. The net weekly
earnings per train mile were 85 cents, as
against 1-07 dollars, the decrease of 22 cents
being due principally to charging to revenue
the cost of re-laying part of the line with
heavier rails during this year. Between
September and December of 1906, 25,554
dollars was paid into the treasury to the credit
of general reimbursements. Federated Malay
States Government, instead of to the railway
KUALA KUBU STATION.
The net profit for the year's working was
1:572,337 dollars, being 3-81 per cent, on the
capital, as compared with 4'46 per cent, in
1905. The net profits earned since 1885
amounted to 15,064,024 dollars, or 36J per
cent, of the total oulla>- on railways in the
revenue, which had hitherto been the practice.
A sum of 960 dollars was received from the
automobile service, being the collection for
December for the conveyance of 223 first-class
and 2,545 third-class passengers on a single-bus
service between Tapah Road station and
Tapah town, introduced at the beginning of
that month ; while a sum of 57,140 dollars was
added to capital account as first capital expen-
diture on the introduction of road automobile
services to run in connection with train
services. Working expenses for the j-ear
under review amounted to 2,991,762 dollars,
being an increase of 714,211 dollars over those
for 1905. Of this increase, 516,744 dollars was
due to re-laying certain sections with heavier
rails, 80 lbs. to the yard, and the balance to the
cost of maintaining a longer length of line
than in 1905. The proportion of working
expenses to receipts was 65-55 P^^"" cent., as
against 5780 per cent. Train mileage totalled
1,851,516 miles, an increase of 307,890 ; goods
carried amounted to 589,580 tons, an increase
of 75.354; passengers numbered 6,171,596, an
increase of 657,147 ; and live stock 98,973, an
increase of 25,386. Out of 16,590 tons of goods
traffic forwarded from Prye station, coal (which
during the 3 ear was introduced as fuel in the
mines in the Federated States) accounted for
11,965 tons. The following list is interesting
as showing the principal items of goods traffic
forwarded during 1905 and 1906 respectively :
igo5
igo6.
Rice (bags)
1,193,710
1,215,494
Tin (slabs)
294,024
286,152
Tin ore (bags)
1,332,991
1.213,093
Opium (chests) ...
4.346
4,800
Coffee (bags)
25,538
23,650
Kerosene (tins) ...
59«.749
653,900
Poultry (baskets) ...
33.884
44,635
Pigs
68,182
78,065
Firewood (trucks)
19,148
19,742
Timber (trucks) ...
5.724
5.383
In connection with the great growth that has
taken place in the goods traffic over the whole
system, one of the most interesting develop-
ments has been the rise of Port Swettenham,
where ocean-going steamers now load and
unload direct, instead of transhipping freight
into smaller craft as formerly. Thirteen ocean-
going steamers called here during 1906 with
cargoes direct from England.
The total engine mileage in igo6 was
2,074,441 compared with 1,757,719 during 1905,
an increase of 329,722, or 18 per cent., with
fewer engines available to do the hauling.
The consumption of engine fuel (bakau fire-
wood) was 18,220 tons more than during
1905, and the cost per engine mile was
13-99 cents compared with 12-51 cents in
1905, the cost per train-mile being 15-67 cents
compared with 14-25 cents. The increase in
the cost of fuel per engine and train-mile
is attributed to the decrease in the steaming
quality of the wood, which was cut from less
mature trees, and to the heavier loads hauled
per train, At the beginning of 1907 coal fuel
was introduced on the northern division of
the railways, but wood is still used in the
southern section.
The mileage of the ferry boats was 37,720
compared with 33,804, the cost per mile being
1.08 dollar, as against 92 cents.
Six new stations were opened to traffic dur-
ing the twelve months, thus raising the total to
93. There were also seven flag stations, mak-
ing 100 stations in all. The number of tele-
graph offices was increased from 87 to 93.
The length of railway telegraph, telephone,
and bell wires was extended from 794 to 862
miles, and 83 additional miles of postal tele-
graph wires vi-ere erected on railway poles,
making a total of 745 miles.
Seven engines of a new type, weighing 75
tons 6 cwt., i.e., 24 tons heavier than the six-
wheeled coupled tender engines then available,
were ordered, but did not arrive until after the
I, Felling Tibiber for Sleepers.
FEDERATED MALAY STATES RAILWAYS.
. Gutting on Section Taipikg-Padang Rengas. :,. Bidor Bridge near Teluk Anson
5, BlIKIT PONDII, near PADANG RENGAS. 6. A Tl'NNEL.
4 A Trolley.
308
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
MARBLE HILL, IPOH.
close of the year. Fourteen new bogie
riages, 26 four-wtieeled goods wagons,
car-
and
three goods brake-vans were added to the
stock, which at the end of the year comprised
66 engines, 153 bogie passenger-coaches, 55
four-wheeled coaches, and 1,572 goods wagons.
A new and much improved type of bogie pas-
senger coach was introduced, running on 2 feet
gj inches diameter wheels, instead of 2 feet dia-
meter wheels, such as the old stock have, The
coaches are 56 feet 11 inches over headstocks,
8 feet gj inches wide over mouldings, and the
height from the rail level to the top of the roof
is II feet 7 J inches. These coaches weigh
about 20 tons, and are the largest and most
comfortable on any metre-gauge extant.
The new railway workshops at Kuala Lum-
por are very extensive and most up-to-date.
At present they are equipped with machines
removed from the old Perak and Selangor
Railway shops, supplemented with modern
tools. The power employed is electricity, and
the intention is to obtain up-to-date heavy
high-speed machines capable of dealing with
any class of railway work. Coaches and
wagons are constructed here with the excep-
tion of the steel under-frames, wheels, axles,
&c., which are obtained from England. When
the new plant is installed these shops will be
in a position to turn out coaches and wagons
complete in every respect. Locomotives are
dismantled, thoroughly overhauled, and re-
±L,___m^.. . f-
NBW TYPE COACHING STOCK.
paired, but it would not pay at present to
build new locomotives.
The total expenditure during the year igo6
on construction and surveys of new lines in the
Federated Malay States, Johore, and Malacca
amounted to 3,924,728.39 dollars, compared
with 3,629,914.60 dollars, and was made up as
follows :
Negri Sambilan Extension
Malacca Branch
Johore State Railway
Gemas-Kuala Semantan Perma
nent Survey
Kuala Semantan to Kuala Lipis
(stopping at Kuala Tembeling)
Trial Survey
Ditto via Bentong
Kuala Semantan to Kuantan
Light Railway Permanent Sur
vey, Tronoh to Ipoh ...
Light Railway Temoh to Chen
deriang
Total ..
$
490,266.79
116,942.81
3,221,761.51
60,49453
6,665.13
11,047-55
11,183.78
4,79674
1,569-55
»3,924,728.39
KUALA LUMPOB STATION.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
309
The most important feature of railway de-
velopment in the Malay Peninsula at present
is the Johore State Railway, in course of con-
struction. This railway, which is 120J miles
in length, is a continuation of the main trunk
line connecting Pinang with Singapore. It
commences at the River Gemas on the
northern frontier of Johore and terminates
at Johoi-e Bahru on the southern frontier of
Johore, opposite the terminus of the Singapore-
Kranji Railway at Woodlands, situate on the
island of Singapore. The two railways will
be connected by a wagon or train ferry, and
the recent extension of the Singapore-Kranji
Railway to the Docks opens up through com-
munication between the towns of the Federated
Malay States and the Singapore wharves at
Tanjong Pagar. The Federated Malay States
Government, through its Railway Department,
is constructing the Johore Railway for the
Government of Johore and is advancing the
necessary money, estimated at 12,460,881
dollars. Up to the end of 1906, 4,286.429
dollars had been spent, of which sum
3,221,761.51 dollars was expended during the
year under review. The work done included
the clearance of lioj miles of jungle, the con-
struction of 3,778,189 cubic yards of earthwork,
or well over one-third of the total quantity ;
and the completion of 13 bridges and 131 cul-
verts. There were also 13 bridges and 55
culverts in progress. The permanent way was
linked in for25i miles — viz., 10 at Gemas end and
15J at Johore Bahru — not counting the length
OLD STYLE ENGINE AND PEESENT-
DAY LOCOMOTIVE.
of sidings. The telegraph line for 70 miles and
the majority of the buildings were completed.
In connection with this line the question of
carrying the railway over the Straits between
Singapore Island and Johore (about three-
quarters of a mile wide) by a bridge was
considered, but, in view of the heavy expendi-
ture that would be incurred (about 1,400,000
dollars), the project was abandoned. The
General Manager advocated a train ferry for
all traffic, but this suggestion did not meet with
TAIPING STATION.
the Government's approval ; and it has now
been decided to build a wagon-ferry for the
transport of goods trains across the waterway.
This will cost, approximately, three-quarters of
a million dollars.
At the present moment the Federated Malay
States railways have the heaviest engines and
rails and the largest passenger carriages to be
found on any metre-gauge railway in the
world, a departure which has proved in every
way successful. The rails used are 80 lbs. to
the yard, and the engines weigh 75J tons. Mr.
and trains can be run direct from Johore to
Pinang, a night service will be inaugurated.
Altogether the Federated Malay States rail-
ways are forging ahead, and if the present
progressive managerial policy is continued
there will be great and important extensions
and developments to record within the next
few years. A notable fact in the history of
these railways is that the whole of the expendi-
ture for construction work has been met by
the Federated Malay States out of current
revenue.
MAIL TRAIN.
MOTOR BUS.
C. E. Spooner, the General Manager, had a
great deal of opposition to overcome before he
prevailed upon the authorities to replace the old
46J-lb. rails on the trunk line with heavier
metal, but the wisdom of the step which he
recommended has now been abundantly proved.
The bridges are being strengthened and the
main line will shortly be in excellent condition
for fast traffic. On all sections of the line
traffic is heavy, the railroads are working at
high pressure, and already many goods trains
are run every night. An all-night stop, how-
ever, is made at Kuala Lumpor by the mail
train from Pinang to Malacca, the entire
distance of 340 miles being covered in about
sixteen hours. As yet no passenger trains are
run at night, but as soon as the trunk line is
opened from Johore into Ihe Federated States,
SUNOEI UJONQ RAILWAY.
The only privately-owned railway line in the
Federated IVIalay States is that of the Sungei
Ujong Railway Company. This line, which is
24J miles in length, connects Port Dickson, in
Negri Sambilan, with Seremban, the .capital of
the State. It was originally estabhshed under
a Government guarantee, and in July, 1908, it
is to be taken over by the Federated Malay
States Railways. At present two or three
passenger trains run daily between Port
Dickson and Seremban, whilst goods' trains
are despatched as often as required. In the
district through which the line passes there are
a number of important rubber estates. The
General Manager is Mr. James McClymont
McClymont.
810
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
1 Port Dickson Statiox.
SUNGEI UJONG RAILWAY.
2. The Pier, Port Dicksox.
(See p. 309.)
3. James McClymoxt (Manager).
SINGAPORE AND KRANJI
RAILWAY.
The Singapore Government Railway, which
connects Singapore and Johore — by rail as far
as Woodlands on the north of the island, and
by ferry from Woodlands to Johore — was
opened in 1903, and cost nearly two million
dollars.
Though it is of quite recent construction, a
line connecting Singapore with Johore was
projected over thirty years ago. As far back
as 1874 Sir Andrew Clarke raised the question
with a view to guaranteeing, if necessary, any
railway that might be constructed on the island,
but nothing practical ensued, and the scheme
was relegated to the limbo of forgotten things
until 1889, when Sir Cecil Smith, speaking in
TANK ROAD STATION, SINGAPORE.
the Legislative Council, expressed the hope
that the Government would soon be able to
embark on the work of constructing a railway
across the island to the Johore Straits. For a
second time, however, the matter was shelved.
A few years later a proposal was made to meet
the long-felt want by private enterprise, but
this suggestion was rejected by the Govern-
ment, who in 1898 began seriously to tackle
the question of constructing a line themselves.
Plans were prepared, and the cost of the
undertaking was estimated at a million dollars.
Vigorous opposition was offered to the scheme
in the Legislative Council by the unofBcial
members, who held that the prospective
advantages did not justify so large an out-
lay. They pointed out that there would be
practically no goods traISc, as there were
cheap and adequate means of conveyance by
water, and, although they admitted that the
line would be useful for passengers, they said
they could not agree to the expenditure of
more than half the sum estimated. The pro-
ject received the approval of Mr. Chamber-
lain, who was then Secretary of State for the
Colonies ; but, in spite of this, when the Budget
was discussed in the Legislative Council on
November 7, 1898, the estimates for the rail-
way were rejected by a majority of one vote.
This brought rejoinders from Downing Street,
and, after negotiations and discussions, the
scheme was eventually approved by the
Legislative- Council on August 22, 1899, with
only two dissentients.
The ceremony of cutting the first sod was
performed on April 16, 1900. With the ex-
ception of swamps, no special difficulty was
met with in laying the line. The work was
carried out by sub-contractors, under the super-
vision of a resident engineer appointed by
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
311
the Crown Agents, and Chinese labour was
principally employed. The metre gauge
(3 feet 3I inches) was adopted. A notable
feature of the line is that in the compara-
tively short distance of 19I miles there are
no fewer than fifty-five gate-crossings, includ-
ing twenty-three public level-crossings, where
gatemen have to be maintained.
It was on January i, 1903, that the first
section from Singapore to Bukit Timah was
formally opened for traffic, and on April loth
the remainder of the line to Woodlands was
available. Another four and three-quarter
miles from the Singapore station at Tank
Road to Passir Panjang, has quite recently
been completed, under the supervision of Mr.
C. E. Spooner, C.M.G., adviser on railway
matters to the Colonial Government.
One of the chief arguments used in favour of
the construction of the line vifas that it would
diminish the congestion of Singapore by in-
ducing people to live some distance inland, but
this anticipation has not been realised to any
great extent. In April, 1903, there were 19
season-ticket holders, and at the time of writing
there are 223. The number of passengers
carried, however, has increased from 426,044
in 1903 to 525,553 in 1905. The heaviest traffic
is always on Sunday ; for on that day the pro-
prietors of the gambling farms of Johore pay
the return fares of all who come from Singa-
pore to gamble on their premises. As many
as 500 third-class return passengers are carried
on Sunday for gambling purposes, and the
first and second class carriages are usually
crowded.
The fares are 8, 5, and 3 cents a mile
for first, second, and third class passengers
respectively, with an extra charge to first-class
passengers of 10 cents each way for the use
of the ferry. The traffic is carried across
the Straits of Johore in two steam ferry-boats,
the Singapore and the Johore, each of which is
capable of accommodating 160 passengers.
The revenue from the general goods traffic
has grown from 1,883 dollars in 1903 (eight
months only) to 6,266 dollars in 1904, and to
8,940 dollars in 1905.
The rolling stock, which has all been made
in England, comprises 25 passenger coaches,
46 six-ton goods wagons, 4 four-wheeled couple
locomotives, with 10 by 16 inch cylinders and
TOrtiii^^*'
'-^^.
■■"ifc«,3i*;Jg^;.'
RAILWAY BRIDGE OVER SINGAPORE RIVER.
side tanks, capable of pulling 99 tons up a
gradient of one in a hundred at 15 miles an
hour ; and 2 larger locomotives, with 12 by
18 inch cylinders, capable of drawing 160 tons
up a gradient of one in a hundred also at 15
miles an hour. The ferry-boats were built at
the Tanjong Pagar Docks, Singapore.
The passenger service at the present time
consists of nine trains each way (though one or
two do not travel the whole distance). Formerly
the goods wagons were attached to the passen-
ger trains, but now a special goods train is run
every day between the two termini.
Although the outlay has been nearly double
the original estimate — up to December 31, 1906
(excluding the new section from Tank Road
to Passir Panjang) it amounted to 1,967,495
dollars, or about ;£23r,470 — the line has yielded
a progressive revenue, with the exception of a
slight falling off for 1906. This is shown by
the following table : —
Year.
Total Revenue.
Dividend on
Outlay Yielded.
1903
1904
1905
1906
$
135,928
195,444
203,031
195,530
Per Cent.
227
273
3-56
3'26
Considering the exceptionally heavy outlay,
the undertaking may be said to have justified
its existence, and to have yielded a satisfactory
RAILWAY STATION, SINGAPORE.
312
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
return ; for it was never anticipated or desired
by the warmest supporters of ttie scheme that
a big profit should be made, and when the rail-
way through Johore is completed, as it will be
shortly, it will be of great advantage to the
colony to have the town of Singapore con-
nected by rail with all the Federated States.
Mr. Charles Edwin Spooner, C.M.G.,
L.E. (Irelandl. M.I.C.E., General Manager and
Chief Engineer of the Federated Malay States
Railways, and Inspecting Engineer of Railways
and Rolling Stock in the Straits Settlements, is
a son of Mr. Charles E. Spooner, of narrow-
gauge railway fame, and was born on Novem-
ber 22, 1853, at Hafod Tanycraig, Xorth Wales.
Mr. Spooner finished his education at Trinity
College, Dublin, and after having received an
engineering training, was appointed resident
engineer of the Xorth Wales narrow-gauge
Gaol, and the splendid Federal Governmental
Buildings at Kuala Lumpor, celebrated as being
the finest of their kind in the East, outside of
India. He also engineered many other large
public works, such as the trunk road into
Pahang, 83 miles in length, which passes over
the dividing range at an elevation of 2,700
feet.
But it Is in connection with the Railway De-
partment that Mr. Spooner has chiefly distin-
guished himself, and the remarkable progress
which the Federated Malay States system has
made under his management is an excellent
testimonial to his energy and business abilities,
as well as a proof of the discernment of Sir
Frank Swettenham, who selected him for the
work at a time when there was obvious urgent
need for the adoption of more vigorous methods
at headquarters. Mr. Spooner planned and
superintended the construction of the presert
C. EDWIN SPOONEB, C.M.G.
(General Manager, Federated Malay States Railways.)
railways, a position which he held from 1874
till 1876, when he joined the Survey Depart-
ment of Ceylon. In Ihe following year he be-
came connected with the Ceylon Public Works
Department, in which he remained till 1891,
when he was seconded for service in Selangor,
in the Federated Malay States, and was
appointed State Engineer. In igoi Mr.
Spooner became General Manager of the
Federated Malay States Railways, and has held
that position ever since.
During the time Mr. Spooner was in Ceylon
he carried out many irrigation schemes and
superintended the construction of many im-
portant roads and works in the island. On
being transferred to the Selangor Public Works
Department, he did for that State a great deal
of good work, the value of which has been
recognised. He designed and constructed the
Kuala Lumpor and Klang Waterworks, Pudu
fine suite of railway offices at Kuala Lumpor.
The amalgamation of the State railways was
consummated on Augusts, 1903, by the estab-
lishment of a through inter-State connection,
and it was in recognition of the accomplish-
ment of this important work that Mr. Spooner
in the following year received the decoration
of C.M.G. Since that time he has added 89
miles to the system, and has now vmder con-
struction the Johore State Railway — 120J miles
long — the last link in the trunk line which will
connect Singapore with Pinang.
Mr. Spooner is one of the keenest sportsmen
in the Federated Malay States ; he has done a
lot of big-game shooting in the tropics, and
possesses many fine trophies that have fallen
to his gun and rifle. He is the first president
of the Selangor Polo Club, and has captained
many representative teams in the matches
played by the club. As an amateur artist Mr.
Spooner has done much good work, which has
received the commendation of authorities.
The design that ornaments the side of the mail
cars — a Malayan tiger springing out of the
jungle at sundown — was painted by him, and
is very appropriate in its character, as well as
vigorous in its execution. He married Martha
Brownrigg, daughter of Rev. James Chartres,
of Ardermines, co. Wexford, Ireland, and
has one son and one daughter. He owns
two properties in co. Fermanagh, Ireland.
Mr. Edward Arthur Cook is the Traffic
Manager of the Federated Malay States Rail-
E. A. COOK.
(Traffic Manager, Federated Malay States Railways.)
ways. Previous to coming East, in 1902, he
was for eight and a half years in the service
of the Great Northern Railway Company, of
England. On his arrival in the States he was
stationed in Perak, where for ten years he
occupied the post of Traffic Superintendent of
the Perak State Railway. On the amalgamation
of the railway systems of the States he was trans-
ferred to Kuala Lumpor in 1903, and appointed
Traffic Manager of the entire system. Mr.
Cook has been largely responsible for the
training of the railway running staff — not a
very easy task, where the men had to be re-
cruited from absolutely raw material, in a
country where railways had never previously
been worked.
Mr. Q. W. Fryer, the Chief Resident
Engineer of the Construction Department,
Federated Malay States Railways, is stationed
at Seremban, He was born in 1859, and joined
the Perak Government Service in 1891 as
Assistant Railway Engineer. His subsequent
appointments included those of Divisional
Engineer, Selangor and Negri Sambilan, and
Resident Engineer, Negri Sambilan Extension.
His present position dates from 1904.
Mr. Stephen Mesrope Gregory, chief
accountant and auditor at the Federated Malay
States Railway Offices in Kuala Lumpor, enjoys
the distinction of having been in the service of
the department longer than any other employee.
He first came to Perak in 1885, and joined the
State Railways when the line was opened from
Taiping to Port Weld. After two years'
service he was transferred to the State Audit
Office, but returned to the Perak Railways in
1893 as accountant and auditor. When the
railway lines were federated in 1903 he was
appointed to the post which he now holds.
Mr. Gregory is an Armenian. He is a son of
the late Reverend Mesrope Gregory, who for
some years, in the eighties, was the officiating
clergyman to the Armenian communities in
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
313
the Straits Settlements, and a grandson of
the late Rev. Minas Basil, at one time vicar
of the Armenian Church in Calcutta. He was
S. M. GREGORY.
(Chief Accountant, Federated Utahiy Stale Railways.)
brought out to that city by his grandfather in
1877, and entered the Armenian Philanthropic
Academy. Thence he passed into college and
took the degree of Licentiate of Arts. He has
seen the railway enterprise grow froin its in-
fancy, for at the time he -joined the service
there were only eight miles open to traffic.
Mr. Frank Mills, M.I.M.E., A.M.I.C.E.,
F.R.G.S., F. R.Z.S., District Engineer, Federated
Malay States Railways, was born at Red Hill,
Beaumaris, Isle of Anglesey, in 1872, and was
educated at Victoria University, Liverpool. He
was subsequently articled to Sir Douglas P'ox,
head of the well-known London firm of con-
sulting, engineers, and remained upon his staff
until 1897. During that time he was engaged
upon the Liverpool Overhead Railway, the
Mersey Tunnel, the Wirral Railway, and on
many other important works. He entered the
# * * *
F. MILLS.
(Assistant District Engineer.)
Perak Government Railway Service in 1897, as
Assistant Engineer, Larut and Krian lines ; and
becaine Assistant Engineer in the Federal
Service in 1903, and District Engineer in the
following year.
Mr. Henry Cuthbert Barnard, M.LC.E.,
is the Divisional Engineer on the northern
section of the Federated Malay States Govern-
ment railway from Pinang to Tanjong Malim,
the boundary between the States of Perak and
Selangor. After leaving the Crystal Palace
School of Engineering he joined the Great
Western Railway as pupil, and was afterwards
an assistant engineer on the South London
Tramways. In 1887 he was appointed Assis-
tant Engineer in the Perak Government Public
Works Department. He was transferred to
the Railway Department in 1889, and appointed
Resident Engineer and Traffic Manager in 1891,
when he had also charge of the extension of
the railway froin Kamunting to Ulu Sapetang.
He has held various appointments since then
as an engineer on the Perak Government Rail-
ways. From September, 1901, to June, 1903,
he acted as Resident Engineer, Perak, and had
charge of open line and construction. When
the linking up of the Perak and Selangor Rail-
became the first manager. He is the author of
a volume entitled " Railways and Railwaymen,"
published by Messrs. Chambers about twenty
years ago.
H. C. BARNARD.
( Divisional Engineer, Xorlli.)
ways was completed in 1903 he was appointed
to his present position. His headquarters are
at Taiping, Perak.
Mr. William Tearle, the Manager of the
Singapore and Kranji Railway, is the son of
the late Edward Tearle, a brewer, of Brent-
ford, near London. Born at Ealing in 1852, he
received his education in Paris, and, having the
roving instinct, went at the age of eighteen to
the West Indies, where for close upon three
years he was engaged in sugar-planting. Re-
turning to England, he entered the service of
the Great Northern Railway Company as a
clerk in the traffic office at Leeds, and held
various positions under the company, mostly
in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Upon the
opening of the (ijreat Northern station at
Keighley, he was appointed stationmaster.
Later he became stationmaster at Halifax, until
in 1894 he came out to the Federated Malay
States as Traffic Superintendent of the Selangor
Govermnent Railway. Extensions were made
from Kuala Lumpor to Kajang ; and from
Kuala Kubu to Tanjong Malim, Klang, and
Port Swettenham. When the Singapore and
Kranji Railway was opened in 1903 Mr. Tearle
W. TEARLE.
(General Manager, Singapore and Kranji Railway.)
Mr. John Huw Williams, A.M.I.C.E.,
Acting General Manager of the Singapore and
Kranji Railway, was born at Pentre Voilas,
Bettws-y-Coed, North Wales, in 1874. He
commenced his- professional career in the
shops of the Tredegar Ironworks, Monmouth-
shire, in 1889. After taking a full course in
applied science and engineering at University
College, Cardiff, he joined the London &
North-Western Railway, and was on the en-
gineering staff of the South Wales division for
five years. In 1900 he joined the Federated
Malay States Government Railways as District
Engineer, a position which he filled for three
years. During the recent extension of the line
from Tank Road to the Tanjong Pagar Docks,
Mr. Williams had charge of the operations as
JOHN HUW WILLIAMS.
(Acting General Manager of Singapore and Kranii
Railway.)
Resident Engineer, and upon the retireinent of
Mr. Tearle in 1907, he was appointed General
Manager.
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.
iJHE Public Works Depart-
ment is responsible for
carrying out all works
of construction and
maintenance under -
taken by the Govern-
ment of the Straits
Settlements. It appears
to have come into exist-
ence in 1867. According to the Blue Book of
1868 it was then under the control of Major
J. F. A. McNair, R.A., Colonial Engineer and
Comptroller of Convicts, Straits Settlements,
with the following staff : a Deputy Colonial
Engineer and Deputy Comptroller of Convicts,
an Assistant Engineer and Superintendent of
Convicts, five Overseers of Public Works and
Disciplme Officers of Convicts, four Assistant
Overseers of Public Works and Discipline
Officers of Convicts, a foreman of arti6cers,
and an office staff of twenty persons
and four warders. Convict Department. The
provision in that year for public works accord-
ing to the estimates was $148,000.
In 1873 the convict branch was formed into
a separate department, and the Survey Depart-
ment, which is now a large department, was
placed under the charge of the Colonial
Engineer. The designation of the Colonial
Engineer appears in that year as Colonial En-
gineer and Surveyor-General, Straits Settle-
ments, as at present. The estimates under the
head of Public Works for that year amounted
to 1196,215. Since 1873 the work of the
department has increased very considerably,
the estimates for 1907 amoun ting, approximately,
to $2,000,000.
The Colonial Engineers who have been in
charge of the Public Works Department since
the colony was taken over from the Indian
Government are : Major J, F. A. McXair,
K.A. (1867 to 1880) ; Major H, E. McCallum,
R.E., C.M.G. (1881 to 1896) ; Colonel A. C.
Alexander, R.E. (1897 to 1898) ; and Colonel
Alexander Murray, C.E., Mem. Inst. C.E. (1898
to date). The head of the department, Colonel
A. Murray, is, ex officio, a member of the
Executive and Legislative Councils. His staff
consists of the Deputy Colonial Engineer, Mr.
F. J. Pigott, stationed at Pinang ; three Super-
intendents of Works, seven Assistant Superin-
tendents of Works, two Architectural Assistants,
and the subordinate staff, consisting of an en-
gineer-surveyor, clerks of works, draughtsmen,
storemen, and overseers.
The staff is distributed over the Settlements
as follows : —
Singapore. — The Honourable the Colonial
Engineer ; the Superintendent of Works, who
is the Chief Executive Officer ; three Assistant
Superintendents of Works as Executive Officers,
two in charge of the large number of Govern-
ment buildings and works within municipal
limits, and the third in charge of all roads,
buildings, and works beyond municipal
limits ; and the Architectural Assistant, in
charge of the Drawing Office, assisted by a
chief draughtsman and several assistant
draughtsmen. Attached to the drawing office
there is a Photo-zincographic Branch.
Pinang. — The Deputy Colonial Engineer,
who is responsible to the Colonial Engineer
for all works of construction and maintenance
carried out in Pinang and the connected
islands, in Province Wellesley, and in the
Dmdings Territory ; the Superintendent of
Works stationed in the Province ; and two
Assistant Superintendents of Works, stationed
in Pinang.
Malacca. — The Superintendent of Works,
responsible to the Colonial Engineer. This
officer also serves as the Municipal Engineer.
Labuan. — The Assistant Superintendent of
Works, responsible to the Colonial Engineer.
This being the great spending department, it
comes into contact with all other departments.
In the preparation of projects and schemes the
various heads of departments concerned are
fully consulted, and plans and estimates are
made to comply with their requirements.
The annual public works include mainten-
ance of roads and inland navigation, repairs
and additions to buildings, repairs of roads and
bridges, the acquisition of lands and buildings,
&c.
The total length of the roads maintained by
the department is 591 miles, made up of 90
miles in Singapore, 80 in Pinang, 193 in Pro-
vince Wellesley, 30 in the Dindings, and 198 in
Malacca.
Amongst the most important works carried
out by the Public Works Department may be
mentioned the following : —
SINGAPORE.
Supreme Courts. — Additions and alterations
were carried out between the years 1873-75
and 1900-1 at a cost of fio8,i6o.
Public Offices. — Additions and alterations be-
tween the years 1878 and 1889 cost $102,550.
The building now contains offices for the
Governor, the Colonial Secretary and
members of the Secretariat, the .\ttorney-
General, the Director of Public Instruc-
tion, the Colonial Engineer and Surveyor-
General, the Principal Civil Medical Officer,
and others.
The Criminal and Civil Prison. — Erected in the
years 1879-82 and 1899-1901 at a cost of
$418,030. The prison will accommodate
1,200 prisoners.
The General Hospital for Europeans and
Natives. — Erected in the years 1880-83,
and extended in 1906 at a total cost
of $102,310. The hospital will accommo-
date 270 patients.
The Magistrates' Courts. — Erected in the years
1882-85 ^nd extended in 1902-3 at a total
cost of $92,720.
The General Post Office and Savings Bank. —
Erected in the years 1883-84, and extended
in 1901-2 at a total cost of $84,730.
Raffles' Library and Museum. — Erected in the
years 1884-88, and extended in 1904-5 at a
total cost of $173,920.
The Lunatic Asylum, Sepoy Lines. — Erected in
the years 1884-88 at a cost of $250,000.
Accommodation is provided for 218 patients
of both sexes.
Johnston's Pier Reclamation. — Carried out in
the years 1901-5 at a cbst of $248,000. An
area of 71,000 square feet Is enclosed by a
granite sea-wall i,ooo feet in length. The
reclamation will be used for the purpose of
a road connecting Johnston's Pier and
CoUyer Quay with a new bridge over the
Singapore River.
Central Police-Station and Court of Requests. —
Erected in the years 1902-5 at a cost of
$115,000. This building comprises offices
for the Inspector-General of Police, the
Chief Police Officer and his staff, the
department for the suppression of gamb-
ling and other departments affiliated with
the Police, a Court for the Commissionei-
of the Court of Requests, &c.
Teachers' Training School, Outram Road —
Erected in the years 1903-6 at a cost of
$93,880. It contains i8 classrooms and an
Assembly-hall, and provides accommoda-
tion for 600.
Fort Canning Lighthouse.— Erected in 1903 at
a cost of $64,420.
Reformatory at Bukit Timah.— Erected in the
years 1904-6 for $74,870. It includes
dormitories for 120 boys, dining-shed,
. work-shed, play-shed, schoolroom, hos-
pital, and quarters for the staff.
Government Printing Office.— Erected in the
years 1904-6 at a cost of $66,550.
Beri-beri Hospital, Pasir Panjang.— Erected in
the years 1905-6 at a cost of $84,000. Tlic
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
315
hospital provides accommodation for 232
patients in three camps, containing three
wards for paupers, one ward for paying
patients, and one ward for prisoners,
besides quarters for the staff.
Victoria Bridge Scliool. — Erected 190S-6 at a
cost of 859,800, and contains twelve class-
rooms, accommodating 400 pupils.
Quarantine Station, St. John's Island. — A tem-
porary station has been established on this
island for a number of years to segregate
contacts arriving from India and China,
but in 1904-6 the whole station was re-
built on the most approved lines at a cost
of $322,160, and it is now, perhaps, the
finest ind most up-to-date station east of
Suez. It provides accommodation for
about 2,000 persons, and contains twenty
association wards, two isolation wards, an
isolation ward for Europeans, a disinfecting
house, an incinerator, quarters for the stafi,
&c. A distilling plant supplies the fresh
water required for the island, the water
being afterwards pumped up to a service
reservoir, from which distribution-mains
and services are laid throughout the island.
Concrete surface drains are provided round
all the buildings, the majority of which are
connected with a common outfall drain
discharging on the beach at high water.
A new pier, 12 feet in width, and 336 feet
in length, formed of dressed coral and
having a landing stage of hardwood piles
and decking at the head, gives access to
the island.
The New Tan Tock Seng Hospital. — Now in
course of construction. It will contain
accommodation for 432 patients and the
staff. Concrete surface drains will be pro-
vided to the whole of the buildings and
will gravitate into two outfalls, where the
drainage will be treated in septic tanks and
be afterwards passed over continuous fil-
ters, the discharge from which will run
into the neighbouring water-courses. The
area of the site on which the hospital
stands is 27 acres. The total estimated
cost of the work, including acquisition of
site, is 1484,485.
PINANQ.
Central Police Station and Administrative Block.
— A very old building, to which additions
and alterations have been made since 1874
costing $49,460. The Administrative block
was built in 1889-go for |i8,57o.
Criminal Prisons. — Built in 1874 at a cost of
$71,930, and enlarged and repaired since
at a cost of $115,000.
Church Street Ghaut Wharf.— Built in 1897-98
for $48,889, and repaired in 1906-7 for
$25,800.
Drill Hall for Pinang Volunteers. — Built in
1901-2 for $24,995.
District Hospital. — A very old institution, of
which no record of expenditure is traceable
before 1877. Since that year $58,317 have
been expended upon additions and repairs.
Exchange and Club Buildings. — Built in 1901-2
for $30,000.
Government Offices. — Commenced in 1884 and
completed in 1889 at a cost of $188,458.
Extended in 1890-91 (Land-office wing)
for $40,170, and in 1901-3 (Post-office
wing) for $53,579-
General Hospital. — Commenced in 1881 and
completed in 1883. The total sum expended
on the structure is $106,225.
Goods Shed, North of Iron Pier. — Commenced
in 1904 and completed in the beginning of
1907 for $130,650.
Jetty Sheds, Weld Quay. — Additions and various
minor services executed up to igoo to the
amount of $15,604, and new sheds added in
1901-3 at a cost of $54,045.
Lighthouse, Muka Head. — Commenced in 1881
and completed in 1883 at an e.xpenditure of
«.38,77S-
Opium and Spirit Farm Offices, Queen Street.
— Constructed in 1906 at a cost of $48,767.
Opium and Spirit Farm Premises, Sungei
Pinang. — Constructed in 1906 for $78,995.
Pulau Jerejak Leper Asylum. — Cost of con-
struction not known. Additional wards,
&c., were provided between 1889 and 1893
for $23,516. Other work done has cost
»IS,S9S-
Residency. — Commenced in 1888 and com-
pleted in 1890 at a cost of $79,988, including
purchase of site ($29,776).
Reclamation, Weld Quay. — Begun in 1883 and
completed in 1889 at a cost of $526,107.
Since added to at a cost of $129,276.
Pulau Jerejak Quarantine Station. — Built in
1875 and since added to at a total cost of
$42,871.
Reclamation, Sungei Pinang. — Commenced in
1889. Amount expended up to 1907,
$301,666.
Reclamation, North of Iron Pier. — Begun in
1901 and completed in 1905 for $187,764.
Supreme Court. — Commenced in 1901 and
completed in 1905 at a cost of $206,678.
Swettenham Pier. — Commenced in 1889 and
completed in 1904 for $636,332.
Victoria Pier. — Begun in 1885 and completed
in 1888 for $38,697.
Batu P'erringi : Sungei Pinang Roads. — \\'ork
commenced in 1890 ; amount expended up
to 1906, $234,077.
Ghinting Pass. — Begun in 1885 and completed
in 1886 for $72,499.
PROVINCE WELLESLEY.
Bukit Mertajam Water Supply. — This important
work was commenced in 1891 and com-
pleted in 1892 for an expenditure of
$31,095. The reservoir was improved in
1895 and reconstructed with settling tanks
in 1897-99 for $20,897. The service was
extended to Butterworth in 1897-98 for
$33,914, and to Bagan Tuan Kechil in 1899
for $2,996. Further improvements, includ-
ing a syphon across Prye river, were carried
out in 1904-6 for $57,933-
Nibong Tebal Water Supply. — Commenced in
1884 and completed in 1887 for $24,998.
Extended in 1892 to Teluk Ipil at an
expenditure of $3,000. Improvements were
made in 1899 for $3,929, and again in 1903-6
for $92,605.
MALACCA.
Stadthouse and Public Offices.— The Stadt-
house, which comprised all the Dutch
Government offices, is the chief public
building in Malacca. The total sum spent
on alterations and additions to it since 1873
is $16,847.
Residency. — Situated on St. Paul's Hill. The
old Residency was pulled down and a new
one built, including the Guest House, at a
cost of $25,768, in 1905.
Criminal Prison, — Commenced in the year i860.
There is no record of the expenditure prior
to 1872. Certain improvements were made
in 1872-73 at a cost of $9,414. Between
1881 and 1887 other work was executed
at a total cost of $9,043. .in execution
chamber was built in 1905 for $1,485.
Durian Daun Hospital. — Commenced in the
year 1882, when an expenditure of $1,298
was incurred. Between 1882 and the end
of 1905 a further sum of $85,219 was ex-
pended upon additions and repairs.
Harbour Improvements. — Dredging by hand at
the entrance to Malacca river was com-
menced in 1899, and $43,448 has been
expended on this work. Coral shields were
made on the north and south of the channel
to retain the dredgings, and the area now
fullv reclaimed on the south i» 26,439 square
feet". The reclamation on the north is ap-
proaching completion. The total number
of tons dredged up to date is 62,320, at a
cost of 20-14 cents per ton ; and the cost of
removing the dredgings to the reclamation
has been 33 cents per ton. The building of
permanent rubble groynes was commenced
in 1903, when the sum of $6,981 was ex-
pended. Between 1904 and 1907 $58,086
more was spent on this work. A new
Harbour Office was built in 1905 for $2,000.
Water-works. — Preliminary surveys and works
were carried out in 1884, 1885, and 1886
for $3,252. Real work was commenced in
1890 and completed in 1893. Since that
time improvements and extensions have
brought the total expended up to $253,167.
This includes the service reservoir on St.
Paul's Hill. The impounding reservoir is
165 feet above sea-level, and is situated at
Ayer Keroh. With a head of 58 feet, the
discharge is at the rate of 888 gallons per
minute, or 1,278,720 gallons per day.
Pier. — Construction was commenced in 1886
and completed in 1888 for $16,292. Special
repairs have since been executed at a cost
of $7,749-
FEDERATED MALAY
STATES.
By R. O. N. Anderson', Acting Dihector
OF Public Works.
The Public Works Department of the Fede-
rated Malay States, as at present constituted,
came into existence in May, 1901, when Mr.
F. St. G. Caulfeild, I.S.O , the State Engineer
of Perak, was appointed Director of Public
Works. The four States at the time had each
a separate Public Works Department, ivhich
had grown to departments of considerable
magnitude. The appointment of British Resi-
dents to Perak and Selangor was soon followed
by the formation of Public Works Departments
in these States, but in Pahang and Negri
Sambilan works were carried out for years
afterwards either by a Clerk of Works or
Superintendent of Works, whose jurisdiction
did not extend beyond a small district, and
sometimes the work was supervised by the
district magistrates.
In Perak Mr. P. Doyle was appointed first
Superintendent of Works, and reported his
arrival on April 1, 1878. He did not remain
long, and was succeeded by Mr. F. St. G.
Caulfeild in 1879. The title of the office was
changed in 1884 to State Engineer and Sur-
veyor, and to State Engineer in 1892. In the
annual report of 1877 made by Mr. (afterwards
Sir) Hugh Low, the British Resident in Perak,
he described the condition of the roads thus :
" The roads and bridges in Larut, although
very large sums of money are charged as
having been spent on them during the pre-
ceding three years, broke down directly the
rains set in. They are of varying width, the
main road of Taiping being in some places
only 16 feet wide. They have never been
drained though they pass through a level and
swampy country ; and although a slight sprink-
ling of rotten gravel from the mines has in
some places been spread over them, no attempt
worthy of the name has ever been made to
macadamise them."
When Mr. Caulfeild ceased to be State Engi-
neer of Perak on his appointment as Director
of Public Works, he left an excellent system of
well-graded and well-surfaced roads, equal to
those to be found in any country. In 1880, the
first year of his administration, tlie expenditure
of the department was 26,321 dollars ; in 1900,
the last year in which he held the office of
316
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
state Engineer, the expenditure was 1,229,295
dollars.
Selangor started its Public Works Depart-
ment ambitiously by the appointment in 1877
of Syed Zin bin Syed Puteh as Minister of
Public Works. His staff consisted of two
clerks and a storekeeper, but there is no record
of the result of their labour. A more serious
attempt at the formation of a department was
made in 1879, when Mr. D. D. Daly was
appointed Surveyor and Superintendent of
Public Works. The expenditure in 1882 was
38,690 dollars. In the following year Mr. H. F.
Bellamy became Superintendent, and the ex-
penditure' increased under his administration
to 548,780 dollars in 1890. The following year
Mr. C. E. Spooner was appointed State Engi-
neer, and he remained in charge of the depart-
ment till 1901, when he became General
Manager of the Federated Malay States Rail-
ways. During the time he held office the
expenditure grew to 833,722 dollars in igoo.
The Negri Sambilan were amalgamated in
1896, and Mr. H. Caldicott, who had been
Superintendent of Works and Surveys, Sungei
Ujong and Jelebu, was appointed Superin-
tendent of Works, Negri Sambilan, his title
being changed in 1901 to State Engineer. The
expenditure on public works on 1896, the year
of the amalgamation, was 176,619 dollars, and
it rose to 360,641 dollars in 1900, the year
before federation.
Pahang, though the largest, is the most
backward of the four States. Its earliest
works were carried out under the supervision
of a Clerk of Works. Mr. W. R. Smith was
appointed Superintendent of Works in 1888,
having been Clerk of Works for eight years
previously. The expenditure in the first year
of his term of office did not exceed 50,000
dollars, and in subsequent years was generally
less till 1899, when Mr. E. R. Stokoe was
appointed Superintendent of Works, when the
expenditure was 194,600 dollars. As in the
other States, his title was changed to State
Engineer in 1901.
As already stated, these independent depart-
ments were amalgamated in 1901, as a result
of federation, with Mr. F. St. G. Caulfeild as
Director of Public Works ; Mr. J. Trump, State
Engineer, Perak ; Mr. P. B. McGlashan, State
Engineer, Selangor (succeeded by Mr. E. R.
Stokoe in 1904) ; and Mr. H. Caldicott, State
Engineer, Negri Sambilan (succeeded by Mr.
E. H. Wallick in 1904) ; and Mr. E. R. Stokoe,
State Engineer, Pahang (succeeded by Mr.
N. T. Gray in 1904). The growth of the
Department has since then been continuous,
and the number of engineers of all grades on
the staff is about sixty. •
Road-making is one of the largest items of
each year's programme. Nearly 1,600 miles
of metalled roads now exist in the States, beside
many miles of earth roads and bridle paths.
These roads are generally of good grade and
excellent surface, the Government allowmg
about 800 dollars a mile per annum for upkeep.
The labour of locating roads in thick tropical
jungle with no existing surveys to aid them is
only to be appreciated by those who have tried
it, and the Government of these States has
reason to be satisfied with the results of past
expenditure. Besides roads and bridge work
a large number of water supplies to the various
towns in the States have been constructed, of
which the supplies to Kuala Lumpor and Ipoh
are the most extensive. All public buildings
and all Sanitary Board works in the States are
in the hands of the Department.
The largest individual work carried out is
the Krian Irrigation Works in Perak. It cost
1,600,000 dollars, and supplies water to 60,000
acres of padi land. An extension to supply
partial irrigation and a fresh water supply to
20,000 acres of sugar and rubber land is now
in progress. The scheme was proposed by
Mr. Caulfeild, and was designed and carried
out by Mr. R. O. N. Anderson, all the import-
ant and hea-vy work being executed depart-
mentally, and so far it has proved a success.
The Electric Light Works for Kuala Lumpor,
for which Messrs. Preece & Cardew were con-
sulting engineers, is the next largest scheme
carried out. It cost over 900,000 dollars. The
motive power is water taken from the Gombak
river, and electricity is supplied to the railway
Statement showing Total Public Works Department Expenditure and Mileage of Roads in each State for the Year 1901.
E.xpenditure Detailed.
Perak.
Selangor.
Negri Sambilan.
Pahang.
Total.
Works and buildings
Roads, streets, and bridges
Federal
Salaries
$ c.
754,439 86
638,720 61
9,315 93
76,416 68
$ c.
294,085 53
814,624 24
26,345 57
107,543 85
S c.
207,981 19
500,964 02
30,218 35
$ c.
54,89s 07
88,454 88
348 45
21,425 17
165,123 57
S c.
1,311,401 65
2,042,763 75
36,009 95
235,604 OS
Total
1,478,893 08
1,242,599 19
739,163 56
3,625,779 40
Metalled cart-roads
Unmetalled cart-roads
Bridle-roads
Other paths
Gravelled
Miles.
472-2
119-25
49375
106-85
Miles.
312-64
5271
18002
51-56
Miles.
82
79
172-5
93
Miles.
827s
21
72-75
176-50
Miles.
949-59
271-96
91902
106-85
144-56
Total
1,192-05
596-93
426-5
2,391-98
Statement showing Total Public Works Department Expenditure and Mileage of Roads in each State for the Year 1906.
Expenditure Detailed.
Works and buildings
Roads, streets, and bridges
Federal
Salaries
Total
Metalled cart-roads
Unmetalled cart-roads
Bridle-roads
Other paths
Total
729,392 46
960,832 86
83,752 II
114,191 50
8,168 93
Miles.
602-13
8377
267-08
410-46
1,363-44
Selangor.
550,949 84
1,173,413 13
53.433 13
147,143 49
1,924,939 59
Miles.
517-59
57-56
210-64
3-25
789-04
Negri Sambilan.
435,623 82
734,130 93
567 17
57,296 72
1,227,620 64
Miles.
341-60
44-49
214-34
600-43
Pahang.
119,863 23
783,396 60
19,617 27
44,874 90
967,752 00
Miles.
121-94
91-12
28-74
145-00
38680
1,835,831 35
3,651,773 52
157,369 68
363,506 61
6,008,481 16
Miles.
1,583-26
276-94
720-80
55871
3,13971
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
317
workshops during the day to drive their
machinery.
Amongst the most important buildings
carried out are the Government OiTices, the
Railway Offices, the Town Hall, and the
official residence of the Resident-General, all
in Kuala Lumpor ; while in Perak the Govern-
ment Offices, Taiping, a residence for the High
Commissioner at Kuala Kangsa, and the Law
Courts, Ipoh, are the most striking. A large
number of substantial iron road bridges exist,
of which the one over the Klang river at
Klang, consisting of four spans of 140 feet, is
the largest, It is at present in course of
erection.
The accompanying tables show the expendi-
ture for each State, and the total expenditure in
1901 and 1906 and the mileages of roads for
the same years, from which a fair estimate of
the pi-ogress of these States may be made.
Colonel A. Murray. — A sketch of Colonel
A. Murray's career appears in the Executive
Council section.
Mr. F. J. Pigott, M.Inst.C.E., the Acting
Colonial Engineer and Surveyor - General,
assumed the duties of that position in 1907,
when Colonel A. Murray went home on leave.
Born in 1865 and educated at Blackheath
Grammar School, Mr. Pigott attended the
Crystal Palace Company's engineering school
from 1882 to 1883, afterwards commencing
work as assistant engineer with Messrs. Lucas
& Aird. Contractors, Westminster. From
1885 to 1886 he was assistant engineer on the
Tilbury Dock Construction Works ; in 1887
he entered the Public Works Department,
Ceylon ; and from 1888 to 1894 acted -is District
Engineer. In 1895 he was second financial
and office assistant to the Director of Public
Works ; in 1896 was seconded to act as Municipal
Engineer, Colombo ; and from 1897 to igoi
again fulfilled the duties of District Engineer.
After a year's service as Acting Provincial
Engineer, Mr. Pigott was confirmed in this
appointment, and in 1906 acted as Assistant
Director of Public Works. He left Ceylon
in 1905 to take up the appointment of Deputy
Colonial Engineer and Surveyor-General,
Pinang.
Mr. W. Campbell Oman. — In the archi-
tectural branch of the Public Works Depart-
ment at Singapore, Mr. W. Campbell Oman,
A.R.I.B.A., is the principal assistant. Born in
1875, he was articled to Mr. W. J. Chambers,
architect and surveyor, London, and studied
at the London County Council's School of
Arts and Crafts, at the Regent Street Polytech-
nic, at the Royal Sanitary Institute, and under
the auspices of the Architectural Association,
London. He was architectural assistant in
the Transvaal Public Works Department before
he came to Singapore, in 1907.
Mr. Harry Venus Towner, Acting Super-
intendent of Works and Surveys at Singapore,
is the son of Mr. George Towner, lace manu-
facturer, of Nottingham, and was born in
January, 1876. After leaving Nottingham
University College, he was articled to the
Municipal Engineer of Ventnor, Isle of Wight.
For three and a half years he was assistant
to Mr. Bright, civil engineer, of Nottingham,
and was appointed Municipal Engineer of
Ilkeston. After being Assistant Engineer to
the Walthamstow Urban District Council for
a short time, he came to Singapore in 1901 as
Assistant Superintendent of Works and Surveys.
In 1903 he was Acting Superintendent of
Works and Surveys at Malacca, and was con-
firmed in this position a year later, but has
continued to act in his present capacity. He
has passed the examination of the Association of
Municipal and County Engineers with honours
in building construction, and is a member of
the Royal Sanitary Institute.
Mr. Harry Lupton, M.J.I.E., holds the dual
office of Superintendent of Works and Surveys,
Public Works Department, in Malacca and
Engineer to the Municipality of that settle-
ment. He is eldest son of Dr. Lupton, Stratford-
on-Avon, Warwickshire, and was born on
August 13, 1875. He was educated at Epsom
Council, under Mr. H. P. Maybury, now County
Surveyor for Kent ; in 1900-1 served on the
Ibadan-Jebba Survey for the Lagos Govern-
ment Railway Extension under the late Mr.
W. Gee, M.I.C.E., and at the end of igoi was
I F. J. Pigott, M.I.C.E. (Deputy Colonial Engineer and Deputy Surveyor-General)
2, H. V. TowNKR (Acting Superintendent of Works and Surveys)
Colonel the Hon.Ale.xander Murray, V.D., C.S., M.I.C.E, (Colonial Engineer and Surveyor-General)
5- K- H. Young (Superintendent of Surveys). '
4. J. VAN CuVLENBERG (Instructor of Surveys).
6. W. J. Trowell (Inspector of Marine Surveys). 7. E. Galistan (Marine Engineer) '
8. F. De.nt (Government Analyst).
College from 1887 to 1892, and was subsequently
articled as a pupil with Mr. A. H. Campbell,
M.I.C.E., then Engineer to the City of
Canterbury. From 1896 to 1900 he was Assistant
Engineer to the Malvern Urban District
appointed Assistant Superintendent of Works
in Malacca. Mr. Lupton acted as Assistant
Superintendent of Works in Singapore in 1902,
returning to Malacca in 1903 as .Assistant
Superintendent of Works in charge of the Jasin
318
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
district. Since 1904 he has acted as Superin-
tendent of Works and Surveys, Malacca. In
1903 he married the only daughter of the late
ilr. J. Baker, of Calcutta, and has one daughter.
In 1904 Mr. Lupton was made a Justice of
the Peace for Malacca. He is also a Visiting
and Licensing Justice, a member of the com-
mittee of the local library and of the club,
chaplain's churchwarden, and a trustee of the
Malacca Girls' School. His recreations are
cricket, tennis, and hockey.
Mr. Robert Ogilvie Newton Anderson,
B.A., A.I.B., now acting as Director of Public
Works, Federated Malay States, was born in
1861, Snd, having received his education at
Dublin University, came to the Federated Malay
States in 1895 as personal assistant to the State
Engineer of Perak. He remained in Perak for
upwards of ten years, filling irrigation and
executive engineers' posts, and was then trans-
ferred to Negri Sambilan as Acting State
Engineer. On his return from leave in 1907,
he assumed the duties of Director of Public
Works, taking over the department from Mr.
F. St. G. Caulfeild, who had filled the post
since 1901.
Mr. Arthur B. Hubback, A.R.I.B.A., is
the Architectural .Assistant in the Federal Public
Works Department. A short sketch of his
career appears in the section of this work
devoted to " Military and Volunteers."
Mr. J. Trump. — The State Engineer for
Perak is Mr. John Trump, M.I.C.E., who
resides at Taiping. Born in 1858, Mr. Trump
was about thirty years of age when
he entered the Ceylon Public Works Depart-
ment. Five years later he came to the
Federated Malay States as Officer Command-
ing the 2nd Division of the Ceylon Pioneers
in Perak, and in 1886 he was appointed District
Engineer, Kinta. In igoi he became State
Engineer, having on several occasions held
the acting appointment. Mr. Trump has also
held under the Federal Government the post of
Acting Director of Public Works.
Mr. Edward Richmond Stokoe, State
Engineer of Selangor, was born in July, 1863.
He first came to the Federated Malay States in
1889, when he was appointed a district engineer
in Selangor. In 1898 he was in charge of the
construction and upkeep of the Pahang Trunk
Road, and in the following year was promoted
Pahang Works Department Superintendent.
He became State Engineer of Pahang in
1901 and of Selangor in 1904.
Mr. E. H. Wallick, A.M.I.C.E., State
Engineer and head of the Public Works
Department, Negri Sambilan, came to the
Federated Malay States about nineteen years
ago. Among the principal undertakings carried
out by his department during the past year
was the completion of a new Residency, the
improvement of the water supply for Seremban
to meet the probable requirements of the town
for some years to come, and the construction
of a road to the border of Pahang.
Mr. Norman Tempest Gray, who was
born in May, t86i, entered the Perak Govern-
ment Service as a District Engineer in 1889.
In the following year he acted as Deputy State
Engineer, and in 1904 he was transferred in a
similar capacity to Pahang. He was confirmed
in that appointment in May of the same year. He
is now on leave, and Mr. Kenny is acting for him.
Mr. W. E. Kenny.— Mr. William Eyre
Kenny, A.M.I.C.E., who was born on August 15,
1867, began life in the New Zealand Public
Works Department and New Zealand Ar-
tillery in 1883. Seven years later he went to
Sarawak, where he was attached to the Survey
and Public Works Departments, and in 1895
he entered the Straits Settlements Government
Service as Assistant Superintendent of Public
Works. After holding several acting appoint-
ments, he was transferred to Singapore for duty
in connection with the Singapore-Johore Rail-
way. He held the post of Acting Superinten-
dent of Works and Surveys in Malacca for a
time, and then a similar post in Singapore.
In May, 1903, he became Acting State En-
gineer for Selangor, and subsequently Execu-
tive Engineer, first grade. He is at present
stationed in Kuala Lipis as State Engineer for
Pahang during the absence of Mr. N. T. Gray
on leave.
Mr. Edward Leigh Bennett, who was
born in 1874 and educated at Haileybury,
joined the Perak Government Service as an
Assistant Engineer in the Public Works De-
partment in 1902, and two years later was
transferred to Pahang, where he now holds
the appointment of Executive Engineer, being
stationed at Raub. A keen all-round sportsman,
Mr. Bennett is especially fond of football.
Mr. Walter Henry, A.M.I. C.E., the
District Engineer of Kuala Selangor, was
born in London on August 29, 1875, and
educated at the Haberdashers' Company's
School. He first served articles with Mr. John
Knight, District Engineer, Mile End, and was
afterwards in the employment of the London
Brick Company, of Peterborough, as a sur-
veyor for a year. Then he became Assistant
Engineer under the Hackney local authority,
and later on occupied a similar position at
Cheltenham, where he was employed chiefly
on the water works. In February, 1904, Mr.
Henry passed the examination of the Institute
of Civil Engineers and became an associate
member of that body. He also passed the
examinations of the Municipal and County
Engineers and of the Sanitary Institute. In the
following year he was appointed Assistant
Engineer under the Public Works Department
of Selangor, Federated Malay States, and a
little while later received his present appoint-
ment. He is the son of Mr. Thomas Henry,
retired merchant, of London.
Mr. William F. Dugdale is the son of
Mr. Alfred Dugdale, a representative of the
Shrewsbury and Challiner Noiseless Tyre
Company, Limited. He was born at Bury,
Lancashire, on August 19, 1877, and was
educated at Manchester Grammar School and
at the Municipal Technical School. He obtained
his professional training under Mr. Thomas de
Courcy, M.I.C.E., Surveyor to the City of Man-
chester, and when twenty-one years of age, he
was appointed Assistant Surveyor. In 1904 he
joined the Federated Malay States Service,
and is now Acting Executive Engineer in the
Public Works Department, Ulu Selangor. He
is a member of all the local clubs, and his re-
creations are cricket, tennis, and swimming.
LAND SURVEY AND REVENUE.
THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.
By F. J. PIGOTT, M.I.C.E., Acting Surveyor-General, Straits Settlements.
THE administration of the Survey Depart-
ment of the Straits Settlements is in the
hands of the Colonial Engineer, who is also
Surveyor-General. When the Settlements
came under the government of the East India
Company, Malacca was the only one that had
any population or any land system. The Settle-
ment being an old Malay kingdom, the natives
had retained their customary tenure, paying as
rent one-tenth of the crop. Dutch titles had
also been issued over parts of the land. With
the British occupation of Pinang and Singa-
pore, land was given out on leases in fee-
simple, and for terms of 999, 99, 60, 30 years,
&c. Surveys of holdings had been made as
far back as 1827 by McCarthy, Jackson, and
Coleman, but these were of the roughest
description, and more of the nature of sketches
than an accurate representation of the ground.
In 1837 a Commissioner was sent from Bengal
to report on the land revenue system. As an
outcome of his visit Act XVI, of 1839 was
passed for regulating the assessment and
collection of the rents payable to Government
in the Settlements of Prince of Wales (Pinang)
Island, Singapore, and Malacca, and for the
foundation of a proper Survey Department.
Connected surveys, more or less reliable at the
time, were begun and carried out under
F. W. Thomson, J. Moniot (Surveyor-General
in 1856), and Daniel Quinton,
On tfie retirement of Quinton, and under the
policy of amalgamation initiated by Sir Harry
Ord, the office of Surveyor-General was linked
with that of the Colonial Engineer in 1871.
The combined offices were first held by
Major F. A. McNair, R.A., who in 1873
reorganised the department, with Captain
W. Innes, R.E., as First Assistant Engineer
and Surveyor-General in Pinang, and an
assistant engineer and surveyor in Malacca.
With the development of trade and agriculture
in the Settlements, the importance of the
Survey Branch increased. For the next decade
the work of the department consisted mainly
of surveys in connection with applications for
land, and settlement of encroachments, and of
surveys for building sites and engineering
purposes. Under the administration, from
i88ito 1 896, of Major (now Sir) H. E. McCallum,
R.E., marked advances were made in the
several departments. More systematic methods
were adopted, and operations were conducted
on more scientific lines. The principal tri-
angulation of the Settlements was completed,
the reproduction of maps by lithography and
zmcography was introduced, and a Survey
Class was established. This period may be
regarded as an eventful one. In 1880 the
Land Question engaged the attention of the
Government, and the late Sir (then Mr.) W. E.
Maxwell was deputed to visit Australia to
study the pi-actical working of the Torrens
system of registration of titles. His Report in
1883 brought survey matters into prominence.
Following this report, the services of an officer
from the Survey of India were requisitioned by
the Government m 1886 to report on the land
survev.
A report by Lieutenant-Colonel W. Barron,
Deputy Superintendent, Survev of India,
appeared in 1887— just half a century after the
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
319
Bengal Commissioner's report appeared on a
more or less kindred subject — and a despatch
was received from the Secretary of Slate
intimating that, after reference to the Director-
General of Ordnance Survey, he considered it
desirable to give general eiJect to the recom-
mendations made by Colonel Barron. A
change in the organisation and working
of the Survey Staff followed. District Sur-
veyors, with Assistant Surveyors under them,
were stationed in the country in the settle-
ments of Singapore and Malacca, under the
control of the Chief Surveyors (now Senior
Surveyors). Operations of the Revenue Survey,
Pinang, were undertaken by a staff under a
special Superintendent. The forward policy
thus initiated received a set-back in 1894, for,
according to the report of the Surveyor-
General, "the Survey estabhshments at Singa-
pore and Malacca were reduced at the begin-
ning of the year to a strength estimated as
being sufficient to deal with current work
only." The unfinished work in Pinang was
undertaken by the Deputy Surveyor-General as
local head. The pressing need for a more
comprehensive demarcation and for a prompt
re-survey of Singapore was represented to the
Government by Colonel Murray, and after
some correspondence with India, Australia,
and Ceylon, in regard to the equipment of a
staff, it was decided to carry out the work
departmentally with surveyors obtained locally
and from Ceylon. A good start was made
in April, 1904, and progress has been well
marked under the Special Superintendent,
Mr. R. H. Young. The minor triangulation of
the island has now been completed, and the
Survey School, which was abolished in 1894,
has been re-established.
Surveys in the Settlements are classified
under the following heads : (a) Applications
for statutory grants and Mukim extracts, (6)
subdivision and registration surveys, [c] de-
fining boundaries under Crown Lands
Ordinance of 1886, (rf) block or Mukim, (e)
traverse, (/) engineering and special. The
procedure with the class of work under these
heads is as follows : —
[a] The applicant for Crown land approaches
the Collector of Land Revenue or District
Officer, who requisitions the Survey Depart-
ment to survey the land. On the completion
of the survey the work is plotted on the Office
Record marginal sheets. On the area being
ascertained it is reported to the Collector of
Land Revenue or District Officer, who in due
course applies for the preparation of a grant.
The survey numbers are entered on the grant
form together with a description of the
boundaries and a copy of the plan. The grant
is then compared with the record sheets. The
Surveyor-General attaches his signature, and
finally transmits the grant to the Collector of
Land Revenue with a memorandum of the
cost of the boundary stones. In Pinang the
Deputy Colonial Engineer signs the grant and
in Malacca the Superintendent of Works and
Surveys. In these surveys the surveyor's first
operation is to locate and demarcate the
boundaries. Then a known point on the
standard traverse is fixed upon to start work.
Bearings are observed with a 4-inch Y or
transit theodolite and read to the nearest
minute. Distances are measured with a 100-
feet tape, or a loo-links steel band, according
as the work is in the town or in the country.
The maximum error of closure is limited to
I link in 4,000 links. The ground marking is
done with granite boundary stones, 4 feet by
4 feet by 3 feet, with centre marks when they
are used as survey stations. Obliteration,
removal, or injury of any survey mark makes
the offender liable to a penalty under the
Boundaries Ordinance, 1884.
{b) Surveys required for registration purposes
are given priority over all other work, and are
dealt with as expeditiously as possible. When
a deed is presented for registration the
Collector of Land Revenue or the District
Officer immediately notifies the fact to the
department. The lot referred to is then entered
in a list, and reference made to Survey Office
Records to ascertain whether " a plan and
sketch has been made and filed in the office
of the Surveyor-General of such parcel, or
subdivision of a parcel, taken from and based
on the revenue survey of the settlement, or
whether such parcel or subdivision has been
otherwise ascertained to the satisfaction of the
Surveyor-General or Deputy Surveyor-Gene-
ral." If necessary, a survej' is immediately
made and plotted on the record sheets, the area
is computed, and a distinguishing lot number
is given and then passed on to the Collector of
Land Revenue or the District Officer for the
necessary endorsement under the Ordinance.
In computing lot areas each lot is calculated
twice, and in cases where a difference of I
per cent, occurs a third computation is made,
while a fourth calculation is made when two
out of the three do not agree within i per
cent. The execution of subdivision surveys
not only meets the requirements of the Regis-
tration of Deeds Amendment Ordinance, but
serves also to keep the revenue survey maps
of the Settlements up to date. Unless the
changes in the boundaries of lots and frequent
subdivisions of lots are surveyed and recorded
in the maps, the latter would soon become
obsolete, and in the course of a few years
cease to be reliable. The Registration of Deeds
Amendment Ordinance of 1886 was brought
into force in Pinang on April i, i8g6, in
Singapore on October i, 1907.
(f) When it has been found necessary by the
Collector of Land Revenue to serve a notice
Singapore.
on a person under the Ordinance, requiring
him to keep defined the boundary between
the land occupied by him and the adjoining
Crown land, and this notice is not complied
with within thirty days from the date of service,
the Collector of Land Revenue or the District
Officer requisitions the department to define
the boundary, and twice the cost incurred is
levied on the defaulter. By this means
encroachments on Crown land are from time
to time discovered and dealt with.
(rf) and (e) Traverse and block surveys are
started from and closed on trigonometrical
stations. Near points of reference for the initia-
tion and checking of surveys are established at
intervals along the route traversed, by placing
permanent granite centre marks. These marks
are departmentally known as Traverse and
Referring Stations. Bearings are observed
with a 7-inch theodolite of Everest's pattern
divided to 10 seconds of arc, and a 5-inch
transit theodolite, graduated to read to 20
seconds of arc, according as the work is in
town or in the country. Traverses have come
out well in the computations by Gale's method,
the average error not exceeding i foot in
10,000 feet in town and i link in 8,000 links in
the country. Co-ordination is resorted to in
order to facilitate plotting and checking.
Mukims are marked on the ground by granite
posts and concrete pillars, and areas computed
by the universal theorem.
The office maps and marginal sheets are on a
scale of 40 feet and 50 links to the inch in the
town, I chain to the inch in the suburbs, and
4 chains to the inch in the country. The
general index map is on a scale of 16 chains to
the inch. The 40-feet and "50-link scale
sheets " are required for plotting building allot-
ments up to a size which will admit of
showing the width of walls, bends, and other
necessary details which cannot be indicated on
small scale drawings. One-chain scale sheets
are required for suburban allotments which do
not admit of being plotted to a scale of 4 chains
to the inch with any degree of accuracy. In
addition to these Pinang has a charted survey
of Georgetown and suburbs, to a scale of 200
feet to the inch, and Georgetown proper (least
populous part) to a scale of 100 feet to the inch.
Maps have been published of Singapore,
Pinang, and Malacca at various times. The
dates of the latest publications are : Singapore
Island, 1905 ; Pinang Island and Province
Wellesley, 1897 ; Malacca Territory, 1903 ;
Singapore Town within municipal limits, 1906 ;
Georgetown and suburbs, 1895 ; Malacca
Town, 1 89 1. The scale of the first three is
one mile to the inch ; Singapore, Georgetown,
and Malacca towns are 16 chains, 200 feet,
and 4 chains to the inch respectively.
The appended table shows the progress of
field work since 1897 : —
A'.
B .
C .
D.
E.xpenditure
I, E and F
Cost of office work
1897.
9.65
1899.
Acr..s.
.^nes.
Acres.
A^ies.
Acre-;.
Acrts.
.\cres.
Aci-es.
.^cres.
2,438
1,075
1,653
330
277
879
889
2,143
718
—
—
4
—
1,019
43
22
179
606
663
79
918
—
207
457
—
""
1,73s
1,52-'
3,258
816
707
2,003
236
1,604
162
312
3,044
2,064
1,129
2,305
1,209
s
.*
s
^
1,814
1,000
1,574
1,430
2,301
1,565
2,230
2,441
2,202
721
2,104
1,472
1,792
1,329
2,709
2,578
1,380
1,412
7,120
7,506
8,62s
8,993
8,249
11,513
11,258
6,813
6,826
10,610
11,671
12,215
11,879
15,787
16,066 i 10,634 10,440
For explanation of this lettering see letterpress
320
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
PiNANG, Province Weli.esley, .and thf Dindings.
1897.
1898.
1899-
Acres.
113
11,431
1900.
190 1.
1902.
Acres.
7,888
7,624
1903.
1904.
1905.
b!" "'. '.'.'. '.'.'. '.'.'.
c
Acres.
S83
11,852
Acres.
10,081
-Acres.
9,121
9,121
Acres.
241
7,247
3,000
; Acres.
306
10,353
.Acres.
5,858
Acres.
5,072
12,435
10,081
11,544
8
13,249
605
22,816
10,488
15,512
S
11,143
522
22,187
10,659
9,377
1,480
23,116
5,858
5,072
Expenditure
„ E and F
Cost of office work
8
13,496
928
17,483
*
12,389
2,473
18,410
.8
8,205
1,659
22,831
9,871
1,949
18,859
s
9,466
18,965
8
10,785
19,231
31,907
33,272
36,670
32,695
30,679
33,852
33,973
28,431
30,016
M
ALACCA.
1897.
1898.
1899-
igoo.
Acres.
12,727
828
603
1,193
1901.
le;02.
1903.
1904.
1903.
B.'.'. '.'.'. '.'.'. '.'.'. '.'.'.
C
D
Acres.
8,101
247
Acres.
13,183
95
76
4,331
Acres.
10,939
216
1,452
1,000
Acres.
8,534
3,817
.Acres.
12,399
1,238
285
966
Acres.
7,116
2,650
A. "res.
3,977
48
987
514
Acres.
4,200
107
1,273
8,348
17,685
13,607
15,351
12,351
14,888
9,766
5,526
5,580
Expenditure
EandF
Co.st of office worlc
3,769
1,523
5,897
5,081
689
5,729
5.619
=;o8
6,678
11,223
562
9,082
20,867
3
9,433
9,384
9,643
13,369
10,443
15,542
9,689
9,153
15,770
S
7,415
2,993
12,184
4.227
3,810
15,333
11,189
11,499
12,805
28,460
39,354
34,612
22,592
23,370
Further details are furnished below of the
re-survey work in the town, suburb, and
country up to the end of 1905 : —
With the increasing prosperity of the colony
and the consequent opening up of the country,
ample scope for the operations of the Land
Nature of AVork.
Number of Number of I Number of
Miles. Blocks. ' Lots.
Area in
Acres.
Main Traverses ...
Filling in details ...
Triangulation
•Miscellaneous
509
51
A compilation of old leases and grants in
some of the blocks led to the discovery of land in
occupation without titles to the extent of nearly
134,900 square feet, valued at 308,644 dollars.
Vacancies in the different grades of the
service are filled alternately from the Depart-
ment and from the Survey School, which has
a course of three years' duration arranged for
this purpose. The Surveyor-General's head-
quarters are in Singapore, and he pays peri-
odical visits of inspection to the Survey
branches in Pinang and Malacca.
12,963
16,890
Total
14,053
1 14,402
1,738
9,010
139,203
Survey Department will be afforded in the
future.
The maps on pp. 321 and 322, showing the sea-
front and commercial centre of Singapore in
the years 1842 and 1907 respectively, are of
great interest, as indicating the reclamations
that have been made at "Teluk Aver and at
Tanjong Pagar, and the shipping facilities that
have been developed. A further reclamation
of 88 acres is to be added to the Teluk Aver
area.
Land revenue in the Straits Settlements in
1906 amounted to $377,972, or $11,605 more
than in 1905. This total was made up of
$104,482 from Singapore, $119,585 from
Pinang, and $153,905 from Malacca. During
the past decade the annual income from
land rents has increased from $214,188 to
$305,559-
The expenditure of the Land Office was
$25,775— $6,613 less than in 1905.
Land in Singapore, Pinang, and Province
■Wellesley is held from the Crown by grant or
lease. The conditions of tenure vary according
to the policy of the Government at the time the
documents were issued. In Singapore there
are eighteen and in Pinang twenty different
kinds of titles in the hands of the public.
Unoccupied Crown land is obtainable on
statutory grants, and statutory grants are
also being substituted for permits and expired
leases.
The tenure of land in the town of Malacca
has remained unchanged since the days of
Dutch rule. Possession is evidenced in many
cases by documents of title in Dutch. In some
instances occupied land in the country is held
either under grant or lease from the' Crown,
but for the most part it is held according to
customary tenure and defined by the Malacca
Lands Ordinance. Land is now obtainable
without premium if held under customary
tenure, and with premium at a moderate quit-
rent if held under statutory grant.
r.:'^'4M«0\
^ ° ctr"-
■I I
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
323
FEDERATED MALAY STATES.
By H. REDFEARN SHAW, Superintendent of Revenue Surveys, Selangor.
THE Revenue Survey Departments of ttie
Federated Malay States are responsible
for the primary survey of the Crown estate and
for all surveys affecting title to land. At the
present time there is a separate department for
each State (Perak, Selangor, Negri Sambilan,
and Pahang), but the method of survey proce-
dure is practically the same throughout.
The Survey Departments were constituted in
their present form in Perak and Selangor about
the year 1899, in Negri Sambilan about the
year 1897, and in Pahang about the year i8gg.
Each Department is under the direction of a
superintendent, whose office was formerly
designated " Revenue Surveyor." The head-
quarter offices of each State are at Taiping,
Kuala Lumpor, Kuala Lipis, and Seremban
respectively, but in most of the districts there
is a local survey office in the charge of a
supervising District Surveyor.
The function of the Revenue Survey Depart-
ments is (I) to mark out on the ground the
boundaries of lands to be dealt with, so that
possession may be given without possible error
or danger of trespass on adjoining properties ;
(2) to fix the boundaries of each block so
marked out with reference to a cadastral
framework, that its exact position can be
defined and recorded ; (3) to reserve as far
as possible access to the blocks given out, and
also to the unalienated lands.
The check on the accuracy of the revenue
surveys is, of course, the triangulation carried
out by the Federal Trigonometrical Survey.
The co-ordinate values of all stations (together
with heights) are furnished by the Chief Trigo-
nometrical Surveyor to each superintendent as
soon as he has finally determined them. In
a densely-wooded country like the Federated
Malay States secondary triangulation is difficult
in places, and therefore a good deal of the
framework consists of standard traverses of
roads, rivers, &c.
The system of survey in force is analogous
to the detail surveys of the Governments of the
Australian Commonwealth and the colony of
New Zealand. Surveys are divided into ist,
2nd, and 3rd class. First-class surveys are
" standard " traverses of roads, rivers, &c. The
2nd class surveys are of slightly less accuracy,
and are intended to be carried out when lands
are alienated under grant, certificate of title
or mining lease, or which are proposed to be
gazetted as " Reserves." The 3rd class surveys
are fairly accurate measurements of lands pro-
posed to be alienated under title by entry in
the Mukim Register. This class of survey is
intended to deal with native holdings only.
The method of marking lands alienated or
reserved is similar in all the States, but the
marks used differ slightly in some cases. In
Selangor and Negri Sambilan all mining lands
are marked at corners and at regular intervals
by iron pipes 2 or ij inches in diameter and
6 feet long. In Perak and Pahang long con-
crete pillars are used. For agricultural lands
in the two first-mentioned States granite posts
2 feet 6 inches by 4 inches square are used, but
in the last named a differently shaped concrete
pillar is adopted. In all cases, however, the
number of the portion alienated or reserved is
stamped on the mark.
Each survey made in Selangor and Negri
Sambilan is separately plotted, no detail of
importance shown in the field-book being
omitted. When completed the plan is signed
by the Surveyor who did the work as having
been carried out according to the regulations.
The importance and value of these certified
plans cannot be over-estimated. Field-books,
being in constant use until completed, are
liable to be damaged or lost, but the filed
certified plans are never allowed to leave the
head office.
In Perak and Pahang surveys have hitherto
been charted direct on to the office charts.
These are on a comparatively large scale — 4
chains to the inch — and contain in most cases
all details shown by the Surveyor. It is, how-
ever, intended in future to compile separate
plans in addition to the office charts, so that
uniformity in drafting procedure will result.
The office charts for all States will eventually
be on a scale of 4, 8 or 16 chains to the inch.
Selangor is at present the only State which
does not adhere to this, the adopted scale being
10 chains.
The States of Perak, Selangor, and Negri
Sambilan have each published maps at various
times. The dates of the latest productions are :
Perak, 1901 ; Negri Sambilan, 1903 ; and Selan-
gor, 1904. The scale of the first is four miles
to the inch, that of the two latter two miles to
the inch. A reduced map of Selangor is also
published on a scale of four miles to the inch.
No official Government map has yet been com-
piled and published of the State of Pahang.
Perak and Selangor have published separate
maps of most of the important towns and
villages. At Taiping the Survey Department
possesses a small lithographic staff, and is
therefore able to carry out the greater part
of its own map publication.
The actual expenditure of the four depart-
ments in igo6 was as follows : Perak, $212,371 ;
Selangor, $149,182 ; Negri Sambilan, $101,051 ;
and Pahang, $50,217 ; total, $512,821. The
total revenue collected was $194,295.
The area surveyed during 1906 comprised
13,429 allotments covering 228,907 acres, while
1,660 miles of traverse were run. This latter
work includes river surveys, road reserves, and
connections. The drafting staff prepared 28,740
documents, such as grants, leases, certificates
of title, mining certificates, prospecting
Hcences, &c.
The Land Enactment became law in all the
States in 1903, the Mining Enactment in 1904.
The Registration of Titles Regulation became
law in Selangor in 1891, and in Perak and
Pahang in 1897. There are other enactments
affecting lands which have been superseded,
but which in certain cases of existing titles still
hold good.
The total revenue collected by the Land
Offices of the Federated Malay States during
1906 amounted to $1,437,753 — an increase
over the collection in 1905 of $335,714. To
this total Perak contributed $600,509, Selan-
gor $548,457, Negri Sambilan $199,142, and
Pahang $88,831. Exclusive of land sales
(which realised $374,023) and reimburse-
ments, the revenue amounted to $1,038,289,
and included land-rents ($536,367), mining
rents ($264,544), survey fees ($133,697), de-
marcation fees ($35,156), &c. It is satisfac-
tory to record that under land and mining rents
there was an increase in permanent revenue
of nearly $110,000. The land alienated on
permanent titles and assumed to be in occu-
pation at the end of igo6 was estimated at
1,231,157 acres, which, even when added to
the area under reserve, forms a very small
proportion of the land available for aliena-
tion in the Federation. The land alienated
comprises 14,561 town plots ; 155,096 agricul-
tural plots, containing 951,113 acres ; and
12,214 mining plots, covering 276,685 acres.
About one-third of the agricultural area
alienated is under cultivation in rubber. At a
rough estimate about 280,000 acres of the area
alienated may be regarded as under actual
cultivation. Padi occupies 62,800 acres ;
gambler, 25,850 acres ; sugar, 16,000 acres ;
rubber, 79,500 acres ; coffee, 16,000 acres ;
tapioca, 12,720 acres ; and coconuts, 38,330
acres.
Colonel Murray, Colonial Engineer, Straits
Settlements, also holds the office of Surveyor-
General. In his absence on leave the duties
are being discharged by Mr. F. J. Pigott,
M.I.C.E.
Mr. John van Cuylenburg, Instructor at
the Survey School and Acting Senior Surveyor
at Singapore, comes of one of the oldest Dutch
families of Ceylon. He was born at Colombo
on June 3, 1862, and received his education at
Colombo Academy (now known as the Royal
College). On the recommendation of the
Ceylon Government he was appointed Plotter
and Computer at Singapore in 1881, but in the
same year he was transferred to Malacca.
In May, 1885, he returned to Singapore as
draughtsman, and three years later became
District Surveyor. His next appointment was
that of Acting Trigonometrical Surveyor, and in
October, 1895, he had local charge of surveys.
In September, 1897, he was Acting Observer
for Time Balls at Singapore, and was also
employed, with the permission of the Govern-
ment, by the local branch of the Royal Asiatic
Society in preparing the new map of the Malay
Peninsula. In March, 1901, Mr. Van Cuylen-
burg proceeded to Christmas Island on special
duty with Mr. Eyre-Kenny and Mr. Clayton,
District Officer, and in igo2 he was appointed
Survey School Instructor in addition to his
other duties. He became Acting Senior Sur-
veyor in 1904, and in April, 1905, was also
entrusted with the duties of Trigonometrical
Assistant. He is the son of the late Mr. J. E.
van Cuylenburg, of Colombo, and he married
Arabella, daughter of Mr. Thomas Smith, of
Sarawak.
Mr. Robert Heyden Young, Superin-
tendent of Re-Surveys at Singapore, is the
son of Mr. Robert Buller Young, Government
District Surveyor in Ceylon, and grandson of
Dr. W. H. Young, Senior Medical Officer of
the Army, who served in the Battle of Water-
loo. He was born at Kandy on June 27, 1858,
and after completing his scholastic education
received his professional training under his
uncle, Mr. J. D. Young, Civil Engineer and
Provincial Assistant, Public Works Depart-
ment, Ceylon, and under his father, who
taught him surveying. He entered the
Straits Settlements service as Sub-Surveyor
in 1878, and was appointed Computer and
Draughtsman in charge of the Survey Office
at Malacca in 1881. After holding several
appointments at Malacca, and visiting Port
Dickson and Johol, in Sungei Ujong, on duty,
he was called to Singapore in 1890 to give
evidence for the Boundaries Commission, and
three years later was permanently transferred
to Singapore. In 1903 he was appointed
Superintendent of the Re-Survey, in addition
to his other duties, and in December of the same
year was appointed Senior Survey Officer.
Mr. John Pyne Pennefather, the senior
Surveyor at Malacca, was the holder of one of
the Straits Settlements Government Scholar-
ships for the years 1871-73. Entering the
Government service in 1875 ^s an apprentice
in the Survey Department, Singapore, he be-
came a second-class surveyor in 1878, an
Overseer and Surveyor in 1881, a District
Surveyor in the following year ; Chief Sur-
324
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
veyor, Singapore, in 1888 ; Senior Surveyor of
Singapore in 1891, and Senior Surveyor,
Malacca, in 1893. He also acted as Super-
intendent of Works and Surveys, Malacca,
from 1894 to 1897.
Mr. Arthur Henry Lemon holds the sub-
stantive appointment of Collector of Land
Revenue at Singapore, but is acting as Assis-
tant Colonial Secretary. He was born on
August 23, 1864, at Blackheath, and was
educated at Merchant Taylors' School and
Exeter College, Oxford. He joined the Straits
Settlements Civil Service in 1888, and shortly
after his arrival in the colony acted as Private
Secretary to the Governor. In succeeding
years he filled various offices, including that of
Acting Second Magistrate at Pinang. In 1902
he was appointed second Assistant Colonial
Secretary, but continued to act as Assistant
Postmaster-General, Pinang. In 1903 he was
made Acting Collector of Land Revenue and
Registrar of Deeds, and was appointed a
member of the Commission to inquire into and
report upon Mahomedan Trusts in Pinang.
Mr. Edward Charles Clifford Howard
holds the substantive appointment of Collector
of Land Revenue at Pinang, but at the time of
writing he was acting as Commissioner of the
Court of Requests at Singapore. He was
appointed a cadet in i8go, and after serving in
the Colonial Secretary's office for over three
years, became Acting 'Third Magistrate, Pinang.
In 1904 he was Superintendent of Education in
that Settlement, and in 1897 Collector of Land
Revenue, Singapore. Subsequently he acted
as Third and Second Magistrate at Singapore
and Pinang respectively until 1901, when he
assumed the duties of First Magistrate and
Superintendent of Prisons, Pinang. He
obtained his present appointment in 1905.
Mr. William Peel, B.A. Cantab., Acting
Collector of Land Revenue at Pinang, was
born in 1875. He became a Cadet in the
Straits Settlements Service in 1897, and for the
greater part of the four years following was
attached to the district office at Bukit Mertajam.
In igo2 he was appointed Acting Assistant
Colonial Secretary and Clerk of Councils, and
in the next year he became Acting Second
Assistant Colonial Secretary and Assistant
Superintendent of Indian Immigrants at Singa-
pore. Most of his service in 1905 was as
Acting Second Magistrate and Coroner at
Pinang. His present appointment dates from
March, 1906.
Mr. H. W. Firmstone, Collector of Land
Revenue at Malacca, is at present acting as
Resident Councillor of the Settlement in the
absence of Mr. \V. Evans. A son of the late
Mr. W. C. Firmstone, of Rockingham Hall,
Hagley, Worcestershire, who was in business
in the iron trade, he was born on May 28,
1868, educated at Rugby School and Hertford
College, Oxford. He passed first in the
Eastern Cadetship examination in 1890, and
was appointed to the Straits Settlements
service on October 30, 1890. Mr. Firmstone is
a member of the Sports Club, London, and of
most clubs in Singapore, Pinang, and Malacca.
Among his favourite recreations are cricket,
tennis, and golf.
Mr. Alfred Ernest Young, Chief Sur-
veyor of the Federated Malay States, was born
at Seaham Harbour, county Durham, in 1869,
and was educated privately and at the City and
Guilds of London Central Engineering Insti-
tute. He entered the Perak Government
service in 1892 as Chief Draughtsman and
Computer in the Trigonometrical Survey
Department. Three years later he became
Assistant Surveyor in charge of computations,
and was promoted to his present appointment
in 1899. He is an Associate Member of the
"Institution of Civil Engineers and a Fellow of
the Royal Astronomical Society, the Royal
Geographical Society, and the City and Guilds
Institute. Contributions from his pen that
have appeared in the publications of the
Institute of Civil Engineers and of the Royal
Astronomical Society include articles on ■' The
Deflection of Spiral Springs," " Rankine's
Treatment of the Elastic Arch," " The Read-
ings of the Spring Balance," and " The For-
mulae of the Reduction to the Meridian of the
Observed Zenith Distances of Stars." He is a
member of the Sports Club, London, and of all
the Federated Malay States clubs.
Mr. Edmund Woodhouse Hedgeland,
A.M.I.C.E., B.E. (Sydney), was born in 1867,
and prior to his arrival in the Federated Malay
States was Assistant Engineer to the Queens-
land Railways Department. He took up the
duties of his present appointment under the
Federal Government as General Assistant to
the Chief Surveyor, Trigonometrical Depart-
ment, early in 1907.
Mr. R. a. Watson.— The office of Com-
missioner of Lands and Surveys is held by
Mr. R. G. Watson, who has seen many years'
service in the Federatedi Malay States.
Educated at Haileybury, Mr. Watson, after
a brief cadetship, became Private Secretary to
the then Governor, Sir C. C. Smith. Qualify-
ing in the Hokkien and Kheh dialects, he was
for the three years subsequent to 1891 Protector
of Chinese in Perak. Then for some years he
held various appointments, including those of
Senior Magistrate and Acting Secretary to the
Resident of Perak, until in November, 1903, he
became Commissioner of Lands and Surveys,
an important Federal post in a comparatively
new country. In earlier days Mr. Watson was
a good cricketer and footballer, and he still
follows all games with enthusiasm, often acting
as referee in league matches, which he intro-
duced. Popular socially, Mr. Watson is Vice-
Chairman of the Selangor Club and a member
of the committee of the Lake Club. He is in
his forty-fifth year.
Mr. Joseph Peascod Harper, Superin-
tendent of Revenue Surveys in the Federated
Malay States, was born in Cumberland in i860,
and received his education at the Birkbeck
School, London. He was apprenticed to the
Survey Department of Great Britain, and was
engaged as a surveyor for the Home Govern-
ment for several years after the completion of
his probationary term in the London Office at
Parliament Street. In 1889 he was appointed,
through the Colonial Olfice, London, Surveyor
to the Land Department at Larut. He became
a Revenue Surveyor in 1894, and has been
Superintendent of Revenue Surveys for the
State of Perak since 1898. Mr. Harper is a
Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and
of the Royal Colonial Institute. He is a Past
Master of the Taiping Lodge of Freemasons, a
member of the Taiping Sanitary Board, a Visit-
ing Justice of the Gaol, and Visitor to the local
Lunatic Asylum. As a rifle shot he stands
amongst the first in the whole of the Penin-
sula, and in recognition of this he was elected
in 1905 and 1906 to the position of President of
the Perak Rifle Association. At one practice
for the Inter-State Shooting Competition, under
-the new Bisley conditions, Mr. Harper in 1906
made a total score of 103 out of a possible 105
— 34 points at 200 yards, 35 at 500 yards, and
34 at 600 yards — a record for the Far East.
Both in 1905 and 1906 he won the Governor's
Cup, and he has secured several other shooting
trophies. He married a daughter of Mr. John
Dishman, Government Printer of Perak, and
she is also an expert with the rifle, and is the
Secretary of the Perak Ladies' Rifle Club.
Mr. Harry Redfearn Shaw, FR.G.S.,
an old Westminster United boy, came out to
Perak as a mining surveyor in 1890, after ten
years' experience in Great Britain as a boun-
dary division surveyor. He became District
Surveyor of the State of Perak in 1893 and
Acting Revenue Surveyor in 1896. He has
held his present position, that of Superinten-
dent of Revenue Surveys, Selangor, since
April I, igoo. Born in 1868, Mr. Shaw is
now in the prime of life, and able to devote
much of his leisure to rifle shooting, in which
he has claim to great proficiency. He was
recently promoted to the rank of Captain in
the Malay States Volunteer Rifles. He is a
resident of Kuala Lumpor and a member of
most of the clubs in the neighbourhood.
Mr. C. J. Perkins, District Surveyor at
Kajang, Ulu Langat, was born in England
thirty-five years ago, and was educated at the
Westbury Grammar and Mackay (Queensland)
High Schools. He served the Queensland
C. J. PERKINS.
(District Surveyor, Selangor.)
Government as Surveyor from 1897 till his
appointment to the Federated Malay States
in 1904. Mr. Perkins is a member and
councillor of the Institute of Surveyors,
Queensland.
Mr. Edward Sweney is the Acting
Superintendent of Revenue Surveys in Negri
Sambilan. He was born in 1862, and from
1877 to 1898 was in the Ordnance Survey
Department of Great Britain. He became a
District Surveyor in Negri Sambilan in
October, i8g8, and was promoted to his present
position in 1903.
Mr. Q. M. Stafford.— The Superintendent
of Revenue Survey for Pahang is Mr. George
May Stafford, who was born in 1861 and
entered the New South Wales Government
service as a Surveyor in i88i. Eight years
later he came to Selangor, and after filling
several appointments, including that of Chief
Surveyor, he took up his present duties in igoi.
He is stationed in Kuala Lipis.
Mr. D. S. Richards has been Surveyor in
Charge of Jelebu district since June, 1904,
having previous to this been Assistant Surveyor,
New Scotland Yard, and Surveyor to the Land
Registry Department in the Home Govern-
ment service.
C. M. Goodyear. — For some time the
Land Survey Department of Seremban, the
capital town of Negri Sambilan, suffered from
the want of a permanent officer. Great trouble
was experienced in obtaining qualified sur-
veyors, and naturally the arrears of work
accumulated. After serving in each State of
the Federation, Mr. Goodyear was recently
appointed to take charge of the department, and
he is now engaged in a re-survey of the whole
of the Negri Sambilan. He has three assistants
—Messrs. E. W. Sweney, E. W. Geyer, and
E. R. Clare. They have a large area of poorly
surveyed land to deal with, and as applications
for planting and mining grounds are con-
tinually being made, the staff is kept busily
engaged.
POSTS, TELEGRAPHS, AND TELEPHONES
THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.
HE Postal Department of
the Straits Settlements
is under the control of
a Postmaster - General,
who has under him a
large staff of Europeans,
Eurasians, and Chinese.
The head office is at
Singapore, and there
are branches at Pinang, Province Wellesley,
the Bindings, Malacca, Christmas Island, and
Labuan.
The Mails.
A weekly mail contract service with Europe
is maintained by the Peninsular and Oriental
and British India Companies. There are extra
mails by the North-German Lloyd and by the
Messageries Maritimes, whose steamers alter-
nately call at the colony fortnightly. The
shortest time occupied m transit by the mail
from London in 1906 was 19 days 17 hours
25 minutes.
In 1906 the mails weighed i,222j tons, and
were enclosed in 102,712 bags, 9, 186 packets, and
9,354 boxes. In addition some 30,000 bags of
foreign transit mails, weighing 375 tons, were
transhipped by the department free of charge.
The total number of letters, postcards, printed
papers, samples and parcels despatched and
received was 17,037,947. This was about 5
per cent, more than in the previous year. Most
noticeable was the increase in the "picture
postcard." The nirmber of letters, postcards,
parcels, &c., received in Singapore was
6,019,483 ; in Pinang 3,743,917, and in Malacca
231,122, showing a net increase of 193,467 over
the figures for the previous year. The number
despatched from the colony was 7,043,425, an
increase of 635,759 o^^'' the total for 1905. Of
parcels, 55,537 were received, and 57,069 were
despatched.
In 1845 the rate of postage between the
colony and the United Kingdom via Marseilles
was 2s. 2d. for a letter not exceeding a quarter
of an ounce, and 5d. for a newspaper. To-day
a letter weighing an ounce can be sent to any
part of the British Empire for 4 cents, and to
any other part of the world for 8 cents, with 5
cents extra for every additional ounce. The
fee to any place in the Straits Settlements and
the Federated Malay States, Sarawak, Brunei,
or Johore, is 3 cents for every 2 oz. Post-
cards impressed with a stamp of the value
of 3 cents, and double (or reply prepaid)
impressed with a stamp of the value of 3 cents
on each portion of them, may be sent to all
parts of the world. Similar postcards used
only between places in the Straits Settlements,
the Federated Malay States, Sarawak, Brunei,
and Johore need only a i cent stamp on each
part of them.
Money Orders.
Postal orders or notes can be obtained at
any post-office in the colony. A commission of
I per cent., with a minimum of 2 cents, is
charged. IMoney orders are obtainable payable
in almost any part of the world. All British
postal order business is transacted in local
currency at the fixed rate of 2s. 4d. per dollar.
In the twelve months under review 82,750
money orders and postal orders were issued,
to the total value of 1,776,600 dollars, against
91,823 of the value of 2,206,305 dollars in the
preceding year. There was a substantial
increase in the amount of money orders issued
and cashed within the colony, but the total
transactions of the branch showed a reduction,
owing to the fact that the Straits Post Office
ceased to be the intermediary for the Federated
Malay States' money order business with
India, Ceylon, and China. The total number
of British postal orders sold showed a decrease
from the same cause, the Federated Malay
States having begun to purchase these orders
direct from London in July, 1906. Apart from
these exchanges, the only considerable de-
crease was in the orders received for payment
from British North Borneo and Labuan, which
amounted to 27,087 dollars, as compared with
47,861 dollars in 1905 and 44,732 dollars in 1904.
Undoubtedly currency changes had a great
deal to do with the enormous increase in the
money order business with British North
Borneo which look place in 1904, and the
1906 decrease was due partly to the business
resuming its normal proportions and partly to
the fact that certain branch firms in British
North Borneo found it to their advantage to
grant bills on Singapore at par or at a very
small premium. The most notable increase
was in the amount of inter-settlement orders,
which advanced from 124,952 dollars in 1905 to
157.573 dollars in igo6.
The postal revenue for the whole colony was
593705 dollars — an increase of nearly 7 per
cent. ; and the expenditure was 429,881 dollars
— a decrease of over 9 per cent.
Postal Telegraphs.
The colonial telegraph system is confined
at present to the Settlements of Pinang and
Malacca, and consists of 174 miles of land
325
lines and 13 miles of submarine cable between
the island of Pinang and Province Wellesley,
on the mainland. In 1906 the revenue
amounted to 26,220 dollars, as compared with
24,077 dollars in the previous year, and the
expenditure to 22,774 dollars. The number of
telegrams received for transmission over the
Siamese land system was disappointingly small,
but it is hoped that, with a reduced tariff and
improvement in the working of the service,
greater advantage will be taken of this route in
the future.
The construction of a direct line between
Singapore and Pinang is in progress. It is
intended to supplement this line by a wire
between Singapore and Kuala Lumpor for
communication with the Federated Malay
States, and as an alternative route in case of a
breakdown on the line between Singapore and
Pinang. A uniform rate per word will be
charged for the transmission of messages to
any station in the Malay Peninsula.
Telephones.
The telephone exchange in Singapore is in
the hands of the Oriental Telephone and
Electric Company, Ltd., which has 1,900
subscribers. The service lines in Malacca,
however, were constructed and are main-
tained by Government. They are 154 miles in
length. In Pinang, also, the Government
control the telephone service. During 1906, 55
new lines were added to the Public Exchange
there, and at the close of the year the sub-
scribers' lines numbered 331. There were, in
addition, 48 service lines in connection with
the Exchange.
Savings Bank.
In his report on the working of the Post-
office Savings Bank during 1906, the Postmaster-
General observes with satisfaction that the
decHne in the business of the Bank, noted in
the previous year's report, had not continued.
The number of depositors increased from 3,309
in 1905 to 3,571 during 1906, and the amount at
their credit from 558,451 dollars to 582,713
dollars— approximately 6^ per cent. The net
profits on the year's operations were 1,620
dollars, as against 1,626 dollars in the previous
twelve months. The balance at the credit of
the bank, however, fell from 20,078 dollars to
18,026 dollars, owing to depreciation in the
value of securities.
Revenue and Expenditure.
The revenue and expenditure of the Post
Office during igo6 is shown in detail in the
subjoined table : —
326
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
POSTS AND TELEGRAPHS FINANCE.
Revenue.
Settlement.
Postage Stamps.
Postage
Collections.
Miscellaneous.
Commission on
Money Orders.
"
S c
8,888 99
7,253 33
1,152 66
Foreign
Postage.
Telegraphs.
Telephones,
S
28,531 93
28,531 93
22,113 84
6,418 09
Total
Revenue.
Singapore
Pinang
Malacca
$ c.
366,643 30
87,138 85
6,622 00
•S c.
14,397 17
9,516 51
550 54
$ c.
4,812 51
2,118 92
75
$ c.
29,857 31
$ c.
21,519 00
4,700 93
$ c.
424,599 28
156,078 54
13,026 88
Total, 1906
„ 1905
460,404 IS
426,255 09
24,464 22
24,138 34
6,932 18
7,050 08
17,294 98
22,588 54
29,857 31
29,122 35
26,219 93
24,077 17
593,704 70
555,285 41
Increase
Decrease
34,149 06
325 88
117 90 5,233 56
734 96
2,142 76
38,419 29
Expenditure.
Settlement.
Singapore
Pinang
Malacca
Total, igo6
„ 190S
Increase
Decrease
British
Postage.
66,397 04
66,397 04
140,718 79
74,321 75
Foreign
Postage.
16,899 36
16,899 36
17,381 66
482 30
Other Charges.
119,156 53
9,590 03
4,427 83
133,174 39
116,638 74
16,535 00
Salaries.
^ c.
105,802 64
46,360 63
7,466 74
159,630 01
145,481 62
1,431 73
1,984 28
215 00
3,631 01
3,073 70
14,148 39
.557 31
Telegraphs.
18,309 65
4,464 41 '
22,774 06
23,154 8i
380 75
Telephones,
2,29s 45
25,080 38
27,335 83
24,656 08
2,719 75
Total
Expenditure,
S c,
311,982 75
101,324 97
16,573 98
429,881 70
471,105 40
41,223 70
Including telephone expenditure.
The ST.4FF,
The staff of the Straits Settlements Postal
Department consists of the Postmaster-General
with 2 Assistants — I at Singapore and the
other at Pinang — 4 Superintendents at Singa-
pore and 2 at Pinang, a Postmaster each in
Malacca and Labuan, 20 sub-postmasters,
2 Superintendents of Telegraphs, and 403 other
employees. The numerical strength in Singa-
pore is 222, in Pinang 190, in Malacca 19, and
in Labuan 6,
Dutch Postal Agencies.
Connected with the General Post Offices at
Singapore and Pinang is the Dutch Postal
Agency, which controls the postal traffic to
the Dutch possessions of Java, Sumatra, and
Borneo. These agencies were established in
1879 with a view to the sorting and direct
despatch of correspondence addressed to the
Netherlands Indies Archipelago that formerly
had to be sent first to Batavia to be dealt with.
To carry out this object fully the various postal
authorities of Europe, including the United
Kingdom, were asked to cease forwarding
any correspondence for the Netherlands Indies
loose in the mails for Singapore and to make
it up into small bags or packets addressed to
the Dutch- agents at Singapore and Pinang.
The Dutch Government provides the necessary
sorting lists to enable the arrangements to be
carried out, and bears all incidental expenses.
No postage stamps can be used in the agencies
except those issued by the Government of the
Straits Settlements, and it is laid down that
the agents are not to receive or deliver direct
any letters from or to persons residing in this
colony, or from or to ships in the harbours.
The agencies in Singapore and Pinang are
open to the supervision and inspection of the
Postmaster-General and postmasters of these
two towns, and should any difference arise
on any official point between the local post-
office and the Dutch agents the decision lies
with the Postmaster-General, subject to re-
vision by the Dutch and British Colonial
Governments jointly. The Government of
the Straits Settlements reserves itself the right
to close these agencies should it be deemed
desirable at any time to do so.
FEDERATED MALAY
STATES.
Prior to January of 1905 there was a
separate and distinct Postal Department for
each of the four States of Selangor, Perak,
Pahang, and Negri Sambilan, but after that
date these were amalgamated. The net
revenue of the department in 1906 was
437,487 dollars, or an increase of 145,460 dollars
over that for the preceding twelve months. The
expenditure amounted to 406,183 dollars, of
which sum 383,886 dollars represented annually
recurrent expenditure and 22,297 dollars special
expenditure.
Postage.
In all the principal towns the delivery of
postal matler is carried out by native postmen
from the sub-post-offices. Outlying estates and
mines are served by mail carts drawn by
trotting bullocks, while letters to more remote
districts are conveyed by native runners. A
motor-car mail service is maintained between
Kuala Kubu, Raub, Kuala Lipis, and Bentong.
The mails for the east coast of Pahang are sent
by steamer via Singapore. Wherever possible
the railway is employed, and a sorting-van is
in use between Tanjong Malim and Kuala
Lumpor in connection with the in-coming
English mail.
For a long time after the old letter couriers
were abolished, over-printed Straits Settlements
stamps were used in each of the four States.
In 1892, however, special stamps were issued
for the Federated Malay States. They were of
one design, but had printed upon them the
name of the State by which they were issued.
They were available only for correspondence -
that was to be delivered in British Malaya, and
Straits Settlements stamps had still to be affixed
to postal matter addressed to other places until
1899. In 1901 Federated Malay States stamps
were issued and used in all the States .
The fee for letters sent to any place in the
States, the Settlements, Sarawak, Brunei, and
Johore is 3 cents per 2 oz. ; to countries
within the Imperial Penny Postage Union,
4 cents per ounce ; and to other places, 8
cents per ounce, with S cents extra for each
additional ounce. For postcards the fee is
I cent to places in British Malaya, Sarawak,
Brunei, and Johore, and 3 cents to all other
places.
In 1906 the approximate number of letters,
postcards, packets and parcels posted and
deHvered in the Federated Malay States was
6,821,880, an increase of 831,984 over the total
for the preceding year. Arrangements came
into force on July ist for the insurance of
letters and parcels between 17 post-offices in
the Federated Malay States and the Straits
Settlements. The system has been used largely
for the transmission by post of gold and gold
leaf for Chinese jewellers, and it is to be
extended to the United Kingdom, India,
Ceylon, &c. The sale of stamps represented
a revenue of 382,364 dollars, which was 134,070
dollars more than that of the previous twelve
months. This exceptional increase is attributed
to the rubber boom, as the transfer fees, &c.,
are all paid by means of stamps sold by the
post-office.
Arrangements were made during the year
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA 327
for the stationmasters in Salak North, Sungei
Gadut, Padang Java, and Batu Caves, and the
District Officer's clerli; at Parit, to keep a
supply of postage stamps, accept letters for
despatch, and deliver letters to persons resid-
ing in the districts named. A new post-office
was erected at Port Dickson, There are now
52 post-offices at which officers of the Postal
Department are employed, and 28 places at
which postal business is transacted by station-
masters and others.
Money Orders.
When the present Director of Posts and
Telegraphs (Mr. C. H. AUin) was appointed, he
found that the English system of dealing with
money orders prevailed in some parts of the
States and the Indian system in others. He
decided to have one uniform method, and, in
view of the number of Indians employed in
the States and the extent ofi business done with
India, he selected the Indian method. Instead
of issuing an order to the remitter for trans-
mission to the payee, as is done in the United
Kingdom and the Straits Settlements, an advice
is sent to the post-office that is nearest to the
payee, and this branch, in the case of a small
sum, sends a postman to deliver the money ;
or, in case of a large sum, advises the payee
that it is awaiting him. In either instance the
payee signs two receipts, one of which is
retained by the post-office, while the other is
sent to the remitter. By this arrangement
very few void orders are left in the hands of
the Post Ofl&ce Department. At the end of
1906 there were 48 money order offices in the
Federated Malay States. Money orders issued
during the year represented a value of
2,136,618 dollars, or 338,470 dollars more than
in 1905.
Telegrams.
There are 1,281 miles of telegraphic lines in
the Federated Malay States, made up of 629
miles in Perak, 351 in Selangor, 225 in Negri
Sambilan, and 76 in Pahang.
For 418 miles the lines follow the route of
the railway. In those districts where there
are no post-office lines telegrams are accepted
at the railway stations for transmission over
the railway lines. The post-office line stretches
from Pinang in the north to Malacca and the
boundary of Johore in the south, and to Ulu
Pahang in the easternmost State. Altogether
there are 51 telegraph offices. The ordinary
charge for the transmission of messages is
3 cents (roughly I penny) per word, but
for " urgent " telegrams, which are given pre-
cedence over all others, g cents a word is
charged. Press messages are sent at the rate
of I cent a word. In 1906, 213,605 telegrams
were despatched and 239,157 were received
for delivery, showing an increase of 32,843 and
15,232 respectively, when compared with the
return for the previous year. The revenue
derived from telegraphs amounted to 52,858
dollars.
Telephones.
The post-office telephone lines measure 1,063
miles in length. There are telephone offices
at Kuala Lumpor, Klang, and Port Swetten-
ham, with trunk wire connections between all
three places. There are exchanges at Ipoh,
Kampar, Gopeng, Tapah, and Batu Gajah,
which places are also connected with the
trunk line. At Taiping there is a local ex-
change. Exchanges are about to be opened
at Seremban, the capital of Negri Sambilan,
and at Kuala Selangor ; and these will be con-
nected with the Kuala Lumpor, Klang, and Port
S wettenham trunk service. A charge of 5 dollars
per month is made to subscribers living within
a radius of two miles of an exchange, with an
extra of 1.25 dollars for each subsequent mile.
There is, of course, an additional fee for trunk
line messages. The number of applications
for connection with the various telephone
exchanges in Selangor during 1906 largely
exceeded anticipations, and there was con-
sequently some delay in completing them,
The amount spent on construction work in 1906
was 40,439 dollars.
Savings Banks.
Until April, 1907, there were post-office
savings banks only in Perak and Selangor, and
they were quite independent of one another.
A confederated bank for all the States has now
been established, and savings bank business
is transacted at every money order office.
In the Perak Savings Bank at the end of
1906 there were 1,215 depositors, with 161,330
dollars to their credit ; in Selangor the figures
were i,7S9 dollars and 194,275 dollars respec-
tively. Interest is paid on deposits at the
rate of 3 per cent.
Staff.
The staff of the Postal Department consists
of a Director, an Accountant, and 2 Assistants ;
I Superintendent, and i 'Assistant in Perak ;
C. H. ALLIN.
(Director of Posts and Telegraphs, Federated
Malay States.)
I Superintendent and 2 Assistants at Selangor,
Negri Sambilan, and Pahang ; 269 Postmasters
and clerks, 244 postmen and messengers,
3 Inspectors of Telegraphs, 6 sub-inspectors,
and 80 linemen, and a number of coolies on
daily wages.
EASTERN EXTENSION, AUSTRALASIA
AND CHINA TELEGRAPH COM-
PANY, LIMITED.
Telegraph communication between British
Malaya and distant parts is provided by the
Eastern Extension, Australasia and China Tele-
graph Company, Limited. The company's
cables were first connected with Pinang from
India on January 5, 1871, and in the same year
they were continued to Singapore. At about the
same time cable communication was estab-
lished with Australia (Port Darwin) by way of
Java. In the early days there were several
telegraph companies with cables to the Straits,
among which were the British Australian and
the Chinese Submarine Telegraph Companies,
but they were all subsequently amalgamated
with and absorbed by the Eastern Extension
Company, who nov? have a monopoly of the
cablegraphic business between the Straits
Settlements and the rest of the world. Singa-
pore is the company's eastern headquarters.
The premises here are fitted with all the latest
instruments by means of which it is possible
to locate within a knot where a^ cable is
damaged. Singapore is also the depot for the
Cocos Islands, at one of which the cable of
the Cape route touches, and this tiny island is
used by the company solely as a repeating
station. At Singapore three repairing steamers
are maintained— the Patrol, Recorder, and
Magnet.
Mr. H. B. N. C. Trotter, the Postmaster-
General of the Straits Settlements, was born
in London on Christmas Day, 1859. At the
close of his educational career in 1877 he
entered the service of the Government as Chief
Clerk at the General Post Office and Secretary
of the Savings Bank, Singapore. In 1884
he was made Assistant Postmaster-General,
Pinang, and in 1895 was promoted to his
present position. He visited the Federated
Malay States in 1902, to give advice as to the
reorganisation of the Postal and Telegraph
Department. In February, 1907, he left for
England, and was presented with a public
testimonial, which took the form of silver plate,
suitably inscribed, and accompanied by an
address.
Mr. William Gregory Bell, the Assistant
Postmaster-General, is Acting Postmaster-
General in Mr. Trotter's absence. A son of
the Rev. Robert Bell, he was born at Greenock,
Scotland, in 1873. He was educated at Christ
Church, Oxford, of which he is a classical ex-
hibitioner, and at Glasgow University, where he
took the degree of M.A. with first-class honours
in classics. He entered the Straits Settlements
Government service in 1897, and since then
has been Acting Third Magistrate, Singapore ;
Acting Third Magistrate, Pinang ; Superinten-
dent of the Money Order Branch and Savings
Bank, Singapore ; Acting Assistant Postmaster-
General, Pinang ; and Assistant Postmaster-
General, Singapore, attached to the General
Post Office, London. He is a member of the
Cocoa Tree Club, London, of the Pinang Club,
and of the Straits Philosophical Society, on the
committee of which he has a seat.
Mr. Hayes Marriott, who holds the sub-
stantive appointment of Assistant Postmaster-
General at Pinang, is at present acting as
Collector of Land Revenue, Registrar of Deeds,
and Assistant Superintendent of Indian Immi-
gration at Singapore. A son of the Rev. W. H.
Marriott, Vicar of Thrushington, Leicestershire,
he was born in 1873, and was educated at
Sydney Sussex College, Cambridge, where
he became 28th wrangler and graduated
B.A. in 1895. He entered the Government
service of the Straits Settlements in 1896, and
amongst the posts he has filled are those of
Acting District Officer, Malacca ; Acting Second
Magistrate, Singapore ; Coroner for Pinang,
Acting Official Assignee, and a Commissioner
of Currency. He is a member of the Sports
Club, London, and of various local clubs, and
plays golf and tennis.
Mr. Herbert Cumberlege Sells, who has
been Acting Assistant Postmaster-General at
Pinang since November, 1906, was born in
October, 1874. After graduating B.A. at Oxford
University, he entered the Straits Settlements
Civil Service as a cadet in 1897, and within
the next few years served as private secre-
tary successively to the officer administering
the Government and to his Excellency the
Governor. After acting as District Officer at
Nibong Tebal in 1901, and later as head-
master of the Malay College at Malacca, he
became Superintendent of the Money Order
and Savings Bank branches of the Post Office
at Singapore.
Mr. Li Kim Koh, Postmaster at Malacca,
is a son of Mr. Li Ah Thye, and was born at
Malacca in 1878. He was educated at Malacca
High School, and entered the Government
service as junior clerk in the Bankruptcy Office
328
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
at Singapore in 1896. Twelve months later he
was transferred to Alor Gajah as second clerk.
Subsequently he was a clerk in the General
Post Office at Singapore for a few years,
receiving his present appointment in July, 1905.
Mr. Charles Henry Allin, the Director of
Posts and Telegraphs of the Federated Malay
States, was born in 1S73 at Hols worthy,
England. He was educated privately, and
in 1891 entered the Savings Bank Department,
being transferred in 1894 to the Secretary's
Department, General Post Office. In 1904 he
received his present appointment at Kuala
Lumpor. He is Chairman of the Federal
Government Officers' Guarantee Fund, a mem-
ber of the principal local clubs, and an enthu-
siastic golf player.
Mr. A. V. Brown, Superintendent of Posts
and Telegraphs in Selangor, Negri Sambilan,
and Pahang, was educated at Merchant
Taylors' School, London, and at Queen's Col-
lege, Oxford, graduating B.A. in 1896. In the
same year he obtained an Eastern cadetship
and was appointed to the Federated Malay
States, where he filled a variety of posts until
1906, when he received his present appoint-
ment. His headquarters are at Kuala Lumpor.
Mr. W. A. White is the Accountant,
Federal Posts and Telegraphs, Kuala Lumpor.
He was born at Caythorpe, Lincolnshire, in
1874, and was educated at Woodhouse Grove
School, Leeds. In 1890 he entered the postal
service of the United Kingdom, in the Tele-
graphic Department. From 1892 to 1898 he
was in the Accountant-General's Department,
and from i8g8 to 1903 held a position in the
office of the Comptroller, G.P.O., London.
He then obtained an appointment as Super-
intendent of Registration at the Singapore
oflice, and in 1905 was transferred to the
Federated Malay States as Accountant. For
some years past he has taken a keen interest in
Volunteering, and is now a Corporal of the
Signalling detachment of the Malay States
Volunteer Rifles.
Mr. Robert Pinkney, Superintendent of
Posts and Telegraphs, Perak, was born in
county Durham in 1855, and received his
education at Durham Grammar School. He
entered the service of the United Kingdom
Telegraph Company when it controlled all
British telegraphs, and remained with them
for ten years, until i8go, when he entered the
Perak Government service as Sub-Inspector
of Posts and Telegraphs. Since then he has
been Chief Post and Telegraph Master, Tai-
ping ; Inspector of Posts and Telegraphs, Kinta
and Batang Padang, and Accountant, Federal
Posts and Telegraphs, receiving his present
appointment in January, 1906. In his younger
days Mr. Pinkney was an athlete, and he still
shows a keen interest in all kinds of sport.
He carried off the Resident-General's Cup at
the Perak Rifle Association's annual competition
in 1907, and in 1906 won the veterans' race in
Ipoh. His wife is one of the best lady shots at
the East, and holds many trophies.
Mr. S. C. Colomb, the Chief Postmaster at
Kuala Lumpor, was born in Batticaloa, Ceylon,
in 1869. He was educated at the Wesleyan
Mission Central School in Trincomalee until
he was eighteen years of age, when he entered
the Post and Telegraph Department of the Cey-
lon Civil Service, and served subsequently at
various post-offices in the island. In 1891 he
accepted an appointment in the Perak postal
service as Postmaster at Gopeng, and in the
years following was serving in a similar capa-
city at Batu Gajah, Kuala Kangsa, Teluk
Anson, and Ipoh. In 1900 he was Chief Post-
master and Inspector of Accounts at Taiping
and in 1902 was promoted Acting Assistant
Superintendent of Posts and Telegraphs in
that town. While on leave in Europe in
1903 he studied the English postal system,
and returning to the States in 1904, acted as
Inspector of Telegraphs at Ipoh, being trans-
ferred in 1905 to Selangor as Chief Post-
master of that State.
Mr. L. Taveira, Postmaster of Seremban,
the capital of the Negri Sambilan, has been in
the service for some years, and was stationed
formerly at Kuala Kuba and at Kuala Lumpor.
FORESTS OF MALAYA
By a. M. BURN-MURDOCH, Conservator of Forests, Federated Malay States and Straits Settlemexts.
HE Forest Department in
the Federated Malay
States is controlled by
the Conservator of For-
ests, with four Deputy
and ten Assistant Con-
servators, and a small
staff of trained Rangers
on sterling salaries.
The upper branches are recruited from home
in the same manner as the Indian Forest
Service (Imperial), and the trained Rangers
as much as possible from Dehra Dun Forest
School. The executive staff is composed
chiefly of Malays graded from Ranger down
to Forest Guard.
Prior to 1901 the department was managed
by three officers in Perak, Selangor, and Negri
Sambilan under the Residents, but in 1901 an
officer of the Indian Forest Service was deputed
to organise a Federate Forest Department in
the Federated Malay States and to control the
Forest Department in the colony. This officer
was appointed Conservator in 1904.
The area of the States is 26,380 square miles,
of which, up to the end of 1906, 652 square
miles had been declared reserved forests and
placed under the control of the Forest Depart-
ment. The revenue of the department is about
600,000 dollars per annum, and the expenditure
270,000 dollars.
The Forest Department has to do with vast,
dense, evergreen forests containing compara-
tively few valuable timber species, with badly
proportioned age classes, very difficult trans-
port, an immense demand tor timber and fire-
wood in the tin mines, and last, and worst of
all, the Chinese coolie, who seems made to
invent ingenious ways of evading forest
laws.
Until comparatively recently the Malay
population was small and scattered, and the
amount of cultivated land negligible, but
since British influence has been extended, with
consequent safety to life and property, tin-
mining has made enormous strides, so that at
the present time these States are supplying
nearly two-thirds of the total output of tin of
the whole world. Consequently, the floating
population is very great, and consists, so far
as mining is concerned, of Chinese of various
denominations. The Chinese mining popula-
tion at present is estimated at 212,660. Aboiit
5 per cent, of this population cut timber all
the year round for the mines, and any one
acquainted with the processes of alluvial tin
mining will know that pumping engines con-
sume a vast amount of firewood, and, unfor-
tunately, do not seem to be made to burn soft
and useless woods, but hard and valuable
kinds.
Besides the demand for the mines, there is
a great demand by the more permanent
population, but it must always be remem-
bered that this population is drawn to the
country indirectly by tin.
Agriculture is, fortunately, coming to the
front, and may in time become of paramount
importance, more especially as regards the
ALFRED M. BURN-MURDOCH.
(Conservator of Forests.)
cultivation of Para rubber. The natural orders
most strongly represented by useful trees are :
Dipfeivcarpie genera — Shorea, Hopea, Dip-
terocarpus, and Balanocarpus — which supply
most of the valuable timbers ;
Leguiniiiosiv genera — Parkia, Koompassia,
Dialum, and Afzelia ;
S(7/io/t7a'tr genera— Palaquium and Payena —
the gutta-percha producing trees ;
Lanriiiciv genera — Litsea, Criptocarva and
others.
Gnttifcrce genera — Garcinia, Callophyllum.
There are also many rubber-producing trees,
the best, Ficiis clastica, being found indigenous
in small quantities ; while climbers, such as
Willughbeia and Urceola (Apocinaceas), are
very common, and produce a rubber valued
at about ;f 10 per picul (approximately 133 lbs.)
in Singapore. Dycra costulata (Jelutong) yields
an inferior rubber with very poor elasticity,
much used in the adulteration of gutta-percha.
Passing over the consideration of these pro-
ducts, however, and coming to tiinbers, we
may divide the forests into two main divisions :
(i) The dense evergreen mixed forests, con-
taining the timber and gutta-percha trees.
(2) The mangrove swamp forebts along the
sea coast and on the islands close to the
shore.
As the problem of how to deal with the
latter is comparatively simple, the crop con-
sisting of but few species (Rhizophora, Bru-
gueria, Sonneratia), which can be treated by
the clear-felling system, it is not necessary to
discuss these forests at length, but it may be
mentioned that working plans have been drawn
up for the supply of firewood to the Govern-
ment railways and for public consumption.
To return to the evergreen forests, two
timber trees stand out as pre-eminent. The
first, Afzelia falcmbanica (Merbau), is a magni-
licent hard-wood tree with a very ornamental
grain, which may almost be said to equal teak-
wood for furniture. The other is Balanocarpus
inaximus, a still larger tree. One in Perak
measiu-ed 210 feet in height, and many larger
have been seen. A girth of 18 to 20 feet is not
uncommon. Both are fairly widely dij.tributed,
and are to be found everywhere except in the
swamps or above 3,000 feet, but the great
demand and the difficulty of transport has
made it hard to obtain these timbers, and the
price has risen in consequence.
The average forest is stocked with an under-
growth consisting of a vast number of ever-
green shrubs and trees of all sizes up to about
60 or 80 feet high, densely packed, more or less
taking the place of the bamboo undergrowth
in a Burma forest. The densitv of this under-
growth is, however, far greater' than anything
met with in Burma, and from countings made
in Malacca the average number of trees (Dico-
tyledons) under 6 feet and over 18 inches in
girth is about 115 to the acre. Besides these
are innumerable palms, canes, &'c. Of the
smaller a very common variety is Licuala,
" Palas," from one species of which are made
the famous Pinang Lawyer ; Drymophteus,
Caiyota mitis, and a good many others. Of
the larger Monocotyledons are " Xibong "
(Oconospcrma filamentosa), found in damp
localities, the wood of which is split and
used for flooring ; Ohorrida, " Bayas," with
softer wood ; Livisionia kingii and Arcnga,
both of which are useful. There are also
330
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
several species of Pandanus (Mongkuang).
Bamboos are not numerous, and, when com-
pared with Burma forests, may be called
rarities. Large patches occur, however,
especially in country which has been cleared
by hill tribes and on steep banks near streams.
They are found more often on hills, and in
many plain forests are not to be seen for miles.
The commonest species are Scliizostacliiiini,
Latifolium, and Gigavtocliloa latispiculata, and
Deiidrocalamw: fiigantca, the giant "Wa-be"
of Tavoy and Mergui, found in Perak, and
several species of Bambusa. Among these
and a host of more or less valueless trees, and
towering above them, are the big timber trees,
of which the following are some of the most
important, omitting those valuable species
already referred to : " Rengas " [Melanorhaa
hold. It is liable to fires, and is benefited by
them, so much so that in large " Lalang "
wastes which are regularly burnt over it is
doubtful if natural re-afforestation would occur
for a very long period.
The best timbers found in the forests are
Chengal and Merbau, these being used for all
purposes where strength and durability are
required, such as for posts, beams, sleepers,
bridge work, &c. The average weight dry is
about 54 lbs. per cubic foot. They are heavy,
dense, close-grained, but easily worked.
There are several other very hard woods,
namely, Tampinis, Penaga, Resak, Giam,
Belian, Kranji, Damar laut, &c. For plank-
ing and scantlings Meranti is chiefly in
demand, being softer and more easily worked.
There are several species of this wood, with an
OFFICIALS OF THE BOTANICAL AND AFFORESTATION DEPARTMENT,
NEGRI SAMBILAN.
(Reading from left to right, W. E. Kingston (Deputy .\ssistant), P. Phillips, A. Gregory (First Ranger), and
native subordinates.)
Cintisii), " Resak " [Sliorca barbata), " Tem-
busu " {Fagrcea fragnins), " Tampinis " (Sloctia
sidcroxyloii), " Petaling " (Ochanostachys aincn-
iacca), " Minyak Keruing" (Diptcrocaifus
criiiiliis], several species of " Merantis," which
are all of the genera Hopea or Shorea {e.g.,
S. aciiminiata, S. parviflora, H. Griffithiana) ;
" Bintangor " (Callophyllum spcctable and iiio-
pyllnm), "Kranji" (Dialnm laiirinum), " Ku-
lim " (Scororfocu;'j6!(S bonicensis), and " Sclimbau "
{Sliorca glaiica).
These large trees, averaging about 7 or 8 feet
in girth, occur about nine to the acre. In most
places humus lies to a considerable depth on
the ground, and, needless to say, there are no
forest fires.
Cleared land in this country, if not constantly
kept clean, becomes covered with "Lalang"
(Iinperata arundiiuicca], the " Thetke" grass of
Burma, but this grass here grows with such
strength as to prevent young trees from taking
average weight dry of about 33 lbs. to the cubic
foot. Jelutong, a white wood, weighing only
24 lbs. to the cubic foot, is much used in the
erection of cheap houses of a temporary nature.
It is verj' easily worked.
In 1906, 70,023 tons of first-class timber, on
which royalty was paid, were used locally,
besides 136,678 tons of firewood, 36,271 tons
of charcoal, and over 500,000 tons of timber
and fuel estimated to have been consumed in
the mines free of charge.
The gutta-percha plant (Dichopsis, or Pala-
qiiliitii giittn), abounds in the Federated Malay
States, but owing to the great demand prior to
igoi for this product, practically no large trees
were left in the country. There is a plentiful
supply of young trees, however, and these are
being cared for, and, wherever plentiful, re-
served by Government. The price of gutta-
percha in Singapore in igoo reached 600 dollars
per picul (133 lbs.). All export of this product
has been stopped to allow of the young trees
growing to a marketable size. Should the
demand for gutta-percha improve and the price
rise to anything like its former height, the
Federated Malay States will have a very
valuable asset in their gutta-percha forests.
Of other products the most important are canes
(rattan), attaps for thatching, banibpos, and
damars. The true "Damar mata kuching"is
the product of several trees found in the
Federated Malay States, notably pf Hopea
globosa and Balanocarpus ma.xhnus. Rattans
are exported to Singapore for cane work,
chairs, &c., while Malacca canes ar§ found in
considerable quantities.
There is practically no export in timber, and
although the bark of the mangrove tree yields
a valuable cutch, so far no enterprise in this
direction has been shown. The area of man-
grove forests extends over about 200,000 acres,
so that there is an ample supply fov this manu-
facture on a large scale.
Mr. A. M. Burn=Murdoch, the Conser-
vator of Forests, Kuala Lumpor, is a Scotsman.
He was educated at Loretto School, and in
1887, at the age of nineteen, passed the compe-
titive examination for entry into Cooper's Hill
as a forest student. After qu2(lifying in the
course and touring in the forests of Germany
and Switzerland, he was appointed to the
Indian Forest Department on January i, 1891.
In October, 1901, he was deputed to the charge
of the forests of the Straits Settlements and
Federated Malay States, where he organised a
Federal Department. His services were per-
manently transferred to the Straits Settlements
and Federated Malay States on January i,
1904, when he was appointed Conservator of
Forests, with headquarters at Kuala Lumpor.
Mr. Clement Campbell, now General
Assistant to the Conservator of Forests, Straits
Settlements and Federated Malay States,
stationed at Kuala Lumpor, joined the clerical
service of Perak in 1895, and some eight years
later was appointed Assessment Officer and
Collector, Kiiita. In 1906 he came under the
Federal Government as Second Grade Assistant
to the Conservator of Forests, and later in the
same year received his present appointment.
Mr. Arthur Bligh Stephens, Deputy
Conservator of Forests, Perak, has the dis-
tinction of being the oldest European resident
in the Federated Malay States. Born in the
Isle of Man in 1855, and receiving his educa-
tion at Godolphin School, Hammersmith, he
first came to Malaya in 1872, and commenced
tapioca planting in Province Wellesley. Sub-
sequently he was engaged in tobacco planting
in Sumatra for six years. In 1892 he entered
the Federated Malay States Civil Service as
Assistant Indian Immigration Agent. From
1893 to i8g5 he acted as Superintendent of
.Government Plantations, Perak, and then re-
verted to his former appointment. In 1903 he
was appointed Deputy Conservator of Forests,
Perak, and took/over duties as Acting Super-
intendent of Government Plantations. Since
1906 he has been Deputy Conservator of
Forests, Perak, and acted as Conservator, P'ede-
rated Malay States and Straits Settlements.
Mr. P. Phillips, Deputy Conservator of
Forests in the Negri Sarabilan, Federated
Malay States, was specially trained in affores-
tation work in India, and came out to Perak in
1901 as Assistant Forest Officer. When the
department came under the Federal Adminis-
tration, Mr. Phillips was appointed Acting
Forest Officer of Selangor, and subsequently
Deputy Conservator of Forests of Pahang.
Mr. Walter Fox. — Since 1903 Mr. Walter
Fox has been the Superintendent of Forests
and Gardens at Pinang, and at the time of
writing was acting as Director of the Botanic
Gardens at Singapore. His connection with
the Straits Settlements Civil Service dates from
i87g, when he was made Assistant Superinten-
dent of the Singapore Gardens.
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BOTANY
By H. N. RIDLEY, M.A., F.R.S., F.L.S., F.R.H.S., etc., Director of the Botanical Gardens, Singapore.
EKHAPS the first thing
that strikes the visitor
to the equatorial regions
of Malaya is the very
large proportion of trees
and shrubs to smaller
herbaceous plants. Ex-
cept where the land
has been cleared and
planted by man, almost the whole of the Malay
Peninsula consists of one immense forest.
From any of the higher hills in the Malay
Peninsula a view is obtained of undulating
country, densely covered with trees. In the
woods huge damar-trees (Dipterocarpeae), oaks,
and chestnuts (Quercus and Castanopsis), figs
(Ficus), Euphorbiaceae, Eugenias, and trees of
all natural orders are mixed with seedlings
springing up towards the light, with shrubby
Urophyllums, Lascanthus, Ardisias, and other
smaller plants, while stout and slender woody
climbers tangle all together and make a dense
and almost impenetrable thicket. Here and
there in damp spots are Gingers (Scitumineas),
with their scarlet, yellow, or white flowers
almost embedded in the ground, ferns, and
Selaginellas, and a certain proportion of herbs,
but the greater number of species are trees.
Ascending the mountains to about S,ooo feet, the
vegetation has the same character, but the trees
are more stunted and herbaceous plants more
abundant and conspicuous. The number of
species in the Malay forests is extraordinary.
With very few exceptions, the forests contain
so great a variety of kinds that it is quite rare
to find two trees of the same kind together.
The older trees, and especially those at an
elevation of 3,000 feet and upwards, bear
innumerable epiphytic plants ; orchids, ferns,
scarlet jEschynanthi, rhododendrons, red or
white, vacciniums, and many other charming
plants form a veritable garden on the upper
boughs.
Conspicuous among the trees are the
Dipterocarpete — vast trees with a straight
stem, ending in a dense crowd of foliage.
This region is the headquarters of the order
which supplies many of our finest timbers,
as well as the i"esin, known as damar, used for
native torches, and exported in considerable
quantities for making varnish. Like the amber
of Europe, it is often found in masses in the
soil of the forest, where it has dripped from
a wounded tree. Some of these trees produce,
instead of the hard damar, a more liquid resin,
known as wood oil. This is obtained by
making a deep square-cut hole into the trunk
and lighting a fire of leaves and twigs within.
The oil then exudes, and is collected in tins
for export, being used in varnish,
To the same order belongs the camphor-
tree of Malaya {Diyobalanops camfhora),
which produces a highly valued camphor and
also camphor oil. This tree has no relation-
ship with the camphor-tree of Japan and
Formosa, which produces the camphor of
commerce, but is, indeed, the original camphor,
known many centuries before that of Formosa.
The tree is found in very few localities in the
peninsula, and it is peculiar in its habit of
forming small forests of its own, to the
Another resin-producing tree is the benzoin,
or gum-Benjamin-tree (Styrax benzoin], from
which the sweetly-scented resin so largely
used in incense is obtained by making incisions
in the trunk. Gutta-percha is also a product
of the forests. It is produced by the tree
Dichopsis gufta, one of the Sapotaceae, an
order of big trees which contain a milky latex
in the bark. Cuts are made in the bark of the
tree and the latex is collected as it runs out,
and is made into large balls or oblong blocks.
Owing to the great demands for the product,
the tree ran a great risk of being exterminated,
as the natives, in order to save themselves
GUTTA-PEBCHA TREE.
exclusion of almost every other kind of tree.
The camphor is secreted in cracks or holes in
old trees, but is so scanty that it is too costly
for commerce. All attempts to extract the
camphor artificially from the tree have proved
failures, though the wood and, indeed, all parts
of the tree abound in camphor oil.
trouble, used to fell the trees to collect the
valuable sap. This has of late years been
prevented by the Government. Gutta-percha
is used for surgical instruments, golf balls, &c ,
but its greatest value is as an insulating
medium for deep-sea cables, and it may be said
that, but for its discovery in Singapore in
SINGAPORE BOTANICAL GARDENS.
The Lake, a View in the Gakdens, " c.sloqyne Pandurata,' Victoria Rbgikas and Lake Flowers.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
333
184S, subraai-ine telegraphy wcnild have been
impossible.
Indiarubber in a wild state is not wanting
from the peninsula. The well-known Ficus
elastica, called here Rambong, occurs in Pcrak,
and we have several rubber vines (Willughbcia
basket-work, chairs, canes, and a great variety
of uses. The Malacca cane is produced by
one of these large rattans, and is much in
request for walking-sticks, good sticks being
sometimes valued at as much as 100 dollars.
In the forests and by the river edges are
A UNIQUE COCONUT PALM, THE ONLY ONE OF ITS KIND IN
THE COUNTRY.
and Urceola) which produce a quantity of good
rubber. The plants are strong woody climbers,
as thick as the arm. They climb to the tops of
the trees, and cover Ihem with a dense mat of
foliage, so heavy that not rarely the weight in
a storm brings down the tree supporting it.
Palms are very plentiful all through the
forests, and form a conspicuous feature in the
vegetation. They are of all forms and sizes,
from dwarf kinds {Liciiala triphylla, Piiiaiiga
acaidis, &c.) only a few inches above the
ground, to the great Caryotas and Pholido-
carpus, 40 to 60 feet in height. Especially
abundant are the climbing palms or rattans
(Calamus, Korthalsia), armed with innumer-
able sharp spines, and climbing by the aid
of long slender whips furnished with strong
sharp hooks. The rattans are much sought for
frequently to be seen Pandans (Pandanus),
often popularly known as Screw pines, the
stiff, long, grassy leaves of which are used for
the roofs of houses, covers to carts, hats, ciga-
rette-cases, baskets, and many other purposes.
The strange Nipa palm, with its great creeping
rhizome and huge erect leaves, is abundant
along the tidal rivers, and is a very con-
spicuous feature of them. The leaves are used
for thatching, and a portion of the young leaves
is much in request for cigarette-papers. The
albumen of the seed is eaten, also, like that
of the coconut. The Sago palms (Sagus rum-
phii and Sagus Icevis), though not natives of the
peninsula, are abundantly cultivated, and the
flour is prepared for the market by Chinese.
The Sugar palm {Airnga saccharifcrn) is
another prominent and very useful palm. It
attains a great size, and is to be seen in every
village, The stout trunk is covered with a
black fibre, which is made into ropes of great
strength and durability. By cutting through
the flower-bud and attaching a bamboo tube
below, a sugary liquid is obtained, which is
boiled into a sugar, or treacle, known as " Gula
M;ilacca," or Malacca sugar, a highly appre-
ciated sweetmeat. Sugar is similarly obtained
from the coconut and Nipa palms. Many of
the forest palms are popular in cultivation as
ornamental plants, and none more so than the
beautiful red-stemmed or sealing-wax palm
[Cyrtostachys lacca), which grows in damp
woods by rivers. This charming plant is most
attractive from its brilliant red sheath and mid-
rib of the leaves. Many fine clumps of it are
to be seen in the Botanic Gardens.
Though the variety of orchids to be found in
the Malay Peninsula is very large, the number
of showy kinds is not as great as in many
other regions. They are most abundant in
the hill districts, so much so that on Kedah
Peak, north of Pinang, they form dense thickets
through which it is necessary to cut one's way.
One of the finest is the Leopard orchid (Grain-
niatophyllutn speciosimi), a plant of immense
size. There are specimens in the Botanic
Gardens of Pinang and Singapore measuring
40 feet in circumference. The plants flower
in August and September, throwing up spikes
of flowers 6 to 10 feet tall, and bearing an
abundance of large blooms, 3 inches across,
yellow with brown spots. Another well-known
orchid is the Pigeon orchid (Dendrobium cru-
mcnatum), the flowers of which resemble in
form small white doves. This orchid is
peculiar in the fact that all the plants in
any district flower simultaneously, about once
in nine weeks. The flowers open in the early
morning and wither by the evening. It is
very abundant on the roadside trees, and the
effect of the whole country being suddenly
covered with the snowy, fragrant flowers is
very striking. Other beautiful orchids to be
met with are the whire and orange, fragrant
Ccclogync asperata and C. Cumingi and the
CURIOUS BURNT STUMP ON TRONG
ESTATE, TAIPING.
green and black C.fandurata; the Scorpion
orchid Rcnanthera moschifera, with its strange
green, brown, and white flowers scented
strongly of musk ; the white, pink, and red
Rciianthcras ; the Nandu Hookeriana, scramb-
ling over bushes in hot open swamps ; the
CLOVE, PINEAPPLE, GAMBIER, COFFEE, AND PEPPEB PLANTATIONS-
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
336
shaped flowei's as large as a hal. A fine
specimen of this strildng plant is in the Botanic
Gardens at Singapore.
Very characteristic of the Malay region are
the Gesneraceie. Every mountain range seems
to possess its own species of Didymocarpus,
Didissandra or Cyntandra. These beautiful
plants, with their trumpet-shaped flowers of
every colour — hlue, crimson, red, yellow, white,
or purple — are often very abundant on the
banks of the hill forests, and are very
attractive, while the scarlet-flowered /Eschy-
nanthi hang epiphytes from the trees, and
Agalmyla wreathes itself round the trunks with
its great tufts of brilliant red flowers.
The forests are very rich in bizarre forms of
plants, adapted for the peculiar circumstances
of the deep, dark, wet forests with which the
whole peninsula is covered. Besides the
strange Rafflesia already mentioned, we have
such curious plants as Amorphophallus, Thisinia,
Tacca, the strange black lily Tupistra, the
minute Sciaphila, and many saprophytic orchids
and aberrant forms of all orders.
Among the orders poorly represented are the
CompositcB and the grasses. This is due to
there being no original open country for these
plants. There are a certain number of species
to be found, but by far the largest number are
introduced weeds, which grow only in cleared
and cultivated ground. Indigenous grasses,
however, occur on sandy spots by the sea,
banks of rivers, and dry, open, rocky places in
the hills. Bamboos, though not very abundant
except in cultivation, are scattered over the
forests here and there, and in some sandy
places forests of these plants, all peculiar to
the country, can be found.
The variation in the floral regions is not so
great as in many other countries. Besides the
(orest flora, which occupies the greater part of
the whole peninsula, we have a distinct flora in
the Mangroves, a rather peculiar sandhill flora,
on a few patches of sandy open country on the
East Coast, and a distinct flora in the limestone
hills scattered over the peninsula, along the
flanks of the main granitic range of hills. This
latter flora is closely connected with that of
Tenasserim. The forest flora is typically
Malayan, and is very closely allied to that of
Sumatra, Java, and Borneo, very distinct from
the floras of India and Ceylon, and possessing
TRAVELLERS PALM.
beautiful bamboo orchid, Anuidcria spcciosa,
in the mountain streams ; Cyfripcdiimi bar-
bcitiini, on rocks at an elevation of 3,000 feet ;
the exquisite little foliage orchids, with their
purple leaves netted with gold (Anaectochilus),
hiding in the gloom of the primaeval forest ;
and many others.
Pitcher-plants or monkey-cups (Nepenthes)
are by no means rare in the open grassy edges
of woods and on the tops of the hills. Six or
seven species occur. They are climbing plants,
the stems of which are used for tying fences
and such purposes. The leaves are partly
developed into green, purple, red, or spotted
cups, containing a quantity of water exuded
by certain glands, into which fall many insects,
whose decaying bodies are absorbed by the
plant. The Nepenthes may be considered to
be quite characteristic of the Malay flora, as
very few occur outside this region.
The Rafflesia, though local, is not very rare
in Perak, where it is collected by the Malays as
a medicine. It consists of a solitary large
brownish-red flower, parasitic on a kind of
vine. The flower of this plant is perhaps one
of the largest in the world, though it is hardly
as large as the one described from Sumatra
by Sir Stamford Raffles.
Another flower of extraordinarily large size
is that of the great Fn_^nva imperialis, a shrub,
or tree, with thick, leathery, white, Irumpet-
A TAIPING CONSERVATORY.
336
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
no connection with ttie Siamese or Cochin-
Chinese flora. This is, to a large extent, due
to climate. The complete absence of any
regular season and the permanent wetness of
the country make this region quite distinct in
its flora, both in species and in peculiar forms
adapted to the rain forest region of the equator.
Mr. H. N. Ridrey, M.A., F.R.S., F.L.S.,
F.K.HS., &c., is the director of the Botanical
Gardens, Singapore, and the head of the Agri-
cultural and Horticultural Department of the
Straits Settlements. It is generally acknow-
ledged that to him is due the credit for the
great success which rubber has attained in the
Settlements. A native of Norfolk, where he
was born in 1855, he passed through Hailey-
bury School and, entering Oxford University,
obtained a Second Class in the Science
Schools (Biology), the Burdett-Coutts Geo-
logical Scholarship, and the M.A. degree.
He has since become a Fellow of the Lin-
n:ean Society, Royal Horticultural Society, and
Society for Physical Research. He also holds
many appointments as corresponding member
of the pharmaceutical and zoological societies.
During the period {1880-1888) in which he was
employed as assistant in the Botanical Depart-
ment of the British Museum he undertook an
expedition to Fernando de Norouba, an island
off the coast of Pernambuco, to explore the
geology and flora and fauna of the place, and
in 1888 he was appointed Director of Gardens
and Forests in the Straits Settlements, Since
that time he has made many expeditions to the
iVIalay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Cocos,
and the Christmas Islands, collecting plants for
the herbarium and for cultivation in Singapore.
Mr. Ridley has done considerable literary work.
He is the Secretary to the Straits branch of the
Royal Asiatic Society, and editor of their journal,
and editor of the A <lri cultural Bulletin of the
Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States.
Over two hundred papers and articles from
his pen have appeared in various journals
on zoology, geology, and, more especially, on
botany and agriculture. He drew up a plan
for dealing with the devastating coconut
beetle that proved very successful, and he pub-
lished the first complete accounts of the culti-
vation of sago and gambler. He is now
publishing the volume of Monocotyledons to
be included in the " Flora " of the Peninsula
which is being compiled by Sir George King.
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ENTRANCE TO THE SINGAPORE GARDENS.
AGRICULTURE
By R. DERRY, Assistant Superintendent, Botanical Gardens, Singapore.
EW, if any, areas in the
world enjoy a more
Icindly, equable climate
tlian tlie Malay Pen-
insula, and it is to this
and to the many fer-
tilising springs and rills
which feed rich rice-
fields, throw alluvial
deposits on the lowlands, and afford good
drainage, that the country owes its agri-
cultural wealth. The mean annual rainfall
exceeds lOO inches, which, though not ex-
cessive, is abundant. A month seldom passes
without some rain, while a periodical dry
season, such as is experienced in India,
Burma, and the West Indies, never occurs
here.
By reason of this humidity such favourite
fruits as the roangosteen and durian nowhere
attain to a higher state of perfection than in
the Malay Peninsula, but oranges and man-
goes, requiring a drier climate, are below
average quality. Pinang nutmegs and cloves
command the highest market prices, and that
valuable tannin and dye-stuff, gambler, is
essentially Malayan. Gutta-percha (Dichopsis
giitta, or Palaquiuin oblongifoliutn) is indigen-
ous to the soil, and for a long time the world's
supply was largely drawn from the peninsula.
The yield of this product depends upon climatic
conditions, as is the case with Para rubber
\Hevca brazilicnsis) and Rambong rubber
(Ficus elastica), for the cultivation of which
the Malayan plantations enjoy a world-wide
reputation. Castilloa (Castilloa elastica) and
Ceara {Manihot Glaziovii), however, require a
drier region, and for the same reason locally-
grown cotton and tobacco have never been
more than moderate in quality.
Yet, despite all the natural advantages en-
joyed by the country— a genial climate ; soils
varying from fairly good loam to clayey patches
on a laferite formation on the coastal regions,
with granite mountain chains intersecting the
interior ; a lich accumulation of humus ; and
numerous rivers and streams— little progress
was made in agriculture before the arrival of
Sir Stamford RafHes in 1819, although Malacca
had been an important trading centre since the
fifteenth century. After the British occupabon,
however, Singapore became the emporium, as
it is to-day, for rattan-canes and damar, and
some years later for gutta-percha also, for
which the advance of telegraphy created a
big demand.
Two small economic gardens which had
been started in Pinang and Singapore respec-
tively were both lost sight of after the depar-
ture of Raffles. Later, the tapioca industry
was established in Malacca, where for centuries
while many so-called tropical growths are
really sub-tropical. Sugar, tea, quinine,
China-grass (Bodmcria micca,va.T. tcvacissiiva),
from which the so-called commercial ramie is
obtained), tobacco and cotton, for instance, are
SINGAPORE FRUIT.
man\- tropical fruits had been grown — some
for exportation — though the yield of rice then,
as now, never exceeded local consrunplion.
Several attempts were made to start an
Agricultural Society in Singapore, but they
proved abortive. In 1874, however, the pre-
sent Botanic Gardens became a Government
Department on an organised basis. F'rom that
time onwards economic plants of any probable
tropical value have been collected, cultivated,
distributed, and otherwise experimented with
in order to ascertain their latent possibilities.
In prosecuting research of such a nature as
this, it has to be remembered that the Malay
Peninsula is essentially a tropical country.
not strictly equatorial products. Apart, there-
fore, from other considerations, it was im-
portant to find out how far such products
could be successfully acclimatised. Liberian
coffee vi'as introduced. The first batch of
Para rubber seedlings and seeds from Brazil,
via Ceylon, were tended here and eventually
became the parent stock of the present great
local Para rubber industry. In the same way
fruits, oils, fibres, beverages, gums, dyes,
drugs, spices, rubbers, fodder-plants, and
timber trees received attention, and at the
present time some oils and fibres which have
long lain dormant under observation are be-
ginning to awaken public interest.
AT THE KUALA KANGSA HORTICULTURAL SHO"W, 1907.
Exhibits of Tapioca, Vegetables, Fruit, axu Rubber.
LENG CHEAK & CO.
KicE Mills. ^ & 4. The Batu Putch Estate Facioky (Exterior and Interior). 3. Offices jn Bridue STREEr, Pixasg. 5. Tapioca Washing Tanks.
LENG CHBAK & CO.
CocONCT Pal.ms, Tapioca Fiklbs, Machinery Room, an'D Tapioca Drvikg Paxs.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
341
The Botanic Garden of Pinang, established
in 1884, has aided in experimental work in
sugar, gutta, and ramie. Occupying a
picturesque site, the garden is now well known
for its fine collections of orchids, palms, aroids,
ferns, and foliage plants. The first sugar-canes
raised from seeds in the Malay Peninsula, if not
work will be now possible. The Garden also
contains a useful herbarium, in which there is
a representative collection of the flora of
Pinang. The annual cost of maintenance
is £<)5o.
With the arrival of Sir Hugh Low from
Borneo, the agriculture of the western native
Liberian coffees, tea and cinchona were tried
at different elevations.
Many new and improved fruits were intro-
duced, and the first Para rubber seedlings from
Singapore were planted in the Kuala Kangsa
garden. Cinchona failed to produce bark from
which quinine could be extracted, but the other
BNG-MOH-HUI-THYE-KEE ESTATE.
(Cheah Tek Thye proprietor.)
The Factory, Coconut Pl.^^ntation, and Tapioca Fields.
in the East, were germinated at this garden,
and very useful experiments with gutta, rubber
and ramie have been carried out here. The
Forest Department of the Island of Pinang was
commenced and all the reserves demarcated
by the Superintendent of Gardens. During
1907 a small piece of land was added
to the garden, and further experimental
States of the peninsula received serious atten-
tion. With a well-stocked Botanic Garden at
Singapore to draw on, small plantations of
coffee, cocoa, and pepjier were started in
Sungei Ujong and Perak and a miscellaneous
collection of economic plants was cultivated at
Kuala Kangsa. At the same time plantations
of pepper on different soils, Arabian and
products were successfully cultivated. Excel-
lent tea was grown and prepared in Perak, but
owing to the economic conditions which then
obtained^viz., a scanty population and all the
best labour drawn to the tin mines — the in-
dustry failed to become established ; and some
years later, these plantations having served their
object by proving how such products as pepper,
P*
342
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MAI.AYA
cocoa, and coffee could be grown profitably,
were all leased or sold to European planters,
excepting the Kuala Kangsa garden.
From Kuala Kangsa garden, fruits, cocoa,
pepper, and coffee seedlings were supplied to
those natives who desired them. Para seed-
lings were more extensively planted in the
carried on by natives for profit ; but, with the
large immigrant population on the estates and
mines, it falls far short of actual requirements,
and many fruits are imported in enormous
quantities. Possibly no tropical country affords
more variety of fruits than is to be found in
the bazaars of this country. Chikus, the South
A BUFFALO PLOUGHING A PADDY FIELD.
tropical lemon grow well, but are not largely
enough planted ; and although oranges are
only good in a few special areas, pomelloes
(shaddock) are excellent. Pisangs (bananas)
represent an industry by themselves ; indeed,
it would be possible to collect as many as
seventy varieties, the best of which are superb.
There are also rambutan, duku, langsat, pulasan,
jambu, anonas, and many other fruits of poorer
flavour.
Only one fruit is preserved for export outside
the colony, and that is the pineapple. This in-
dustry is in the hands of Singapore Chinese. No
fewer than 548,000 cases, valued at 2| million
dollars, were despatched to various countries
in 1905. Vegetables, too, are almost exclusively
grown by Chinese, l3ut the supply falls much
below actual requirements. Some interest is
being taken by European planters in fibres, of
which the Botanic Gardens at Singapore con-
tain a fine collection.
Except coconuts, very few oils are produced
beyond domestic requirements. A little citron-
ella is still grown, and its more extended
cultivation, particularly as a catch-crop on
rubber estates, is being attended to. The same
may be said of ground-nuts, which have long
been cultivated by the Chinese for exportation
intact.
Of spices, pepper is the most largely grown,
and is cultivated by Europeans, Chinese, and
Malays. But by far the major portion of that
exported from Singapore and Pinang is not
raised in the country. Nutmegs and cloves
are mostly in the hands of Chinese, as also is
ginger, which does not appear to be grown
beyond bazaar requirements.
The principal dyes are gambler, indigo, and
"dragon's blood." The first of these is chieHy
exported for a tan stuff, and, like indigo, is
Chinese grown. Both appear to be decreasing.
" Dragon's blood," like certain gums, is brought
garden, and some were distributed to the
Kamuning estate, Perak, the Linsum estate,
Sungei Ujong, and other parts of Perak, as
well as to natives. The indigenous Rambong
rubber was first tried here as a terrestrial
plant, and it proved a phenomenal success as
a rubber-producer when compared with the
wild epiphyte growing on rocks and trees,
with only a few roots available for tapping.
Owing to the failure of Arabian coffee from
the ravages of leaf fungus (Heinilcia vastatrix)
in other parts of the world, and the prospective
profits to be derived from the cultivation of
Liberian coffee in the peninsula, several estates
were opened by European planters in different
parts of the country, particularly in the State of
Selangor, on what is known as the " Klang
alluvial " — a large area, rich in deposits, on the
estuary of the Klang river. The enterprise
proved an unqualified success for some, time ;
but with increased activity in planting Arabian
coffee in Brazil, the price of Liberian fell from
40 dollars to 15 dollars per picul (133^ lbs.
avoirdupois), and the industry was practically
paralysed. A few estates were abandoned.
All those that rallied turned their attention
partly to coconuts, and particularly to Para
rubber. Those which were devoted to the
cultivation of the latter were rewarded in 1902
by favourable market reports on the result of
the tapping of Para rubber-trees, which was
first carried out at the Kuala Kangsa garden.
European enterprise in Malayan agriculture
is really of recent date, and, as may be ex-
pected, all the subsidiary cultivations are in
the hands of natives. Malacca, the oldest and
for a long time the most important settlement
of the country, had, in a desultory way, grown
Arabian cofifee, chocolate, pepper, coconuts,
and, more extensively, rice and fruits — of the
last named an excess large enough to export to
neighbouring ports. At the present time fruit
cultivation in all the States and settlements is
SORTING SPICES.
American sapodilla, are unusually large and of
excellent flavour ; and papayas, according to
some connoisseurs, are unrivalled. The deli-
cious mangosteen and the evil-smelling durian,
of which it may be said that no other fruit in
the world sells at so high a price in scarce
seasons, are both plentiful. Limes and a fine
to the market from the forests by promiscuous
collectors.
A list of subsidiary industries would not be
complete without reference to the strictly
native ones of plaiting, thatching, and the
making of brooms, baskets, and various utensils
from the stems and leaves of certain palms and
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA 343
pandans of the screw pine {Paiuiiiiius atrocnrpus
and P. fascicularis). Rice, too, is almost ex-
clusively cultivated by Malays.
Sugar is grown and manufactured for export
on large estates in Prpvince Wellesley and
Perak. Nearly every Chinese squatter culti-
vates a small patch of cane, the expressed juice
being a favourite roadside drink. Native sugar,
called " Joggery " or " Gula Malacca," a palm
juice (Areiis^a saccharifera), is fairly abundant
and largely prepared in Malacca.
Although nowhere extensively grown, sago
is scattered all over the peninsula and is pre-
pared by Chinese for export. Until recently
tapioca was extensively exported, and the rise
in price is attracting considerable attention to
the industry at the present time.
By far the largest cultivations are represented
by coconuts and rubber.
Coconuts.
It is estimated that there is an area of ioo,ooo
acres of coconuts in the native States, of which
fully half have reached the bearing age ; and,
if to this area is added that of the colony, the
total area would be approximately 150,000 acres.
The age at which trees first produce fruits
varies according to the conditions under which
the trees are planted. On the alluvial lands of
Perak it is claimed that some varieties fruit as
early as the second year, while in other places
on stiff soils from seven to ten years may elapse.
But wherever grown (unless too far from the
coast) no other cultivated plant responds so
readily to the effects of rich soil, manuring,
and liberal treatment.
At one time the industry was seriously
threatened, and indeed a few plantations were
lost, owing to the ravages of the elephant and
rhinoceros beetles. To cope with this evil an
Ordinance was passed, and inspectors were
appointed to visit all estates and gardens and
destroy the breeding-places of the bettles ;
and although the pest is not yet eradicated,
it has been so mitigated by continuous destruc-
tion that the industry is now in a very flourish-
ing condition and is increasing each year.
The value of the coconut plantations may be
estimated at not less than 20,000,000 dollars.
In addition to meeting the local demand, a
large export trade in coconuts is done with
Burma and the Siamese ports, prices varying
from 3 to 8 cents a nut. Copra (sun- and kiln-
dried) is also prepared for export ; but now
that oil-mills are established in the native
States as well as in the colony, it is probable
that less copra and more oil will be exported ;
and with continual railway extension and
increasing demands from other manufactures,
the industry promises to be a very sound
investment.
The Rubber Industry.
After long and careful investigation, the
rubbers most favoured are Rambong and Para.
The former is an indigenous plant ; the latter
is a native of Brazil, and has been under obser-
vation in the country since 1876. Although
its plantation cultivation did not commence
seriously until 1889-igoo, it is now far more
largely cultivated than any other kind in
Malaya, and is the most valued of all rubbers.
On ordinary soils the growth of the tree is
remarkably rapid, and after three years re-
presents an annual increment of girth at 3 feet
from the ground of from 4 to 6 inches. The
best guide as to the age at which a tree can be
tapped is by measurement, for the yield of latex
depends more on the size than on the age of
the tree. Trees of from 7 to 8 inches in dia-
meter are considered large enough for tapping.
This dimension may be obtained on favoured
sites in 4J years, and on stiff clay or laterite
soils in seven years. The ratio of caoutchouc
to latex (or the strength of the rubber) is not.
however, so high with young or small trees as
with older ones, and the first samples of rubber
tried on the London market were valued at
10 per cent, lower than Para rubber from
Brazil. Since then an immense industry has
been developed on a sound, practical, and
scientific basis. New tools and appliances
have been introduced and are being frequently
improved. Vacuum drying has superseded the
primitive method of jungle-smoking, and to-day
pure factory-prepared rubber from the East is
improved and larger variety of vegetables are
required. Gutta-percha, which takes so many
years to reach a bearing age, is planted by the
department of the Government, the growth
being too slow for private enterprise.
To assist the agricultural development of the
country there are the Botanic Gardens of
Singapore and Pinang (under the directorship
of Mr. H. N. Ridley, M.A ), where complete
collections of economic plants are maintained
and continuously experimented upon. A
JAMBU AYBR FBUIT.
valued at 15 per cent, higher than the less pure
article from Brazil and elsewhere, although
a few more years must elapse before our oldest
estates reach maturity.
The native States of the peninsula at the
present rate of planting will, within the next
few years, contain 100,000 acres of rubber. Of
this, fully one-half is already planted, including
many estates now in bearing, and the capital
value on a low valuation (say rubber at 3s. per
lb.) when in full bearing may then be estimated
at not less than ;£20, 000,000, or, including the
colony, at ;£25,ooo,ooo.
The industry, too, has directed attention to
suitable catch-crops, and such oils as citronella,
lemon-grass, and ground-nuts are more in-
quired for. Tapioca, chilies, Manila hemp,
Murva fibre, bananas, and pineapples are also
in demand ; while fodder-grasses and a more
" Bulletin " of miscellaneous information on all
agricultural matters is published every month,
and a new system of agricultural shows (an
amalgamation of the colony and native States)
has been inaugurated. There is also a new
and important Agricultural Department in the
native States, directed by Mr. J. B. Carruthers,
F.RS.E., F.L.S.
. Mr. Robert Derry, Assistant Superin-
tendent of the Botanical Gardens, Singapore,
was born in i860. In 1883 he was employed
in the Botanical Gardens of British Guiana,
and three years later he was transferred to
Malacca as Assistant Superintendent of Forests.
In 1888 he was made acting Assistant Superin-
tendent of Forests, Singapore ; in 1891 Assist-
ant Superintendent of Forests, Pinang ; and in
1896 Superintendent of Gardens, Perak. He
has held his present office since 1903.
PREPARING FOR RUBBER— CLEARING, FELLING, AND BURNING THE VIRGIN JUNGLE.
RUBBER
By J. B. CARRUTHERS, F.R.S.E., F.L.S.,
Director of Agriculture and Government Botanist, Federated Malay States.
HE history of planting
rubber in the Malay
Peninsula does not date
back very far. In 1876
a few plants of Hevea
brasil iensis (Para
rubber) were sent out
from the Royal Garden?,
Kew, and were in the
same year planted in the Singapore Botanic
Gardens and also in the grounds behind the
Residency, Kuala Kangsa, Perak. The seeds
from these trees were distributed by Sir Hugh
Low, the High Commissioner of the Malay
States, to various places in the neighbourhood.
Though they possessed a supply of seed and
were instructed by Mr. H. N. Ridley, F.R.S., and
other scientific authorities as to the value of these
A NURSERY.
trees, no planters seriously took up the cultiva-
tion, with the exception of Mr. T. Hyslop Hill
in Negri Sambilan, In 1897 the high price of
rubber and the continual recommendations of
experts in Ceylon and elsewhere led many
planters to begin to plant rubber-producing
tree?. In the Federated Malay States, Para
rubber (Hevca brasiliensis), a South American
tree of the order Euphorbiaceas, and Rambong
(Ficiis elastica), the latter being a native tree,
and therefore, in the opinion of many, more
suitable to the climate and conditions of
Malaya, were planted up over a few acres.
In igoo there were in Malaya a very small
number of rubber-trees, and only on one or two
small estates systematically planted.
At the end of 1905 there were in the Feder-
ated Malay States alone about 40,000 acres
planted with rubber, at the close of 1906 more
than 85,000 acres — between 6,000,000 and
7,000,000 trees at the beginning of 1906, and
on the 1st of January, 1907, over 10,000,000.
The output of dry rubber was about 130 tons
in 1905, and in 1906, 385 tons, three times as
much. The reason that, while the acreage has
more than doubled, the number of trees has
not proportionately increased so much is that
the number of trees planted per acre during
1906 was not so large as previously.
RUBBER PLANTS IN EARLY STAGES OP GROWTH.
345
THE LEAVES, PLGWERS, FRUITS, AND
SEEDS OP HEVEA BRASILIENSIS.
346
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
H!^^^^bB^^^^H
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t1
E ^ ^^^' ''^" - ^J^^^T'^'^'^^^^^^Bvkm
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LATEX IN SETTLING OR COAGULATING
PANS.
That all the plants, young and old, should have
been alive and vigorous in 1906 is practically im-
possible. Even with skilled care and with per-
fect conditions prevailing, there must be among
plants, as among all other living things, a
certain number of deaths continually occurring.
Drought, excess of moisture, sudden winds,
insect, fungal, and bacterial pests, and many
accidental causes are responsible for a propor-
tion of deaths of plants at various stages of
growth on every estate.
If one in every 300 trees dies each year, this
need not be considered a high percentage in
trees of five years and upwards, and the mor-
tality is greater before that period. So that
we may expect that of the 10,000,000 trees
between 9,000,000 and 10,000,000 will be alive
and flourishing in 1912, and this at I lb. per
tree will give about 4,250 tons, or one thirty-
third of the probable world's consumption in
1912.
The average amount of dry rubber extracted
per tree, calculated by the figures in the table,
gives I lb. 12 oz. per tree. Many of the trees in
the Federated Malay States are ten years old, and
some over twenty, and all these give a good
deal more than 2 lbs. a tree ; but even taking this
into consideration, the average is a high one,
and if it is maintained the circumstance means
a very large margin of profit over expenses of
production.
Accurate estimates of the world's rubber
consumption are not easy to make. The only
reliable data available are found in the crude
rubber export and import returns of the five
large rubber-consuming countries, viz.. Great
Britain, United States, Germany, France, and
Belgium. The gross import returns include
rubber which is afterwards exported from these
five countries to each other, but also includes
all the rubber which is exported to other
countries whose import returns are not avail-
able.
STATISTICS.
The following statistical table from my Annual Report of 1906 shows the position of affairs
in regard to acreages and numbers of trees for that year, and the figures at the end of this year,
1907, will probably be 50 per cent, greater.
Federated Malay
States.
straits
Settlements.
Johf)re.
7
Total.
Number of estates
242
^
254
Total acreage
85,579
11,341
2,310
99,230
Opened during 1906 — acres
42,154
4,098
1,355
47,607
Number of trees planted up to December
31, 1906
10,745,002
1,987,954
147,800
12,980,756
Number of trees tapped
441,488
27,076
48,350
516,914
Dry rubber extracted— lbs
861,732
13,560
47,724
923,016
TAPPING — FULL HBBEING-BONB.
A FINE TWO YEARS' GROWTH. AN EXCEPTIONAL TREE OF SIXTEEN MONTHS.
EIGHTEEN MONTHS OLD RUBBER — TWO VIEWS.
348
TWENTIETH CEXTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
The net import returns, i.e., the import
minus the export, do not give a correct iigure
of the world's consumption, and it is probable
that the gross imports of these five countries
The soils in the Malay States are not rich in
the constituents which are required for plant
food, but they are as a rule physically excellent,
and allow roots to grow freely. On many
COLLECTING BUBBEB SEED AND LATEX.
are much nearer to the total of the whole
world's consumption than the imports. I
estimate the world's consumption in 1906 to
be approximately 80,000 tons. Of this amount
the Malay Peninsula contributed one-two-
hundredth part, or J per cent. If the whole
of the rubber-trees planted at the end of igo6
are growing vigorously and yielding I lb. of
dry rubber per tree, in 1912 the total produc-
tion will be 5,475 tons, which will be one-
twenty-sixth, or little more than 4 per cent.,
of the total rubber required. In order to
estimate the world's consumption in 1912, the
rate of increase (10 per cent.) during the last
seven years has been added, giving a total
estimated consumption for 1912 of 142,352
tons. If we increase the yield to ijlbs., i.e.,
estimating that every tree planted now will
in 1912 give us ij lbs. per annum, at that date
the Malay Peninsula will furnish 8,213 tons,
or one-seventeenth of the estimated world's
consumption at that date. These calculations
do not increase the fears so often expressed
that production will in the course of a
short time exceed demand. The question of
how much Brazil will continue to produce,
whether it will increase or decrease, is one
which only those with a knowledge of the
Brazilian jungles can settle, and even such are
not able to tell us whether the supply can be
depended on to continue or may be expected
to grow less in a few years. There are many
reasons for considering that the consumption
of rubber may in the near future increase
more rapidly than in the past. New uses and
expansion of old uses for rubber are constantly
being found ; the consumption of rubber per
head in most countries is extremely small, in
Britain and other European countries less than
in America. If producers are wise they will
not neglect to do everything in their power to
stimulate and expand the rubber consumption.
Money wisely spent in this direction will be
handsomely repaid in the future by a steadily
widening, firm market.
estates the top soil is already of sufficiently
good "tilth" for a rubber nursery, and no
preparation is needed before laying it out.
The conditions of climate more than com-
year being those suited to rapid gxowth of
vegetation. For this reason rubber trees in
the Malay Peninsula are larger at all stages
of growth than plants of similar ages in
countries where a cessation of rainfall or a
drought occurs at slated periods. As the
product of the rubber tree, latex or caoutchouc,
may be considered for general purposes as in
proportion to the water supply to the trees,
the conditions which obtain in Malaya are
undoubtedly specially suitable to these
trees, probably more so in the case of Para
rubber (Hevca brasiliensis) than in its native
Brazil.
The land chosen for rubber estates in the
Federated Malay States is, with very few
exceptions, virgin jungle, and the processes
by which it is. converted into a rubber planta-
tion and the results after the same periods
have elapsed vary very little. The land having
been inspected by means of rentices, i.e., paths,
cut through the jungle and the would-be-
planter having satisfied himself that it is good
land, capable of being well drained, he applies
to the Resident of the State for the piece of
land, describing the boundaries as far as
possible and stating the approximate area con-
tained.
The charges for land are — premium, 3 dollars
per acre ; rent for first six years, i dollar per
acre, thereafter 4 dollars. Survey charges
amount to not more than i dollar per acre.
Thus the first year's charges are 5 dollars, the
next five years i dollar each year, and the
seventh and onwards 4 dollars.
If he considers it as not equal to the best
agricultural land, he may ask that it be rated as
second-class land, which means a reduction of
I dollar per acre on the permanent rent.
The land is often granted provisionally to
the applicant before a survey is made in
order that no delay may be caused in open-
ing up.
Upon receiving the grant of the land, which
is a permanent title giving all the rights of
freehold, if the conditions of rent, &c., are
MAKING BLOCK BUBBEB.
pensate for any deficiency in the chemical
composition of the soils. "There is in no other
part of the tropics so equable a rainfall and
temperature, the conditions during the whole
duly carried out, the planter proceeds to get
rid of the jungle. This he usually does by
contract and not hy employing daily labour, the
native jungle wallahs or Sakais being frequently
-■-f
CHAN KOON CHENG'S TAPIOCA AND RUBBER ESTATE.
Views on Bukit Duyong Rubber Estate akd the Estate Bungalow.
350
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
used for this purpose, as they are well acquainted
with the best and quickest method of tree
telling and burning.
During the wet weather all trees of the
jungle are cut with the exception of certain
consumed, while in places smouldering trunks
may still be seen. Any pieces which are not
quite burnt off can by means of heaping up
branches be again burnt so as to leave very
little remaining on the ground.
TAPPING— HALF HEBRING-BONE.
extremely hard-wooded species, and some-
timei of a few of the giants of the forest.
The undergrowth is cleared up and piled in
heaps near branches, so that when the place
is burnt the fire may travel quickly and without
stopping. When all has been prepared after
a spell of dry weather has made the place
ready for "a burn," a suitable dry day is
selected when there is some wind to help the
conflagration, and debris is set on fire at one
side, and if properly arranged the fire gradu-
ally eats up the whole of the timber and
branches.
A field after a good burn presents a most
melancholy sight. Standing out of the soil
are a few tall stems charred black, and the
remains, also black, of some of the greater
stems and branches that have not been entirely
The big branches and other debris are left
on the soil. It would be better to take these
away and also to cut out all the roots of the
jungle trees, owing to the danger of fungal
diseases and the ravages of parasitic insects,
which are encouraged by the decaying timber
left behind. Planting, however, like other com-
mercial enterprises, has to be managed from
a practical view of pounds, shillings, and
pence, and if it were possible to do as some
writers have suggested, viz., clear the land
entirely from all decaying wood, the present
first few years of profits would all be required
to pay for the extra expenditure incurred. The
presence of so much decaying vegetable matter,
both on the surface and beneath it, does hot
seem so far to have caused so much root disease
among the rubber as those having a knowledge
of these evils might have prophesied. This is
due to the fact that there are in the virgin
jungle comparatively few parasitic root fungi,
and also because in the continually moist and
hot climate of the Federated Malay States all
organic matter is easily broken up by the
attacks of insects and by other saprophytic
organisms.
Rubber plants which have previously been
in nurseries for some months are now put in
the field. The length of time which they are
allowed to remain in nurseries varies with the
views of the planter and the time taken to
prepare the land. Plants may be transplanted
when they have grown only a few weeks, and
may, on the other hand, be removed from the
nurseries when a year or eighteen months old.
The general plan is to put them out at about
six months old and to " stump " them, i.e., to
trim the roots and to cut off the green part,
leaving a stump of from 2 to 4 feet in
length. Transplanting brings rubber trees
into bearing moi-e quickly from seed than
stumping, but the latter operation is easier, can
be delayed if necessary, and is suited to estates
where there are long distances between the
nurseries and the clearings. The plants put
out as stumps are kept back for some six
weeks, after which buds appear, and once
having begun to grow and form new roots,
the tree grows continuously in height and
girth, till at the age of four years it is fre-
quently so feet high and 18 inches in girth.
During this time of preparatory growth before
being tapped, the chief cost of upkeep of an
estate is the clearing of the weeds, and the
good planter endeavours to have his fields
always as clean as possible. The cost of this
operation is sometimes as much as 25 dollars
per acre per year, and it is a question which
is now being urged on the planters whether
this large expenditure is repaid in improved
growth of the tree.
That rubber planting in Malaya is at present
one of the most profitable, if not the most pro-
fitable agricultural industry of the world, has
already been shown by the returns of many
estates. The public are apt not to realise the
profitable nature of the return after a rubber
estate has come into bearing, because in the
majority of cases where they are invited to
take shares in Malayan or Ceylon rubber com-
panies the estates have been already started
and often brought to the bearing point, and the
exploiters have to be paid for their outlay.
Estimates of cost of bringing estates into
bearing naturally vary exceedingly. The con-
ditions of labour, the contour of the land, and
many other factors add to or reduce the cost of
opening, planting, and keeping in good con-
dition till the yielding period. One thousand
acres should be opened and upkept for seven
years at a cost of ^£20,000, not including in-
terest, and in the eighth year interest at the
i-ate of about 15 per cent, should be earned,
which should increase to double that for the
ninth year and go on increasing till 75 per
cent, or more should be earned in the twelfth
and succeeding years. That the returns on
capital invested do not come for some six
or seven years may deter some investors, but
the returns which may be fairly expected
repay for the loss of interest during these
years. As an interesting and profitable pro-
fession for a strong and healthy young
Britisher, rubber planting may be confidently
recommended. The life is hard, the climate
is not healthy, but by no means dangerous ;
there is no lack of interest in the planter's
life, and the salaries earned are in most cases
liberal. A man of a few years' experience can
command a salary of ^£500 or upwards, and
has often opportunities of using his savings
to open up either by himself or with others
rubber land of his own.
Mr. J. B. Carruthers. — In a country in
which there is so much of cultivation, the post
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
351
of Director of Agriculture and Government
Botanist is an important one, and it would be
difficult to find a man more competent to fill
that post than its present occupant, Mr. John
Bennett Carruthers, F.R.S.E., F.L.S., formerly
Demonstrator of Botany to the Royal Veterinary
College of Great Britain. Mr. Carruthers had
considerable experience in Ceylon, to which
colony he was sent on a special mission some
ten years ago to investigate cacao disease.
In iQOO he w:i^ appointed Government
Mycologist and Assistant Director of the
Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya, of which from
the middle of 1902 he acted as Director. He
went to the Federated Malay States in 1903.
-Siii-
rTS^
RUBBER DEVELOPMENT IN MALAYA.
HISTORICAL.
THE development of Malaya agriculturally
constitutes one of the economic romances
of the tropical belt. In 1876 the authorities
of Kew Gardens introduced into Ceylon, by
arrangement with the Indian Government, two
thousand Hevca Brasiliensis seedlings, raised
from seed obtained in Brazil by Mr. R. W.
Wickham. This pioneer acted, on instructions
from Kew, on behalf of the Indian Govern-
ment, but Ceylon was selected as more suitable
than India for the initial experiment of cultiva-
tion in the East. India was to have the first
call upon cuttings and seeds from the trees
grown, the Ceylon Government to take the
rest. Some hundreds of plants started from
cuttings were distributed in various parts of
Southern India and also in Burma in 1878 and
1879. Thus an industry transported from the
other side of the world began. A year or two
later the trees in the Peradeniya and Henerat-
goda experimental plantations of Ceylon bore
seed, and from that time distribution of seed
has been the accepted method. Occasionally,
for long journeys, germinated seeds in Wardian
cases have been despatched, but in place of
this expensive and limited means of distribution
it has been found that, packed in charcoal and
other suitable material, the seeds can be sent
across the world. Brazil itself in 1907 imported
thousands of seeds from trees that are the
lineal descendants of its own Para rubber.
Pioneers in the South Seas, and in Queensland,
and in East and West Africa, are now testing
the suitability of Hcvea Brasiliensis, not only
in the tropical belt, but also in the sub-tropical.
For large developments they then have to wait
until the seedlings imported have become seed-
bearers, when, if labour and climatic conditions
are favourable, progress in extensions will be
rapid. Ceylon freely received, and has as
freely given. At an early stage in the " rush
into rubber '' it was proposed by leading
Selangor planters, and also advocated in
Ceylon, that the two countries should impose
a prohibitive export duty on rubber seeds going
to foreign countries ; but those who advocated
this method of confining the new industry as
long as possible to British possessions in the
Old World — thereby also delaying the time when
there will be over-production — can hardly have
expected their representations to be acted upon.
Botanical institutions freely exchange all the
world over, and it would have been too great
a shock for the British authorities to take their
first faltering steps in Protection in the domain
of scientific agriculture.
The popular notion regarding rubber was
that it flourished in the Amazon Valley in
swampy lands, and the new product attracted
very little of the attention of Ceylon planters,
otherwise the destruction of the coffee industry
which provided the opening for tea would have
been availed of for rubber twenty-five years ago
instead of in the present decade.
The situation in Malaya was different. On
the failure of coffee in Ceylon several planters
went to Selangor and started afresh. They
were again to fall upon evil days, not this time
because of disease, but because of unremunera-
By FRANCIS CROSBIE ROLES.
live prices. Then it was — in the early nineties
—that the planters of the Federated Malay
States turned their attention systematically to
the new product, and sent orders to Ceylon for
large quantities of seed. Ceylon itself was
busy cultivating tea and experiencing rapid
appreciation in the value of its estates up to the
blow to that product in Malaya, she indirectly
supplied Malayan planters with a substitute
which has advantaged them beyond their most
sanguine dreams. Two instances, one of an
individual and the other of a company, will
illustrate this. A retired planter, who invested
^4,000 in developing a rubber estate in Selangor
A CREPE AND SHEET EXHIBIT.
height of the first tea boom, reached in 1896.
The very thing was rubber for the alluvial and
semi-swampy flats of the coastal plains of the
peninsula, and thus, while on the one hand
Brazil by huge yields of coffee dealt a crushing
that now stands in the front rank of dividend-
paying properties, and who took his entire
interest in shares in the company which pur-
chased the property, found in September last
that his holding represented £^250,000. The
352
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MAI.AYA
Malay states Coffee Company, Ltd., registered in
Colombo, and owning a property in the same
State, received so shrewd a blow when coffee
ceased to pay that its shares of loo rupees,
for the first six years, and thereafter 4 dollars
per acre pi;r annum. (In Pahang the terms
are easier, but the planter there has to create
his labour force and live the isolated life of the
* d.
P ', ■^»*-'\^9I^Ll^^^^^^KM^BB^^B^Km
ISJS^ • - ' T^f^^^MMHB^^Mwill^^^^B
^BKBm,Jf:J'-'i-iW.^^is-:'.r^^^^9f^,
IHHH
AN ESTATE BUNGALOW.
iiearly paid up, were hawked about at 20 rupees,
while some holders wished to be permitted to
abandon their shares rather than be liable for
the final calls. The estate superintendent
agreed to receive his salary in shares, and
the company persevered under great difficul-
ties, planting rubber in place of coffee. This
vsras less than ten years ago, and in the latter
half of 1907, when the Malay States Coffee Com-
pany, Ltd., consented to be absorbed by a sterling
company, the Damansara (Sclangor) Rubber
Company, its shares were changing hands at
500 rupees.
LAND ALIENATION TERMS.
The sudden general interest taken by the
public in Malaya and Ceylon in 1904 and 1905
pi-oduced a demand for land in the Fede-
rated Malay States which fairly nonplussed
the authorities. Their land and survey depart-
ments were inundated with work, and by the
beginning of 1906 speculation in companies,
new and old, had aroused interest in England
which extended considerably outside the circle
of those having direct connection with the
East. The State authorities found themselves
face to face with a remarkable situation. Land
which they were leasing at a maximum of
I dollar per acre annual rent was being put
into companies by the applicants, sometimes
before a single tree had been felled, at ;£4
an acre. The administrators of the country
wished to curtail these unearned profits, or
rather to divert a substantial portion of them
into the Slate coffers. In August, 1906, the
new leasing terms were announced. Govern-
ment, as well as the people, had been affected
by the boom, and made no distinction between
land wanted for rubber cultivation and land
required for such a matter-of-fact product as
coconuts. All jungle land in the three western
Federated States has since then been leased
on the terms of r dollar per acre per annum
pioneer.) There is a clause in the leasing
terms to the effect that land ranked as "second-
class land " shall pay 3 dollars, instead of
4 dollars, after the first six years.
To obtain this concession, however, _the
be entailed before the concession could be
obtained, and as the best land available is
applied for — except possibly where the appli-
cant wants land adjoining that which he
already possesses, or for some other reason of
eligibility— it may be said that practically all
the land leased since the middle of 1906 will
eventually be paying 4 dollars per acre
annually. The other charges are mainly first
charges. There is a premium of 3 dollars per
acre if the land has a road frontage and
2 dollars per acre if it has not. Survey fees
amount to about 90 cents per acre, with 60
cents payable for each boundary mark in-
serted ; and the land is further liable to a
drainage assessment not exceeding i dollar per
acre. This charge is to cover any Government
drainage scheme needed for the benefit of
planters in the coast districts, where main
drains, with which estate drains can be con-
nected, are necessary. This drainage assess-
ment does not approximate to a dollar per acre
from actual experience, averaging about 30
cents, while some properties are so situated
that they will not be called upon for any pay-
ment under this head. The cultivation clause
- in each grant requires the lessee to cultivate
not less than a quarter of the area in five years.
This condition is not an onerous one. Any
occupier who cannot develop the property at
■ the rate of one-twentieth annually would soon
find his possession a white elephant, under the
new rental terms especially. Should he fail to
open a fourth of the land in the time specified,
the authorities have the power to enforce
resumption of the balance of the area after
allowing the lessee to keep an acreage equal to
three times the area he has cultivated. The
cultivation term used in the clause is " accord-
ing to the practice of good husbandry," but
the bona fide cultivator who from lack of
capital has not been able to plant up the land
as rapidly as he anticipated will find the con-
ditions liberally interpreted. The object of the
Government is, on the one hand, to open the
country and to attract population, and on the
other to prevent speculators holding land for a
PIONEER BUNGALO'W IN A NEW CLEARING.
applicant has to satisfy the Director of Agri-
culture that he is entitled to special terms — that
the land has been damaged by previous cultiva-
tion, for example — and as much delay would
rise in value ; and, short of complete abandon-
ment, the Government has not been in the
habit of enforcing resumption. State owner-
ship in land, which provides a lease in per-
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA 353
petuity instead of outright sale, is accompanied
by a simple form of land registration known
as the Torrens system, followed in Australia,
New Zealand, and other countries, but un-
known in the United Kingdom. The transfer
of rights from one person to another is smi-
plicity itself. Everything affecting the title to
the actual land must be recorded on both copies
of the grant, one issued to the grantee and the
other filed in the official register. No entry is
made in the Land Office register without the
pi-oduction of the issue copy to be similarly
endorsed. Each document is always an exact
duplicate of the other ; and any person can
inspect any record in the Land Office on pay-
ment of a fee, and obtain definite information
as to the ownership, and free or mortgaged
condition, of the property he is interested in,
including whether or not the cultivation clause
has been complied with. Naturally, the con-
gestion of work in the Survey and Land De-
partments, and the impossibility of securing
competent and qualified recruits ready made,
has resulted in much delay in the issue of
grants, and a great deal of land has been
transferred on the preliminary notification that
an application had been approved of. The
grant itself, which cannot be issued without
a proper survey, may sometimes be kept back
for two years, and meanwhile the communi-
cation from the British Resident, known as an
"approved application," is accepted.
Much of the land in the Malay States is in
the grip of lalang [Imperata arimdinacea).
Jungle has been felled in the past, chiefly by
Chinamen, for the cultivation of tapioca and
other exhausting crops, and then has been
abandoned, to be promptly reoccupied by this
pest, which enters into complete possession.
The wind agitates it like the billows of the sea,
but its roots have taken so firm a hold that
nothing but the most thorough and repeated
digging — "chunkling" it is called in Malaya —
can eradicate it. Experiments have been made
to destroy the lalang by spraying arsenite of
soda. The local charge for the material was
tainly cheap and primitive. It is an ordinary
bullock-cart, filled with arsenite of soda, with
a sheet, half of which is immersed in the
liquid, while the other half is trailed over the
so far made ; but it has not yet been attempted
by any planters on a large scale. They leave
lalang land severely alone, as much as they
possibly can, and are not yet satisfied that any
A RUBBER PLANTATION 'WITH TREES WELL DEVELOPED.
lalang as the cart moves along. No damage
is done to the roots of any plants growing in
the same ground, as the spray is a leaf poison.
Three or four applications at intervals of a few
weeks, each fresh application taking place when
OLD RUBBER TREES IN MALAYA.
at first prohibitive, but when it had been
imported at reasonable rates there remained
the need for cheap but elficient spraying
" machines," and the cheapest devised is cer-
the lalang is beginning to recover from the
previous dose, are sufficient to entirely kill
the lalang. Such is the claim which the
director makes after the limited experiments
method is superior in effect to the arduous and
expensive " chunkling." Should it be demon-
strated that the arsenite of soda method is all
that is claimed for it, the authorities may hope-
fully look forward to the time when large areas
of land, worse than useless and a blot on the
landscape, will come under legitimate culti-
vation. Special rental terms for lalang land
are offered by the Government of one cent per
acre per annum for the first seven years, and
thereafter one dollar per acre per annum. But
so far applicants continue to prefer virgin jungle
to these weedy wastes.
In 1905 Dr. J. C. Willis, F.R.S., the Director
of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Ceylon, who
has the gift of organisation, was loaned to the
Federated Malay States Government to report
on the organisation of a department of agricul-
ture, and the post of director of the new
department was filled by the appointment of
Mr. J. B. Carruthers, F.L.S,, F.R.S. Edin,, the
Assistant Director, Peradeniya. Much of Mr.
Carruthers' time since then has been occupied
with the work of organisation and equipment.
Suitable quarters were not provided for some
time, and a year elapsed before a Government
chemist and an entomologist were appointed.
Meanwhile, Mr. M. Kelway Bamber, F.I.C.,
F.C.S., Government Chemist of Ceylon, paid
two visits to the Malay States, and furnished
l\fr. Carruthers with a most useful table of
analyses of typical soils taken from different
rubber districts. Mr. Bamber reported that the
soils might be roughly divided into two kinds —
(a) The flat alluvial clays or muds on the
banks of rivers and near the sea coast ;
(/)) The undulating low soils a few miles
inland, where they vary from free sandy loams
to heavy clays.
He stated that " the soils of Malaya are not
specially rich in plant food, but their physical
characters are exceptionally good, and this,
together with the unequalled climate for plant
growth, constitutes conditions for the vigorous
growth of rubber and other crops not to be
found elsewhere."
354
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
TYPICAL COOLIE LINES AND ESTATE HOSPITAL.
In his report for 1906 the Director of Agri-
culture estimated the total acreage of rubber
planted in the peninsula by the end of 1905 at
50,000 acres, and at the end of 1906 at 99,230
acres, with an increase in the number of trees
during the year from 7,000,000 to 12,980,756.
The output of dry rubber rose from 150 tons in
1905 to 412 tons in 1906. The figures for 1907
are not yet available, but the acreage in rubber
at date (January, 1908) may be put at 130,000
acres (a much larger area is, of course, alienated
for planting rubber), and the output for 1907 at
800 tons, which represents less than one-
seventieth part of the world's output. ■ A
greatly increased export should not be expected
for the next two or three years. The trees
generally were vigorously tapped during 1907,
and an increase of 300 tons per annum until
the rubber planted since 1904 comes into
bearing seems to the writer to be a reasonable
estimate.
SOME PRACTICAL CONSIDERA=
TIONS IN ESTATE WORK.
In the flat land of Malaya the area to be
felled has first to be drained. Even then,
constant rainfall — rain falling on almost every
afternoon of the year — renders a perfect " burn
off" extremely rare. Heavy clearing work
follows, and then comes the question of
distance for the holing. The tendency is to
wider planting than in Ceylon, because of
the more luxurious growth. " Distance " has
always been an interesting subject for dis-
cussion amongst planters and other students
of the new industry. In the earliest days
much of the planting was 10 feet by 10 feet,
and some even 8 feet by 8 feet. Afterwards
he two favourite distances were 15 feet by 15
feet, and 20 feet by 10 feet, both of which
represent 200 trees to the acre. Even these
distances are close in Malaya, and where they
are employed the reason is partly to reduce
the cost of weeding. The ground is more
quickly covered with shade, which checks the
growth of weeds, and, too, the superintendent
of the estate need not trouble to put in a
" supply " whenever a single vacancy occurs.
Weeds spring iip and flourish with a rapidity
and luxuriance which are a revelation to the
Ceylon planter — Ceylon has supplied Malaya
with many able men — and for the first three
years on many estates weeding cannot be effi-
ciently done under 14 dollars per acre per
month. When any shortage of labour occurs
clean weeding has often to be abandoned and
simply a space kept cleared, or periodically
mowed down, round each tree. To save some
of the expenditure on weeding — the object of
which is to prevent the harmful competition
of useless plants among the trees — crotolaria
and other leguminous plants are being tried, on
the recommendation of the director and of Mr.
Kelway Bamber, in some cases witli a dis-
tinctly good effect. There are, however, ex-
perienced planters who contend that the
aeration of the soil by the sun is worth the
expense of clean weeding.
The following paragraph is extracted from a
brochure entitled " Land and Labour in the
Federated Malay States," by Mr. E. Macfadyen :
" The rainfall [in the Federated Malay States]
differs widely as one approaches to, or recedes
from, the mountains. At Kuala Selangbr the_
average for ten years was under 77 inches, at
Taiping over 163. There is no pUce, however,
where rain is not abundant, and a fortnight's
drought is rare anywhere. The driest month
is July, although 4 inches is a very ordinary
measurement for that month. It is impossible
to speak of any season of the year -as a dry
season, although certain periods may be recog-
nised as wetter than others. From October to
the end of the year are the wettest three
months. Next in rainfall comes the period
from the end of February to the middle of
May. Practically all the rain falls after 3.30
p.m., rain at midday being rare and in the
morning almost unknown, except right under
the hills."
As proof of the uncertainty of success which
accompanied the pioneer planting of rubber,
coconuts were made the main feature of some
of the profitless coffee estates, and if any rubber
was tried at all it was interplanted with the
coconuts. One case can be quoted where with
coconuts and rubber grown together the rubber
was first cut out in favour of the coconuts, and
then the almost mature coconuts were in turn
supplanted by rubber. This great loss of time
has not prevented the estate becoming a
valuable rubber-bearing property. In the great
majority of cases where the two products were
interplanted the coconuts were cut out when
the rubber-trees required more room, and there
are even instances of coconuts growing by
themselves being cut down to make way for the
" new love." Some cautious men of the present
day are putting part of their properties in coco-
nuts, but are avoiding the old mistake of inter-
planting. Coconuts flourish exceedingly in the
flat lands of Malaya when well drained, and
whatever the meteoric career of Eastern
rubber may be, it will be found difficult to
secure a prouder title than that given to coco-
nuts, " the Consols of the East" — unless
British Consols fall below 80 !
As regards pests, the Director of Agriculture
reported that the general health of the trees of
all ages from seedlings fo twenty-five-year-old
trees had been excellent during 1906. The
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
355
rapidly increasing area of rubber, liowever,
means an increasing danger of spreading
disease and entails an increasing vigilance for
the first signs and promptitude to prevent the
disease spreading. The policy, he says, of
waiting to shut the stable door until the horse
has gone is still not unusual even in the case of
the most capable and practical planter. The
importance of the plant doctor is not yet
recognised as fully as that of the medical man
or veterinary surgeon. This is to a great
extent because the fact is not realised that all
lack of health or vigour is due in plants, just
as in man, to specific causes, either of en-
vironment or the attacks of insects, fungi, or
bacteria.
There is in Malaya a voracious termite, and
the earliest sign of its attacks on a tree should
be detected. On some estates a small gang
of coolies does nothing else but patrol the
estates, watching for these silent but rapid
workers. They generally attack from the roots
upwards, and the earth is dug away from the
roots and a dressing of lime is applied.
Root and leaf diseases have also been
detected in nurseries and older trees, but
nothing has yet been discovered that has not
readily responded to treatment. Abnoimal
stem growths are rare, but curious and harm-
less fasclations occur, without apparent cause,
and the practical remedy is to replace the mal-
formed tree with a healthy stump from the
nursery. Barren trees are also found, with
nothing to explain the phenomenon.
LABOUR.
The indigenous Malay will sometimes under-
take felling contracts, but will not take employ-
ment under the planter as a regular estate
labourer. The Kling (Tamil) has chiefly been
employed on the estates of Malaya, as in
Ceylon ; but Javanese, Banjarese and even
Chinese are to be found on the check-roll. The
rate of pay is about 75 per cent, higher than
has been hitherto ruling in Ceylon ; but this
inducement of increased pay was necessary to
attract coolies from South India, owing to
the longer sea voyage and the unhealthy con-
ditions ruling when new land is being opened
up, especially on the swampy flats. Not only
has the death-rate been abnormally high, but
the situation was complicated at a lime of
great demand for labour by an outbreak of
cholera, which occurred in August, igo6.
Coolies were several times taken backwards
and forwards between Pinang and Port
Swettenham, but on each occasion fresh cases
prevented them being landed at the latter
port. The quarantine station at Pinang became
overcrowded, and not even a segregation camp
existed in the Federated States. Steps were
taken to prevent a recurrence of the deadlock,
but it was a long time before recruiters were
able to argue away the complaints which
reached South India descriptive of the risks
encountered by those who attempted to reach
the new El Dorado. So widespread was the
need for more coolies throughout last year that
the Government introduced in the autumn an
Ordinance entitled the Tamil Immigrant Fund
Bill, which met with considerable opposition
on behalf of the older estates, but was
welcomed by the newer ones, which had found
the greatest inconvenience and loss in their
failure to secure the labourers they needed,
after in many cases having felled and burnt
off considerable areas of jungle. The Bill was
duly passed into law, with an undertaking by
the Government that its working would be
carefully watched, and that if it was found to
work hardly on the developed estates the terms
would be modified. The main condition under
the Ordinance was that each estate should pay
I dollar and 25 cents per quarter for each
Tamil labourer employed ; the mines and the
Government to make a similar contribution,
and the proceeds to be spent in recruiting
labour in the Madras Presidency and for pro-
viding the recruits and their families with free
passages to their destination. It was the
desire of the authorities to bring the new law
inta force at the beginning of 1908, and the
Ordinance was passed before the directors of
rubber estate companies registered in Great
Britain were able to represent their views to
the Government. They cabled a protest and
request for delay, but without avail, and the
authorities have already set to work. They
have guaranteed the shipping company whose
steamers bring the immigrants from Negapa-
tam (South India) to Pinang 35,000 passages in
the current year (1908). If this number of
labourers be secured, and no more, the estate
labour in the country will consist of about
100,000 persons, of whom 80,000 will be Tamils.
This matter has brought the older and the
younger estates into conflict. Those members
of the Rubber Growers' Association of London,
formed last year, who are directly interested in
the Malaya industry met under the auspices
of the Association, and passed a resolution of
protest in the interests of the older estates.
Practically all these estates are now owned by
companies registered in London. The private
owner and the working superintendent are
members of the different local planters' associa-
tions. These have just become affiliated in a
central organisation with its headquarters at
Kuala Lumpor, and . bearing the title " The
Planters' Association of Malaya." This body
had decided, after some agitation against the
terms of the Ordinance, to await further develop-
CREPE AND SHEET RUBBER MACHINERY.
356
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
ments after it had been in operation for some
time ; and the action of home directors in
seeking to delay the passing of tlie Ordinance
referred to was sharply criticised by residents
who are in favour of the Ordinance. It is
rarely that planting interests fail to show a
united front in negotiations with the Govern-
numerous, and each estate was ordered to erect
its own hospital. It was realised that on
humanitarian grounds as well as in the interests
of the estates the health of the coolies mu?t be
better conserved, but the order was too sweep-
ing in that some estates possessed no healthy
site, and the supply of dispensers was quite in-
OLD RUBBER TREES IN MALAYA.
TA PPING— SPIRAL.
ment, and the present cleavage of opinion is
but a passing phase of the situation, and but
few years will elapse before most of the
younger estates will find their interests are the
same as those of the older ones.
Another matter in which there has been
some conflict with the Government is the
hospital question. Deaths of coolies have been
adequate. It was consequently conceded that
two or more neighbouring estates might com-
bine and have a joint hospital. X\] this
additional expenditure, added to the higher
wages paid, was bound to impress absent
directors and owners as. well. as__superintea--
dents ; and with the serious fall in the market
price of rubber at the end of last year, and the
growing proofs of the expensive working of
estates, whereby estimates of expenditure were
being seriously exceeded, the need for greater
economy became imperative, and instructions
are now being received on the estates from
companies in the United Kingdom that means
of retrenchment must be found. As a special
inducement to work regularly those coolies
who have turned out every day of the week
have hitherto been given as a bonus a " Sunday
name," i.e., a seventh day's pay. This is to
be one of the first items of expenditure to be
abandoned.
TAPPING AND COAGULATION.
The plantation industry being still in its
infancy, many matters affecting the economy
of the rubber-tree, its productiveness and
length of life under moderate and heavy
tapping, and the preparation of the caoutchouc
for the market, have yet to be elucidated by
further experience and research. In the first
years of the production of plantation rubber
the trees were much injured by the tappers
cutting too deeply and injuring the cambium.
Less bark, too, is now cut away at each paring,
and much study is being devoted to this sub-
ject of retaining the original cortex as long as
possible. The renewed bark is not at first
protected by a hard, corky layer, and would be
susceptible to attack should some virulent pest
appear. The first renewal of bark is satis-
factory, but little experience is possessed at
present as to the second renewal, and none as
to the third. The bark of many cinchona-trees
flaked off at the second renewal ; and if the
lactiferous tissue of the rubber-tree is wasted,
or the tree is over-tapped. Nature will exact
toll in some form or other. Excessive and too
frequent tapping also produces latex containing
an excess of water and less caoutchouc. The
joint subject of minimum loss of tissue and
maximum percentage of caoutchouc is being
closely studied. Tapping every fourth day
instead of every alternate day is now recom-
mended.
Tapping methods constitute an important
study, and in Ceylon much ingenuity has been
expended in devising tapping and pricking
instruments. Malaya generally has bothered
little about the new paring instruments, the
planters finding that the trained coolies do as
good work with the original gouge as with
more complicated parers. A perfect pricking
instrument, however, should have a great
future before it, because the importance of
saving the original bark of the tree cannot be
exaggerated.
The different methods of tapping need not
be described in detail. The earliest system
was the V cut, with a small receiving vessel at
the base of each V. On a large tree there
would be upwards of a dozen cuts and as many
tins. The system most in use now is the
lierring-bone, with a vertical channel to the
base of the tree, with one receiving vessel.
The half-spiral and the full spiral systems have
also been experimented with, but it has been
proved that the full spiral is too exhausting.
Lowlands, with which is associated the name
of the most successful pioneer rubber-planter,
Mr. W. W. Bailey, was the first to make use of
the parings, which until less than three years
ago were left on the ground. These shavings
are put through the same washing machines
as crepe rubber, and the result is a dark and
inferior crepe which more than pays the small
expense of collecting it.
The current issue of the Bulletin of the
Imperial Institute contains instructive analyses
of sixteen samples of Federated Malay States
rubber forwarded by the Director of Agri-
culture. . Iji^^eleven samples the percentage
of caoutchouc was over 94 per cent. A thin
pale sheet gave the highest percentage of
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
357
caoutchouc, viz., 96-35 per cent., with 0'22 per
cent, moisture, 0'2i per cent, ash, i'87 per cent,
resin, and i'35 per cent, proteids. The lowest
percentage of caoutchouc was 9264 per cent,
from an almost while crepe, and in this case
the resin was 3-58 per cent. Even this quantity
of resin compares favourably with analyses of
wild rubber, and 6 or 8 per cent, of resin
seriously detracts from the value of any
rubber.
In the old days tropical agriculture was
generally market gardening on a glorified
scale ; but to-day the planter and the scientist
work side by side ; and the planter who is
also a student can invest the daily round with
much scientific interest. In a recent issue of
the India Rubber World, the editor of which is
Mr. Herbert Wright, the following statement
on coagulation appeared and is worth en-
shrining in these pages : —
" The physical and chemical changes in-
volved in the phases of coagulation already
recognised are numerous and complex, and
many theories have been put forward to explain
the phenomenon. It may be argued that the
practical planter does not need to trouble
himself about the changes which lead to the
separation of the rubber from the latex, since
this is accomplished by allowing the latex to
stand in a receptacle exposed to the air. We
are of opinion, however, that the methods
adopted on Eastern estates still leave much to
be desired ; if a better knowledge of the
changes inciuTed during coagulation can be
gained, we feel certain that planters of an
inventive frame of mind will quickly effect
improvements and speedily test the value of
deductions originally made from laboratory
experiments.
"The latices from different species possess
various qualities of resins, proteins, caoutchouc
and inorganic elements, but the behaviour of
these to the same agencies — heat, moisture,
centrifugal force, preservatives, acids and alka-
lies— is widely different ; the phases of coagu-
lation of latices from distinct botanical sources
require separate detailed investigation. Heat,
though it coagulates many latices, has no such
effect on that of Hevea brasilicnsis ; formalde-
hyde, though acting as an anti-coagulant with
Hevea latex, appears to coagulate over latices ;
alkalies which help to maintain some latices in
a liquid condition, hasten the coagulation of
others ; mechanical means, while allowing one
to effectively separate large-sized caoutchouc
globules, are useless when dealing with the
latex of Hevea brasilicnsis.
" The changes which take place during
coagulation have been variously explained,
some authorities contending that the heat
alone softens the caoutchouc globules, and
thus allows them to unite ; others maintain
that a film of protein matter around each
caoutchouc globule becomes coagulated and
encloses the rubber particles, which (hen form
an agglutinated mass. The term 'coagulation'
was originally applied to the coagulation of the
protein, but it is now generally used to denote
the separation of the caoutchouc globules and
all those processes which lead to the produc-
tion of a mass of rubber from latex. When
some latices are allowed to stand, the caoutchouc
globules readily agglutinate, when they rise to
the surface ; the cream thus secured is then
coagulated by pressure. When the latex of
Hevea brasilicnsis is treated with dilute acetic
acid, the caoutchouc does not cream and then
coagulate ; the latex, according to Bamber,
coagulates throughout its mass, thus including
much protein and suspended matter, and by
its own elastic force then contracts towards the
surface of the liquid, expressing a clear watery
fluid, still containing protein matter in solu-
tion."
It is possible that some day the water, or
whey, left after coagulation will be scientific-
ally treated, and further caoutchouc extracted.
or it may be, in some form or other, returned
to the soil. The oil in the millions of seeds
which will be no longer required for propaga-
tion will also be marketable, and before long
some enterprising individual, or company, will
lead the way in erecting expressing mills.
It has been said that plantation rubber is less
resilient than fine Para (the wild rubber of
Brazil), and it has been much debated whether
this is due to the youth of the cultivated trees
or mainly to some special virtue in the method
of coagulating the wild rubber over charcoal
fires, each thin layer being creosoted in the
Pears' estate in Johore, the celebrated Lanadron
block rubber was first produced, and has carried
all before it at various rubber shows. Wet
block, recommended by the Ceylon scientists
—partly because the high percentage of water
in Para rubber seems to act as a preservative —
is now in its trial. All these new departures
secure the best prices when they first appear,
and it takes time to decide whether the atten-
tion they attract in the home and continental
markets is. due to their novelty or to their
superior inherent qualities. One is inclined to
expect the trees to produce superior rubber the
A GIANT EAMBONG TREE.
smoke. The view that plantation rubber is
weaker than Brazilian rubber is not universally
supported, however, and Messrs. Beadle &
Stevens, well-known analytical chemists of
London, are keen supporters of the contrary
opinion.
Interesting experiments are being made as
to the best form in which to supply plantation
rubber, which has been produced in many
varieties of form since the original biscuit.
The Malaya estates have exported much sheet
and crepe rubber, and these of a light amber
colour continue in great demand. On Messrs.
older they grow, and that rubber from a ten-
year-old tree, 20 inches in circumference at the
customary measuring point of 3 feet from the
ground, would be superior to rubber from a
six-year-old tree of the same size. But like
many other suggestions, this is not proved.
Some people contend that the size and not the
age of the tree determines the tensile quality of
the caoutchouc produced. It is difficult' to
suppose that a six-year-old rubber estate is as
valuable, pound per pound of produce, as a
more mature estate possessing trees twice that
age.
358
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
THE MARKET PRICE OF
RUBBER.
At the end of May, 1905, cultivated rubber
touched high-water mark at 6s. lod., but by the
end of the year had receded again to 6s. ifd.
In 1906, after a rise to 6s. 3d. in March and
April, it steadily fell to 5s. 6d. In 1907 there
was very little drop until August, when the
price fell from 5s. 6Jd. to 5s. 2d., while at the
end of September began the record slump in
sympathy with Brazilian rubber in consequence
of the American financial crisis, which involved
the closing of rubber factories in that country
and the worst dislocation of the world's trade
for thirty years. At the beginning of Decem-
ber 3s. 8d. was the price for plantation rubber.
The abnormal condition of affairs in the com-
mercial world, directly affecting the rubber
industry, may continue for several months.
Such are the indications, but as far as is
possible rubber producers and investors should
endeavour to estimate the position of affairs as
it is^ likely to be in normal periods. The
cautious calculator no longer figures out his
profits at the remarkable prices which ruled
until September last. He is content to take the
average market price of cultivated rubber for
the pext three years at 4s. per lb., and after-
wards, when Eastern rubber reaches 25 per
cent, of the output of Brazil, he will be content
if plaices do not fall below 3s. per lb., especially
if cultivated rubber fetches 6d. per lb. higher
than wild rubber. The latter product, how-
ever, gathered, prepared, and exported under
ever-increasing European supervision, would be
sent to market in a purer condition than at
present, and in this and other ways the struggle
for supremacy — and even of survival on the
part of Brazil — will become increasingly keen.
Already a new departure was chronicled last
month, when there was offered in London for
the first time plantation sheet Para rubber
shipped from Manaos (Brazil). This was the
first actual attempt seen on the London market
to imitate Eastern plantation methods with
Amazon rubber, although various attempts had
previously been made in different parts of
Africa to improve the products on the lines
of plantation rubber.
Opinions vary very widely on the subject of
future prices, some holding that after the com-
mercial world is again trading under settled
conditions the price of plantation rubber will
steadily fall until what they call the commer-
cial basis is reached, meaning thereby a price
at which the planter can sell his rubber to
leave him a profit of between 6d. and gd. per lb.
Others hold the view that a continuance of
present prices for some months will result in
less wild rubber being harvested in 1909, with
consequently a rise in price, instead of a fall,
in 1910. Within so limited and transitionary
a period in the history of the product, the one
prophet is just as likely to be right as the
other, but the individual who has been less
dogmatic than the rest will have the best
chance of all. He will be able to utter with
little fear of contradiction those comforting
words, "I told you so !" Dismissing all
speculations as to price of a commodity which
throughout the past forty years has been
notorious for its severe fluctuations, and taking
as a basis of calculation the net profit per
lb. of 6d., with a cost of production in Malaya
of IS. 3d., with all other charges at 3d. per lb.,
let us see what kind of investment a rubber
estate would be. The cost of estate work in
Malaya is at present higher than elsewhere,
but much economy will be possible — and will
have to be enforced — long before profits have
receded to the figure named. Appended is
a sample estimate for the first three years
in planting up a large rubber estate in
typical -flat land, requiring ample drainage
and constant weeding. Not much economy
can be introduced at this stage of cultivation
Estimate in Dollars of Three Years' Expenditure in opening up a typical Selangor
Estate of 1,510 Acres, including Purchase of Native Holdings forming Road
Frontage.
(Superintendent partly remunerated by commission on acreage opened and maintained.)
First Year, 1906. — Clearing and planting 200 acres, felling 320 acres.
General Charges. % $
Salaries, Visiting Agents, 6 months at $50 300.00
Superintendents, 12 months at $100 1,200.00
Assistant, 7j months at I200 1,500.00
Allowances, 6 months, ij coolies at $10
Contingencies — stationery and postage
Safe, $65 ; labour, #30 ; sundry charges, $50
Medical — purchase of medicines
General transport
Premium, #2,775 ; quit rent, $1,387.50
Survey fees, $1,057.50 ; pipes and stones, S55
Prospecting fees
Purchase of land, 125 acres Kampongs at $20
Outlet drains, half cost, 180 chains 12', ditto 160 chains 6'
Lines, 2 sets , 14 rooms at $35
I set, 7 rooms, Banjarese
Bungalow — Assistant's bungalow, $350
Furniture ...
Tools, including prismatic compass
Clearing 200 acres.
Felling, $9 ; clearing, $5
Draining, f 10 ; roads, $2
Lining, $1 ; holing, |i ; filling, $1.50 ; planting, $0.50
Weeding— 100 acres, 4 months at $1.50 ; 100 acres, 6 months
at $2.50
Supplying at $0.50
Cost of plants, 25,000 at $50
Expenditure on Account, igoy Clearings, J20 acres
Draining for surface water at $6
Felling at $9
Seed and nurseries, 300,000 seed down at #8
Second Year, 1907. — Planting 700 acres, upkeep of 200 acres.
General Charges.
Salaries — Visiting Agent at f 100
Superintendent at $100
Assistant, 6 months at $150, 6 months at #200
Commission — January-December on 50 acres ...
March-December on 300 acres
July-December on 400 acres
Allowances, two at $10
Medical
Contingencies
General transport
Quit rent
Purchase of land, 125 acres at $15, transfer $250
Outlet drains, one-third Government dues, road drain .
Share ditto, second main drain
no chains 8' X 4' X 4' at $8
60 chains share at 20 cubic yards per chain...
no chains share at 30 cubic yards per chain
Lines, 3 sets of 14 rooms at $35
Bungalow, upkeep and furniture
Tools
Recruiting charges on 400 coolies at $2
Clearings 700 acres.
Felling, 580 acres at $10
Clearing, 700 acres at $5
Draining, balance of 120 acres, 1906 —
Felling, $6
580 acres at $12
75-00
145.00
4,162.50
1,112.50
980.00
200.00
350.00
250.00
1,200.00
1,200.00
2,100.00
300.00
1,500.00
1,200.00
256.25
34375
880.00
168.00
462.00
5,800.00
3,500.00
3,000.00
90.00
220.00
80.00
50.00
5.275-00
1,450.00
2,500.00
1,673.00
1,180.00
600.00
250.00
16,368.00
2,800.00
2,400.00
800.00
2,100.00
100.00
1,25000
9,45o.ro
25,818.00
1,920.00
2,880.00
2,400.00
7,200.00
720.00
6,960.00
33,018.00
4,500.00
3,000.00
240.00
100.00
400.00
100.00
1,500.00
2,125.00
2,110.00
1,470.00
200.00
300.00
800.00
9,300.00
7,680.00
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
359
Reading, 700 acres at $2 ; outlet road, $100
Lining, $1 ; lioling, $1 ; filling, $1.50 ; planting, $50
Weeding, 320 acres, 7 months at 81
380 acres, 4 monttis at I1.50
Supplying at $0.50 all over
Cultivation, white ants, &c., at $0.50
Cost of plants, upkeep 1906, nurseries at 81
100,000 seed down at IS
Upkeep, 1906, Clearings 200 acres.
Roads and drains at $3
Cuhivation, supplying, &c., at $2
Weeding, 12 months at $0-75
Forking 30 acres Kampong at I5
Expenditure Account, igo8, Clearings 400 acres.
Draining 400 acres at $12 ...
Felling 200 acres at $10
Seed and nurseries, 150,000 seed down at |8
Thikd Year, igo8. — Planting 610 acres ; upkeep goo acres.
General Charges.
Salaries — Visiting Agent at
Superintendent at
Assistant at
Commission, January-December, commission 750 a. at 14,500
March-December, commission 400 s. at ... ... |2,ooo
July-December, commission 210 a. at ... ... 1630
«
*
1,500.00
2,800.00
2,240.00
2,280.00
4,520.00
350.00
350.00
300.00
800.00
1,100.00
77,463.00
600.00
400.00
1,800.00
150.00
2,950.00
4,800.00
2,000.00
1,200 00
8,000.00
Itoo
$100
I20D
Allowances, 3 at I to
Contingencies...
Medical
General transport
Quit rent at 1 1 per acre
Outlet drains, share Government assessment
Lines, 3 sets of 14 rooms, at $35 ...
Bungalow — Second Assistant's bungalow
Furniture...
Tools
Clearings, 610 acres.
Felling 210 acres at 8 [O
Clearing 610 acres at I5
Draining balance of 400 acres, 1906 — felling at |6,
$2,400; 210 acres at $12, $2,520
Roading 6io acres at $2
Lining $1, hoUng $1, filling $1.50, planting $50
Weeding 400 acres, 9 months, at $£
210 acres, 4 months, at $1.50
Supplying 610 acres at $0.50 all over
Cost of plants, upkeep, 1907, nurseries, at $1
Upkeep, igo6 (200 acres) and 1907 (700 acres clearings).
Roads and drains, at $2
Outlet drains, at $0.50
Cultivation, supplying, white ants, &c., at 81
Weeding 150 acres, 12 months, at $0.50
750 acres, 12 months, at 80.75
General Summary.
igo6.
General charges
Clearings, 200 acres
1907.
General charges
Clearings, 700 acres
Upkeep, 200 acres
igo8.
General charges
Clearings, 610 acres
Upkeep, goo acres
$500
8300
... $2,100
... 83,050
83,600
81,260
$goo
$6,750
4,8oo.oo
7,130.00
360.00
500.00
300.00
150.00
1,500.00
600.00
1,470.00
800.00
300.00
5,150.00
4,g2o.oo
1,220.00
2,440.00
4,860.00
305.00
150.00
1,800.00
450.00
goo.oo
7,650.00
8
16,368.00
9,450.00
16,845.00
34,800.00
2,g5o.oo
i7,gio.oo
27,045.00
10,800.00
i7,gio.oo
19,04500
2,250.00
8,550.00
8136,168.00
$
2S,8i8.oo
54,595-00
55,755-00
8136,168.00
at present, because so many estates are in the
same stage of development.
YIELDS AND PROFITS.
The cost of bringing an estate into bearing,
that is, to the end of the fifth year, may be put
at £'iO per acre. From that time onwards the
estate will be earning money. The trees per
acre may average 120, with the yield at 1 lb.
per tree for the sixth and seventh years, ij lb.
for the two following years, and 2 lbs. per tree
thereafter. This would be a small yield from
well-grown mature trees with ample labour
and efficient supervision, but much uncertainty
would enter into any forecast involving a larger
yield than a regular 250 lbs. per acre per
annum. The low market price of 2s. per lb.
may shock the optimist, but it has to be remem-
bered that twenty years ago Brazil exported
thousands of tons of rubber, with the market
price at anything from 2s. lod. to 2S. 2d., and
without the stress of competition. Let the
calculation remain at the low profit named.
Sixpence per lb. profit for the sixth and seventh
years represents £'i per acre — 10 per cent, return
on the capital outlay — which will rise to 20 per
cent, as the trees mature. This is by no means
a high return for money invested in tropical
agriculture when the investment has involved
a five years' hostage to Fortune. It may quite
possibly be much greater than this, but I have
taken the minimum at which the subject can
be discussed, assuming that neither disease nor
a cheap synthetic rubber arises to disturb the
dreams of the rubber planter and investor.
Since 1905 the writer has repeatedly warned
the Eastern planter that Brazilian rubber will
not go out of competition when the price for it
falls to 3s. Reduced supplies of wild rubber
there will be, but threatened industries die
hard, and before hard Para slumps to 2s. 6d.
the Brazil Government will have been obliged
to greatly reduce the export duty. This will be
one official way of sharing in the heavy loss
attending reduced profits. The call for economy
will be by no means restricted to the business
of wild rubber cultivation. In less than ten
years' time the Federated States Government
will have, as the result of strenuous agitation
backed up by unanswerable arguments, to re-
duce by half the " boom-checking " 4 dollars
per acre per annum rent instituted in 1906, for
the life of the goose will be worth saving, even
though the eggs fall to half their size.
COMPANY FORMING.
Speaking broadly, the waiting stage is a
test of patience to be borne by the individual
proprietor, by partners, and by the locally
registered company. Should success attend
their efforts, these will receive their greater
reward. Properties which have reached the
bearing and dividend-paying stage, or which
are on the eve of doing so, are for the com-
panies appealing to the public of Europe for
support. The home investor — the man at a
distance— cannot be expected to follow some-
body else's fancy for five or six years before
any returns are forthcoming. But he must, of
course, be content with smaller dividends and a
moderate appreciation in the market value of
his shares. Some of the older rubber com-
panies like the Selangor, the Vallambrosa, the
Petaling, the Linggi, the Klanang, and others
are already fine dividend payers, and the
appreciation of their shares ranges from a
thousand to five hundred per cent. Early de-
velopment companies, moderately capilalised,
like the Federated (Selangor) and Sungei Way
— -to mention only specimen sterling concerns-
will soon be in nearly as good a position ;
while later flotations, such as the Anglo-Malay,
the Consolidated Malay, Highlands and Low-
360
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
lands, and Lanadron, have also proved great
successes, and stand at substantial premia.
These premia the present commercial dis-
turbance has reduced, but they cannot be
wiped .out, and in future years, with a con-
tinuance of the vigilance of those who have
the reputation of Malaya at heart, flotations
authoritatively supported will continue to merit
attention. Individuals attempting to unscrupu-
lously exploit the British public will receive
short shrift if they are attempting to juggle
with Eastern estates, for a bogus flotation or
a scandalously over-capitalised one will be
promptly exposed by men of acknowledged
standing and integrity, and by a vigilant Press.
Information can always be obtained in London
regarding the soundness of any Eastern estate
company appealing for public support. While
one estate may differ greatly from an adjoining
property in value, and while the ability of the
resident superintendent is a factor which can
hardly be exaggerated, the goods which are
offered for sale are above ground, and are not
purchased, as in the case of a mine, like a " pig
in a poke."
Mr. Fritz Zorn, in his preface to "A Manual
of Rubber Planting Companies," declares that
it will be increasingly necessary that the public
should be able to discriminate between good
and bad new companies. He declares that the
rubber " boom " has yet to come. " As public
interest in rubber develops there is sure to be
a tendency to float off in joint stock shape any
patch of "land planted with a few thousand
rubber ' stumps ' over which the unscrupulous
promoter can secure an option. From the
investor's point of view the question of
management is a vital one, and the wise
man will put his money only into companies
having for their directors planters and busi-
ness men possessing a practical knowledge of
the rubber-planting industry, and having the
sort of reputation which is a guarantee against
bogus promotions." Similar advice will be
found elaborated in a preface by mjself to the
fuUcbt list of rubber companies yet compiled,
which can be obtained in London and else-
where, and is entitled " The Tropical Investors'
Guide." The literary efforts of the profit-taking
middlemen may be perfectly genuine, and they
may not. Consequently there should be care-
ful scrutiny and due inquiry from those who
know. There may be significant omissions
from a prospectus purporting to give the fullest
information, and only an expert in the subject
might be able to detect the omissions and
properly appraise their importance.
Pessimism accomplishes so little that the
British planter is to be envied for his reputa-
tion for courage and optimism. Hitherto the
phenomenal success of rubber planting in
Malaya has left a glittering phosphorescent
wake, as do the steamers as they plough the
waters of the Straits of Malacca bearing west-
ward their precious cargo. No cloud has yet
appeared above the horizon ; and may decades
of good fortune glide past, leaving Words-
worth's line as appropriate as it is to-day :
" Hope rules a land for ever green."
COMMERCIAL RUBBER.
THE LABOUR QUESTION.
HITHERTO the planters of the Federated
Malay States have imported the majority
of their coolies at their own expense, reimburs-
ing themselves afterwards by deducting the cost
of transport, &c., from the coolies' wages. It has
frequently happened, however, that they
have suffered considerable inconvenience and
loss under this system by reason of their
labourers leaving them suddenly before the
expiration of their term of service in order to
work for contractors and others who could
afford to pay them higher wages for short
periods. As the result of representations made
to the Government on the subject, the Tamil
Immigration Fund Ordinance of 1907 was
passed. Under this measure the supply of
Tamil labour for Government works, estates,
and mines in the Federated Malay States has
now been exclusively undertaken by the
Government, who for this purpose have
established a fund by the imposition of a
quarterly tax, not exceeding 1.25 dollar per
coolie, upon all employers of this class of
labour. In order to properly appreciate the
change which has been effected it is neces-
sary to review briefly the different methods by
which the supply of labour was obtained by
planters and others in the Federated Malay
State before the passage of this Act.
The Straits Settlements Government main-
tained a depot in India which undertook the
recruiting of indentured labour in the Madras
Presidency. Coolies willing to accept em-
ployment'were sent to this depot to undergo
an examination — medical and otherwise — as
to their fitness for agricultural labour. Those
who passed this examination were despatched
to the Straits Settlements upon giving a
promise to enter into a labour contract upon
arrival in the colony. They were known as
" statute " coolies. Those coolies who were
unable to pass the medical examination, but
were otherwise qualified to support themselves
as agricultural labourers, were sent to the
colony as free labourers. Besides, or instead
of, obtaining labour through this channel, a
number of private firms and estate proprietors
had agents in India to recruit free coolies for
them. The free coolies did not enter into any
contract or undergo any examination before
leaving India. Upon arrival in the colony
they were immediately sent to the estates for
which they had been engaged, while the
" statute " coolies and free coolies enlisted by
Government were apportioned by the
Superintendent of Immigration to employers on
payment of the cost of transport, &c.
The contract which " statute " coolies were
required to sign upon arrival bound them to
perform work of a specified nature at a rate
of pay agreed upon (but not less than a
minimum fixed by the Government) for a term
of six hundred days of nine hours per diem.
No labourer could be required to work for
more than six days in any week, or twenty days
in any calendar rhohth, and he could not be
compelled to remain upon one estate for a
longer period than three ' years. Stipulations
were also made regarding the rates of pay for
women and children, the quantity of rations to
be supplied, and the rates of pay for overtime
work voluntarily done by the coolies. La-
bourers could redeem themselves from their
contract by paying their employers 2 dollars
for every uncompleted thirty days' work which
they had engaged to perform under the
contract. These conditions are confirmed by
the new Ordinance, which also makes it an
offence for coolies to leave their employers
and go to territories that are not British.
The departure from the old regime has not
been made without evoking many protests. It
is argued by the opponents of the new
Ordinance that there has never been any
shortage of labour on healthy estates where
the coolies have been properly treated, and
that the poll-tax which is to be levied by the
Government will simply be a burden imposed
upon these estates in the forlorn hope of bene-
fiting others where the conditions are such that
labour troubles will always be experienced.
LANADBON ESTATE.
One of the best managed and most up-to-
date rubber properties in the East is without
doubt the Lanadron estate in Johore, which
was originally owned by Messrs. A. and F.
Pears. The total area of the estate is 1,500
acres, 500 of which are in bearing with ruliber
from six to eight years old, while the balance
has been planted during the last sixteen months.
The estate consists for the most part of low-
lying ground, and is situated on the bank of the
Muar river, 42 miles from Muar. The property
was first opened up by Mr. F. Pears, and under
his direction remarkable progress has been
made, Lanadron rubber having gained a valu-
able reputation on the London, Ceylon, and
local markets for its uniformly high quality.
This is largely due to the whole of the latex
from the tapping area being mixed together
before being prepared for sale, and to the great
care which is taken to preserve cleanliness in
all the proce'sses. Lanadron rubber was first
exhibited in Colombo, and it was then awarded
three gold medals, including one for the best
commercial sample (open to the world). At the
Kuala Kangsa exhibition in 1907, among a
large number of exhibits from all parts of
Malaya, the first prize for block rubber and the
cup for the best rubber exhibit in the show were
won by Lanadron samples.
A noteworthy feature about the propert}' is
the number of modern devices employed for
expediting the work. For most of these Mr.
H. M. Drabble is responsible. In the first
place Lanadron was the first estate in Malaya
in which a mono rail was constructed. By this
railway estate supplies are carried out to dis-
tant parts, and the latex from the 65,000 trees
already being regularly tapped is conveyed to
the factory. The factory is equipped with
machinery of the most approved pattern, in-
cluding washing machines, a vacuum drier, and
a hydraulic block-making press. The estate
has a river frontage half a mile in length, and
the rubber is shipped direct to Singapore from
the estate pier. By means of a motor launch
maintained by the proprietors the river can be
navigated to a distance of 100 miles inland.
A complete telephonic system is in operation,
and connects the estate office with the factory
and the head-men of the different coolie sections.
The average yearly yield is ijlb. of rubber
per tree, and the management of the estate is
so economical and effective that the total cost of
producing, collecting, preparing and shipping
the rubber to London is only 40 cents, a pound.
The labour force consists of 732 coolies, of
whom fifty or sixty are Chinese, about 100
Malays, and the remainder Javanese. These
coolies may justly be said to be "in clover."
They are housed in well-built and well-venti-
lated lines, the headmen are provided with
separate houses, and open Squares are pro-
vided for the purpose of recreation after work
and for the use of the children. The coolies
are also provided with land on which to grow
their own vegetables ; there is an isolation
hospital for their use, which, fortunately, is not
often required ; and a mosque has been erected
LANADRON ESTATE, JOHORE.
AVEN'UE OF Old Rubber Trees, showing Mono-rail Lixe. 2. Model Coolie Lines.
4. Bringing in the Latex.
Six Year Old Rubber Tree (tapped for two years).
I. TWELVE MOXTHS OLD RUBBER TREES, l8 FEEI HIGH.
LANADRON ESTATE, JOHORE.
2. General View, showing Old Rubber Trees in Background.
<|. Interior of the Rubber Facioev.
3. The Rubber Factory.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
363
on the estate in order that they may observe
their reh'gious rites.
The European staff reside in excellent bunga-
lows, and the manager's house is a model of
comfort.
Mr. Roger Pears is now acting for his
brother, Mr. F. Pears, who also manages
neighbouring rubber properties, including
Jementah estate, which is situated go miles
up the river and is to be amalgamated with
Lanadron ; and Nordanal estate, which is on
the opposite bank of the river to Lanadron.
Messrs. Pears have six European assistants on
their estate.
THE MALAY PENINSULA (JOHORB)
BUBBEB CONCESSIONS, LTD.
The Malay Peninsula (Johore) Rubber Con-
cessions, Ltd., own 50,000 acres of planting
land in the Muar district of Johore, divided into
twenty blocks of 2,500 acres each. The land is
bounded by the Muar and Segamat rivers, and
the new Johore railway runs alongside it for
20 miles. The object of the company is to
develop the land partly and then dispose of it
in blocks to rubber-planting companies. One
block has already been sold in this way. The
opening up of the land was only commenced
towards the end of 1906, but within twelve
months, 1,000 acres had been planted with
rubber. On one block, upon which work has
just commenced, tapioca is being planted as a
catch-crop. The number of coolies employed
is 500, made up of 250 Tamils, 150 Malays, and
100 Chinese, and the health of these is excel-
lent. Mr. H. E. Burgess, the company's
general manager, has had many years' experi-
ence in the Malay Peninsula, both as a civil
engineer and as a planter. The company's
London office is at 13, Rood Lane, E.C.
THE RUBBER ESTATES (JOHORE), LTD.
One of the coming rubber properties of
Johore is that owned by the Rubber Estates
of Johore, Ltd., which has an authorised
capital of ;^I50,000. Sir Frank Svvettenham is
the chairman of the company, and the other
directors are Colonel A. G. Durand and
Messrs. E. S. Grigson and A. Lampard, The
agents in Singapore are Messrs. Guthrie & Co.,
Ltd., and the resident general manager is
Mr. A. L. Buyers. The total area of the pro-
perty is 25,000 acres divided into two blocks
of 10,000 acres each and one of 5,000 acres.
The first block of 10,000 acres is situated
three and a half miles from the boundary of
Negri Sambilan and four miles from Gemas
railway station. Planting has been in opera-
tion on this property for fourteen months, and
something like 2,000 acres are under Para
rubber at the date of publication. The trees
already planted vary in age from three to nine
months, and their growth compares very
favourably with that of some on the best estates
in the Federated Malay States. A railway
station on the new Johore line will be con-
structed on this block. The second block of
10,000 acres is on the banks of the Labis river
in the Batu Pahat district, where the soil is
exceptionally fine and carries some very
valuable timber. It is near the Labis railway
station, which is 66 miles distant from Johore
Bharu, and is 34 miles from the boundary of
Negri Sambilan. The third block, 5,000 acres
in extent, is 32 miles from Johore Bharu, and
has the Liang Liang railway station upon it.
Neither of these two blocks has been opened
up. There are on that part of the property
already opened up to some extent six bunga-
lows, seven sets of permanent coolie lines,
a well-equipped hospital and dispensary, and
many attap dwellings for Malay and Chinese
labourers. Some 300 Chinese and 300 Tamil
coolies are employed, besides 15 Chinese
carpenters, a large number of Javanese and
Malay jungle clearers, and 34 Sinhalese
artizans. The initial difficulties are gradually
being surmounted and labour is now coming
PRYE ESTATE,
...By reason of their favourable position,
settlements which are located at the mouth
WELL-KNOWN PLANTERS.
. Malcolm Duncan (Proprietor, Chcnderiang Estate). 2. W. E. L. Shaxd (Jlana.cer of Bukil Asalian Ebtale)
3. FeakCIS Pears (Manager and Part Proprietor of Lanadron Estate, Muar, and Manager of Jementali and
Xordanal Estates. Muar, Johore).
4. Roger Pears (Acting Manager, Lanadron and Nordanal and Jementah Estates). 5. E. H. Bratt.
6. C. G. FiKDLAY (Manager, Gidong Bldor Ruhber Estate).
in freely. Altogether, the prospects of this
company appear of the brightest, and the
shareholders may be congratulated on having
a very valuable asset.
of some navigable river have obviously great
advantages. The land at the mouth of the
Prye river' is Province Wellesley, immedi-
ately opposite Pinang. Its hinterland, which
THE RUBBER ESTATES (JOHORE), LTD.
I. Rubber Clearing. 2. The Rubber Nursery (containing iiaU a million plants). 3. The Manager's Bungalow.
(See p. 363.)
4. The General Manager's Bungalow.
The Estatk Siore.
THE MALAY PENINSULA (JOHORE) RUBBER CONCESSIONS, LTD.
.. XINK MONTHS OLD RUBBER TREES. 3- THE BRID'.E OV1.R MtlAR RIVER (3 spans each ICO fc-.t).
(See p. 363.)
I. Coconut Palms.
THE PINANG SYNDICATE, LTD.
2. The Sugar Factory. 3. The Cane Fields.
(See p. 363.)
4. Estate Labourers.
.-.-'s.^.
THE PINANG SYNDICATE, LTD.
Prye Estate Rubber Factory.
(See p. 363.)
Mouth of the Prye River.
New Township.
THE PINANG SYNDICATE, JLTD.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
369
includes the Siamese States and Federated
Malaya, teems with great and but partly-
developed wealth in the shape of minerals, and
has a fertile soil. Everything points to this
locality becoming an important outlet.. Prye
Dock, with its ship-repairing shops, coal
depots, and dry dock, is situated on land
adjoining Prye estate,- and contiguous to this
estate also is the northern terminus of the
Federated Malay States railway system.
Hitherto the evident tendency of a township
to form here has been checked by the inability
to obtain from' the owners of Prye estate such
portion of their land as is suitable for " a town
of the future." Prye estate contains an area
of 4,032 acres, is traversed by nearly 32 miles
of canals and 32 miles of roads, and has the
estate. There are on the estate twelve bunga-
lows, extensive coolie " lines " (quarters), a
powerful and well-equipped sugar factory,
curing-houses, workshops, distilleries, &c.
This estate has <x unique situation for planta-
tion purposes by reason of its fertile soil. Its
close proximity to Pinang attracts the labour
class, while its river and sea frontage is con-
ducive to cheap working. If Pinang and the
Malay States have a future — and they un-
doubtedly have a great future — ^it is impossible
to gauge the value which the property may
attain as the outlet and feeder of the beautiful
hinterland, still nearly all virgin land.. With
right policy and wise management the locality
is bound to be one of great importance at a not
very distant date.-
tapioca factory, and after many years of hard
work retired to France, where he engaged
largely in the cultivation of vines. He
planted no fewer than five large estates, and
succeeded remarkably well until, in J 870, the
whole of the vineyards in France were de-
stroyed by the phylloxera pest. Returning to
the Straits Settlements, he sold Malakoff
estate, and settled down in Singapore. Soon
afterwards heopened up the well-known tapioca
land called Chasseriau estate, of 1,000 acres,
and the Governor,- Sir Andrew Clark, granted
him a concession of another 2,000 acres.
Under Mr. Chasseria^'s able and experienced
management this property rapidly gained the
distinction of being the model estate of the
southern peninsula. In 1886 the estate was
I The Bungalow.
THE PINANG SYNDICATE, LTD.
.!. Water Front at Persiantang Pan.
main line of the railway running through its
centre. For a length of about a mile and a
quarter the left bank of lower Prye river is
one of its boundaries. This vast deep water-
frontage offers an ideal situation for quays,
godowns, warehouses, and the like for the
expanding trade of Pinang and the peninsula.
A tributary of the Prye, the Sungei Sassat,
navigable for vessels up to sixty tons burden,
runs through the heart of the estate, whilst on
the east the Juru river gives easy access to
every other part of the property. The original
proprietors of the Prye estate included
Messrs. F. S. Brown. David Brown, Walter
Scott, T. M. Vermont, James Lamb, and others.
It was then sold lo the Wellesley Estate Com-
pany, and at the beginning of igoy was
acquired by the Pinang Syndicate, Ltd., for
which Messrs. Huttenbach Brothers & Co. are
the agents. At present sugar-cane, rubber, and
coconuts are the produce cultivated on the
ALMA ESTATE.
Foremost among French planters in British
Malaya was the late Mr. Leopold Es. Chasseriau,
who enjoyed a unique reputation in the East.
He was born in Bordeaux in 1825, and, after
receiving an excellent education, sailed across
the seas in search of fortune. In Mauritius he
acquired a thorough knowledge of sugar-
planting. Thence he came to the Straits
Settlements, and opened up Jawee estate, in
Province Wellesley. Afterwards he entered
into partnership on Va\ d'Or estate with the
ill-fated Mr. Donadieu, who was brutally
murdered by pirates on the Batu Kawan river.
About the time of the Crimean War Mr.
Chasseriau bought up the estate known as
Ayer Kendang, and changed its name to
Malakoff in honour of the great feat of arms
performed before Sebastopol. This estate he
planted with sugar-cane and tapioca, erected a
sold to a limited company, who introduced the
cultivation of coffee. Mr,- Chasseriau remained
on the estate as managing director for about
five years, and in 1891 left by the ss. NataL for
France. He was not destined, however, to see
his native shores again. He died at Aden as
the result of an accident on board the ship,
and was accorded an imposing funeral, which
bore testimony to his popularity and to the high
esteem with which he was regarded by the
British authorities.-
Of his two sons, Emile was born at Bor-
deaux in 1861 and Leopold at Pinang in
1863. Both were educated in France, and
returned to the Straits in 1879. After five
years' planting experience on their father's
estate, they went to Sumatra, and were for two
years on Bengkalis estate. Mr. E. Chasseriau
remained some time longer in the island on a
tobacco plantation. Mr. Leopold returned to
Pinang in 1886, and joined the late Hon. J, M.
<
E-i
ALMA ESTATE.
Rubber Nursery.
The L.1TE Leopold Chasseriau, Sen.
LE Chasseriau.
Tapioca Settlers.
The Lake.
Coconuts,
Leopold Chasseriau, Jun.
ALMA ESTATE.
/:e Medals won by the Estate.
Ri'BBER Trees
Some of the Staff.
The Blxgalow
The Factory.
Tapping Rubber.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
373
Vermont for three years as assistant and acting
manager of Batu Kawan. After a year's visit
home in 1889 he came baclc to Singapore, and,
having bought the business of Messrs. C. Favre
& Co., engaged in the pineapple trade and
obtained a large contract for the supply of
gutta plants and dry leaves to the French
Government for their Eastern colonies. At the
same time he planted ufj with coffee and
coconuts the well-known estate styled Mount
Pleasant, in which he was joined by his
brother.- Later on both of them returned to the
northern part of the peninsula and acquired
Alma estate there, On November 28, 1900,
this estate was incorporated under the title of
Societe d'Alma, with a capital of 1,400,000
francs. Mr. Leopold Es. Chasseriau, who is
the largest shareholder, married in 1896
Marie Claire, youngest daughter of the late Mr.
Henri de Facien, an Indian planter of repute,
who had served as French consul in Burma
both at Rangoon and Mandalay, and was a
descendant of one of the oldest families of
France.
Alma estate itself was originally planted by
a Mr. Wilson in the days of the Crimean War,
at which time only some 500 acres were under
cultivation. To-day the estate measures about
3,000 acres. It is undoubtedly one of the finest
properties in Province Wellesley, being situated
only seven miles from Prye, and having the
acres of tapioca under full cultivation, and
more is being opened up every month. During
the past year the yield was 500 tons, and the
output is increasing by leaps and bounds.
Equipped with the most modern appliances,
which are driven by a gas engine, the factory
is capable of dealing with practically any
quantity of tapioca that may be put into it.
It is, however; chiefly on its vast possibilities
for the cultivation of rubber that the future of
Alma estate depends; Some 60,000 trees have
been already planted on the property and
promise well. About 3,000 trees over seven
years of age iire being tapped, and are
yielding more than 4,000 lbs. of rubber. There
are also 7,000 trees more than three years old,
30,000 over one year, and 20,000 under one
year. Additional trees are being planted every
year. Some 30,000 coconut-trees of all ages
add to the value of the estate, and their number
is being increased.- Of the whole area of the
estate,- 2,000 acres are already fully planted,
while every available inch of the remaining
1,000 acres is taken up by Chinese squatters
engaged in planting pineapples and tapioca,
which latter they sell to the factory. On this
portion of the estate, too, the management is
continually interplanting Para rubber. There
is such a plentiful supply of labour that the
importation of indentured coolies is not
necessary. At present the labour force
the best properties of its kind in the northern
peninsula.
The Board of Directors consists of Dr.
Achahne (chairman). Director of the Colonial
Laboratory of France ; Commandant Mougin,
an eminent consulting engineer and Chevalier
of the Legion of Honour ; and Mr. Leopold
Chasseriau, managing director and superin-
tendent, who is assisted by his brother, Mr.
Emile Chasseriau.
BAGAN DATOH ESTATE.
Rubber is not the only profitable product of
Federated Malay States plantations. Many
flourishing coconut properties are to be
found, and one of the chief of these in
Perak is the Bagan Datoh estate, of 4,600
acres. Situated on the banks of the Perak
river, near the mouth, it is 30 miles distant
from Teluk Anson. Of the total area 1,600
acres are under coconut cultivation, the trees
varying in age from nine years to a few
months. Many of them have been in bearing
for a few years. The rest of the property is
mostly jungle, but clearing and planting are
continually in progress, so that in tiine the
whole area will be under cultivation. The
estate has a river frontage of a mile and three-
quarters, is intersected with roads, including a
public thoroughfare that will eventually be
I. AvExCE OF Old Coconut Palms.
BAGAN DATOH ESTATE.
2. COCONDT PALJIS IX BEARIKG.
3. Young Coconlt Paljts.
main line of the Federated Malay States
Railway running right through it, with a
station of the same name on the estate. The
estate is famed for its productiveness, and for
its supply of fresh, whole-some water, which is
supplemented by a fine artificial lake of 20
acres in extent. .At present there are 8co
consists. of 750 Tamils (550 men, -150 women,
and 50 children), about 150 Malays and
Javanese, and 200 Chinese, who are employed
in cultivating tapioca, rubber, coconut, paddy,
fruit trees, and areca nuts ; and some 300
Chinese farmers and their families. Altogether
the Alma estate premises to become one of
extended to Teluk .Anson, and has a complete
drainage system. There is daily communica-
tion by launch between the property and Teluk
Anson. The soil is admirably suited for coco-
nut growth, and the pro.ximity of the property
to (he sea renders it specially suited for this
form of cultivation. A read^' market is found
'•'-•■T. ,-^-^»t.> , -"-^^ ,-'.- -, --V-' ' •' jj^- ■ -'- ^ - . ,^ ■ - ' • ' • " ■ . "» ,. ■" iViis- '■;-''■ *'('•.. i'-'-"- •■* , '■'-:,-■ -.,■ -
MALAKOFF PLANTATIONS COMPANY, LTD.
Young Rubber Trees. 2- t.4pioca Exhibit. 3. The L.ibovk Force.
(See p. 377.)
MALAEOFF PLANTATIONS COMPANY, LTD.
Cooking Tapioca. ^. Drying Tapioca;
(See p. 377.)
3. Washing Tapioca.
RUBBEH XLRSERV.
MALAKOPP PLANTATIONS COMPANY, LTD.
2, Digging and Collecting Tapioca Roots. 3. A Hlge Tapioca Field.
4. The Estate Bixgalow,
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH IMALAYA
377
for the nuts, which are bought for delivery on
the estate, and are shipped to Pinang. The
estate is owned by the Straits Plantations Com-
pany, Ltd., for whom Messrs. Aylesbury &
Garland, of Ipoh, are the agents. Mr.. John
Crowe is the manager, and he is assisted by
tant from Prye, is one of the leading tapioca
properties in Malaya. It was originally opened
up in the days of the Crimean War. The Mala-
koff Plantations Company, Ltd., by whom it is
now owned, was formed in 1897. At first an area
of 3,600 acres was acquired, but this has since
extent. It is bounded on the north by the
Muda river, on the south by Malakoff
estate, on the east by Sungei Krai, and on
the west by Government grant lands. The
situation of the property is extraordinarily
favourable — there is an abundant supply of
HEARWOOD ESTATE.
View of Para Rubber Trees.
The Oil Distillery.
Messrs. Gillespie and Frankie.. They direct
a labour force consisting of five hundred Tamil
and Javanese coolies.
HEARWOOD RUBBER ESTATE.
This is an estate of 3,000 acres, situated at
Sungei Siput, a mile and a half from the rail-
way, and belonging to Towkay Chung Ah
Yong, of Taiping. Some 500 acres are planted
with Para rubber, the trees ranging from seven
years old downwards. As on all the other
estates in the vicinity,, the rubber thrives
splendidly, and the older trees are yielding
good returns. By 1908 12,000 trees will be
bearing, and the next year or so will see a
large increase upon that number. From the
seven-year-old trees on the estate an average
of 3j lbs. of rubber has been obtained. Mr. E.
Hardouin, the manager, is skilled in botany and
the production of oils.. Under his manage-
ment the estate has become famed for its oils.
Lemon-grass and other catch-crops, including
coconuts, are cultivated to a considerable ex-
tent, and yield a good revenue. The estate
is also rich in tin, the mines being worked by
Chinese, who pay taxes on the output to the
ownei". About two hundred Tamil and Javanese
coolies are employed on the estate. The under-
manager is Mr. W. D. Wyesuriya.
MALAKOFF ESTATE.
Malakoff estate, situated in the northern
extremity of Province Wellesley, 11 miles dis-
been increased to 5,380 acres. The total area
now under cultivation is 2,211 acres, of which
969 are under tapioca, 318 under coconuts, 658
under tapioca and coconuts interplanted, 145
under tapioca and rubber interplanted, 100
under rubber, and 21 under betel nuts.. Para
rubber is being put in rapidly, and in a few
years' time Malakoff promises to become one
of the largest rubber concerns in the province.
The labour force consists mainly of Tamils,,
but Chinese, Javanese, and Malays are also
employed. The coolies are well housed and
cared for, and their health is excellent.. A
hospital is maintained on the property. Mr.
George Stothard, the manager, has had many
years' experience of planting in Province
Wellesley and Perak.. Messrs.. Boustead &
Co., Pinang, are the agents.
BERTAM ESTATE.
Bertam estate in Province Wellesley is one
of the most up-to-date rubber plantations in
Malaya. It was originally opened up for
other crops by Messrs.. James Richardson
and Abraham Logan fifty or sixty years ago.
Then it passed into the hands of the late
Mr. Daniel Logan, and from him to his son,
who disposed of it later to a Kongsee of
three Chinamen. In 1906 it was acquired
by the present proprietors, the Straits
Settlements Bertam Rubber Company.
The property is situated loj miles from
Butterworth, and is about 15,000 acres in
good water and an adequate labour force in
which sickness is unknown. At the time of
writing 1,200 acres have been fully planted
with 180,000 rubber-trees, ranging from one
to nine years old, and Bertam rubber is
well known in the trade for its high
quality. Tapping was commenced in 1905,
when the yield of 6,000 lbs. commanded the
highest price of any Straits Settlements
rubber produced that year, namely, 6s. lod.
a pound. In 1906 the yield was 20,000 lbs.,
and for 1907 the estimate was 30,000 lbs.
At the Singapore show of 1906 Bertam scrap
rubber obtained the first prize, and at the
Kuala Kangsa show of 1907 the second
prize for sheet rubber and second prize for
scrap rubber were awarded to the products
of this estate. On an average 100,000
rubber-trees a year are planted. There are
also 1,000 acres planted with coconuts, and
from 45,000 trees the yearly return is 240,000
nuts. These are all sold to local dealers, who
take delivery on the estate. In a couple of
years or so the return will be trebled. Cassava
is grown as a catch-crop, and this product,
which has realised as much as from 10
to 12 dollars a picul, is a valuable asset
towards the upkeep of the rubber. Of the
undeveloped part of the property, allotments
are lent gratis to families of Chinese on the
understanding that they fell the trees and clear
the land in readiness for rubber planting.
Thus the proprietors save the expense of
clearing the jungle, while the "squatters," as
THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS (BBBTAM) BUBBEE COMPANY, LTD.
Estate Entrance, Coconuts, and Copra Sheds.
THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS (BERTAM) RUBBER COMPANY, LTD.
Malay Coolie Lines, the Rubber Factory, the Staff, and the Estate Bungalow.
THE STBAITS SETTLEMENTS (BERTAM) EUBBEB COMPANY, LTD.
RUBBER TREES FOIR YEARS OLD, TAPPING, AND RUBBER TREES ElGHT YEARS OLD.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MAI>AYA
381
they are called, are able to make a liveli-
hood by planting cassava, which does not
interfere with rubber-trees. The Malay
population of the district lease strips of padi
land, of which there are about 3,000 acres
on the property ; and a further revenue is
derived from charges made for the privilege
of driving cattle from Kedah over the estate,
which is traversed by 15 miles of roads. It is
a remarkable fact that whereas in most parts
of Malaya the Malays have been found
unsatisfactory for plantation purposes, at
Bertam they form a splendid tapping force.
The regular labour force of Ihe estate is 400
Tamils, Chinese, Malay, and Siamese coolies,
and free Tamil labour is being substituted for
indentured labour.
On the north of the property there is a
retaining wall 14 miles long which holds
a capital of ^175,000. Sir West Ridgway is
the chairman, and the other directors are
Messrs. J. E. A. Dick Lauder, Thomas Ritchie,
G. Dundas-Mouat, G. S. Barwick, George
Dalziel, and Sir William E. Ward. Messrs.
Boustead & Co. are the Pinang agents, and the
Hon. John Turner is the visiting agent. Mr.
H. Read Smith is the secretary of the com-
pany, whose London offices are at 16, St.
Helen's Place.
CHBNDERIANG BUBBBE, LTD.
The only rubber estates of any importance
in the historical district of Chenderiang are
those started by Mr. ' Malcolm Duncan, and
floated by him as limited companies in 1907.
One of these is known as Chenderiang
Rubber, Ltd., and was floated in London
pany, Ltd. Afterwards he opened up exten-
sive tin mines in the Chenderiang valley, and
later on the two rubber estates above men-
tioned. With the exception of his three
assistants, he is the only white man m the
neighbourhood in which he is stationed, and
he has taken such an important part in the
development of the locality that he is fre-
quently referred to as the Mayor of Chen-
deriang. At present Chenderiang is about
the fifth most important Chinese minmg
centre in Perak, having an output of four
to five thousand piculs per month. Mr.
Duncan has just formed in London a company
whose object is the dredging of the Chan-
deriang valley for tin, and the undertaking is
regarded as certain to meet with success.
There is a fine water supply in connection
with the mines, as contiguous to the property
CHBNDBEIANG RUBBER ESTATE, LTD.
Views of the Estate and of the Nursery.
back the river when it is in flood. The estate
buildings comprise the manager's house,
two assistants' houses, a factory, drying shed,
copra shed, and coolie lines. Sheet, crepe,
scrap, and block rubber are prepared in the
factory, in which the machinery is all worked
by oil engines.
The manager is Mr. John Lamb, son of the
late Hon. James Lamb, M.L.C. He was
engaged in planting in Sumatra for three
years, and was assistant manager of the Prye
estate for twelve years before taking up his
present position in May, 1905. The European
assistants are five in number — Messrs. C.
Moore, C. Ritchie, G. Lungly, J. Knox, and
B. Crowe.
The Straits Settlements Bertam Rubber
Company, Ltd., was floated in May, igo6, with
with a capital of ;£20,ooo. . The estate is
situated on the Chenderiang Tapah old road,
and is a property of 640 acres. It was opened
up two years and a half ago by Mr. Duncan,
and at the present time 250 acres are planted
with young Para rubber, 100 acres more have
been felled and cleared, and the whole of the
estate is to be planted by the end of 1908 if
sufficient labour can be procured.
The other company is Sungei Jong Rubber
Estate, Ltd., a private limited liability com-
pany', consisting of seven members only, with
a capital of £10,000. At present 50 acres are
planted and 200 acres are felled.
Mr. Duncan is a native of Aberdeen, Scot-
land, and came to the Chenderiang district
some eight years ago as manager of the
Chendei-iang Hydraulic Tin Mining Com-
is the most celebrated waterfall in the Malay
States, known as the Kinjang Waterfall, where
the stream has a sheer fall of 800 feet. Chen-
deriang was at one time the headquarters of
the Malay Rajas, a number of whom still live
there. Formerly the largest elephant kraal in
the whole State of Perak existed there. Mr.
F. A. D. Evans is general manager of Mr.
Duncan's many properties, and is a capable
and thoroughly experienced man.
JEBONG ESTATE.
Situated one mile from Simpang railway
station and six miles from Taiping is the
Jebong estate, one of the most flourishing
rubber properties in Perak. It is owned by
the Jebong (Perak) Rubber Company, Ltd.
Rubber Exhibit.
JEBONG ESTATE.
The Railway Front. 3. Interior of Rubber Factory.
4. Tapping Rubber Trees.
. The Avenue,
JBBONG ESTATE.
2. Two Years Old Rubber Clearing.
3. Old Rubber Trees.
384
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
which has an authorised capital of j£8o,ooo,
and is 1,184 acres in extent. On the north it is
bounded by the railway, on the south by the
River Larut, on the east by the Simpang estate,
and on the west by the Jebong river. Of the
total area, 953 acres have already been fully
planted with rubber, and contain altogether
115,226 trees. There are 267 acres under nine
and ten-year-old rubber, 332 acres under two-
year-old rubber, and 322 acres on which the
rubber is a year old. At the present rate of
progress the whole property will shortly come
under cultivation, and the tapping area will, of
course, increase yearly. The soil is alluvial
clay, and is easily drained. Both the old and
the young trees have grown well, and at the
agri-horticultural show at Kuala Kangsa in
1907 Jebong exhibits were awarded first prize
for sheet rubber and second for crepe. An
up-to-date factory has been built upon the
estate, and contains a portable 8-h.p. engine
and four washing machines. In igo6 the yield
amounted to 59,ooo lbs. of dry rubber, which
met a ready sale in London. No catch-crops
are sown, but a few coconut and areca-nut
palms have been left upon the ground for the
use of the labour force, which comprises 352
Tamils and 133 Malays, the latter being em-
ployed in tapping. Each family of Tamil
coolies ""iB* "provided with a detached house.
The health of the coolies has been remarkably
good, largely owing to the fact that their
are Messrs. R. H. Eliot, Keith RoUo, R. H. S.
Scott, D. Watson, and T. G. Hayes.
CHUNGKAT SALAK ESTATE.
The Chungkat Salak rubber estate, situated
about nine miles from Kuala Kangsa, and
half a mile from Salah North railway station,
forms part of a grant of 10,000 acres made by
the Government to a Mr. Hill. It has an area
of 3,900 acres of undulating land free from
Crown rent. It was acquired in June, igo6,
by the Chungkat Salak Syndicate, a company
formed in Glasgow, and Mr. E. H. F. Day was
appointed managerin February, 1907. When the
estate was opened up, 120 acres were planted
with Para rubber, and 380 more have since been
placed under cultivation. There are now some
23,000 young trees on the estate. Some of
these have attained a height of 25 feet in fifteen
months from plants which were grown from
seed planted in the nurseries five months pre-
viously. A special officer sent from England
to report on the estate declared that .he had
never known such quick or vigorous growth.
In about a year's time a further 1,000 acres of
rubber will have been planted, and the pro-
spects of the company are very bright. The
land is believed to be rich in tin, and mines are
being opened by Chinese. The Government
are about to construct a cart road, four miles in
length, through the property, to connect Salah
European assistant. The coolies employed
are mostly Tamils. A European assistant has
been sent to India for the purpose of recruiting
this class of labour, and the force has been in-
creased from 90 to 350 coolies in four months.
There are also sixty Javanese at work on the
estate, but Javanese are not largely employed
owing to the cost of recruiting them. This, cost
amounts to over 50 dollars per head, and only
21 dollars of this sum is recoverable from the
coolie's wages.
Amongst the directors of the company, the
capital of which is ;^3S,ooo, are Sir William
Treacher and the Hon. Mr. John Anderson, of
Messrs. Guthrie & Co., of Singapore;
BAN ENG & CO.
Among many Chinese firms owning rubber,
coconut, and tapioca plantations in Province
Wellesley-, a prominent place is taken by
Ban Eng & Co., of Pinang. This house was
founded by the late Mr. Chew ChoO Heang,
eldest son of the late Chew Koe Lip. He was
born and educated in China, and at the age
of twenty-two went to Pinang, and in partner-
ship with Mr. Tan Kay Beng commenced
business as general merchants. Fifteen years
afterwards they purchased the Kean Ann
estate, Bukit Tolory, Province Wellesley. This
property is 1,400 acres in extent and contains
60,000 rubber-trees, from four to five years
VIEWS ON CHUNGKAT SALAK ESTATE.
drinking water is conveyed in pipes from
Taiping hill, where the supply is very pure.
The property is in fine condition and reflects
great credit upon Mr. B. C. M. Knight and his
assistant, Mr. F. H. Davies. The registered
office of the company is at the office of Messrs.
gosanquet & Co., Colombo, and the directors
North railway station with the River Plus.
Mr. Day received his planting experience in
Ceylon and India, where he was for some
fifteen years engaged on well-known tea,
coffee, pepper,, and cinchona plantations. In
addition to him, there are on the estate a
European mining superintendent and a
old, 200 acres of coconuts in full bearing, and
tapioca. A well-equipped tapioca factory has
been built upon the property.. Mr. Chew
Choo Heangdied in 1901, leaving, a widovv (a
daughter of the late L'im Sum Kee) and four
sons and two daughters. He was succeeded
in the management and senior partnership of
1. THE PACTOEY.
3. THE LATE CHEW CHOO HEANG.
2 & 4. VIEWS ON KHEAN ANN ESTATE.
5. CHEW SIANG KHENG.
386
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
the business by his younger brother, Mr. Chew
Siang Kheng. This gentleman was born in
China in 1864, and first went to Pinang twenty
years later as cashier in his brother's firm. He
married the second daughter of Mr. Cheah
Cheong, and has three daughters.
BASTFIELD ESTATE.
Mr. Edwin Philips is the owner of this pro-
perty in Sungei Siput, in the Kuala Kangsa
purchased Plang estate, in Sungei Siput, from
Mr. F. G. Bosanquet. This property was
originally planted by Mr. Bosanquet with
Liberian coffee, coconuts, and, on a small scale,
with Para rubber. Mr. Bosanquet, who was
continually suffering from malarial fever, was
compelled to return to England, with the result
that Mr. Philips secured the estate for a
nominal sum, but owing to the declining price
at the time and the unhealthy character of the
place, he was considered to have made a some-
doubt that these estates will be eventually
very valuable.
SANDYCBOFT ESTATE.
Saridycroft estate is one of the few rubber
properties situated in the territory of the
Dindingd. It is connected with Taiping and
the Perak river district by a fine Government
cart road, which traverses the estate for about
A Prize Calf.
BASTPIELD ESTATE.
E. Philips (Proprietor).
The Bungalow.
district, and of Kanthan estate in Chemor, in
the Kinta district. The former is some five
miles from Sungei Siput-railway station on the
main road, and comprises 850 acres with a mile
and half of road frontage, while the latter estate
is some two miles from Chemor railway station
on the main road, and comprises nearly 600
acres with a similar advantage of a road fron-
tage. Both properties are being cleared and
planted with Para rubber, coffee, and cocoa,
the last-named product being introduced on a
large scale for the first time into the States by
Mr. Philips. Mr. Philips is also the lessee of
the Kuala Kangsa Government plantation, and
is the owner of a fine herd of English cattle
and some prize sheep and goats. Besides being
proprietor of these estates, he also owns valu-
able tin lands and house property in Ipoh and
Sungei Siput, and is altogether a very success-
ful business man. He is an enthusiastic motor-
ist, and a member of the Perak Motor Club.
A native of Ceylon, he came to the Straits in
1893, and was employed for some time in the
Straits Trading Company, afterwards taking to
tin mining on a small scale. He subsequently
took charge of the Tambun Coffee Estate — now
the celebrated Tambun tin mine — and later on
what rash speculation. The result, however,
justified his venture. Mr. Philips inter-planted
the coffee with Para rubber, and was amply
rewarded for his energy and labour. At that
time planting was purely experimental, al-
though in this instance it proved very success-
ful. Some of the sheet rubber prepared on the
estate was sent to Singapore and fetched the
highest price in the market, viz., 425 dollars per
picul (133 J lbs.) — 6s. iijd. per lb. according to
the London rate of exchange at that time. The
transaction naturally attracted the attention of
capitalists at home, with the result that Mr.
Philips received many offers for this estate,
and at last sold the property to the Asiatic
Rubber Produce Company, Ltd., for ^£10,000.
After a visit to Japan for the benefit of his
health and a trip to his native country, from
which he had been absent fourteen years, Mr.
Philips returned to the States and undertook
the cultivation of the two estates he now owns.
Both properties are bordering on the main
road and in close proximity to town, and the
soil is well suited for the cultivation of rubber.
These facts, considered in conjunction with Mr.
Philips' long experience as one of the pioneer
planters of the district, leave little room for
two miles. It was, together with the neigh-
, bouring estate of Hidden Treasure, originally
opened by Mr. E. H. Bratt, but became the
property of the Sandycroft Rubber Company
in 1905, though its original proprietor continues
to act as a director and visiting agent for
the company.
The area under cultivation is over 400 acres ;
150 acres contain trees from nine to seven
years old, which are expected this year {1907)
to produce 30,000 lbs. of dry rubber, or 200 lbs.
per acre. The drainage is natural and the
soil is very rich, as may be seen from the
growth of the tree in one of our illustrations.
This tree, which is eight years of age, has
attained the remarkable girth of 62 inches,
taken 3 feet above the ground. The company
enjoys the confidence of the investing pubUc
of the Straits Settlements in a marked degree,
and the shares stand at a premium of 300 per
cent., being in that respect higher than those
of any other locally-formed rubber company
with a currency capital. On an output of
16,500 lbs. the dividend paid last year was
20 per cent.
The estate is fully equipped with manager's
bungalow, rubber-curing house, and many sets
SANDYCBOFT ESTATE.
Sandycroft Bungalow.
Two Years" Old Tree (isf feet high).
Eight Years Old Rubber Tree (6i inches girth 3 feet from the ground).
SandycroI'T Rubber House.
388
TWENTIETH CENTURY IINIPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
of coolie "lines." The labour employed in
tapping is chiefly Malay, but there is also a
strong force of Tamils on the estate, which is
managed by Mr. R. B. Murray, assisted by Mr.
Raeburn Scott. The registered offices of the
Sandycroft Rubber Company are at Winchester
House, Singapore, and the Board consists of
Messrs. F. W. Barker, Gentle, Cook, Bratt, and
Plumpton, with Mr. W. Lowther Kemp as
secretary.
CICELY EUBBBB ESTATE.
In rubber circles in Perak probably there is
no properly that one hears mentioned so
frequently as the Cicely estate, situated two
miles from Teluk Anson, and managed by Mr.
Maurice Maude. This is by no means the
largest rubber estate in the district, but it is
famed for the possession of some fine old trees
in full bearing, and for the manner in which it
came into the possession of its present owners.
Some eight years back the place was planted'
with rubber, but after a while was practically
abandoned by the partners in the undertaking,
three Perak men, who considered that they had
thrown their money away. Two years ago,
it was " re-discovered " by Mr. Maude, over-
by the end of 1907. Of this area, 650 acres
were acquired from the original proprietors,
and the balance was purchased later. On the
property there are 8,350 tapable trees, which
will yield, on an average, a little over 3 lbs.
each this year. Half of the total number of
trees are tapped every day, and the average
daily yield is 120 lbs. These trees are
from eight to nine years old, and it is
estimated that next year each of them
will produce 4 lbs. of dry rubber. The new
estate is situated on rich, low-lying land, which
would appear to be the best possible for rubber-
growing ; it is in excellent condition, and
shows no signs of weeds, these having been
so thoroughly eradicated in the past that at the
present time 40 Javanese women are able to
keep the whole estate clean. This class of
labour has been found best for weeding and
tapping purposes. Javanese labour almost
exclusively is employed. In the near future
rubber machinery is to be installed. In 1906,
the first year of the company's existence, the
dividend earned was 5 per cent. In 1907, 15
per cent, was paid on ordinary shares and
20 per cent, on preference shares.
The manager of the estate is a brother of
Mr. Cyril Maude, the well-known London
the main road from Taiping to Matang, Perak,
consisted of abandoned Sakai and Malay hold-
ings. In that year Mr. Edward Lauder Watson,
a Perak rubber-planting pioneer, leased the
property in perpetuity from the Government,
and now rents 1,000 acres. He paid an initial
premium of 2 dollars per acre, and under-
took to contribute an annual rental of I
dollar per acre for 640 acres, and 4 dollars per
acre at the end of the sixth year for the
remaining 360 acres. Having felled and
cleared the land, he planted 480 acres with
Para rubber, the seed being obtained from
the neighbouring Jebong estate, and as a
catch-crop decided to cultivate no acres with
pisangs. The soil, which is of a sandy clay,
is found very suitable for rubber-growing, and
the trees, some twenty months old, exhibit a
remarkable and healthy progress. A notable
experiment made on the estate is the inter-
planting of the young rubber-trees with
crotalaria, a nitrogenous plant which, apart
from its beneficial effects as a fertiliser, tends
to keep the land free from weeds and tropical
growths. Of 300 labourers employed, 250
are Tamils and the remainder Chinese. It is
free labour, and the supply obtainable from
the surrounding Malay Kampongs for tapping
1. Old Rubbek Tkees.
CICELY RUBBER ESTATE.
2. YoL'NG Rubber Trees.
3. The Bungalow.
grown with weeds and jungle. In conjunction
with Messrs. Aylesbury and Garland, of Ipoh,
Mr. Maude acquired the property for 25,000
dollars, and floated it as acompanyat home with
a capital of ^^12,000. Since that time it has been
yielding excellent results, and it promises three
years hence to give the shareholders 100 per
cent, per annum on their money. Cicely estate
is 810 acres in area, all of which will be planted
actor and proprietor of the new London
theatre. The Playhouse. Mr. Maurice Maude
had several years' experience of planting in the
West Indies and Australia, and came to the
Federated Malay States ten and a half years ago.
LAUDERDALE ESTATE.
Until November, 1905, the property now
known as the Lauderdale estate, 4J miles on
purposes when the estate is in bearing should
be practically unlimited.
Mr. Watson, the proprietor, is the son of a
hydraulic engineer of Melrose, Scotland, and
before coming to Perak went, at the age of
twenty, to Ceylon, where he commenced tea
planting in the Pusselawa and Kalutara districts.
His experience in rubber-planting was acquired
subsequently on 'the Jebong, Gapis, Silensing,
I. Rubber and Pisakgs (Baxasas)
LAUDERDALE ESTATE.
^. General View.
3. Rubber and Crotalaria.
■si=
i. VouNG Rubber Trees.
YAM SENG ESTATE.
2. Coconut Nursery. 3. the Bungalow.
4. New Cle.ieikg.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
391
Yam Seng, and otherproperties. After engaging
for a year in tin mining in Negri Sambilan, he
purcliased tliis estate, and he is now interested
largely in Jebong estate and in other rubber
syndicates. He is on the committee of the Perak
Planters' Association and of the New Club,
Taiping. He is a member of the Sports Club,
London, and of the Perak and Pinang Clubs.
Mr. Watson was educated at Edinburgh and at
Leeds University. He intended, originally, to
become a mechanical engineer, but has no
cause to regret the step he took at an early
age, for this led to his journeyings East, where
he has built up a sound estate, around which
he has laid a private golf course on which to
enjoy his leisure time.
SIMPANG ESTATE.
The Asiatic Rubber and Produce Company,
Ltd., is a Ceylon company, with head offices at
Colombo. It is represented locally by Messrs.
Lee, Hedges & Co. Among other properties
Hapatale, and Badulla districts. He served
with the first contingent of the Ceylon Mounted
Infantry in South Africa, for which he was
awarded the Queen's medal with two clasps.
Mr. Kellow is a member of the Perak Club.
YAM SENG ESTATE.
It is twelve years since this estate in the
Matang district of Perak, some loj miles from
Taiping and 4J miles from Sempang railway
station, was opened. It was first planted with
coffee and coconuts, and in the second year
rubber was introduced. It is owned by the
Yam Seng Rubber Company, Ltd., whose head
offices are at 10, Stock Exchange Buildings,
20, Anglesea Street, Dublin, and is managed by
Mr. Charles Edward Symonds, a son of Major-
General J. C. Symonds, of the Royal Marines.
The estate is divided into two blocks of 953
acres and 1,034 acres respectively, the latter
forming the estate reserve. At present 573
20 feet. The rubber is manufactured into
sheet, and about 30,000 lbs. of this were
turned out in 1907. The company was
awarded the second prize, and was second
for the diploma for rubber exhibits at Pinang
and Singapore in 1905 and 1906 respectively.
There are some 25,000 seven-year-old cocoriut-
trees on the estate, and these are now coming
into bearing.
The labour force comprises free and inden-
tured Tamils and some 120 Chinese and
Malays, who attend to the weeding of the
estate by contract. Health and water supply
are both excellent, and communication by land
as well as by the Sapetang river to Port Weld
affords good facilities for transport.
Mr. Symonds is a native of St. Heliers, and
has been in Perak since 1892, when he first
took up sugar planting on Caledonia and
Prye estates. Subsequently he turned his
attention to coconuts and tapioca on the
Golden, Grove estate. He has occupied his
SIMPANG ESTATE.
The New Rubber Clearing.
Labourers.
which it owns in Malaya is the Simpong estate
of about 640 acres, situated five miles from
Taiping, in the Matang district. Some 200
acres were planted recently with Liberian coffee
and rubber, but this is now being entirely
replaced with Para rubber. Two hundred
additional acres of new clearings were opened
in 1906-7. By the beginning of October, 1907,
some 2,000 lbs. of dry rubber had been dealt
with since the January previous, and this found
a good market in sheet. The labour force
consists of 80 free Tamils, 35 Bengalis, and 30
Chinese and Malays.
Mr. W. A. T. Kellow, the manager, is an old
Ceylon coffee, tea, rubber, and cocoa planter,
whose experience was gained in the D.ilosbage,
acres are planted with coconuts and rubber,
while another 173 acres are ready for planting.
The oldest rubber-trees are eleven years of
age, and U2 acres of trees are being tapped.
The soil is a clayey loam, with a sandy surface,
and, although the rainfall totals some 130 inches
yearly, drainage on the estate is no difficult
problem, the land being inclined to undula-
tion. Regarding the planting of rubber-trees,
the following return will be of interest :
11,254 trees are 11 years of age ; 1,680 from
6J to 7 years ; 7,120 of 15 months ; 172,444 of
a year ; 510 of 9 months ; 5,046 of 4 months ;
and 11,800 of three months. The trees are
planted at intervals of 15 feet by 15 feet, but
there are a few patches planted 20 feet by
present appointment since 1904. He is a
member of all local clubs, and is prominent
amongst the Masonic fraternity.
MATANG JAMBOE ESTATE.
This estate is owned privately by Mr.
Frederick Harvey Erskine Sperling, who
opened it up in 1898. It is situated six miles
from Taiping on the Matang road, adjoining
Matang village and the Jebong estate, and is
bounded by the Larut river. The property
is goo acres in extent. Half of it is held on
lease at an annual rent of 50 cents per acre,
and the remainder at i dollar per acre per
annum. In 1898, 150 acres were felled and
I. The Bungalow
MATANG JAMBOB ESTATE.
Road Scene ox Estate, 3. the New Clearixg.
4. Tapping Rubber Trees.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
393
cleared, and each year the estate has been
opened up gradually, until at the present time
325 acres are fully planted with Para rubber,
the seed for which was obtained from the
Kuala Kangsa gardens and Gapis estate. The
soil is a rich alluvial loam, with a surface of
sandy clay washed down from the neighbouring
hills, On an average 175 trees per acre are
planted, the oldest being seven years of age,
and already 105 acres are being tapped. A
recent return shows a planted area of 275 acres,
containing 48,443 trees, though it is the inten-
tion of the proprietor to open up gradually the
whole of the land available for planting. The
rubber output, consisting of sheet, crepe, and
block, amounted in 1907 to 35,000 lbs., and was
dealt with at a factory worked by means of
an 8-h.p. portable engine, driving mangles,
block and crepe machines, coagulators, and
other plant. The labour force consists of 100
Tamils, 100 Malays, and 60 Chinese, all free
and in excellent health.
The proprietor of the estate, Mr. F. H. E.
Sperling, was born at Nice and educated
privately in England. After attending the
Agricultural College at Downton, Wiltshire,
he migrated in 1885 to Ceylon, for the purpose
of planting tea in Nuwara Eliya, Nilambe, and
Rangalla districts, and afterwards came to
Perak. He is also interested in local tin mining.
Mr. Sperling, who is assisted on the estate by
Mr. C. H. Jenkins, is a member of the Royal
Colonial Institute and of all the local and
Pinang clubs. His chief recreation is shooting.
SBMENYIH ESTATE.
Remarkable specimens of Para and Rambong
rubber are obtained from this property of the
Asiatic Rubber Produce Company, Ltd., of
Ceylon, the directors of which are Messrs.
G. H. Alston, E. M. Shatfock, R. F. S. Hardy,
and C. D. Rotch ; the secretaries, Messrs. Lee,
Hedges & Co., Ceylon ; the visiting agent, Mr.
John Gibson ; and the manager, Mr. C. Mit-
chell. The estate has an area of 709 acres,
54 of which were planted with Para rubber in
1898, 3b acres in 1905, 200 acres in 1906, and
329 acres in 1907, leaving 90 acres in reserve
for clearing. In all, 81,162 trees have been
set. Tapping was first started in June of 1906,
and in June of the year following the total
yield of rubber was 4,635 lbs., and this was
sold in Ceylon. During the same season
400 piculs of coffee were produced, 300
acres of the estate having, in earlier days,
been planted with coffee, interplanted with
rubber.
Originally the estate belonged to Mr. Lau
Boon Tit, from whom it was purchased in
January, 1906. It is situated seven miles from
Kajang railway station, and one mile from the
village of Semenyih. It is quite near to the
main road at the twenty-second mile-post, and
is approached by a cart-road. The land is
gently undulating, only one small part of the
new clearing showing. a hill, rather sharply
defined. The soil is very free, friable, deep,
gritty, and porous, and is evidently very well
suited for the cultivation of rubber. The estate
buildings are substantially constructed of well-
cemented brick and hardwood timber. Some
350 Tamil labourers are employed. Mr. C. Mit-
chell, the manager, was for ten years planting
in Ceylon before he came to the Federated Malay
States in April, 1906. He took charge of Sungci
Siput estate, and from thence was transferred
to the Sembeyah estate.
TRONG ESTATE.
Mr. William Blair Stephens, a prominent
Perak planter, manages the Trong estate,
which is twelve miles from Taiping on the
main road to Bruas. It is 969 acres in extent,
and is held in perpetuity from the Government
at an annual rental of 50 cents per acre for 106
acres, and i dollar per acre for the remainder,
in respect of which an initial premium of
3 dollars per acre has been paid. Originally
the property was opened up in areca nuts, but
since 1903 rubber has been planted, and some
600 acres of Para trees are now under cultiva-
tion. There are some 20 nurseries on the
property, in which the oldest rubber is now
four years of age. The trees are planted some
i8 feet by 18 feet apart, and others 22 feet by 22
feet. When taken up the land was practically all
virgin jungle, and this of course necessitated
some heavy felling and clearing. The soil
being reddish loam intermixed with clay, the
growth of the trees, especially of those on
the hillside, is very satisfactory, while the six-
teen months old trunks compare well with
other rubber plants in the State. The rainfall
averages from 572 inches in June to 22'I3 inches
in December — the wettest month — giving an
average of 1085 inches, and an annual total of
I30'07 inches. The labour force consists of 80
Tamils, 50 Malays, and some 25 Chinese.
Mr. Stephens, who is a native of Queensland,
and who has been rubber planting in the
native States since 1904, when he came to
the Jebong estate, owns rubber properties at
Matang Bafu, at Pondok Tanjong, near Bagan
Serai, and Alor Pongsu estate, in the Krian
district. He is the honorary secretary of the
Northern Perak Planters' Association, is on the
SEMENYIH ESTATE.
The Estate Rubber Factory.
View of Old Rubber Trees.
R- •
J. General View.
TRONG ESTATE,
a. A Fine Sixteen Months Old Rubber Tree.
3. Sixteen Months Old Rubber Trees.
PLANTERS OF LARUT, MATANG, AND KRIAN.
_i. A. McDonald. 2. C. E. Symoxds. 3. W. Sim. 4. Captain H. J. Dempster. 5. J. W. Kennedy. 6. W. H, Tate. 7. J. L. Rose. 8. C. H. Jenkins
9. E. Lauder-Watson. 10. Thos. Boyd. ii. B.C. N. Knight. 12. J. K. Swaine. 13. W. B.. Stephens. 14. F. H. E. Sperling. 15. F. s. Firsistone.
16. W. Dayies. 17. a. Wallis Wilson. iS. T. H. Menzies.
396
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
committee of the Perak Planters' Association,
and is a member of all Perak and Pinang social
and sporting clubs. He is owner of the griffins
" Ayesha," " Amatof," " Mixup," and " Blackrat,"
opened up, and elephants were the chief means
of transport. Even now elephants may be
seen passing through the estate on the way to
mining lands which are further in the jungle
bong rubber (Ficus clasHca) there were 2,906
trees planted in 1905. More rubber is now
being planted, and large tracts of land are
being cleared for the purpose. Rum is also
■jjimKamsm^im- '.mt^^A
SUNGBI KBUDDA ESTATE.
Estate Hospital.
View of Tapable Rubber Trees.
and a steward of the Perak Turf Club. In the
management of the Trong estate he is assisted
by Mr. T. H. Menzies.
SUNGEI KBUDDA ESTATE.
Situated about eight and a half miles trom
the Sungei Siput railway station is the Sungei
Krudda rubber estate, belonging to the Perak
Rubber Plantations, Ltd. The property, which
was taken up and planted by Mr. G. Gordon
Brown, one of the best known of Perak
pioneer rubber planters, extends over 1,005
acres, 500 of which are under cultivation, while
another 200 are being cleared for rubber. At
present about 20,000 trees, out of a total of
about 80,000, are being tapped, and many
more are approaching maturity. The yield
for 1907 is estimated at 30,000 lbs. of rubber.
The labour force, consisting of 250 coolies, is
chiefly Chinese Sinkehs (indentured labour)
and klings. Considerable trouble has been
experienced lately through the coolies suffering
from sickness, but the excellent hospital
arrangements with which the estate is
equipped are proving effective in combating
the evil. Mr. Brown, who now manages the
estate, is a native of Scotland. He commenced
planting on a tea estate in Ceylon in 1887, and
came to the Malay States about ten years ago.
He obtained land from the Government and
worked it -for several years before the Sungei
Krudda estate was floated and took it over.
In those early days the country had not been
than the road terminus. The estate is now
reached by a road so good that it is frequently
used by motorists.
There are two European assistants on the
property. A factory has been built containing
the Federal Engineering Company's special
rubber-washing machines, and other up-to-date
appliances.
GULA ESTATE.
The Gula estate, owned by the Perak Sugar
Cultivation Company, Ltd., is situated on the
banks of the Gula river, and comprises 6,813
acres of land in the Krian district of Upper
Perak, The property was acquired in 1882 by
Mr. W. Drummond, of Shanghai, on a lease in
perpetuity at a rental of i dollar per acre and
a royalty of i per cent, on the output of sugar.
The company was incorporated in 1883, with a
capital of 350,000 taels. The head offices are
at No. 22, kiangse Road, Shanghai, the Straits
Settlements agents being Messrs. Kennedy &
Co., of Pinang.
Of the total area 2,500 acres are planted with
sugar, 586 acres with Para rubber, and 36 acres
with Rambong rubber. The output of sugar
for 1906 was 73,018 piculs, an average of 30
piculs per acre, for which an average net price
of S.71 dollars per picul was obtained. The
proportion of manufactured sugar to cane was
9 per cent. There were in 1906 65,107 rubber-
trees, of which 4,913 were planted between
1903 and 1905, and 60,194 in 1906. Of Ram-
manufactured on the estate, and about 500
puncheons of the spirit are exported to Rangoon
and Calcutta yearly.
The sugar factory, built in 1884, contains two
sets of three-roller mills, which crush 240 tons
in twenty-four hours, and a " triple effect " boil-
ing plant with 4,000 square feet heating surface.
There are two multitubular boilers of 40 h.p,
nominal, one water-tube boiler of 80 h.p
nominal, and two of 65 h.p. nominal each
The engines are of the horizontal type, 40 h.p,
nominal each.
After the sugar-canes have been cut in the
fields they are conveyed to the factory in punts
along canals constructed on the estate. 'There
are 120 of these punts, of an average capacity
of 3j tons, and some 50 miles of canals fed
from the Kurau river.
There is a spacious hospital on the estate
under the charge of Dr. Coope, who is assisted
by a staff of trained dispensers and dressers.
This building, as well as the factory and most
of the estate bungalows, is lighted with elec-
tricity generated at the factory.
The labour force consists of 1,521 coolies.
Originally Chinese were brought to the estate
under contract, and paid 25 cents per day, but
since 1883 Tamils, Malays, and Javanese have
also been employed.
The supervising staff consists of a manager,
an engineer, a medical officer, an accountant,
and seven assistants. Mr. Thomas Boyd, the
manager, is a native of Dumfries, Scotland.
Previous to assuming his present position he
Rubber Trees Two Years Old.
GULA ESTATE.
2. Young Rubber Trees.
3. Robber Trees One Year Old.
The Cane Fields.
Sugar Factory (Interior).
GULA ESTATE.
Manager and European Staff.
Steam Launch "Gula.'
400
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
was in Brazil and on the Albion estate,
Demerara, learning sugar-planting. He is
vice-president of the Malay Peninsula Planters'
Association, a member of the Perak Planters'
Association and of all the Pinang clubs. During
Mr. Boyd's absence at home Mr. John William
Kennedy is acting for him. Mr. Kennedy also
hails from Dumfries, and came out to Gula
estate as assistant in 1900. Mr. Alexander
McDonald, the chief engmeer, is a native of
Ross-shire, and was trained as a mechanical
engineer at Inverness, at the Marine Work-
shops, Glasgow, and afterwards at the works of
the Merrylees Watson Company. He was sent
out by this company in 1896 to erect additional
machinery on the Gula estate, and decided to
remain as engineer. He is a member of the
Engineers' Institute and the Pinang Cricket
and Turf Clubs.
ULtJ BULUH ESTATE.
This property is a privately owned concern,
which has only quite recently been opened up.-
It is 12 miles from Kuala Lumpor, on the
border of the Ulu Selangor but still within the
Kuala Lumpor district. It is fortunately situated
in having an extensive railway frontage, Sungei
Buloh station being practically at one extremity
of the estate. The main road from Kuala
these natural advantages are being put to the
best use by some of the most experienced
planters in the Federated Malay States. The
property embraces an area of nearly 2,000
acres, of which by the end of 1907, 300 acres
had been cleared and planted with Para
rubber. A comprehensive programme of
further extensions is well in hand ; but care is
taken not to let rapidity of opening up new
areas interfere with the careful planting and
tending of new clearings and the scrupulous
upkeep of the planted areas. The place seems
very healthy, and labour is easily obtained.
The Government Forest reserve, which con-
stitutes the southern boundary of "the property,
forms a belt separating it from the Klang and
Kuala Selangor planting districts — a protection
worth considering in the event of pests or
diseases ever visiting those districts.
The managing partner, Mr. Alec Gordon
Glassford, was born at Rankester, Fifeshire, in
1879, and was educated at Edinburgh Academy.
He came to the Federated Malay States in
1897, and started planting on Ulu Yam estate.
He has been engaged in coffee and rubber
planting in various parts of Selangor ever
since, and took up his residence on Ulu Buluh
estate early in 1907. Mr. Glassford is a
member of most local clubs, and his recrea-
tions are golf, football, and shooting.
become in course of time one of the leading
estates in the Malay Peninsula. It is five miles
distant from Bagan Serai station on the Fede-
rated Malay States Railway main line. Origm-
ally the property belonged to the Perak Sugar
Cultivation Company, Ltd., but in May, igo6, it
was floated into a separate concern, bearing its
present name, and out of an issue of 11,500
shares there were allotted to the Perak Sugar
Cultivation Company, Ltd., as the purchase
price of the property, 8,400 fully paid-up shares
of 60 taels each. The new company entered
into possession of the estate on September i,
1906, and has now a capital of 700,000 taels.
There is a total area of 4,399 acres, acquired
from the Perak Government on a lease in
perpetuity at a rental of 25 cents per acre
per annum. In 1906 the area under sugar
was 1,417 acres, and the output of cane
crushed in the factory at Kulumpong, and
turned into what is known in the trade as
"basket sugar," was some 30,000 piculs
(4,000,000 lbs.). It is not, however, the com-
pany's intention to devote their energies to
sugar, but rather to the important industry of
rubber planting. Before the estate changed
hands 215 acres of Para rubber had been
planted, and these trees, from seven to eight
years old, form one of the finest sights in
Northern Perak. Already this" small area in
ULU BULUH ESTATE, SELANGOR.
I. View of the Estate from the Kailway.
■i. A YouxG Clearing.
Lumpor to Kuala Selangor, now in course of
construction, will traverse the whole length of
the property, and another road from Sungei
Buloh to Kuang, which is also under construc-
tion, will likewise cut through the estate.
The ease of transportation, the rich soil,
and the nicely undulating lay of the land make
the property peculiarly suitable for rubber, and
KULUMPONG RUBBER COMPANY, LTD.
Contiguous to the Kurah river," connected
by numerous canals and waterways with Gula
estate, and possessing unsurpassed facilities
for railway communication with Pinang, the
Kulumpong Rubber Company's property in the
Krian district of the State of Perak promises to
bearing has an output representing 17,000 lbs.
of dry manufactured rubber. Since the advent
of the new company 1,800 acres more have
been put under rubber, and at the present
time in going over the estate one sees rubber
everywhere. Here are nurseries where the
young shoots have just thrust their heads
above ground ; there one observes fields of
. The Sugar Factory.
THE KULUMPONG RUBBER COMPANY, LTD.
2. The European Staff. 3, Rubeek Exhibit.
4. The Rubber Factory.
THE KULUMPONG RUBBER COMPANY, LTD.
Tapping, Rubber Nursery, and Rubber Trees (Six Years Old)
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
403
more advanced trees, one year to two years
old, all looking extremely healthy and strong,
and bidding fair to equal any rubber grown in
the native States. A rubber factory on a small
scale, fitted witha 20 h.p. oil-engine, is working
daily, and turns out some very high-grade
rubber, which up till now has commanded a
good price on the London market. Our photo-
graphs will convey some idea of the work in
progress.
There is a labour force of 879 hands all told,
comprising 615 indentured Tamil coolies, 146
Javanese, with Malays and Chinese squatters.
The health of the coolies has always been
excellent, and the fine hospital, under the
charge of Dr. Coope, of Gula, is scarcely
Laidlaw, farmer, of Roxburgh, and was born in
1877. He was educated at Stewart's College,
Edinburgh, at Brighton Grammar School, and
at Edinburgh University, where he took a
medical course and graduated M.B. and
Ch.B. in 1903. After practising medicine
for some time in England, he spent twelve
months as surgeon on steamships plying
between England, Egypt, and South Africa.
In 190S he came to the Federated Malay
States' and practised in Kuala Lumpor, while
these estates were being opened up and a
bungalow was being built on the property.
Dr. Laidlaw married a step-daughter of Mr.
Robert Laidlaw, M.P. - He is a member of the
Malaya branch of the British Medical Associa-
GAPIS ESTATE.
Gapis estate is the property of the Kuala
Kangsa Plantations, Ltd., a locall5'-formed
private syndicate. It is situated about a
quarter of a mile from Padang Rengas rail-
way station in the Kuala Kangsa district of
Perak. It consists of 1,200 acres, 500 of which
are planted with Para rubber, 350 with coco-
nuts, and 42 with pepper. Formerly the estate
was planted entirely with coconuts and coffee.
Coconuts are still the principal source of
revenue, the crop for 1907 being estimated at
250,000 nuts. As more trees come into bear-
ing, this output will be increased to a million or
more. Mr. E. R. SaHsbury, the manager, has
DUSUN DUEIAN ESTATE, JUGRA, SELANGOB.
Bungalow, Clearing, .and Two Years Old Rubber.
ever busy. Mr. Thomas Boyd, of Gula, is
general superintendent of Kulumpong estate,
and Mr. William Sim is resident manager,
carrying on the estate works with the assist-
ance of three European superintendents.
DUSUN DURIAN AND ROXBURGH
ESTATES.
Dusan Durian estate, situated nine miles
from Jugra town, is owned by Mr. Robert
Laidlaw, M.P. for East Renfrew.shire, and is
managed by his brother. Dr. W. S. Laidlaw.
Together with a smaller property, Roxburgh
estate, it embraces 700 acres. Since
being opened in 1905 by Dr. Laidlaw,
550 acres of the total area have been planted
with Para rubber and the remainder with
coconuts and coffee. The soil is rich, and the
property has been thoroughly drained on an
approved system. There are, altogether,
100,000 rubber - trees on the property, and
they have shown excellent growth.
Dr. Laidlaw is a son of the late Mr. William
tion, of the Federated Malay States Agricultural
Association, and of all local clubs. His chief
recreations are shooting and motoring.
SUNGEI KLAH ESTATE.
This property in the Sungkai district takes
its name from the Klah river, which flows
through it, and is one of the latest in which
rubber planting has been taken up. It is
owned by the Malaya Rubber Company,
Ltd., and has been opened up about eighteen
months. The estate is 3,000 acres in extent,
and 300 acres have been planted with Para
rubber and another 300 acres have been
cleared. Most of the plantations are from
one to two years old, and the trees promise
well, those thirteen months old being 14 feet
high. The property is situated conveniently,
and has the main road and the railway as well
as the Klah river running through it. The
labour staff consists of 100 Klings, 100 Javanese,
and some Chinese, Mr. R. Hodgson is the
manager.
been ten years in the States and for seven
years in charge of Gapis estate. He has one
European assistant, Mr. T. Craster, and a large
staff of Tamil coolies.
SELINSING ESTATE.
Selinsing rubber estate, situated 12 miles
from the capital of Perak, was in July, 1907,
acquired from Messrs. W. F. Dew, G. Graham
Clarke, and C. J. Bayley, the original owners,
by the Selinsing Rubber Company, Ltd.,
which was floated in Colombo with an autho-
rised capital of Rs. 1,000,000. Of this sum
Rs. 690,000 have been fully paid up. The
property embraces 1,460 acres. Para rubber
has been planted on 793 acres and further
clearings are contemplated for next year. The
trees vary in age from nine years to as many
months. There are 1,400 Para trees between
nine and ten years of age on the roadside, and
six acres nine years old. Small areas have
also been planted with Rambong rubber and
coconuts. The estimated yield of the estate
I. SCE.NE OX THE SEPATANG RIVER.
SBLINSING ESTATE.
The Avexue.. 3. Seven- Years Old Rubber Trees.
4. Some of the Labourers.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
405
for 1907 is 7,000 lbs. dried rubber, which,
together with a small revenue of 144 dollars
from coconuts, is calculated to bring in 14,000
dollars. In 1908 there will be 180 acres in
bearing. The land rises gently from the Sepa-
tang river, with sufficient fall for drainage pur-
poses, and the transport facilities are excellent.
The estate is three hours' journey from Port
Weld by the Sepatang river, and is connected
by good cart roads with Bagan Serai and
Simpang railway stations, the former being 1 1
miles distant, and the latter five miles. The
estate is favourably situated in regard to labour,
and no difficulty is experienced in obtaining
as many free Tamil coolies as are required.
The estate buildings comprise the super-
intendent's bungalow, airy line accommodaion
for the coolies, a drying shed for rubber, and a
coffee pulping store. Mr. A. Wallis Wilson is
the manager, and his assistant is Mr. J. K.
Swaine. Messrs. Carson & Co., Colombo, are
the secretaries and agents for the company.
BATAK RABIT ESTATE.
This plantation, which is three miles from the
town of Teluk Anson in Perak, and a mile and
a half from the railway terminus, comprises
1,098 acres of some of the finest virgin rubber
land in the State. It was first opened up in
February, 1906, for the planting of Para rubber,
and up to date 200 acres have been felled,
cleared, and planted. The oldest trees on the
estate have been planted eighteen months and
show exceptional promise. The soil is a rich
alluvial loam, exceptionally well drained.
There is on the property a nursery containing
some 100,000 plants. It is proposed to plant
tapioca and ground-nuts as catch-crops in the
near future. Situated facing the Perak river,
with a wide road frontage, the estate enjoys
exceptional facilities for cheap transport to the
port of Teluk Anson. The labour force em-
ployed consists of thirty-five indentured and
seventy free Tamils, and the health of the
this estate, situated 25 miles from Taipmg, on
the south road to Bruas. The estate has a
total area of 701 acres. The land is undulatmg,
and the estate has excellent drainage. The
soil is alluvial loam with a sandy surface
washed down from the hills.
The property was first opened up in 1906,
and the concession was acquired in per-
petuity at an initial premium of 3 dollars an
acre per annum ■ and an annual rental of
I dollar an acre per annum for six years,
and thereafter at 4 dollars an acre per annum.
Mr. E. H. Bratt, the visiting agent, first
opened up the estate, and subsequently con-
verted it into a limited liability company
under the style of the Hidden Streams Rubber
Syndicate, Ltd., with an authorised capital
of ;£i2,ooo in £1 shares. The directors are
Messrs. C. T. Sidgewick, de Winton, Bethune,
and Spillman ; and the London agents are
Messrs. George Williamson & Co., of 138,
Leadenhall Street, E.C. Preparations for
I. John Whitham.
C. E. S. BAXtNDALE,
2. A. GI.KXNIE.
8. H. W. Harrisox.
13. H. R. Quartley.
PLANTERS OF SELANGOR.
3. H. E. G. SOLBE. 4. F. R. CHARTERIS.
g. J. Gibson. 10. R. M, G. Mitchell.
14. H. M. Darby. 15. A. C. Corbetta.
5. Captain A. J. Fox.
II. K. Pfenningwerth.
16. Gecrge V. L. Scott.
6. C. F. LUSHINGTON.
12. O. Pfekningwerth.
SOMERSET RUBBER ESTATE.
Adjoining the well-known Cicely and Silaha
estates, and situated about six miles from Teluk
Anson, is the Somerset rubber estate, belong-
ing to the Somerset Rubber Estates, Ltd. It is
a property of 640 acres, about 350 of which
have been cleared, while 200 were to be
planted by the end of 1907. The land is
being opened up under the management of
Mr. William Dell, who has been in the
Federated States for six years, and has had
considerable planting experience.
coolies has greatly improved since the
management has adopted the rule of boiling
all drinking water supplied to them. The
management is in the hands of that well-
known planter, Mr. William Duncan, of
Robana estate, and the proprietor is Mr.
Murison Allan, of the legal firm of Messrs.
Adams & Allan, Pinang.
HIDDEN STREAMS ESTATE.
Five hundred and fifty acres of Para rubber
of one year's growth and under is planted on
rubber planting have commenced in earnest,
and a substantial bungalow and four sets
of coolie lines have been built. A labour
force of eighty Malays, twenty Chinese, and
sixty-seven Tamils, all of whom are free
labourers, has been engaged in clearing,
felling, burning, and planting for twelve
months, and a considerable area is already
under cultivation. Seeds from eight-year-old
Para on Sandycroft estate are used, and in
spite of the phenomenal drought of 1907, the
young trees have shown good growth.
Captain Hugh Thomas Dempster, manager,
BATAK RABIT ESTATE.
I & 3. Young Rubber Trees.
i. A Typical Jukgle Clearing.
(See p. 405.)
4. MuEisoN Allan.
5. The Coolie Lines.
HIDDEN STREAMS ESTATE.
1. The Bungalow.
(See p. 405,)
2, 3, & 4. The New Clearings.
408
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
was born in King's Countj', Ireland, and
received his education at Stoneyhurst. He
joined ttie 3rd Battalion Suffolk Regiment,
and was promoted captain in 1904. From
1902 to 1905 he was seconded from his regi-
ment as company commander and signalling
officer of the Malay States Guides. He
resigned his commission" in igo6 to take up
WELLINGTON ESTATE COMPANY, LTD.
One of the finest stretches of country in
the Malay Peninsula is that portion of the
State of Perak in which the Federated Malay
States Railway crosses over the mountain
range from Taiping to Padang Rengas. In
this grand and picturesque locality, amidst
Although the oldest rubber on the estate is
only of eighteen months' growth, it is surprising
to observe the girth, height, and vigorous
development of the young trees, which are
about as fine as any of their age in the State of
Perak. Some thirty rubber-trees, originally
planted for shade purposes, are to be seen on
the ground, and when it is mentioned that the
THE BBVEELAC (SELANGOE) RUBBER COMPANY, LTD.
■I. .General View on Kapar Estate. .s. General View on Beverlac Est.4TE.
his present position. He is a member of the
Auxiliary Forcesj Whitehall Court, Perak,
New and Perak Turf Clubs, and of the Perak
Planters' Association. . His principal recrea-
tions are football and shooting.
BEVERLAC AND KAPAR ESTATES.
The Beverlac and Kapar Rubber estates
in the Klang district of Selangor belong to
the Ceylon-formed company, the Beverlac
(Selangor) Rubber Company, Ltd. This com-
pany has an authorised capital of Rs. 1,000,000,
one-half of which has been fully paid up.
Beverlac estate is situated one mile from
Klang, and comprises 233 acres fully planted
with Para rubber, ranging in age from a few
months to nine years ; and Kapar estate, which
is 10 miles from Klang, on the Klang-Kuala
Selangor Road, is 336 acres in extent, and the
majority of the Para trees with which it is
fully planted vary in age from one to five
years. During igo6 the total production of
dried rubber from the two properties was
18,000 lbs., which was sold in Colombo and
London. The estimated yield for 1907 is
25,000 lbs. The directors of the company are
Messrs. G. B. Leechman (chairman), Herbert
G. Bois, G. H. Alston, and R. F. S. Hardie.
Mr. E. W. Harvey is the estate manager.
frowning but well-wooded hills, and under the
shadow of that towering rocky landmark,
Bukit Pondu, a number of enterprising Pinang
gentlemen resolved to plant riibber, the soil
being abnormally rich and in every way
suited for the rapid growth of this valuable
product. A property, 980 acres in extent,
was acquired accordingly, and named the
Wellington Estates. This land is held under
an old lease from the Perak Government at an
annual rental of 10 cents per acre or until it shall
have repaid all outlay, and then the rental is to
be 5 per cent, of the annual profits. These terms
are undoubtedly as favourable as those on which
any other similar concession in the State is
held. The main line of the railway traverses
this property from end to end — Padang
Rengas station being within a mile of the
very heart of the estate — and the excellent
metalled road from Kuala Kangsa to Taiping
also runs through it.
Formerly, some 300 acres of coffee repre-
sented the planted area. This was planted by
the original proprietors. The rest was virgin
forest and jungle. But under the energetic
management of the superintendent 50 acres of
Para rubber were planted in 1905, 350 acres
in the following year, and 300 acres in 1907
— making a total of 700 acres fully planted
since the time of opening in July, 1905.
trunks of these measure 61 inches in girth
on the ground line and 45 inches at a height
of 3 feet, some idea can be formed of the
magnificent trees which this estate will be
able to show when properly in bearing.
Wellington estate provides a unique ex-
ample of pioneering in the rubber industry ;
for the work on these heights cannot be
compared with rubber-planting on the plains.
The timber felled on the new clearings is
of enormous girth, and to the uninitiated
would appear to present almost insuperable
difficulties in the way of clearing the ground.
But constant labour and pertinacity have
accomplished wonders, and now where only
eighteen months ago there was impenetrable
jungle, plantations of healthy young rubber-
trees are to be found. Our illustrations,
which show young rubber as well as the
matured tree, also convey an idea of the fine
panoramic views which everywhere present
themselves on this estate. It is a notable
fact that the whole of the clearing and planting
has been done by free Malay labour. At
present there are some 60 Malays and 100
Chinese employed.
Messrs. Guthrie & Co., Ltd., are the Pinang
agents of the estate, the directors of the
company being Messrs. A. R. Adams, J. W.
Halhfax, Robert Young, and Dr. T. Hill
I. Bird's-eye View.
THE WELLINGTON ESTATE COMPANY, LTD.
■z. Old Rubber Trees. 3. Young Rubber Trees.
New Clearing.
BUKIT LINTANG BUBBBE ESTATE.
RiBBER Tapping and Gathering Seeds.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
411
Jamieson, all of Pinang. Mr. George Henry
Cater is manager and superintendent. A
native of Lancashire, and an old Charterhouse
boy, Mr. Cater first began planting in .i8g6
on the well-known Hilton estate, in the
Matale district of Cej'lon, where he gained
experience in tea, cocoa, and rubber. Mr.
Cater went to the Federated Malay States
in 1904. He is a member of most of the
Perak and Pinang clubs, was renowned as
a football player and captained the Pinang
Football Club, and won the Pinang Tennis
Championship in 1903. Nowadays, however,
his work leaves him very little time for recrea-
tion, and rifle-shooting is his only sport.
LABUAN PADANG ESTATE.
The proprietors of the Labuan Padang estate
were, until recently, the Malay Estates Com-
pany, Ltd., a Ceylon flotation with an author-
ised capital of Rs. 125,000, which has practically
all been paid up. Messrs. James Ryan and
A. A, Hankey were the directors, and Messrs.
Lee, Hedges & Co. the secretaries and Colombo
agents. Quite lately the property was sold to
the Damansara Company, which owns the
adjoining property. The estate lies five miles
distant from Batu Tiga railway station,- from
which it is approached by a good cart-road.
It embraces 1,075 acres, 310 of which have been
planted with Para rubber, varying in age from
two to seven years. In 1906, 11,000 lbs. of
well for the future production of large quantities
of excellent rubber.
Mr. C. B. Holman Hunt, the manager, is son
of Mr. William Holman Hunt, the well-known
artist. He was born at Florence in t866, and
was educated at Harrow and at St. John's
College, Cambridge. He took a three years'
medical course, and for twelve months walked
St. Thomas's Hospital. Forsaking the medical
profession, he went out to Ceylon in 1890 to
take up planting. For eleven years he was
engaged in various capacities on estates of the
Eastern Produce Estates Company, Ltd., and
subsequently was employed on a plantation
at Travancore, India. He was appointed
manager of the Labuan Padang estate in 1906.
Now that the property has changed hands, it
will probably be supervised by the Daman-
sara Company's manager. Mr. Holman Hunt
devotes most of his leisure to entomology and
natural history generally. He is a member of
the Entomological Society and of the Bombay
Natural History Society.
LAP AN UTAN ESTATE.
Owned by the Lapan Utan Rubber Com-
pany, Ltd., this estate is situated two miles
from Kuala Selangor and 26 from Klang.
Mr. C. F. Lushington, the manager, took
charge of the property as forest land in
September, 1906, soon after his arrival from
Ceylon, where he had been planting for eight
from the commencement of work. Mr. C. F.
Lushington is a son of Mr. C. M. Lushington,
Government Agent in the Southern Province,
Ceylon, and was born at Kurunegala, Ceylon,
and educated at Malvern College. He is a
keen sportsman and was best known in Trin-
comalee as a cricketer and big-game hunter,
though in Malaya he has not found time to
take up either form of recreation. Recently,
however, h'i had the good fortune to shoot
a fine tiger near the estate boundary.
GLENMABIE AND BATTJ ESTATES.
These properties formerly belonged to the
Selangor Plantations Syndicate ; but in January,
igo6, they were taken over by the newly
formed Batu Tiga (Selangor) Rubber Company,
which has a capital of ;£6o,ooo. Originally,
about 260 acres of the Glenmarie estate, which
embraces altogether 2,050 acres, were planted
with coffee and pepper. This area has been
interplanted with rubber, and, including this,
there are altogether 910 acres under rubber
cultivation, the trees ranging in age from a
few months to ten years. Tapping was com-
menced in April, 1906, and the yield up to the
end of the year was 2,260 lbs. The estimate
for 1907 was6,ooo lbs. On the Batu estate, which
is situated only three and a half miles from Kuala
Lumpor, and comprises 900 acres, 125 acres
were planted originally with coffee. By the
end of 1907, 488 acres were fully planted with
LABUAN PADANG ESTATE, BATU TIGA, SELANGOR.
Old Rl-BBER. JDNGLE BOIXDARY.
rubber were produced, and the estimate for
1907 was 25,000 lbs. 'The trees have grown
most satisfactorily, and some of the older ones
are the best in the district. An up-to-date
rubber manufacturing plant was to have been
installed during 1907, and everything promises
years. Though new to the country , by employ-
ing a mixed force of Malays, Javanese, Chinese,
and Tamils, he succeeded in getting the whole
estate of 400 acres fully planted (24 feet bv
12 feet) and thoroughly drained (10 feet by
10 feet and 5 feet by 5 feet) within one year
Para trees, from four years old downwards,
and tapping will be commenced in the early
part of 1908. The first year's yield is estimated
at 1,000 lbs. Both properties are conveniently
situated near the railway ; indeed, the
Glenmarie estate abuts upon the line for a
THE BATU TIGA (SELANGOE) RUBBER COMPANY, LTD.
Old Rubber Trees (Glenmarie Estate). 2. Rubber Trees Four Years Old (Glenmarie Estate) 3. Recent Clearing iGlenmarie Estate).
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA 413
THE BATU TIGA (SBLANGOR) RUBBER COMPANY, LTD.
, A Young Clearing (Batu Estate). i. Old Rubber Trees Interplanted with Coffee (Batu Estate).
mile and a half between Batu Tiga and Sungei
Way stations. On this property the labour
force consists of 150 Tamils, 70 Javanese, 60
Banjorese, and 20 Chinese ; while at Batu
estate 230 Tamil coolies are employed. The
directors of the company are IMessrs. L. T.
Boustead, H. W. Brett, and J. C. Tate. The
local manager of the two estates is Mr.
H. E. G. Solbe. He is the son of the late
Mr. Edward Solbe, of the British consular
service in China, and was born in 1868. He
received his education at Dulwich College,
and at the age of twenty went to Ceylon,
where he obtained a wide experience of
planting, extending over fifteen years. He
went with the second Ceylon contingent of the
British forces to South Africa. Since 1905 he
has had charge of the Glenmarie estate, and
since 1906 the Batu estate has also been under
his management. He is a member of most of
the clubs in the district, and his principal
recreation is golf.
BRIBH RUBBER COMPANY, DTD.
It is only a little over two years ago that the
Brieh Rubber Company, Ltd., which is financed
exclusively by Pinang people, joined the ranks
of rubber-growers. Brieh estate has an
area of some 1,100 acres, and is situated along-
side the Government Road, 7J miles from
Bagan Serai railway station, and 3J miles
from Alor Pongsu railway station. It is
bounded and crossed by the Krian and Sungei
Brieh rivers, which furnish an abundance of
water for all the requirements of the estate.
There are now actually planted on the property
some 400 acres of Para rubber, 30,000 trees
being one year old or over and ig,ooo under
one year. Planting began only in 1905. At
the time of writing 120 additional acres were
being opened up and planted. On the estate
are nurseries containing no fewer than 75,000
young trees, which will gradually be drawn
upon as new land is cleared. Nothing but
rubber is grown on Brieh estate, and one
cannot but be impressed by the extremely
healthy appearance of the young trees and the
regularity of their setting. Our illustrations
convey only a very crude idea of what are the
possibilities of this favourable and well-chosen
rubber property. The land has been rented
in perpetuity by the Government at an annual
rate of one dollar per acre, and a royalty of 2\ per
cent, on rubber as soon as the trees come into
bearing. As regards labour, 95 indentured
coolies and upwards of 100 free Malays are
employed, and illness is practically unknown
among them.
The directors of the company are Messrs.
Archur Robert Adams and Lim Kek Chuan,
of Pinang, and Mr. George Stothard, of
Malakoff estate. Province Wellesley. Messrs.
Anthony and Anderson, of Pinang, are the local
agents. Mr. Reynold Godfrey Palmer, the
genial superintendent of the estate, is an
Englishman. Born in Syria, he was educated
in Siurope, and after years of experience in
India, came to Perak in 1901, where after
planting sugar at Kalumpong, he commenced
opening up Brieh estate, in 1905. He is a
member of the Malay Peninsula Planters'
Association, and of the Town, Golf, and Turf
Clubs, Pinang.
KAMUNING ESTATE.
In several respects Kamuning estate is
unique among rubber properties. It stands
in the enviable position of being absolutely
free from Government rent, having been
granted, many years ago, in perpetuity to Mr.
T. H. Hill by the Perak Government in recog-
nition of his pioneering work in the country.
Under the management of Mr. A. D. Machado, it
has been the scene of many experiments, and at
the present time has at once the oldest and the
youngest rubber-trees of any estate in the dis-
trict. Some of the trees are twenty-five years
of age and yield about 20 lbs. of rubber per
annum. These were planted at a time when
there was little confidence in the possibilities
of rubber amongst planters of the Federated
Malay States. The estate now consists of 6,000
acres, about 1,000 acres of which are planted
with rubber. In all, some 3,600 trees are in
bearing, and of these about 290 are twenty-
five years old. For the present year the esti-
mated yield is 12,000 lbs.
Kamuning has also this distinction, that,
although it is a rubber estate, the bulk of its
revenue so far has not been derived from
that source, but from tin-mining, the estate
having many strips of rich tin-land within its
boundaries. These mines are worked by Chinese
on tribute, and yield a very handsome profit.
In addition to rubber and tin, the property pro-
duces for export papaya juice, lemon-grass oil,
coffee, and a little pepper.
The estate could be under no better manage-
ment than that of Mr. A. D. Machado, who has
held the appointment for the last three years.
He is a botanist of no mean repute, and
formerly held the position of Assistant Super-
intendent of Gardens and Forests under the
Straits Settlements Government. In these
circumstances, it is only natural that he
should devote some of his time to botany, and
the results of his various botanical experiments
have been watched with interest by planters all
THE BBIEH EUBBER COMPANY, LTD.
Bungalow and Rubber Nursery, Rubber Trees, Two Years Old (Two Views), Superintendent's Bungalow, and Clearing.
(See p. 413.)
The Estate Hospital.
KAMUNING ESTATE.
2 & 4. Views on the Estate. 3. An Old Rubber Tree.
5i KAMUNING Hill.
416
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
over the country. In his experimental essays
he has grown nearly all known varieties of
hemp fibres — the coca plant, from which
cocaine is extracted ; Egyptian cotton, for the
cultivation of which the seasons locally prove
too irregular ; and almost every class of rubber.
On the rubber land) Para rubber is, of course,
the best variety, and is the kind which is most
extensively planted, but Castilloa clastica, Fun-
tiimia clastica (Lagos silk rubber), and several
other varieties are also grown, a box of the
last mentioned plants having been obtained from
the Congo Free State Government a year or so
ago. Para rubber trees thrive excellently.
The estate, which affords work for 500 Tamil
coolies, is a first-class property, and in
a few years' time, when it is in full bearing,
will produce an immense amount of rubber.
The proprietors are Messrs. Guthrie & Co.,
fortable and attractive at the expense of,
perhaps, an extra coolie.
MEBTON ESTATE.
The proprietor of Merton estate is Mr. G.
Maitland Kirwan, and the local manager is
Mr. J. W. Cater. The property has an area of
584 acres, of which 50 acres were planted with
Para rubber in 1899, So acres in March of 1906,
100 acres in June, and 50 acres in November of
the same year. The average number of trees
planted per acre in 1906 was 151.
Tapping was started in 1905, and the yield of
rubber was 1,860 lbs. In the following year
there was a yield of 4,394 lbs., while for 1907
the estimated yield was 8,000 lbs. The produce
of the estate is sold in England. Situated about
five and a half miles from Batu Tiga railway
years ago. The Batu Caves Railway traverses
the property, at the foot of which is the
station. Formerly the estate was planted
with coffee and was privately owned, and
since it was acquired by the present pro-
prietors, the Batu Caves Rubber Company,
Ltd., coffee has been retained as a catch-crop.
The property is 1,903 acres in extent, and of
this 1,224 acres have been planted with Para
and Rambong rubber — principally the former
— much of which has been interplanted with
coffee. Of the remainder of the property 562
acres are planting land, 57 acres tin-mining
land, and 60 acres waste land. PYuit is grown
on part of the estate, and produces a revenue
of about 1,000 dollars a year. The estimated
yield from the property for 1907 is 2,000 lbs.
of Para rubber, 600 lbs. of Rambong rubber, and
200 piculs of coffee. Some six hundred Tamil
MEETON ESTATE.
EIGHTEEN' Months Old Robber.
A YouxG Clearing.
of Singapore, and under the Hon. Mr.
John Anderson, head of that firm, much
development work has been accomplished.
Since Mr. Machado took charge of .the pro-
perty the estate has staged some fine exhibits
at local agricultural shows. In igo6 and again
in 1907 it carried off the Governor's prize for
the best collection of agricultural produce —
in other words, for the greatest number of
prizes won under the heading of agriculture — as
well as several cups for rubber. At the last
show Mr. Machado carried off thirteen first and
five second prizes, one third prize, and five
" highly commendeds." The estate can boast
of a better garden and of more tastefully
laid out grounds surrounding the manager's
bungalow than any estate in the Federated
Malay States, and serves to show what can be
accomplished towards making homesteads com-
station, and eight and a half miles by road from
Klang, the estate is almost surrounded by the
Klang river, which takes off the surplus water
from the main drains. A rich clay soil is found
on the lower levels.
There are on the estate one bungalow, a
store, rolling machinery sufficient to cope with
the rubber output, and good lines for the 250
or 300 Tamil coolies employed.
BATU CAVES ESTATE.
Considerable archaeological interest attaches
to this estate from the fact that the famous
Batu Caves, one of the sights of the Federated
Malay States, are situated upon it. These caves
are said to have been inhabited by the
Sakais, and there are on the property durian
trees planted by this aboriginal people 125
coolies are employed as well as a few Javanese
and Malays. An adequate drainage system
has been carried out, and the young trees have
made good progress and promise well for
future tapping. The Batu river runs through
the property, which is only five and a half
miles distant by rail from Kuala Lumpor.
There are two substantial bungalows, a coffee
and rubber store, and well-built coolie lines on
the estate.
Mr. W. D. Eraser, the manager, was born at
Edinburgh, in 1882, and received his education
at Merchiston School in that city. After the
completion of his scholastic career he was for
two years engaged in stockbroking. In 1900
he volunteered for the Sharpshooters and
served during part of the South African War,
receiving a medal with four bars for his
services. He came out to the Federated Malay
I. Young Rdbber. 2. Store on Estate.
BATTJ CAVES ESTATE.
3. Five Years Old Rubber Interplanted with Three Years Old Rubber. 4. A Young Clearing.
I. Rubber Interplanted with Tapioca.
THE ISSBNG RUBBER COMPANY, LTD.
z. Rubber Nursery. 3. View of Estate, showing Factory.
4. Coconut Palms.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
419
states to learn planting in 1902, and has been
on the Batu Caves estate since 1906.
The authorised capital of the Batu Caves
Rubber Company, Ltd., is £30,000, half of
which has been fully paid up. The directors
are Messrs. H. K. Rutherford, T. N. Christie,
J. McEwan, and R. Williamson.
ISSENG RUBBER ESTATE.
" Isseng," an estate of 940 acres owned by
the Isseng Rubber Company, Ltd., is situated
in the Krian Province of Upper Perak. It
adjoins the Sungei Gedong Ferry on the Krian
river, and is bounded on the west by the
public main road leading to Taiping and on
two sides by the Krian river. Bagan Serai
railway station is only five arid a half miles
distant, so that there is communication by
railway, road, and water. The land is well
drained, and there are substantial buildings for
the accommodation of five hundred labourers.
Formerly, sugar was under cultivation, but it has
now given place to rubber. About 300 acres
have been planted with Para, and some 45,000
one-year-old trees are doing remarkably well.
Tapioca is interplanted, besides about 7,000
coconut-trees, ranging from one to four years
of age, which will produce a valuable secondary
crop. The labour on the estate consists of 150
Tamil coolies for attending to the rubber, and
100 families of Chinese squatters for felling
and clearing and for planting tapioca. The
registered offices of the company are in Pinang,
and Mr. J. W. Hallifax is the secretary.
EMERALD ESTATE.
The proprietors of this rubber estate of 646
acres are Messrs. W. W. Bailey, H. Payne
Gallwey, and Sir George S. Murray. Fifty
acres were planted with Para rubber in March,
1906 ; so acres in June, 1906 ; 100 acres
in November, 1906 ; 50 acres in January,
1907 ; 50 acres in May, 62 acres in
June ; and 72 acres in November. The
rest of the property is reserve jungle.
There is a good cart-road from Batu Tiga rail-
way station, five and a half miles away, and
also from Klang, which is eight and a half
miles distant. The Klang river runs through
a part of the property. The estate is flat, and
has a rich clay soil. All the rubber-trees are in
excellent condition. Tamil coolies are em-
ployed to the number of 200.
The manager is Mr. J. W. Cater, who is a
son of the late Mr. Charles Q. Cater, director
of the North British and Mercantile Insurance
Company, Ltd. He was born in February,
1882, at Barnet, and educated at Harrow.
He went to Ceylon in 1900, and started cocoa-
planting in Matale district. At the time of the
Boer War he proceeded to South Africa wjth
the second Ceylon contingent, and received
a medal with three bars. He came to the
Federated Malay States at the end of 1906, pnd
was on the Wellington estate, Perak, until
April, 1907, when he took charge of Merton
and Emerald estates. Mr. Cater is a metnber
of the Malay States Volunteer Rifle Corps.
DENISON ESTATE.
At Parit Buntar in Perak is situated the
Denison estate, which is owned by the penison
Estate Company, Ltd. Formerly this property,
comprising 750 acres, was planted with sugar ;
at present, 310 acres have been platjted with
rubber interplanted with tapioca, and 175 acres
are under coconut cultivation. Thp estate is
well drained by a series of canals, the soil is
good, and both the rubber and coconuts are
doing exceedingly well. Mr. Thomas Boyd,
of the Gula estate, is the visiting agent, and
Messrs. Kennedy & Co., Pinang, are the
general agents.
GEDONG BEDOE ESTATE.
Situated about two miles from the township
of Bedor is an estate which has developed
remarkably. It is the property of the Gedong
Bedor Rubber Company, and is 1,000 acres in
extent. About twelve months ago the estate
was opened by Mr. AUard, and was planted
mostly by the present manager, Mr. C. G.
Findlay. ' Of 350 acres cleared, 300 have been
planted vvith Para rubber, and some 45,000
trees are now in a flourishing condition. The
property is in hilly country, admirably suited
for rubber-growing, and the young trees, from
5 to 8 feet high, planted on undulating
ground, present a pretty spectacle. On the
estate there is a fine nursery for rearing plants.
Mr. Ch. G. Findlay, the manager, who has
been responsible for the rapid development of
this estate, has spent the greater part of his life
in the East.
PLANG ESTATE.
Situated three miles from the railway station
at Sungei Siput, in Perak, this estate is the
second largest of the five rubber properties
owned by the Asiatic Rubber and Produce
Company, Ltd., of Ceylon. It comprises 1,000
acres, 200 of which are already planted with
coffee in bearing, while the remainder is re-
served for Para rubber. Some 300 acres have
been planted, and many of the trees are already
EMERALD ESTATE.
TWELVE MONTHS OLD RUBBER TREES. ElGHTEE.N MONTHS OLD RUBBER TREES.
THE GBDONG BEDOR RTJBBEB COMPANY, LTD.
J. Genebal View of Clearing. 2 Teansplantikg.
3. Clearing, showing Nursery.
(See p. 419.)
4. View from the Manager's Bungalow.
THE DENISON ESTATE COMPANY, LTD.
Coconut Palms,
RUBBEE INTERPLANTED WITH TaPIOCA.
Rubber Clearixc.
Rubber Nursery.
(See p. 419.)
1. The Coolie Lines.
PLANG ESTATE.
2, The Labour Force. 3. tapping.
4. A Young Rubber Clearing.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
423
in bearing. Excellent results have been ob-
tained, and Plang estate bids fair to become one
of the most important properties in the vicinity.
The trees show splendid growth, some of three
years of age having a girth of i8 inches.
have been planted with Para rubber, while
another 185 acres have been felled and burned,
and will be planted by the end of 1907. By
that time, too, an additional loo acres will have
been cleared. The estate is situated five and a
estate. When this is finished, there will be a
good metalled road to the nearest railway
station, Simpang Lima, seven miles away.
The area of the estate is 4,495 acres, 2,400
acres of which are freehold, the rest being held
CLEARINGS ON BUKIT DINKEL ESTATE, SELANGOB.
whilst others, of eighteen months' growth, show
average girth of 8 inches. Trees as young
as three years of age are being tapped with
highly satisfactory results, the average yield of
these young plants being half a pound of dry
rubber. Apparently, this early tapping, which
may be regarded to some extent as an ex-
periment, has no ill effects on the trees. The
estimated output of rubber for 1907 was
12,000 lbs.
Mr. J. W. Thompson, the manager, a planter
of wide experience, is working up the estate
with characteristic energy. Whilst the rubber-
trees are young he hopes to produce catch-
crops of lemon-grass and coffee, from which
good returns are anticipated.
The employees on the estate comprise
Chinese, Tamils, Javanese, and Malays, the
last-named being employed exclusively in tap-
ping, at which work they have been found to
be very proficient. On the estate there is a
store where the coolies can obtain all their
provisions and supplies at cost price, and by
this means contentment is promoted atnongst
the labour force. Once a week a European
doctor visits the estate, and hospital accommo-
dation, with an expert dresser and wards for
males and females, is about to be provided.
BUKIT DINKEL ESTATE.
Mr. H. C. Rendle is the proprietor of this
estate and Mr. A. G. Tanner the manager. Out
of a total area of 978 acres opened up from
virgin jungle by the present manager, 22 acres
half miles from Petaling railway station, to
which there is a good metalled cart-road. The
land on the estate is undulating in character.
The soil is very good — almost the best in the
district ; it is red in colour, except down in the
ravines, where black loam obtains. About iifty
Tamil, Malay, and Chinese coolies are em-
ployed on the estate. Mr. Tanner, the mana-
ger, was born on April 2nd, 1870, at Dudley,
and educated by private tutors and at Hailey-
bury College. He went out to Ceylon in 1889,
and was engaged in tea and coffee planting on
different estates for nine years. In 1898 he
removed to Kuala Selangor in the Federated
Malay States, and purchased 640 acres of land,
known as Kempsey estate, which he planted,
in part, with coffee and coconuts, and then
sold to a company in January of 1906. In 1907
he took charge of Bukit Dinkel estate. Mr.
Tanner is a son of Mr. Richard Canning
Tanner, M.R.C.S., Kempsey, Worcester.
JIN HBNG ESTATE.
Jin Heng estate, owned solely by Mr. Heah
Swee Lee, member of the State Council, Perak,
is situated on the right bank of the Kurau river,
in the Krlan district of the State of Perak,
Federated Malay States. It is distant about
40 miles from Pinang, with which there is
daily communication by steam launch, the
passage each way taking about five hours. A
Government metalled road runs up to Kurau,
within three miles of the manager's house, and
is now being extended to the boundary of the
on lease in perpetuity — 100 acres at an annual
quit rent of I dollar per acre, and the re-
maining portion at 50 cents per acre, the total
annual rental being I095'50 dollars. These
terms of tenure are very easy. On the majority
of estates opened up lately in the Federated
Malay States the quit rent is 1 dollar per acre
for the first five years and 4 dollars per acre
afterwards.
The soil is mostly of a stiffish clay. On the
north-east side of the estate it is admirably
adapted for rubber-planting ; on the west and
south sides the soil is of a looser character,
better adapted for coconuts than for rubber. The
land is quite flat, and is intersected by canals,
12 feet wide, about 1,000 feet apart, running
from east to west, while 3-feet drains, running
north and south, are cut about 125 feet apart
and run into these canals, thus making quite
an effective system of drainage. The canals
are used for transporting sugar-cane to the
sugar factory, and the outlet from them is by
water gates into the Kurau river.
The estate is in a high state of cultivation
and quite clean. Sugar-cane, Para rubber,
Rambong rubber, and coconuts are all grown.
Jin Heng estate was originally planted with
sugar-cane, but of late years a considerable
area has been planted with rubber and coco-
nuts. Of the rubber area, 15 acres are planted
with five-year-old Para trees at intervals of
IS feet by 15 feet, or 192 trees per acre ; and
500 acres, 12 to 15 months old, planted through
canes. These younger trees show good
growth for their age, the best of them standing
1
^^^^H^^^^HS: '■■■'■■
'■■^li^-
HEAH SWBE LEE'S JIN HENG ESTATE.
I. RAMBONe Rubber. 2. Rubber Trees Three Years Old. 3. Rubber Inteeplanted. with Tapioca.,
4. The Estaie Bungalow.
HE AH SWEE LEE'S JIN HENG ESTATE.
V:ews of the Sugar Factory, the Rubber Nursery, and Trees One Year Old.
LEE TOON TOCK'S RUBBER ESTATE.
Fruit, Bird's-eye View, and Coconuts.
LEE TOON TOCK'S RUBBER ESTATE.
Young Rubber Trees.
FRUIT Trees.
Rubber Interplanted with Coconuts.
"' ' ' Rubber Nursery.
428
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH INIALAYA
from 14 feet to 15 feet high. In some of the
fields the canes have been taken off, and the
rubber shows a very uniform growth right
through. The " supplying " has been carefully
done, and there is not a blank to be seen any-
where. In the area from which the canes
have been cleared it is not tlie intention of the
proprietor to plant canes again ; tapioca will
be substituted as a catch-crop. There are 1,200
acres of young Para rubber trees from six to ten
months old — 700 set 15 feet by 15 feet apart, and
500 set 20 feet by 20 feet apart — also planted
through canes. This rubber has a splendid
colour, and is quite equal to any of a similar
age grown in that part of the country'. Great
care has been taken to insure that the sugar-
canes do not interfere with the growth of the
rubber. There are 200 acres planted with
Rambong rubber {Ficus elastica), the trees
being about six years old. These are of very
regular growth, and some of the trees show
fine stems. The trees are planted 40 feet by
40 feet apart, and have, therefore, ample room
for expansion. In addition to the rubber land,
there are 170 acres of coconuts, three years old,
planted 30 feet by 30 feet ; 130 acres of
coconuts one year old, planted through sugar-
cane ; and about 1,000 acres planted with
sugar-cane alone. There are still 300 acres of
fallow land and about 700 acres of jungle.
The estate is mostly worked by Chinese
squatters, who grow the canes under advances
and sell them to the proprietor. These men
also contract to keep the rubber clean after it
has been planted, and in this way it is possible
to run the estate much cheaper than could be
done by employing day labour. There are
also 400 indentured Tamil coolies under con-
tract for two years at a wage of 25 cents a day
for men and 18 cents for women.
In addition to the manager's house — an
excellent brick structure, with well laid out
grounds — there are on the estate two bungalows
for assistants, a fully equipped hospital with
dressers' quarters, a kongsu shop, and ample
coolie lines. A sugar factory is fully equipped
with up-to-date machinery, the greater part of
which, like the building itself, was new only
two years ago.
Following is the estimated revenue from
Para rubber trees on Jin Heng estate, from
igii (when the trees planted in 1905 will have
come into bearing) to 1916, on the basis that
75 per cent, of the trees will be fit to tap when
five years old and the rest the following
year : —
1911.
2,880 trees at i lb.
72,000 „ „ fib.
lbs.
2,880
54,000
^
56,880 at
4S.
2,880 trees at
72,000 „ „
165,300 „ „
ijlbs
I lb.
fib.
[912.
4,320
72,000
"3,975
£11,376
200,295 at 4s. ;£40,059
1913-
2,880 trees at 2 lbs.
72,000
165,300
47,100
ij lbs.
I lb.
fib.
5,760
108,000
165,300
35,325
314,385 at 4s. ;£62,877
1914.
74,880 trees at 2 lbs. 149,760
165,300 „ „ ijlbs. 247,950
47,100 „ „ I lb. 47,100
444,810 at 4s. ;£88,962
1915-
240,180 trees at 2 lbs. 480,360
47,100 „ „ ijlbs. 70,650
551,010 at 4s. £110,202
1916.
287,280 trees at 2 lbs. 574,560 at 4s. £114,912
It will be noted that a higher return than
2 lbs. per tree is not estimated, but the majority
of the trees after reaching nine years of age
would be yielding 3 lbs. each.
DAMANSABA SELANGOB EUBBBB
COMPANT, LTD.
The property cswned by this company com-
prises Damansara and Teloh Batu estates, of a
total area of 2,167 acres. Originally planted
with coffee, about 544 acres are now inter-
planted with Para rubber, from six months to
seven and a half years old, and 62 acres are
planted with Para rubber only, from four and a
half to seven years old. In 1905 and 1906, 276
acres were set out with Para rubber, interplanted
with coffee, and in 1907, 187 acres were planted
in the same way. The remainder of the pro-
perty is jungle reserve. The yield for nine
months in 1906 amounted to 12,564 lbs. of
rubber and 410 piculs of coffee. For 1907 the
estimated yield is 35,000 lbs. of rubber and
850 piculs of coffee.
THE DAMANSAEA SELANGOB BUBBEB COMPANY, LTD.
The Stork. .:. The Coolie Lines,
THE DAMANSABA SBLANGOR BUBBBR COMPANY, LTD.
Rubber Trees at Different Stages of Growth.
430 TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Situated three miles from Batu Tiga railway
station, the estate is bounded by the Selangor
river, and has three miles of cart-road frontage.
The land, on which the average number of
trees planted per acre is 135, is undulating and
the soil varies from reddish, porous loam to
stiff rich clay. Tamil and Javanese coolies -are
employed to the number of 750.
A son of Colonel Ed. Browell, Mr. H. F.
Browell, the local manager, was born at
Bagshot, Surrey, in 1873, and educated at
Wellington. Subsequently he was engaged in
Ceylon for a few years in planting. When the
South African War broke out he went to the
fiont with the Ceylon contingent. Afterwards
Seaport estate derived its name from. Mr.
W. W. Bailey's well-known racehorse " Sea-
port," which won many of the best races in
the Straits. On the estate there are 2,000 acres.
The first clearings were made in 1905 by Mr.
H. E. G. Solbe. In 190S, 60 acres were
planted with Para rubber, 20 feet by 10 feet ;
in the year following 4S9 acres were planted
in the same manner ; and at the end of 1907,
270 acres were planted, 12 feet by 24 feet.
There are some 157,800 rubber-trees on the
property, the general appearance of which is
excellent. The clearings look remarkably well
and there is an entire absence of weed.
The estate is situated about eight miles from
sickness has been experienced among the
coolies, but the estate is joining with the sur-
rounding properties in erecting a first-class
hospital for the use of coolies. Dr. Watson,
the district medical officer, pays regular visits.
The manager, Mr. H. L. Jarvis, was born in
1880, at Bedford, and was educated at the
Grammar School there. In i8g8 he proceeded
to Mysore, India, and engaged in coffee-plant-
ing under Mr. Ed. Hunt on Karradi Betta
estate for four years. After that he became
manager of the estates of the late Mr. James
Hunt for a year and a half. Following a trip
home on leave, he came out to the Federated
Malay States in January, igo6, eventually
Ita^
SEAPORT ESTATE, BATU TIGA, SELANGOR.
Clearings and Young Rubber.
he returned to Ceylon and then came to the
Federated Malay States and took charge pf this
estate. He evinces a lively interest in sport
and is a member of all local clubs. During
1904 and 1905 he captained the Selangor Rugby
team, and he enjoys frequently a round on the
links or a turn at the wickets. At present he
is home on leave, and in his absence Mr. N.
Fisher is the acting manager of the estate. He
was born on Christmas Day, 1884, at Fulham,
and was educated at Haileybury. He came
out in 1903 to Damansara, where he learned
planting, afterwards going to the Golden Hope
estate. He is a son of Rev. Canon F. H.
Fisher, of Debden, Essex.
SEAPORT ESTATE^.
The proprietors of this property are Sir
George S. Murray, Mr. W. W. Bailey, and
Mr. J. Delay. The local agents are Messrs.
Whittall & Co., and the manager is Mr.
Harold L. Jarvis, with Mr. W. L. Leonard
as his assistant.
Kuala Lumpor by train, about one mile from
Sungei Way railway station, two miles from
Batu Tiga station, and has nearly two miles of
railway frontage. With respect to transport
arrangements it holds a very favourable posi-
tion, and arrangements are now being made
with the railway authorities to remove Sungei
Way station to Seaport estate.
The land is undulating and free from peat.
On the hilly parts there is reddish loam. The
property is well watered by streams, and com-
prises some excellent jungle which is eminently
suitable for rubber growth, and some tin-bearing
land. A large portion of the estate has not yet
been explored for tin, but, from indications, it
promises to give a rich field of this metal.
There are on ihe estate excellent quarters, a
new bungalow, and a shop from which the
employees can purchase all their daily neces-
saries. Here is found a great variety of stock,
embracing cloths, food-stuffs, stationery, and
beer. - Particular attention is given to the
coolies' lines, Mr. Jarvis being a great believer
in cleanliness and good sanitation. Very little
taking over charge of Seaport estate from Mr.
Solbe. Mr. Jarvis is a son of Mr. Robert Page
Jarvis, manager and part proprietor of the
Phoenix Brewery, Bedford. He is a member
of the Selangor, Klang, and Port Swettenham
Clubs, and his recreations are tennis and
golf. Among his other leisure occupations is
violin-playing, which he studied at the Royal
College of Music in London.
BUKIT CHBRAKLAH ESTATE.
Fourteen miles from Kuala Selangor and
23 miles from Klang is situated the
Bukit Cherakah estate, comprising 2,236 acres,
the proprietors of which are the Scottish Malay
Rubber Company, Ltd. Felling and clearing
was commenced on the property towards the
end of 1905, and within the next two years
1,267 acres were planted with Para rubber.
The land is mostly undulating, and there are
two kinds of soil — sandy loam and red loam.
The trees have shown a better growth than the
average, and the land is well drained. The
BUKIT CHBEAKAH ESTATE, KLANG.
The Bungalow and Various Stages of Growth of Young Rubber,
RANTAU PANJANG ESTATE, KUALA SELANGOR.
The Bungalow, some Remarkably Fine Young Rubber Trees, and Clearings.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
433
labour staff consists of 350 Tamil coolies and
100 Banjorese. Felling, clearing, and draining
are done by Banjorese, Javanese, and Malays.
Mr. J. Hunter is the manager of the estate, and
the directors of the company are Messrs. J. A.
Kuala Selangor. Messrs. F. E. Posth, H. Fau-
connier, and J. Andouin, the proprietors,
came to the Federated Malay States from
France in 1904, and after studying rubber-plant-
ing for eighteen months they commenced in
price realised in London being 6s. per pound.
In 1906, 43,000 lbs. were taken from the trees,
and this was sold at an average of Ss. 5d. per
pound. The estimated crop of rubber for 1907 is
55,000 lbs. The company paid a dividend of
THE PATALING EUBBBR SYNDICATE, LTD.
Avenue of Rubber. 2. Old Kubber Trees.
Hunter (Managing), of Meikle Kenny, Kerrie-
mint, N.B. ; Thomas Wedderspoon, Castleton,
Meigle, Perthshire, N.B. ; and R. C. Bowie,
Carnoustie, Forfarshire, N.B. Before coming
to the Federated Malay States Mr. Hunter had
six years' experience of planting in Southern
India and Ceylon, and prior to joining the
Bukit Cherakah estate he was in charge of the
Sungei Kapar and Jalan Acob estates. Mr.
Hunter is also the manager for the Strathmore
Rubber Company, Ltd., and of the Kongsi
Rubber Company, Ltd.
Mr. R. M. Q. Mitchell.— Born at Loth, in
Sutherlandshire, Scotland, on September 15,
1879, Mr. R. M. G. Mitchell, the superintendent
of Bukit Cherakah estate in Selangor, was
educated at Edinburgh, and served for three
years with a commercial house before coming
out East in 1900 to learn planting. His first ap-
pointment was on the Wardieburn Estate, where
he had three years' experience in coffee and
rubber planting. Then he took charge of and
opened up Harpenden estate. In November,
igo6, Mr. Mitchell joined Bukit Cherakah estate
as superintendent, and is now in charge of one
of the divisions. He is a son of the late Mr.
William Mitchell, sheep farmer, of Ribigill,
Scotland.
RANTAU PANJANG ESTATE.
The Rantau Panjang estate is a French-
owned rubber property situated 15 miles from
Rawang railway station and sixteen miles from
June, 1906, to open up Rantau Panjang estate
on their own account. This property embraces
1,500 acres of undulating land, with soil varying
from light sandy loam on the hills to rich
alluvial deposits on the flat. Already about
500 acres have been fully planted with Para
trees, which have shown a highly satisfactory
growth both in height and girth. Twenty-five
Javanese, twenty Malays, and the same number
of Sakais are employed in felling, clearing, and
draining ; and the planting is done by a staff
of 150 Tamils. The estate contains a never-
dying stream of good drinking water, and the
Selangor river runs along one of the borders
for a mile and a half, making a perfect system
of drainage quite easy.
PATALING RUBBER ESTATE.
The Patahng Rubber Estate Syndicate, Ltd.,
owns this property, comprising 2,170 acres. The
Federated Malay States Railway runs through
the estate for nearly three and a half miles, and
a fine view of rubber-trees of all ages can be
obtained from the train, on both sides of the
line. Originally part of the land was planted
with coffee, but Vi^hen this failed, about ten
years ago, rubber was taken up. Up to the
end of June, 1907, 1,420 acres of rubber were
under cultivation, and it is anticipated that this
figure will shortly be increased to 1,650 acres,
the total area available for rubber. Tapping
was commenced in 1904, and in the year
following 25,000 lbs. were obtained, the average
25 per cent, in 1905 and of 40 per cent, in
1906, whilst in 1907 they expect to pay 50 per
cent.
Mr. F. G. Harvey, the manager, was born in
Kent in 1877, and educated at Leatherhead.
From 1894 until 1905 he was engaged in tea-
planting in Ceylon, after which he took over
the management of the Pataling estate.
JUGEA LAND AND RUBBER ESTATES,
LTD.
The concession granted to this company is
situated on Jugra Island, at the mouth of the
Langat river, and consists of 28,000 acres.
Up to the present i5,464acres have been actually
granted to the company, and the balance of
13,000 acres will be handed over upon the
completion of the cultivation of the first
portion. The company have reserved 8,000
acres for their own use, and they have for
disposal 7,000 acres of good land suitable for
rubber and coconuts. They commenced opera-
tions in August, 1906, and already 12,000 acres
have been drained, 750 acres felled, and 125
acres planted with Para rubber and coconuts.
It is expected that by the end of 1908 2,000
acres will have been planted with Para and
coconuts, and by the end of 1910 an additional
2,000 acres with other products. The labour
employed consists of 280 Javanese, 220 Tamils,
120 Banjorese, 30 Chinese, and 70 Sakais.
A road about 12 miles in lengUi will
eventually be constructed through the island,
GENERAL VIEWS ON THE ESTATES OF THE JUGBA LAND AND EUBBEE ESTATES LTD,
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA 435
and will probably be linked up with the main-
land. A large sum is being spent on the
construction of a complete drainage system.
Three permanent bungalows are at present
being built on the estate as well as large and
airy coolie lines. Mr. F. A. Callaway, the
manager of the estate, has two assistants,
Messrs. V. A. Tayler and F. O. Greve. Mr.
R. W. Harrison is the visiting agent.
The Jugra Land & Rubber Estates, Ltd.,
has an authorised capital of ^^150,000, of which
;£8o,ooo has been fully paid up. The directors
are Sir W. Hood Treacher, K. CM. G.,. Messrs.
W. W. Campbell, W. Maclellan, Lawrence
Dougal, and E. V. Carey (chairman).
KLANANG ESTATE.
Situated five miles from Jugra and 20 miles
from Klang is the flourishing property known
as the Klanang Estate, on which are grown
Para and Rambong rubber, coconuts, and
coffee. The total area is 2,095 acres, of which
622 are planted with Para only and 60 with
Para and Rambohg rubber, 447 acres are under
coffee and coconut cultivation, and the remain-
ing 966 acres are uncultivated. The rubber
varies in age from a few months to seven and a
1905 and 15 per cent, in 1906. Messrs. J. L.
Anstruther, Edmund Walker, and J. L. Davies
are the directors ; Messrs. Cumberbatch & Co.
are the local agents ; and Mr. John Gibson is
the visiting agent.
Mr. A. Glennie, who is the manager, was
born at Aberdeen, in 1876, and received his
education at the Grammar School in the granite
city. After five years' commercial experience
he went, in 1898, to Ceylon to engage in plant-
ing. He spent nine years in different parts of
Ceylon, and has held his present position since
July, 1907. He has two assistants, Messrs.
F. R. Charteris and H. B. MoUett, and has
under his charge a labour force of 350 Tamil
coolies. There are on the property three
bungalows, a rubber store, two copra drying
sheds, and seven permanent sets of coolie
lines.
Mr. F. R. Charteris, the assistant manager
of Klanang Estate, Jugra, Selangor, is a son
of Dr. William Charteris, of Hipperholme, near
Halifax, Yorkshire. He was born in June, 1877.
After attending the local Grammar School he
commenced the study of medicine, but gave it
up, and in March, 1901, he came out to Perak
to join the Perak Sugar Cultivation Co., Ltd.,
with whom he remained for six years. He
Tanjong Malim district, and is a Government
grant held on favourable terms of rental. The
whole of the large tract of undulating land is
being opened up, though at present only two
estates have been delineated. The Kalumpang
estate, managed by Mr. W. de L. Brooke, with
Mr. R. Jarvis as assistant manager, has been
opened about four years. Something like 600
acres have been planted already with Para
rubber, and an additional 200 acres are being
cleared. Forty acres are now covered with
old trees. The coolies employed are Chinese,
Tamils, and Javanese. Mr. Loke Yew is very
energetic in his efforts to clear the whole of
the land and open it up, so that in a very short
time several other plantations will be in working
order.
KBPONG MALAY BUBBEB
ESTATES, LTD.
This company owns Kepong and Ebers waldie
estates, originally planted with coffee, and has
a capital of ;£2o,ooo. The directors are Sir
G. Voules (managing director), Messrs. W.
Nicholas, A. K. E. Hampshire, F. Smith, and
F. M. Voules. The company possesses 1,560
acres ; 81 acres are now under rubber cultiva-
1. PEPPER ON LOKE YEW'S CHUNGKAT ASA ESTATE.
2. LOKE YEW'S KALUMPANG ESTATE.
half years and the coffee and coconuts from three
to ten years. There are altogether on the pro-
perty 100,000 rubber-trees (of which 12,000 are
already of tapping age) and 25,000 coconut-
trees. The estimated output for 1907 is 15,000
lbs. of dry rubber, 600,000 coconuts, and 400
piculs of coffee.
The property belongs to the Klanang Pro-
duce Co., Ltd., which has a nominal capital of
;^5o,ooo, ;£2o,ooo of which has been fully paid
up. A dividend of 7j per cent, was paid in
became junior assistant to the Klanang Produce
Co., Ltd., on January 15, 1907, and in the short
space of six months was promoted to his present
position. Mr. Charteris was a keen cyclist
when at home. He is an all-round sportsman,
a good billiard-player, and a popular clubman.
KALUMPANG ESTATE.
This estate forms part of Towkay Loke
Yew's 20,000 acres of land, situated in the
tion, with trees from two to six years old, 1,316
of which are tapable. In 1905, 22 acres were
planted with rubber, in the following year,
342 acres, and in 1907, 83 acres. There are four
and a half acres under coconut cultivation, and
the remainder of the property consists of reserve
jungle. In contour the property is hilly, with
reddish loam on the higher ground and black
earth on the lower levels. The rubber-trees
are in excellent condition, especially those on
the hilly ground. Situated eight miles from
I. Rubber Stores
KEPONG ESTATE.
2 Tapping Rubber Trees. 3. Old Rubber Trees.
4. YouxG Rubber Trees.
KLANANG ESTATE, JU6EA, SELANGOR
TH. SXOHBS .™ OpP:C.S, XH. B..O..OW. XHE COOU. U..S, «-0 . FX.. COCO..X AVK.„
(See p. 435.)
438
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Kuala Lumpor, the property has both a railway
and a road frontage about three and a quarter
miles long, and contains a good bungalow, store,
and coolie lines. Two hundred coolies are
employed — 150 Tamils and 50 Javanese. For
this season the estimated yield is 2,000 lbs. of
rubber. The property was owned formerly by
Mr. W. Nicholas, from whom it was taken over
by the present company in 1905. Messrs.
Hampshire & Co. are the local agents, Mr. C. G.
born at Christchurch, Xew Zealand, in April,
1870, educated at Edinburgh Academy, and went
out to India in 1889 as a coffee planter. In 1890
he came to the Federated Malay States and joined
in partnership with his brother on Mount estate,
near Kuala Lumpor, and subsequently taking
charge of Edinburgh estate, where he started
planting Para rubber. Mr. J. Gordon-Glassford
is a member of all local clubs, and finds
recreation in the game of golf.
comprises a total area of 839 acres, of which
585 are planted with 88,640 Para rubber trees.
It is situated in the Klang district of Selangor,
about two miles distant from Padang Jawa
station, and four miles by the main trunk road
from Klang, and is contiguous to the Sungei
Rengam estate. It has a railway frontage of
a mile and three-quarters. The land is undu-
lating and in places rather hilly. On the higher
levels the soil is very porous, and consists of a
KALUMPANG ESTATE.
Ho SiEW Che (Manager) and his Residence, Old Rubber Trees, and a Splendid Patch of Pepper.
Glassford is the visiting agent, and Mr. L. Forbes
Brown is the manager.
EDINBURGH ESTATE.
The proprietors of this estate are Messrs.
C. G., J. G., and A. Gordon-Glassford. Origin-
ally the property, to the extent of 200 acres,
was planted with coffee, and belonged to Mr.
Lawrence Dougal and others. In igo2 it was
purchased by the present proprietors, who
forthwith commenced planting Para rubber.
The estate is undulating and well drained,
and the soil good and pliable, bearing very
healthy trees. It is eight miles by road
and train from Kuala Lumpor, and a
railway station is situated only some 200
yards away. One hundred and iifty Tamil
coolies and 25 Javanese are employed. The
total acreage is 1,410 acres. In 1903 77 acres
were planted with Para rubber ; in ■ 1904, 41
acres ; in 1905, 95 acres ; in 1906, 80 acres ;
and in the early part of 1907, 137 acres. The
balance is now ready for planting. About
4,000 trees will be available for tapping early
in 1908.
Mr. J. Gordon - Glassford, the managing
partner, is a son of the late Mr. James Gordon-
Glassford, of Dougalston, Scotland. He was
CHANGKAT ASA ESTATE.
One of the oldest estates in the Mukim of
Hulu Bernam, in the district of Hulu Selangor,
is that owned by Towkay Loke Yew, and
known as Loke Yew's Changkat Asa estate,
which is situated on the border of Perak, about
two miles from Tanjong Malim, This, too, is
part of the Towkay's grant of 20,000 acres of
land, and was the first to be planted. Pepper
was originally cultivated, and some 15,450 of
these plants are said to be producing the finest
pepper in the States— in fact, the first prize was
secured by pepper from this estate in the Agri-
Horticultural Show held in Singapore in igo6.
There are 800 acres of gambler, 12,000 Para
rubber-trees, and 10,000 gutta tabau-trees.
The manager of this estate is Mr. Ho Slew
Chee, an old friend of the Towkay, and an
experienced planter, vi'ho has held the position
for twelve years. Another large stretch of
land is being opened up and planted under the
management of Mr. A. W. Birch and Mr. Tons
Kat Poo.
PADANG JAWA ESTATE.
The owners of this estate are the New Padang
Jawa Rubber Company, Ltd. Their property
mixture of yellow loam and sand, of great
depth, while the soil on the lower land is a
stiff clay. The rubber-trees are remarkable
for their growth, many measuring 7J inches
in diameter (taken 3 feet from the ground)
when one year old. The general agents for
the company are Messrs. Kennedy & Co.
Pinang. Mr. E. B. Prior, of Golden Hope
Estate, Klang, is the visiting agent, and Mr.
P. Pfenningwerth is the manager.
Mr. K. Pfenningwerth, manager of the,
Padang Jawa estate, Padang Jawa, Selangor,
came out to the Straits in 1890 to take up a
position as assistant on a coffee estate in Johore.
After spending two years there, he accepted
an appointment in Pahang under the Pahang
Corporation, Ltd., with whom he stayed for close
on five years, and then took a trip to Ceylon.
It was two years before Mr. Pfenningwerth
returned to the Straits. After acting as an
assistant on an estate, he obtained a post on
the railway. Subsequently he turned to planting
again, and was placed in charge of the Padang
Jawa estate.
COLWAIjL ESTATE.
The original proprietors of this estate were
Mr. A. B. Lake, the late Mr. G. Macfailane,
r<m
EDINBURGH ESTATE, KEPANG.
1. Four Years Old Rubber Trees.
3. Nineteen Months Old Rubber Trees.
2. View of the Estate from the Railway Station.
4. The Estate Bungalow.
PADANG JAWA ESTATE, KLANG.
Clearings and Young Rubber Trees.
(See p. 438,)
COL"WALL ESTATE, ULU LANGAT.
The Lines, Young Rubber Trees, and the Clearings.
(See p. 438.)
442
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
THE KUALA SELANGOB BAMBONG BUBBEE COMPANY,
I, Tapping Rambong Rubber.
LTD., BIVEESIDE
2. Old Para Rubber.
ESTATE.
and Mr. R. S. Paget. Mr. E. B. Skinner was
the visiting agent, Mr. E. W. King the manager,
and Mr. E. W. Tyler the manager's assistant.
Its area is 1635 acres. Of this area, 56 acres
were planted with Para rubber in October-
November, igo6 ; 63 acres in November, 1906 ;
go acres in February, 1907 ; 90 acres in April,
1907 ; do in June of the same year ; and 25 in
July. By the end of September 490 acres were
to have been planted. The uncultivated land
is suitable for rubber-growing, and it will be
gradually opened up and planted. The estate
was first cleared and burned in July and August
of 1906. The labour force consists of 80 Tamils,
50 Chinese, and 50 Javanese.
The soil is deep and free. At the rear of the
property it is red, the rest is light. All of it is
eminently suitable for rubber-growing. Super-
ficially, the property is undulating. Situated five
and a half miles from Kajang railway station
and four and a half miles from Serdang railway
station, the estate is connected with each of
these places by a good Government road.
Mr. E. \V. King, manager of the estate, was
born on December 25, 1880, near Cambridge,
and received his education- at Sherborne. He
served about two years in South Africa during
the war, and in 1903 went to Ceylon, where for
a time he engaged in tea-planting on Dunsinane
estate. In 1906 he moved to the Federated
Malay States, and entered the service of the
Batu Caves Estate Company, Ltd., with whom,
he remained for six months, before taking
charge of the Colwall estate. He is a son of
the Kev. E. G. King, of Northampton.
BIVEESIDE ESTATE.
This property of the Kuala Selangor Rambong
Rubber Company, Ltd., is 1,029 acres >n extent, of
which all but 481 acres is planted with Para
and Rambong rubber, coffee, coconuts, and
fruit. Fifty-seven acres were planted with
Rambong rubber in 1897 ; 70 acres with Ram-
bong in 1904, interplanted with Para in 1906 ;
370 acres with Para, in 1906 ; 43 acres with
coffee, and Para rubber interplanted, in 1906 ;
and 5 acres with fruit and coconuts. The
estate, which is situated four miles from Kuala
Selangor, is bounded on two sides by an
excellent cart-road and on the south by the
Selangor river. Tapping commenced in 1906,
200 Para rubber trees and 57 acres of Rambong
rubber being operated upon. The rubber finds
a market in Ceylon.
Mr. Walter Towgood, the manager, is a son
of the late Mr. Herbert Towgood, planter, of
Ceylon. He was born in 1869 at Maturatta,
Ceylon, and educated at Edinburgh Institution
and Blair Lodge School, Scotland. He visited
Morocco in 1885, and, nine months later, went
to Ceylon to learn tea-planting, under his father,
on Mausagalla Estate, Matale. Subsequently
he was engaged on several estates in Ceylon,
and in 1898 went to Northern India and after-
wards to Travancore. Mr. Towgood accepted
his present position in 1905, and has since been
in partnership with Mr. R. John, in an estate of
1,000 acres adjoining Riverside. They have
opened up about 150 acres, and hope to have
the whole under cultivation by the end of
1908.
HIGHLANDS AND LOWLANDS ESTATES.
The. three large estates known as Highlands
and Lowlands, Batu Unjor, and Ayer Kuning
are the properties of the Highlands and Low-
lands Para Rubber Company, Ltd., which was
formed in 1906. The two first named estates
belonged previously to Sir George Murray, Mr.
W. W. Bailey, and another gentleman. The
directors of the company are Sir F. A.
Swettenham, K.C.M.G., the Hon. R. D.
Denman, Mr. J. A. Maitland, and Mr. W.
W. Bailey.
In Januar}', 1906, the total acreage of the
estates was : Highlands and Lowlands 2,273
acres, of which 1,039 acres were planted with
rubber ; Batu Unjor, 2,396 acres, of which
910 acres were planted with rubber ; and Ayer
Kuning, 10,000 acres. The last named estate
had only been acquired recently, but during
the year 622J acres were cleared or planted.
At the beginning of 1907, 2,829! acres were
cleared and planted on the three estates.
On the Highlands and Lowlands estate
588 acres of rubber were planted between 1897
and 1901, 68J acres in 1901, 90 acres in 1903,
292 J acres in 1905, and 142J acres in 1906.
Coffee was planted previously on the 588 acres,
and plants still remain on 480 acres. Although
the estimate of 1,000 piculs of clear coffee was
realised, this is a decreasing crop, and the
plants will soon have to be cut out'. The crop
of rubber for the year 1906 was 95,333 lbs.
from 33,967 trees tapped all through the year,
and 4,672 trees lightly tapped once during the
last six months. The average per tree was
thus 2-46 lbs. Three tappings of 807 nine-
year-old trees, planted in 16 acres, yielded
5,742 lbs. of rubber, an average of 7'0i lbs. per
tree. After deducting 15,999-88 dollars, the
cost of picking and curing coffee and catch-
crops, the rubber cost 75-8 cents per lb.,
without allowing any proportion of charges
to capital account for upkeep of the area not in
bearing and opening ne\v land.
On the Batu Unjor estate 360 acres are
occupied by trees six and seven years old, 384
LOWLANDS AND BATU UNJOR ESTATES.
Views of the Factory, Old Rubber Trees, and a Young Clearing.
views OP LOWLANDS AND BATU UNJOR ESTATES.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
445
acres by trees three years old, interplanted
with one-year-old trees, and i66 acres by
coffee eighteen months old and rubber one
year old. There are, in addition, six acres of
Rambong, lo of coffee and nutmegs, and no
acres of rubber clearing newly planted. About
88 acres of coffee and rubber are planted with
coconuts six years old. The crop of rubber
during 1906 was 38,952 lbs.
On the Ayer Kuning estate 770J acres were
felled, 710J burned, 632J cleared, 622J lined,
holed, and planted, and 217 drained.
Mr. O. Pfenningwerth, the manager of the
estates, was born at Hatton, Ceylon, in 1876,
and educated at the Raffles Institution, Singa-
pore. After serving with an engineering iirm
for six months, he went to the Lowlands coffee
estate and was appointed manager in 1904.
SUNGBI PULOH RUBBEB ESTATE.
The proprietors of this estate are the
Federated Selangor Rubber Company, Ltd.,
of which the directors are Messrs. H. K.
Rutherford (managing director), A. A. Bethune,
and Melville White. The secretary is Mr.
G. F. Wood, and the financial agents are
Messrs. Barlow & Co., Singapore. The estate
is situated five miles from Klang, has an
acreage of 1,047 acres, and employs some
220 Tamil coolies. Of the total area, 937
half a mile from Petaling railway station, in
the Kuala Lumpor district, and is connected
by a good cart-road with the capital of the
Federated Malay States, from which it is
distant five miles ; while Kuchai, the larger
property, is two and a half miles farther
along the road from Kuala Lumpor to
Klang.
In its superficial conformation the land of
the estates is undulating. It is intersected by
ravines and small streams, affording a good
water supply, ''and the drainage is mostly
natural. The soil is rich alluvial in the lower-
lying tracts and lateritic in character on the
hills. Of 805 acres planted with Para rubber,
250 on Ledbury proper are occupied with trees
from two to eight years, while the balance on
Kuchai is planted with trees of one year's
growth and under. The yield for 1907 was
estimated to reach 8,000 lbs.
These properties were originally owned by
Messrs. W.MacD. Mitchell and C. S. King, who
turned them into a limited liability company in
i9o(J, with a capital of 250,000 dollars, of which
225,000 dollars was called up in shares of 10
dollars each. The directors are Messrs. E. H.
Bratt, F. W. Barker, A. D. Allan, G. P. Owen,
and T. W. MacD. Mitchell. The secretary is
Mr. W. Lowther Kemp, of Winchester House,
Singapore.
On the estates are two bungalows, seven sets
BALGO'WNIB AND BANGI BUBBEB
ESTATES.
These estates, which are now worked as one
property, belong to the Balgownie Rubber
Estates, Ltd. Originally a coffee estate of 250
acres, the property at the present time embraces
1,027 acres, of which 650 acres are under rubber.
The trees vary in age from six years to six
months. Tapping was commenced in 1906,
and the yield was about 11,000 lbs. It is
estimated that the 1907-8 crop will produce
21,000 lbs.
The manager of the estate is Mr. D. C. P.
Kindersley, who has two assistants, Messrs.
J. S. Cooper and P. K. Paul. Mr. Kindersley
was engaged originally in planting coffee, and
later rubber, in Negri Sambilan. He obtained
his present appointment in 1905.
The capital of the company owning the
property is 200,000 dollars, of which there is
issued 105,000 dollars. The directors are
Messrs. W. M. Sime, V. R. Wickwar, and
A. W. Beau, and the secretaries, Messrs.
Gunn & Co., of Singapore.
AYBB KUNING ESTATE.
The proprietors of this estate are the High-
lands and Lowlands Rubber Estate Company,
of which Mr. R. W. Harrison is the general
SUNGEI PULOH RUBBEB ESTATE.
. Tapping Rubber Trees.
2. Estate Bungalow.
acres are planted with rubber-trees of all ages,
from two months to eight years. Some 250
acres are interplanted with coffee. Tapping
was started in January, igo6, and the output for
last year was about 7,000 lbs. The manager is
lyir. R. \\^allis Wilson.
LEDBURY EUBBER COMPANY, LTD.
.This company owns the Ledbury and Kuchai
estates of 1,446 acres. The former is situated
of coolie lines, and a store. The labour
comprises 300 Tamils and 50 Banjorese.
The late Mr. A. W. Hodson, who was the
manager until his recent decease, was a son of
Dr. Thomas Hodson, of Ingatestone, Essex,
and originally came out to Province Wellesley,
where he followed sugar-planting for fourteen
years. Then he took charge of Sandycroft estate,
on which he remained for two years, and in
December of 1906 he took over the charge of
Ledbury and Kuchai estates.
manager and visiting agent, Mr. John Whit-
ham the manager, and Messrs. C. R. F.
Crowther and C. R. Harrison assistants. The
company own a total of 10,086 acres (exclusive
of native holdings which are being purchased).
In June of 1906, 100 acres were planted with
Para rubber ; 522 acres in the latter half of
the same year; 228 acres in the first half
of 1907, and, approximately, 850 acres in the
latter half of the same year. The reserve
balance of the property is jungle. It is the
I. Tapping Six Years Old Rubbkk Tkees.
BALGOWNIB ESTATE.
2. EIGHTEKN MONTHS OLD RUBBER TREES. 3. RAMEONG RUBBER TREES (FIVE YEARS OLD). 4. GENERAL VIEW.
(See p. 445.)
THE LEDBURY RUBBER COMPANY, LTD.
Coffee and Rubber. Young Rubber on Ledbury Estate.
Clearings and Young Rubber on Kuchai Estate.
(See p. 44S.)
AYBB KUNING ESTATE, PADANG, SBLANGOR.
New Clearings and Young Rubber Trees.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
449
intention of ttie company to open up and
develop tliis as rapidly as possible, and at
least a thousand acres will be planted every
year. In various parts large rubber plant
nurseries have been started.
Ayer Kuning commences two and a halt
miles from Klang, and extends beyond the
Damansara river, above Batu Tiga. There
are about 15 miles of cart-road frontage to the
employees. At first the estate was naturally
somewhat unhealthy, but now it compares very
favourably with most properties in the district.
Mr. John Whitham, the manager of Ayer
Kuning estate, was born in county Cork, Ire-
land, in December, 1877, and was educated at
Totteridge Park School, Hertfordshire, and at
the Bedford Modem School. He went to
Ceylon in 1896, and was initiated into the work
r,352j|? acres in extent, is situated nine
miles ivinn Klang, and is bounded by the
Vallambrosa, Harpcnden, and Kapar estates.
A regular service of motor-cars, run by the
Federal Railway, between Klang and Kuala
Selangor, passes the property. The soil is rich
and well suited for rubber production, and an
excellent system of drainage has been con-
structed by Tamils. Rubber was first planted
CLEARINGS ON BBAUNSTON ESTATE, KUALA SELANGOR.
estate at present. Padang Jawa railway station
is just one mile distant, and Sungei Rengam
and Batu Tiga railway stations are both within
a mile of the property, which is drained by
the Sungei Rengam, the Sungei Rasa, and the
Damansara rivers, all of which flow into the
Klang river. The land is hilly, with swamps
in between, but extensive drains and canals
connecting with the various streams are in
course of construction. Contour drains are
being cut in the hills about a chain apart to
prevent denudation of the soil. This work is
receiving special attention. The soil of this
estate is as good as any in the district. It is
reddish, loamy, and very rich.
The estate employs at present about 600
Tamil coolies, some 400 Banjorese, Javanese,
and Malays, besides labourers recruited from
the surrounding villages, and a larger force of
Tamil coolies which is being rapidly recruited
in India. There are 26 s>ets of permanent coolie
lines built in different parts of the estate, also a
manager's bungalow, two assistants' bungalows,
two bungalows for conductors, and one used
as a dispensary. Further buildings are in
course of erection. A few of the coolie lines
have been made mosquito proof, the Govern-
ment having given a grant for experimental
purposes. In short, everything is being done
to promote a good state of health amongst the
of planting on the Hindugalla estate, Pera-
deniya. In Ceylon, where he remained for
some ten and a half years, he gained experience
in tea, coffee, and rubber planting, and when
in July, 1906, he came to the Federated Malay
States, he took charge of the Ayer Kuning
estate under Mr. R. W. Harrison. He is a
son of Mr. W. Charles Whitham, proprietary
planter in Ceylon, and is a member of all local
clubs in the Federated Malay States.
BRAUNSTON RUBBER ESTATE.
Three brothers are the proprietors of this
estate, Messrs. R. Wallis Wilson, B. A. Wallis
Wilson, and A. Wallis Wilson. They own
415 acres planted with rubber-trees, 140 acres
of which are interplanted with coffee. The
property is situated eight miles from Kuala
Selangor. The manager is Mr. R. Wallis
Wilson, who went to Ceylon in 1895, and came
over to the Federated Malay States in 1905.
SUNGEI KAPAR ESTATE.
In the Klang district of Selangor one of the
best-managed rubber properties is the Sungei
Kapar estate, the property of the Sungei Kapar
Rubber Company, Ltd. Originally the estate
was owned by a private syndicate. It is
on the estate six years ago, and the whole area
is now under cultivation with 191,090 trees, of
which 580 are Rambong, and the remainder
Para. Tapping was commenced in March,
1907, and it is estimated that the yield up to
the end of the year will total about 20,000 lbs.
of finished rubber. Within the last twelve
months an up-to-date factory has been erected
on the estate, with modern machinery for
preparing rubber, installed by Messrs. Brown
& Davidson, of Ceylon and the Federated
Malay States. This plant includes a macerator,
a crepe machine, a finishing machine, vacuum
dryer, washer, blocking press, and two coagu-
lating vats. In addition to ttie preparation of
rubber from the estate itself, scrap and bath
shavings from eight neighbouring estates are
pressed into block rubber at this factory. A
mono-rail, a mile in length, has been con-
structed between the factory and the road to ex-
pedite the transport of the rubber to the railway
station. The labour force numbers about 500
Tamil coolies, who are comfortably settled on
the estate, so that there is no fear of a shortage.
The estate buildings comprise manager's and
assistants' bungalows, conductor's house, me-
chanic and watchman's house, native shop,
four sets of coolie lines, stores, factory, and
other premises. A telephone system is operated
in connection with the Exchange at Klang.
SUNGEI KAPAE ESTATE, KLANG.
The Bungalow, the Factory (Two Views), akd Rubber Trees bordering the Cart Road.
VALLAMBBOSA RUBBER ESTATE, KLANG.
The Stores, the Coolie Lines, and the Factory.
(See p. 453.)
VALLAMBROSA RUBBER ESTATE, KLANG.
Rubber Trees ok Various Ages.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
463
The capital of the Sungei Kapar Company is
;£i 10,000, of which 75 per cent, has been fully
paid up. Mr. G. V. L. Scott is the manager,
and he is assisted by Mr. H. P. Hardingham.
The directors of the company are Messrs.
W. W. Bailey, E. A. Davidson,'}. Maclachlan,
and A. R. Wilson-Wood. Messrs. Moncreiff
& Horsbrugh, of Edinburgh, are the secretaries.
In addition to Sungei Kapar, the company
has another property of 1,083 acres in extent
now being opened up 12 miles on the Kuala
Selangor Road. The superintendent is Mr.
G. V. L. Scott, and the assistant Mr. H. B.
Hoare. Mr. R. W. Harrison is visiting agent
for the company, and Messrs. Whittall & Co.
are the local agents.
Mr. Qeorge V. L. Scott, the manager
of Sungei Kapar and Brafferton, is a son of
the late Mr. William Scott, planter, Ceylon,
and was born on March 13, 1875. He was
engaged for six years as a tea and coffee
planter on Mount Vernon estate. Afterwards
he was placed in charge of Happugahalande
estate, where he remained for a year, and then
became manager of Lochnagar, Lawrence-
watte and Resigama estates for fourteen months,
at the end of which time he had to resign owing
to ill-health. On his recovery Mr. Scott took
over the management of lona, Torrington,
Helbeck, and Agra Elbeda estates, on which
were three large tea factories. The visiting
agent, Mr. J. K. Symonds, spoke very highly of
the way in which these estates were conducted
during the four years and a half that they were
managed by Mr. Scott, who enjoys the reputa-
tion of being a steady and hard-working
planter. In October, 1905, Mr. Scott was
offered the management of Sungei Kapar
estate, and, later, of Brafferton estate, which
have been under his care ever since. He is
hon. sec. of the Kapar Planters' Associa-
tion, the Kapar Club, and the Government
Hospital Scheme. His favourite recreations
are cricket and shooting.
VALLAMBBOSA AND BUKIT KBIONG
ESTATES.
These are two large estates owned by the
Vallambrosa Rubber Company, Ltd., and
managed by Mr. H. M. Darby. The Vallam-
brosa estate, six miles from Klang, covers
i,309J acres, the greater part of which is
planted with rubber, varying in age from eight
years to one year, while some uncultivated land
is now being planted. The property was
owned originally by Mr. A. R. Wilson-Wood,
who disposed of it to a limited liability
company, though retaining a large interest.
Tapping was commenced in 1904 — the year in
which the company took over the estate — and
the yield the first twelve months amounted to
902 lbs. In the second year, 39,203 lbs. were
obtained, and in the third, 156,922 lbs. The
estimate for the year ending in April, 1908, is
215,000 lbs. The dividend up to the present paid
by the company is 55 P^"" cent. About 1,060
Tamil coolies and some Malays and Sinhalese
are employed on the estate, which is replete
with a fully equipped rubber-curing store. The
Bukit Kriong estate at Kapar, about 13 miles
from Klang, is 2,000 acres in extent, and of this
300 acres have been planted and 500 are being
cleared.
The manager, Mr. Herbert M. Darby, who
planted all the rubber on the estate, was born
at Warbleton, Sussex, in 1872. He came to
the Federated Malay States in 1894, and took
charge of Vallambrosa after planting for three
years under Mr. T. H. Hill.
KUALA LUMPOB BUBBBE COMPANY,
LTD.
This company owns the Kent, Uganda,
Wardieburn, Setapakdale, Klang Gates, and
the Mount estates in the State of Selan-
gor. The two first-named are about six
miles from Kuala Lumpor, and are connected
with the town by railway, the station being
about a quarter of a mile from the manager's
bungalow. The Wardieburn group fronts the
Pahang Road, and is from four and a half to
seven miles from Kuala Lumpor. The total area
of the estates, which are worked by Tamil
labour, is 3,3274 acres, of which 2,250 have been
planted. Tapping has been in progress some
time, the yield since the purchase of the
properties, in April, 1906, having been 53)000
lbs., which was sold in Antwerp. Coffee is
also cultivated. On the Wardieburn group
there are deposits of tin, and mining rights
over 28 1 acres have been obtained. This is
expected to produce a good revenue. Mr.
E. B. Skinner is the general manager and
visiting agent, and Messrs. H. T. Eraser, M. J.
Kennaway, and H. Armstrong are the managers.
Mr. H. Armstrong, manager of the
Wardieburn group of estates, is a son of Mr.
W. Armstrong, J. P., of Wexford, Ireland.
Born at Enniscarthy, Wexford, in 1880, he was
educated at St. John's College, Kilkenny, and
commenced his career as a planter in Travan-
core, India. For eighteen months he was
engaged on the Lockhart estate, Devakulum,
and subsequently on the Surianalle, Devaku-
lum, and Koliekanum estates in the Umaad
district ; and PootoomuUa and Arrapetta estates
in the Wynaad district. In July, 1907, he took
charge of the Wardieburn group at Kuala
Lumpor, Selangor.
BUKIT KBIONG ESTATE, KLANG.
Bungalow and General Views of Young Rubber Trees and Clearings.
WABDIEBUBN
vlkw i.uokixu towards klang gate.
3. Coolie Lines.
ESTATE.
2. One Hundred Acres of Young and Old Rubber.
I). General View looking towards the Manager's Bungalow.
t. Rubber Trees coming into Bearing.
KENT ESTATE.
Tapping. 3. View of Four and a Hali' Ye.\rs Old Rubber Trees. 4. A Young Clearing.
456
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Mr. F. M. Campbell is the assistant
manager of the Wardieburn group of estates.
He was born in London in 1882, and educated
at Haileybury College. From 1904 to 1906 he
was in the service of the Federated Malay
States Government as a settlement officer, but
resigned his position to take up planting.
Before receiving his present appointment he
worked for a time on the West Country estate
under Mr. E. B. Skinner. His favourite recrea-
tions are hockey, golf, and cricket, and he is
a member of most of the local clubs.
GOLDEN HOPE ESTATE.
The Golden Hope rubber estate, owned by
a limited liability company bearing the same
name, extends over 919 acres, 850 of which are
under cultivation, while 69 are in reserve. The
estate is level, at a slight elevation above sea-
level, and is very well drained. Rambong and
Para rubber and also coffee are planted on the
estate. The quality of the rubber produced
rubber and about 950 lbs. of Ficiis dastica.
About three hundred Tamil coolies are em-
ployed.
Mr. E. B. Prior, the manager, was born
in London in 1864, and was educated privately.
He was admitted a solicitor in 1889, and prac-
tised in England until 1891, when he went to
Pinang and practised there for five years.
After that he took up planting and opened
up the Golden Hope estate. He is chairman
of the Klang District Planters' Association and
a member of the committee of the United
Planters' Association, Federated Malay States.
INCH KENNETH EUBBBB ESTATES.
The Inch Kenneth rubber estates comprise
three properties — the Inch Kenneth, Reko Hill,
and Dunedin — with a total area of 1,674 acres,
of which 1,000 acres are under cultivation.
The remainder is jungle, but this is being
gradually opened up and planted. At first the
estate was partly planted, with coffee, but this
the Kenneth estate. He employs Javanese
coolies and has two assistants. The directors
of the company are Messrs. D. Harris, G. B.
Thornton, and Capt. H. W. S. Kindersley, and
the secretaries are Messrs. Greenhill and Clap-
perton, of Edinburgh.
BUKIT RAJAH ESTATES.
These extensive properties, which adjoin each
other, comprise some 9,190 acres of land in the
Klang district, and are owned by the Bukit
Rajah Rubber Estates Company, Ltd. They are
about five miles from the shipping port, and
two miles from the railway station. Originally,
there were nine separate estates, varying in
extent from 100 to 3,000 acres, but in 1903 they
were amalgamated under the ownership of one
company. Up to the end of July, 1907, there
were 247,180 rubber-trees planted, varying in
age from ten years to a few months ; and
241,17s coconut trees, varying in age from
eight years to twelve months, interplanted with
THE GOLDEN HOPE RUBBER ESTATE, LTD.
General View. Old Rubber Trees.
is very good, the Rambong from this estate
having taken the gold medal at the Ceylon
Rubber Exhibition. The ages of the trees
range from one to eight years, but the oldest
Para rubber, with the exception of 842 trees, is
only four years of age. The reserve land is
about to be placed under cultivation. In
1905 the yield of rubber from 842 trees was
2,279 lbs. ; in 1906 the return was 2,501 lbs. ;
and in 1907, though the estimate was only for
2,550 lbs., the results were so satisfactory in
the early part of the year that the manager
expected to realise fully 4,000 lbs. of Para
has been superseded entirely by rubber. As an
experiment two acres of land were planted ten
years ago, but with this exception, the trees on
the estate vary in age from those newly
planted to those planted in 1902. Altogether
there are i8o,coo trees, and the crop of rubber
in igo6 amounted to 2,000 lbs. It is estimated
that about 5,000 lbs. will be produced in 1907.
The manager's bungalow stands on a hill some
300 feet above sea-level, and commands a
capital view of the surrounding country.
Mr. R. C. M. Kindersley has managed the estate
since 1904, prior to which he was planting on
coffee to the extent of about 280 acres. Tap-
ping was started in 1904-5, when the crop of
rubber was 6,811 lbs. During 1905 and part
of 1906, 33,203 lbs. were obtained ; and in the
latter part of 1906 and the beginning of 1907
the yield was 118,982 lbs. The estimate for
1907 is 140,000 lbs. of rubber, and 225,000
coconuts. 'There are on the estate bungalows
for the manager, four assistants, and six con-
ductors, and twenty coolie lines. Twelve
hundred Tamil coolies are employed.
Mr. C. T. Hamerton is the manager. Born
in 1876, at Durham, and educated at a private
TAPPING Tex YiiAKS Old Rubber Trees.
THE INCH KENNETH RUBBER ESTATES, LTD.
View of Five Ye.^fs Old Rubber Trees. 3. General View, Bangi Estate. 4. Vieh of Reko Hill Estate.
U
BUKIT RAJAH ESTATES, KLANG,
Rubber Trees, the Factory, .4nd the Store,
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
459
school in Cornwall and at the Royal Masonic
School, he was trained for a seafaring life on
board the Worcester for two years. He then
went to Colorado, U.S.A., where for four years
he was engaged in cattle ranching. In 1895
he came to Selangor, and went to the New
Amhurst coffee estate as assistant. Later, he
was transferred to the Siingei Binjai estate,
out to make room for the more profitable
crop of rubber.
The Blackwater estate is bounded on the
north by the Golden Hope estate, on the
south by the Jugra district, on the east by
the Langat road, and on the west by the
Langat river, towards which the land is
drained. The buildings on the property corn-
are planted with rubber-trees varying in age
from ten years to those newly planted. There
are altogether 14,000 trees ready for tapping,
and next year the number will be increased by
a further 70,000. The yield of rubber for the
season 1905-6 was 13,322 lbs. and for 1906-7,
31,500. The product was sold in Antwerp,
where the price was 2d. or 3d. above that ruling
BLACKWATER ESTATE.
I. Old and Yolwg Rubber Trees.
2. YoL-xG Rubber Trees.
which he opened up, and when a company
was floated in 1903, and the property was
amalgamated with the others, he was given
the management. Mr. Hamerton, who has
interests in several estates, is a member of
all the local clubs.
BLACKWATER ESTATE.
An important consideration in selecting a
site for an estate is the proximity of facilities
for transit. As sea transit is always cheaper
than rail, the Blackwater estate is very favour-
ably situated, for it is only five miles distant
from Port Swettenham, whence its produce can
be shipped direct to Europe. The property
is owned by the Blackwater Estate (Klang)
Rubber Company, Ltd., and is 1,342 acres in
extent. It was first opened up in 1899, and in
the two years following 177 acres were planted
with coffee and interplanted with Para and
Rambong rubber. The greatest headway has
been made during the last two years, the
proprietors devoting their attention entirely to
the extension of the area under Para rubber.
In 1905, 130 acres were planted ; in 1906, 201
acres ; and in the first half of 1907, 72J acres.
There are now 63,685 rubber-trees on the
property. Tapping was commenced in 1906,
and the yield in that year amounted to
13,327 lbs. It is estimated that in 1907 close
upon 20,000 lbs. of rubber will be produced.
All the coffee originally planted has been cut
prise the manager's bungalow and a factory,
which is fitted with up-to-date rubber machinery,
manufactured by Messrs. Brown & Davidson,
of Ceylon and the Federated Malay States.
The labour force consists of 250 Tamil coolies,
and the manager is Mr. G. N. Magill. The
secretaries of the company are Messrs. Skrine
& Co., Colombo, and the produce is exported
through Messrs. Whittall & Co., Colombo.
Messrs. F. L. Clements, the Hon. Mr. W. Hi
Figg, and Mr. H. Goodwyn are the directors.
Mr. Q. N. Magill, manager of the Black-
water estate, is the son of Colonel W. Napier
Magill (retired), of Westmeath, Ireland. He
was born at Killucan, in Ireland, in 1884, and
was educated at Gresham School, Norfolk. In
1902 he went to Ceylon and learned tea-
planting under Mr. H. W. Bailey on the
Elstone estate, Puwakpitiya. A year later he
became assistant to Mr. W. W. Bailey, on the
Lowlands estate, Selangor, Federated Malay
States, and he remained there until he took
up his present position, in May, 1905.
FEDERATED MALAY STATES RUBBER
COMPANY, LTD.
About 600 coolies are employed by the
Federated Malay States Rubber Company, Ltd.,
owners of the West Country, Belmont, and
Ayer Hitam estates, situated about one and a
half miles from Kajang railway station. The
property comprises 6,247 acres, 2,000 of which
in the English market. There are four bunga-
lows and some large stores on the estate, and
two more bungalows are in course of erection.
Mr. B. B. Skinner, the general manager, is a
son of Colonel Russell Skinner, and was born in
1873 at Muzzaffapur, India. He commenced
planting in the Federated Malay States in 1891,
and six years later took charge of the West
-Country estate. He is also the general manager
and visiting agent of several other estates, and
has interests in many properties.
PARADISE RUBBER ESTATE.
The Paradise estate, of 574 acres, is situated
about one mile from Kajang railway station
on undulating ground admirably suited to
rubber-growing. With the exception of 114
acres of jungle the estate is under rubber
cultivation. Coffee was planted originally
on 189 acres, but rubber has now been inter-
planted. There now are on the estate 136,555
rubber-trees, varying in age from six years to a
few months. During the season 1906-7, 820
trees were tapped and gave an average in
seven months of 2i lbs. of rubber per tree. It
is estimated that the yield for 1907-8 from
6,000 trees will be 8,000 lbs. Of coffee 430
piculs were obtained. The labour force con-
sists of ]6o Tamil coolies.
Mr. E. V. Carey is the proprietor of the
estate, Mr. F. W. Carey the manager, and Mr.
J. D. Carey assistant manager.
Xo. I Field, Bklmont Estate.
THE FEDERATED MALAY STATES RUBBER COMPANY, LTD.
2. Tapping i.v No. io Field. 3. Tapping in No. 1 A\f.xle, West Colntry Estate. 4. Xo. 9 Field, West CotNTRV Estate.
(See p. 459.)
I. General View.
THE FEDERATED MALAY STATES RUBBER COMPANY, LTD.
Genehal View on Belmont Estate. 3. No. 10 Field and Stores, 4 West Country and Belmont Estaies.
3. No. 10 Field and Stores,
(See p. 459.)
u -
PARADISE BUBBEE ESTATE.
I, Thk Estate Bungalow.
Rubber Trees Fifteen IIonths Old. 3. Tapping Old Rubber Trees,
{See p. 4~,g.)
4. General View of the Estate.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA 463
Mr. F. W. Carey was born in 1877, at
Alicante in Spain, and educated at Bedford
Grammar School. In 1895 he started tea-
planting in Ceylon, being engaged at different
times on the Park estate, Kandapola, Carolina
estate, Wattewalla, and the St. Margaret's
estate. He took charge of the Paradise estate
in 1906.
HARPENDEN MERROW ESTATES.
The Harpenden Merrow estates are owned
by the Harpenden Selangor Rubber Company,
Ltd., of which the directors are Messrs. P.
Gaisford, Fred Hadden, G. Barnett, F. H.
Turner, and G. Ross Clarke, with Mr. A. C. W.
Clarke as secretary. The company has a
capital of Rs. 300,000 in 600 shares of Rs. 500
each fully paid up. On the estate there is an
ment road to it. .4bout 450 Tamil coolies are
employed on the property.
Mr. C. S. Lumsden, the manager, was
born in 1874, at Cawnpore and educated at
private schools in England and Switzerland.
He was intended for the military service, but
came to Ceylon instead, and commenced tea-
planting on Abbotsford estate, N'uoya. There
he remained for three years, after which he
was in charge of several tea estates in Nawal-
pitiya. It was in December, 1906, that he
was offered the charge of Harpenden estate,
Selangor. He is a son of the late Mr. J. J. Foot
Lumsden, of the Indian Civil Service.
SUNGBI RENGAM ESTATE.
This estate, situated conveniently near the
Sungei Rengam railway station, is 2,381 acres in
with a large factory, is owned by the Selangor
Rubber Company, Ltd. The directors are Mr.
Thos. Johnson (chairman), Sir F. A. Swetten-
ham, K.C.M.G., Mr. T. A. Gallic, and Mr.
Hugh Xeilson.
The manager of the estate is Mr. P. W.
Parkinson, who is away on leave, his place
being taken by Mr. C. Henly. Mr. Henly
was born at Reading in 1869, and previous to
coming to Singapore was planting tea and
rubber in Ceylon for twenty-two years. He
joined the firm of Messrs. Barlow & Co.,
Singapore, as visiting agent for their estates.
JALAN ACOB RUBBER ESTATE.
This estate is owned by the Kapar Para Rubber
Company, Ltd. The manager is Mr. E. H.
King-Barman ; the assistants are Messrs.
HARPENDEN MERRO'W ESTATES.
. The Estate L.\bouk Force.
.\x Old Rubber Tree.
acreage of 1,257 acres. On Merrow 99 acres
were planted with rubber in 1901, and on
Harpenden 214 acres were planted in May,
1904, 114 in November of the same year, 114
in April of 1905, 122 in October of 1905, 202 in
November of igo6, 57 in May of 1906, and 212
in December of 1906. There remain 123 acres
not yet planted. Tapping was started in
August, igo6, the amount of rubber obtained
until the end of the year being 340 lbs. In 1907,
although the estimated product was 1,000 lbs.
only, the manager anticipated a yield of 3,000 lbs.
About 30 acres are interplanted with rubber
and coconuts, and 22 acres of coconuts are
interplanted in the rubber area. On the whole
the soil is very good and is well drained. The
estate is situated some twelve miles from Klang
railway station, and there is a good Govern-
extent. Of the total area, 185 acres were planted
in 1898, 120 acres in 1899, 358 acres in 1900,
37 acres in 1901, 268 acres in 1902, 81 acres in
1903, 58 acres in 1904, 214 acres in 1905, 314
acres in 1906, and 151 acres in 1907 — in all,
1,786 acres. Great attention has been paid to
the drainage of the land, which is in excellent
condition for planting, and the yield of rubber
is increasing each year. In 1905, 29,750 lbs.
were obtained ; in 1906, 70,577 lbs. ; and for
1907 the estimate was about 120,000 lbs. The
crop in 1905 realised an average of 5s. 8d. per
pound. A European manager is in charge, and
he has four European assistants. Employment
is given to goo Tamil and 100 Chinese and
Javanese coolies. With the object of teaching
the coolies, experimental tapping was com-
menced in 1904. The estate, which is equipped
J. M. Crail and H. S. Minto ; the visiting
agent is Mr, R. W. Harrison ; the London
directors are Messrs. J. Douglas Fletcher,
William Xevett, and Edward S. Grigson ; and
the secretaries, Messrs. Nevett, Oswald &
Co. The estate consists of 3,482^ acres,
i,g[5j acres of which are planted. Rubber-
trees over two years old cover 600 acres, trees
about four years old 385 acres, and trees
ranging from one month to two years the
balance of 930J acres. Originally the property
belonged to Messrs. Darby, Wilson-Wood, and
others, from whom it was purchased by the
present proprietors about two and a half years
ago. The manager expects to start tapping on
a small scale at an early date. On the estate
some 1,000 Tamil, 100 Javanese, and 150 Malay
coolies are employed. The manager, Mr. E, H.
SUNGBI BENGAM ESTATE, SELANGOR.
Thk Factory. Coolie Lines, TAPPiNn, axu the Stores.
(See p. 463.)
I & 2. New Clearikgs,
JALAN ACOB RUBBER ESTATE.
3. Old Robber Trees. 4. The Manager and his Assistants.
(See p. 463.)
466
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
King-Harman, has had many years' experience
in planting both in India and Ceylon. He is
the son of Colonel M. J. King-Harman (retired).
PENDAMABAN ESTATE.
The Pendamaran estate of the Ceylon
Planters' Rubber Syndicate, Ltd., is about two
and a half miles from Port Svvettenham, Selan-
gor, and is approached by a capital Government
road. The land was taken up on behalf of the
syndicate when covered with virgin jungle, but
now of the total area of 884 acres, 670 have been
planted and the remainder is held in reserve.
There are 54 acres of coconuts, planted in 1902,
and of the area devoted to rubber about 70
acres are interplanted with coffee. There are
390 acres of rubber-ti-ees five years old and
upwards, 90 acres of four-year-old trees, 67
acres of three-year-old trees, r6 of two-year-old
trees, and 43 acres of one-year-old trees. Tap-
ping was started in 1906 and the yield was 900
lbs. The estimate for 1907 was about 30,000
lbs. . There are two bungalows and a small
factory on the estate, and employment is given
to about 530 Tamil coolies.
Mr. W. H. Trotter, the manager, was born
at Stockton, in 1866, and was educated at
Charterhouse. He went to Ceylon in 1885,
and was employed for ten years by the Eastern
Produce and Estates Company, Ltd. He was
engaged afterwards in planting, and accepted
the management of the Pendamaran estate in
1904. He is a member of the Colombo Club,
as well as of the local clubs.
SINGAPORE RUBBER COMPANY, LTD.
One of the largest planting concerns in the
Federated States is the Singapore Rubber
Company, who own Perhentia Tinggi estate
of 970 acres (785 planted with coffee and Para
rubber) ; the Margot estate of 555 acres (362
planted with rubber), and the Hansa estate of
700 acres (125 planted). The Hansa estate
includes some of the best rubber land, at Sungei
Gadut, in the immediate vicinity of Port Dick-
son. The estate was bought in January^ 1906,
from Mr. W. R. Rowland, and incorporated
with a capital of 500,000 dollars. The present
directors are Messrs. Hans Becker and O.
Schwemer, with Mr. E. Lehrenkruss as secre-
tary. The registered offices of the company
are in Singapore, where the agency is in the
hands of Messrs. Behn, Meyer & Co.. A feature
of the estate is the immense quantity of timber
which at present covers the uncultivated
portion, and which presents valuable possi-
bilities. Large steam saw-mills are employed
on the estate, cutting up every kind of timber
for sale in Port Dickson and Malacca.
SEAPIELD ESTATE.
The proprietors of this property are the Sea-
field Rubber Company, Ltd., the directors of
which are Messrs^ H. K. Rutherford (chairman),
J. McEwan, Norman Grieve, and E. S. Grigson.
The secretaries are Messrs. McMeekin & Co.,
and the local agents are Messrs. Barlow & Co.,
of Singapore. Originally the estate was owned
privately, but it was floated as a public com-
pany on February 8th, 1907.
The estate has a total area of 2,848 acres 25
roods. Of these 238 acres were planted with
Para rubber in 1904 by Mr. R. S. Meikle ; 431
were planted in 1905, 554 in 1906, and 554 in 1907.
Altogether there are 293,923 rubber-trees, and
they are thriving well. By the end of 1908 it is
expected that 2,000 acres will have been planted.
The property is situated five and a half miles
from Batu Tiga railway station, to which
there is a good cart-road. In its conformation
the land is undulating, and the soil is composed
of red loam. On one side the property drains
into Klang river and on the other side into
Nebong river. The managers of the estate
are Messrs. H. R. Quartley and A. J. Fox, with
Mr. A. Denny as an assistant.
Captain Arthur J. Fox, the joint manager
of Seafield estate, is a son of Mr. J. G. Hubert
Fox, J.P., a retired officer of the 5th Lancers,
lixing at Galtrim House, Summer Hill, county
Meath, Ireland. He was born on June ist,
1871, at Tipperary, and was educated at Birr,
and at Dunstan College, Staffordshire. After
studying at the Military Academy, under Mr.
Backhouse, he joined the 3rd Royal Irish Regi-
ment as an officer in 1889, and served with it
for four years. Resigning his commission
then, he went to Ceylon as a tea-planter. In
that island he stayed a year, after which he
proceeded to Travancore, in India, and engaged
in tea and coffee planting for seven years. On
the outbreak of the Boer War, Mr. Fox rejoined
his old regiment, the 3rd Royal Irish, and went
through the campaign. For his services he
received a medal with three bars — 1901, 1902,
and Cape Colony. In 1901 he was gazetted
captain. When the war ended he went home,
and after eighteen months' stay, came out to
the Federated Malay States. He joined Sea-
field estate as co-adjutant manager, and assisted
in opening it up. Mr. Fox is a member of all
local clubs and commandant of the Federated
Malay States Mounted Infantry. His chief
recreations are cricket and tennis.
Mr. H. R. Quartley.— The son of the late
Mr. Henry J. Quartley, of Yorkshire, Mr. H. R.
Quartley, manager of the Seafield estate at
Some Fine Old Rubber Trees,
PENDAMARAN ESTATE, SELANGK)R.
Coconut Plantation.
THE SINGAPORE RUBBER COMPANY (PERHENTIA TINGGI ESTATE).
J, KoBBER Trees axu Coconut Palms (with the Managers Bungalow in the distance). 2. Tapping.
3. The Saw-mill. 4. The Estate, showing the Railway Line.
RUBBER TREES ON SEAPIBLD ESTATE, BATU TIGA, SBLANGOR.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
469
KEMPSBY ESTATE, KUALA SELANGOB.
Young Rubber Trees and some Fine Old Ones,
Batu Tiga, was born at Leicester in" July, 1878,
and was educated at Borlase School, Marlow.
For a little while after finishing his education,
he learned land agency. In 1897 he went to
Ceylon and learned tea-planting in Udupus--
salawa and Madukelle. At the end of fourteen
months he moved over to North Travancore,
India, in which place he stayed until May, 1904.
After a trip home, he came out again in 1905
and took charge of Seafield estate, which, in
conjunction with Captain A. J. Fox, he helped to
plant with rubber. He is a member of various
local clubs, and, for recreative purposes, plays
cricket, football, and tennis.
KEMPSEY ESTATE.
Situated eight miles from Kuala Selangor is
the Kempsey estate, the property of the Rubber
Growers' Company, Ltd., floated in Ceylon
with a capital of Rs. 500,000. The property
of 640 acres is drained into the Selangor river.-
It is planted principally with Para rubber, the
subsidiary crops being coffee and coconuts.
The total area under cultivation is 430 acres,
and the oldest rubber on the estate is seven
years of age.- In igo6 the total output was
4,500 lbs.- of rubber and 3,000 tins of coffee.
The estimated yield of rubber in 1907 is 7,000
lbs. Two hundred and fifty Tamil coolies and
Malay jungle-clearers are employed, and the
estate buildings include the manager's bunga-
low, rubber store, and four sets of coolie lines.
The directors of the proprietary company
are Messrs.- George Alston, A. ]. Dennison, and
W. E. Mitchell. Messrs. Cumberbatch & Co.
are the local agents, and Mr. John Gibson the
visiting agent.
Mr. J. Murray, the manager, is the son of
Mr. G. W. Murray, planter, Ceylon, and was
born in 1884 and educated at St. Edward's
School, Nuwara Eliya. He has held his present
position since December, 1906.
JEBAM ESTATE.
The Jeram estate is a thousand acres in extent,
and is situated 14 miles from Klang on the
Kapar road. The property is well drained, and
the soil is of excellent quality. Rubber-planting
was commenced in 1906, and there are now
490 acres under Para trees. The estate is
owned by the Jeram Rubber Company, Ltd.,
which has a capital of 100,000 dollars in 10-
dollar shares. Messrs. H. M. Darby, R. W.
Parkinson, H. Case, and D. Douglas are the
directors, and Messrs. Whittall & Co., Colombo,
are the secretaries and agents. Mr. H. Case,
the superintendent, is the son of the late Rev.
F. Case, of St. Margaret's Bay, Dover. He was
born in London in 1882, and before coming to
the Federated Malay States in 1904, he held a
lieutenant's- commission in the 6th Battalion
Royal Dublin Fusiliers for four years. For
two years he was on the Vallambrosa estate.
STRATHMOBE ESTATE.
The Strathmore rubber estate, comprising
two adjoining blocks of 1,000 acres each, and
owned by the Strathmore Rubber Company,
Ltd., is 13 miles from Kuala Selangor and 17
miles from Rawang railway station. Opera-
tions were only commenced on the property
towards the end of 1906, and in fourteen
months 383 acres were fully planted with Para
trees. The remainder of the land is well
suited for rubber production. The estate has
a road frontage of two miles in length, and a
new road is being constructed on which it will
have a second frontage of the same length.
The property is well drained into the Selangor
river. There is an ample supply of Tamil
labour, for the accommodation of which there
are five sets of coolie lines.
Mr. George Dun, the superintendent, was
born in 1875, at St. Andrews, Scotland, and
received his education at the Dollar Institution.
He went out to Ceylon to learn planting in
1899, and was on various estates there until,
in 1906, he came to the Federated Malay States
to Jalan Acob estate in the Klang district. He
has held his present position since January
1907.
The directors of the Strathmore Company
are Messrs. J. Hunter (chairman), R. C. Bowie,
A. Melville White, and W. B. Rankine.
SUNGEI EAMBAI ESTATE.
The Sungei Rambai estate, situated nine
miles from Kuala Selangor, is 1,200 acres in
extent, and is owned by the Compagnie du
Selangor (formed in Belgium). It was origi-
nally partly planted with coffee and coconuts.
Rubber was first put in in 1904, and at the end
of 1907 there were close upon 400 acres under
Para trees. The property is well drained into
the Selangor river, and promises every success
for the future. A labour staff of 230 Tamil
coolies is employed, and the estate buildings
include the manager's bungalow, conductor's
house, eight sets of coolie lines, and a native
store. The directors of the proprietary com-
pany are Messrs. A. Hallet and A. C. Janssens,
who have several important rubber businesses
in the Congo. Mr. E. Mouvet is the secretary
and Mr. J. Murray the visiting agent.
Mr. J. de Burlet, the manager, is the son of
the late Mr. J. de Burlet, who held several
important offices in the Belgian Government,
including those of Minister of the Interior,
Minister of Foi-eign Affairs, Minister of State,
'fe-
JEBAM ESTATE, KLANG.
THE Clearings, Kueber Trees on the Hills, One Year Old Rubber Trees and the Lines.
(See p. 469.)
THE STBATHMORE RUBBER COMPANY, LTD.
, The Labour Force. 2. A New Clearing. 3. A Clearing showing Young Rubber.
(See p. 469.)
SUNGEI BAMBAI ESTATE.
Views on Suxgei Rambai Estate and Planting Rubber on Rosa Estate.
(See p. 469.)
TAVENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
473
and latterly Prime Minister. M. de Burlet tils
was educated in Brussels, and served in ttie
Belgian legations in London and \A'astiington
for about four years. He resigned his position
in ttie diplomatic service in order to go to the
Congo as secretary to a rubber company known
as the Compagnie de Kasai. This was in 1899,
and he retained his position until 1906, when
he came to the Federated Malay States to
undertake the management of Sungei Rambai
estate. He has travelled extensively in three
continents, is a member of the St. James's Club,
London, of the Circle des Eleveurs, Brussels,
and of all local clubs.
TEBMBLBYB (SELANGOR) RUBBER
COMPANY, LTD.
This company owns two rubber estates in
Selangor, named Tremelbye and Ebor, with a
total area of 2,188 acres, of which 1,500 acres
are planted with Para rubber. One hundred
and seventy-five acres bear trees of from one
to three years, and the balance bears trees of
one year and under. Tremelbye estate is a
little over one mile from Klang, with which it
is connected by a good Government road. The
land is undulating and thoroughly drained.
Ebor estate is situated close to Batu Tiga rail-
way station. The land here is of a similar
character to that at Tremelbye. There are a
manager's bungalow and Tamil cooHe lines on
each property. The local manager is Mr. John
Gibson, and the superintendent Mr. W. Jack,
W. Grieve (chairman), E. S. Grigson, and G. A.
Talbot ; and the secretary is Mr. C. O. Naptel,
of 20, Eastcheap, London.
Mr. John Gibson, J. P., is a planter, an
estate visiting agent, and the manager of the
Tremelbye (Selangor) Rubber Company, Ltd.
He was born in the parish of St. Quorvox,
Ayrshire, in i860, and had a public school
education. Having learned building construc-
tion, he secured a position with the firm of
Messrs. Mitchell & Izard, engineers and con-
tractors, for whom he travelled to Ceylon in
January, 1883. There he afterwards entered
the Public Works Department, from which he
resigned some years later to engage in tea-
planting. He acquired an estate known as
Ayr Waga, in the Kelani Valley district, planted
it, and was very successful. At the end of
nearly four years' continuous work in Ceylon
he returned home and took up residence on his
property of Barncailzie Hall, Kirkcudbright-
shire. While in Europe Mr. Gibson kept in
close touch with his interests in Ceylon, and
advocated the planting of rubber in the earlier
days of that industry. In 190O he came out to
the Federated Malay States and acquired an
interest in Tremelbye and Klang estates, which,
with Ebor and Sungei Nebong, now form the
concern which he manages. They are planted
with 1,500 acres of rubber. He also associated
himself with the firm of Messrs. Whittall & Co.,
through whom, for Messrs. Cumberbatch & Co.,
he visits a number of different companies'
estates, in several of which he has private
dent of the District Unionist Association Club
and other institutions, besides being a J. P. for
the county 'of Kirkcudbright.
SUNGEI WAY ESTATE.
One mile from Sungei Way railway station
is situated the Sungei Way rubber estate, the
properly of the Sungei Way (Selangor) Rubber
Company, Ltd., of which the directors are Sir
Frank Swettenham (late Governor of the
Straits Settlements and High Commissioner for
the Federated Malay States), and Messrs. T.
Johnstone, C, R. Paterson, T. A. Gellie, and
T. N. Christie. The authorised capital of the
concern is ;^5o,ooo, £2j\,^20 of which has
been fully paid up. Sungei Way estate is
2,505 acres in extent, and was first opened up
in 1903. AU-eady 1,154 ^cres have been fully
planted with Para rubber, the total number of
trees being 176,000. The property has a
frontage on to the railway for three miles, and
is only eight and three-quarter miles distant
from the Federal capital. The land is partly
flat and partly undulating, and the soil is
admirably suited for rubber production. Mixed
labour, consisting of 300 Tamils, 250 Chinese,
and 60 Javanese, is employed, and is housed in
ten sets of coolie lines. The trees have made
excellent growth, and tapping will be com-
menced earh- in 1908.
Mr. A. C. Corbetta, the manager, was born
in Norfolk, in 1878, and received his education
at Norwich Grammar School. He went to
THE TREMELBYE (SELANGOR) RUBBER COMPANY, LTD.
Views on the Est.^te.
who is in charge of Ebor estate, with Mr.
A. C. Douglas as assistant. The company has
a share capital of ;f5o,ooo, of which ;g3o,ooo
has been allotted in £1 shares, 20,000 being
part paid. The directors are Messrs. Norman
interests. While at home Mr. Gibson asso-
ciated himself with parish council work, and
took a great interest in education and in agri-
culture. When he left Scotland he was Presi-
dent of the Stewartry Burns Club, Vice-presi-
Ceylon in 1895, and was engaged for ten years
in tea-planting in various parts of the island.
He first took charge of the Sungei Way estate
in 1905. A good cricketer, he was a member
of the Straits team which played against
THE SUNGEI "WAY (SELANGOE) RUBBER COMPANY, LTD.
Views on the Estate.
(See p. 473.)
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA 4%
Rangoon and Burma in 1906. Mr. Corbetta
has two assistants, Messrs. R. C. F. Agar and
C. J. Arnold.
NEW COMET ESTATE.
The New Comet estate, situated five miles
from Klang, was opened from virgin jungle
in 1906. It has an area of 395 acres, 190 acres
while Javanese and Malay contractors attend
to felling and clearing, the estate is owned
hy the Selangor River "Rubber Estate Com-
pany, Ltd., who have a capital of ;£2o,ooo.
The directors are Messrs. R. N. G. Bingley,
\'. R. Wickwar, W. Taylor, and Mr. Wreford
Brown. Messrs. Taylor, Noble & Co. are the
secretaries, 'and Mr. N. C. S. Bosanquet is the
visiting agent.
from Ulu Sawah railway station on the Port
Dickson line ; the Marjorie estate, three miles
farther from Seremban than Linggi, and the
Lukut estate are at Port Dickson. The Lmggi
estate is the oldest property. Coffee was very
successfully grown upon it until the big fall
took place in the price of product. The total
acreage of the various plantations is 4,380.
About one half this area has been planted with
CLEARINGS ON SELANGOR RIVER ESTATE, KUALA SELANGOR.
of which have been planted with Para rubber
and interplanted with bananas as a catch-crop.
The land is flat and well drained and belongs
to a syndicate composed of Messrs. Morrell,
Solbe, and Walker.
The manager, Mr. W. Douglas Grandjean,
is the son of Mr. W. E. Grandjean, who was
for many j'ears a planter in Sumatra, the West
Indies, and Virginia, and is now living retired
in Denmark. Mr. W. D, Grandjean was born
in Jamaica in 1870, and educated in Europe.
In 1890 he joined the Indian Civil Service, and
after travelling extensively through Northern
Malaya and Siam, he began planting in igoo
in the State of Johore, His present position
dates from December, igo6.
SELANGOR RIVER ESTATE.
Rubber-planting operations were only com-
menced on the Selangor River estate in
January, 1907, but before the end of the year
350 out of a total of 1,000 acres had been
cleared and planted with Para, The estate is
situated nine miles from Kuala Selangor, and
is bounded by the Kempsey, Pesangang, and
Banda Bharu estates, and by the main road to
Rawang, to which it has a frontage a mile and
a half in length. The land is flat, and the soil
is of a rich alluvial nature, thoroughly drained.
Emploj'ment is given to 200 Tamil coolies.
Mr. J. Bligh Orr, the manager, was born
in Northamptonshire in 1883, and was educated
at Malvern College. After a few months'
planting experience in Ceylon he came to the
Federated Malay States in November, 1905,
and, before taking up his present position, in
January, 1907, veas with the Beverlac Rubber
Company. He manages the Banda Bharu as
well as the Selangor River property.
LINGGI PLANTATIONS, LTD.
The Linggi Plantations, Ltd.-, own a valuable
group of rubber properties in Negri Sambilan.
Formerly the company was known as the
Linggi Coffee Company, and Liberian coffee
was grown on the first properties acquired, but
it was decided in 1900 to substitute the more
profitable product, Para rubber. In 1905 the
company was practically reconstructed, under
the name of Linggi Plantations, and since then
large areas have been opened up in rubber,
while the cultivation of coffee has been dis-
continued. The company's estates are the
Lukut, Marjorie, Linggi, Ulu Sawah, and
Kanchong estates. Of these the Linggi and
Kanchong estates, situated twelve miles from
Seremban on the old main road from that
town to Malacca, are now combined under
one manager, and form the principal pro-
perty. The Ulu Sawah estate is one mile
rubber, and contains some 300,000 trees. A
large number of trees came into bearing in
1906, and the estimated yield of dry rubber for
1907 was 50,000 lbs.- This amount will increase
year by year as new areas come into bearing.
All the latex from the various properties is
treated in an up-to-date factory, fitted up with
the latest machinery, on the Linggi estate. The
labour force is composed almost exclusively
of Tamils, and numbers about 700. On the
Linggi estate an excellent system has been in-
troduced by which each family can have its
own house and garden, and this arrangement
has been found better than housing all the
coolies together in lines. A large central
hospital has been built on the estate for the use
of all the plantations, and it is superintended
by a European doctor engaged by the Planters'
Association.
Since the foregoing was written the Linggi
Plantations, Ltd.,- have acquired the rubber
properties in Negri Sambilan and Selangor
known as the Bukit Nanas "Syndicate, bringing
the total land held by the company up to about
8,000 acres, of which about 4,000 are planted
with rubber.
EASTNOR ESTATE.
The Eastnor estate at Ulu Langat is 1,500
acres in extent. Two hundred and fifty acres
THE LINGGI PLANTATIONS, LTD.
Rl-BBF.R TRUES OX SlI.IAl! EsjAlh WITH CATCH CROP OK TaI'IOCA. ■> THL. MAKAGKK'S BrXGALOW.
4. A\ExtE OK Old Rubber Trees.
(See p. 475.)
3. Cultivating the Estate.
r*
VIEWS ON EASTNOE ESTATE.
(See p. 475.)
478
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF 1?RITISH MALAYA
have been planted with Para rubber since the
property was first opened up in 1906. The
estate is situated six and a half miles from
Kajang railway station, and is approached by
good Government roads, to wtiich it has a
frontage of a mile and a half. The land is
very suitable for rubber-cultivation, being for
the most part undulating, with a rich dark red
soil. A labour force of 50 Javanese is engaged
on the plantation, which is jointly owned by
Mr. A. B. Lake and Mr. Aldworth. The estate
is managed by Mr. E. W. King, and Mr. E. B.
Skinner is the visiting agent.
PADANG GAJAH ESTATE.
Quite a recent clearing is the,Padang Gajah
estate, situated 16J miles from Klang, on the
route of one of the motor-car services ruii by
the Federated Malay States - Governmefit
Railway. Rubber was first planted here in
1906, and by the end of 1907, 552 out of the
total area of 1,411 J acres were fully occupied
by Para. The remaining land is well suited for
the. production of rubber, varying from sandy
clay to rich alluvial soil. A labour staff of 250
Tamil coolies is employed, in addition to Malay,
went out to Ceylon to learn planting in 1904,
and was first engaged on the Hoolankande
estate in the Madulkelle district, under Mr.
G. W. Hunter Blair. Subsequently he spent
two years in the Hewehetta district.
BUKIT NAN AS AND NEGRI SAMBILAN
ESTATES.
The Bukit Nanas and Negri Sambilan estates
are situated within a short distance of the town
of Seraimban, and the rubber-covered slopes of
the properties form a conspicuous feature of the
scenery of the district. The combined area of
the two estates planted with i-ubber is 860 acres,
400 acres of which are covered with trees of
tapable age, the bulk of them being eight or
nine years old.
" Mr. Thomas H. Hill, the present manager and
half proprietor, is a pioneer rubber-planter of
the Federated Malay, States, and planted
the first rubber-trees on estates in Perak,
Selangor, and Negri Sambilan. He gained
expfeirience in planting in Ceylon, and came
to the States in 1878. In recognition of his
services in demonstrating the possibilities
of the country for coffee-growing, the land
Swettenham, in the conspicuous and successful
efforts they made to open up the Federated
Malay States. For some years -Mr. Hill acted
for the Government as Protector of Indian
Immigrants, and he probably understands
them as well as any man in the Federated
States. The 500 Tamil coolies employed on the
Bukit Nanas and Negri Sambilan estates look
upon Mr. Hill more as a friend than as a
master on account of the kindly treatment they
receive. One of Mr. Hill's reminiscences anent
the labour problem is of particular interest.
The very first batch of free Tamil labourers to
come to the Federated Malay States arrived
in 1884. They numbered fourteen men, and
were headed by one Allighan Kangany, who
had followed Mr. Hill, his former master, from
Ceylon. Upon their arrival in the colony they
were immediately arrested for coming as free
labourers. When Mr. Hill heard of this, he at
once communicated with Sir C. Smith, the then
Governor, upon whose instructions they were
at once released. Allighan in 1905 sent Sir
Cecil Smith a walking-stick' as a memento of
the occurrence. The men were employed by
Mr. Hill for a number of years, and Allighan
Kangany, who is now ninety-three years of age,
THE KONGSI RUBBER COMPANY, LTD.
Cl EARINC.S OX PAD.AXG G.'\JAH EbTATK.
Banjorese, and Javanese fellers and drainers.
The property belongs to the Kongsi Rubber
Company, Ltd., the directors of which are
Messrs. J. N. Campbell, L. B. Grieg, J. M.
Mason, and N. W. Davies (secretary).
The manager, Mr. A. B. Hallowes, who has
held the appointment since July, 1907, is the
son of Major-General G. S. Hallowes. He was
born in London, in 1884, and educated in
Buckinghamshire and by private tutors. He
now forming the Kamuning estate at Sungei
Siput was granted to him in perpetuity by
the Government, and the trees upon it were
planted in 1888-89 from the first rubber grown
in the States— the fine old trees in the Kuala
Kangsa Government Gardens. Mr. Hill planted
rubber on Wild's Hill in 1885, in Selangor, and
on Linsum estate, Negri Sambilan, in 1883. He
pays a very high tribute lo the judgment and
foresight of Sir Hugh Low and Sir Frank
lives in his own country on a pension from his
old employer, for whom he acts as a labour
recruiting agent ; indeed, many of the coolies
on the properties managed by Mr. Hill are
either relations or friends of old Allighan Kan-
gany. Mr. Hill has a fine residence on the
estate, which is btiilt in a Malay style of archi-
tecture, is admirably suited to the climate, and
is surrounded by a lovely flower garden.
There is also a kitchen garden in which Mr.
I, The Bungalow,
BUKIT NANAS ESTATE.
2. The Rubber Nuksery.
3. The Rubber Forest.
480
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
HAYTOR ESTATE, KLANG.
The Bungalow and Rubber Trees planted in August, igoS.
Hill grows his own vegetables, and an orchard
containing over sixty varieties of tropical fruit-
trees, all in bearing. Mrs. Hill, who has lived
with her husband in the tropics since i88g, is
an example of how ladies living a healthy out-
of-door life can keep not only their health, but
even their complexion and colour.
LINSUM ESTATE.
The Linsum estate, at Rantau, is the oldest
estate in Negri Sambilan, and is famous
throughout the Federated Malay States because
it contains some of the oldest and largest
Para trees in the district. Originally it was
planted with coffee, but, as that product became
unprofitable, the proprietors turned their atten-
tion to rubber. The first trees were put in
twenty-four years ago, and one of these is the
largest Para tree in the States, measuring
112 inches in circumference 3 feet fi-om the
ground. Many of the others, also, are over
100 inches in girth. One of the large trees has
yielded as much as 13 lbs. of rubber a year,
and the 112-inch tree, tapped on twelve alter--
nate days recently, has given 7 lbs. of dry
rubber. " There has been such a large demand
for the seeds, that they have realised double
the price of seeds from trees of ordinary age.
-Another feature of the property is a block of
three acres of nine-year-old rubber, planted
20 feet by 20 feet, which has made remarkable
progress, having given over 4 lbs. per tree
during the first half of the year. The total area
of Linsum is 1,600 acres, 1,100 of which have
been planted with Para. The estate belongs to
the Anglo-Malay Rubber Company, and is
managed by Mr. J. Bloomfield Douglas. The
estate factory contains an up-to-date rubber
manufacturing plant.
HAYTOE ESTATE.
The Haytor estate is a small privately owned
property, 500 acres in extent, situated I2_ miles
from Klang, on the Kapar road.- Although it
was first opened up as recently as September,
1906, 210 acres have already been fully planted
with Para rubber. Employment is given to
170 Tamil coohes, who are housed in two sets
of coolie lines. The land is flat and the clayey-
loam soil is admirably .suited for rubber-grow-
ing. An excellent system of drains, ten chains
apart, has been eons.tructed, and these run into
two main channels which traverse the estate
and empty their contents into the sea, five miles
away. Messrs. C. T. Hamerton, C. R. Hamer-
ton, and H. C. Rendell are the owners of- the
property.
Mr. C. R. Hamerton, who manages the
estate, is the son of the late Rev. W. Hamerton,
and was born in Cornwall in i88o.- He re-
ceived his education at Paignton, Devonshire,
and, after being three years in a home bank,
came out in igoi to learn planting in the
Federated Malay States. Before joining the
Haytor estate he was, successively, on the
Batong Kali, Sungei Kapar, and New Forest
estates. In addition to his duties at Haytor
Mr. Hamerton manages the Brown Willy estate,
of 309 acres.
TERENTANG ESTATE.
Terentang estate is one of the fine properties
owned by the Anglo-Malay Rubber Company
in the Seremban district of Negri Sambilan.
It comprises i,goo acres, 1,000 acres of which
are planted with Para rubber, 350 acres being
covered with seven-year-old trees and the
balance with trees from three years to six
months in age. The one-year-old trees are
from 18 in. to 20 ft. high. The seven-year-old
trees have been tapped from two to three yeairs,
and are in splendid condition. The estate is
one of the largest rubber producers in Negri
Sambilan, the official estimated crop for 1907
being 65,000 lbs. of dry rubber, and it is ex-
pected that this will be exceeded by 15,000 lbs.
The trees are tapped every other day. The
estate employs some 700 coolies, of whom
about 500 are Tamils. Chinese are employed
for clearing and Sakais for felling. A rubber
factory on the estate is equipped with the latest
rubber machinery, and Terentang No. i crepe
rubber has already made its name on the
London market. Terentang is an old coftee
plantation, and in many parts the coffee still
stands, though it is being rapidly cut out to
make way for rubber. Coconuts and nut-
megs are also grown in small quantities on the
property.
The estate is situated ten miles from Serem-
ban by the main road, and has the advantage of
having the Sungei Gadut railway station situ-
ated a few minutes' walk from the manager's
bungalow.
In 1906 a dividend of 18 per cent, was paid
by the proprietary company, and for 1907 a
much higher rate is assured.
Mr. J. A. Macgregor, the manager, who
opened up the estate, is one of the pioneer
planters of Negri Sambilan. He has two
European assistants — Mr. F. A. Holland, who
has had a lot of experience on Ceylon
plantations, and Mr. H. D. Row.
JUGRA ESTATE.
The Jugra estate is situated in the Kuala
Langat District, and is four miles from Jugra
LINSUM ESTATE.
New Clearing, showing Old Rubber Trees in the. Background. 2. Rubber Tree 7 feet 3 inches Round. (This tree is growing a few feet awa;- from tlie
large forest, sliowing that the soil can stand close.planting.) 3. Rubber Tree TWENTi'-FOUR Ye-\rs Old. (This tree gave 7 lbs. of dry rubber at twelve
tappings on alternate days.) 4. Three Years Old Rubber Trees ; Average Girth (3 feet from the Ground) 46 inches.
X
TBEENTANG ESTATE.
THREE Years Old Rubber Trees in the Distance, Average Height, 22 feet.
Seven Years Old Rubber Trees.
(See p. 4S0.)
Nursery showing Old Rubber Trees in the Distance.
One Year Old Rubber Trees, iSpeet' high.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
483
post office. Originally the estate was opened
for ramie, and the proprietors were styled the
Liverpool Ramie Syndicate. The fibre grew
remarkably well, but as there was practically
no demand for this product in any form, its
cultivation was abandoned in favour of coco-
nuts, rubber, and coffee. The company was
reconstructed and floated as a limited liability
concern in 1900, Messrs. Edward Lawrence &
Co., of Liverpool, continuing to direct the
business. The company's authorised capital is
jf40,ooo, of which £26,550 has been fully paid
up. Dividends amounting to £2 lis. were paid
on the ;^'io cumulative preference shares in
July, 1907,,
The area of the estate is 2,900 acres, and the
cultivation is as follows _: Para rubber, 810
acres ; Para and Rambong, 60 acres ; and
coconuts and coffee, 630 acres. The yield of
rubber in August,. 1907, amounted to 1,600 lbs.,
and this is expected to be maintained as a
monthly average from 75 acres of Para rubber
aged six and a half years. A yield of 50 tons of
copra and 12 tons of coffee is estimated for
1907 from too acres which are under cultiva-
tion for these products. There are seventeen
permanent buildings on the estate, including a
produce store, and a factory fitted with rubber
and coffee machinery, worked by steam.
Mr. Cyril Baxendale, the manager of the
estate, is assisted by Messrs. W. L. Swan, H. T.
Molesworth, J. D. Molesworlh, and R. A. E.
Young. Mr. Baxendale is the youngest son of
the late Rev. Richard Baxendale, Vicar of St.
John's, Maidstone. He was educated at Maid-
stone and St. Edward's School, Oxford, and
afterwards went to Queensland and started
farming and grazing on his own account. He
also served as a Lieutenant in the Militia branch
of the Defence Force. Leaving Australia in
1893, he served under Mr. T. H, Hill, first as an
assistant in Klang, and then as a superinten-
dent in Sungei Ujong. He commenced to
open Jugra estate in 1898. For his report on
the ramie experiments, published in 1903, he
received the thanks of the Government. He is
a member of the local Sanitary Board, and
Chairman of the Kuala Langat District Planters'
Association.
In 1900 he married the younger daughter of
the late Major Salisbury, of Shanklin, Isle of
Wight. His principal recreations are cricket
and music.
SBREMBAN ESTATE.
One of the most vakiable rubber properties
in Negri Sambilan is the Seremban estate,
which is owned by the Seremban Estate
Rubber Company, Ltd., of Ceylon. It is con-
veniently situated within four miles of the
capital of Negri Sambilan, and has the railway
line running through it. The property com-
prises 3,500 acres, 1,600 acres of which are
fully planted with Para rubber, ranging in age
from one to nine years. During the last three
years 36,000 trees have been yielding rubber,
and the tapping area is increasing every year.
In igo6 the total output was 62,000 lbs. of dry
rubber, and the estimated yield for 1907 was
85,000 lbs. The latest rubber machinery is in
operation on the estate, and the whole of the
product is prepared as crepe rubber and sent
to Ceylon. Tamil, Malay, Javanese, and
Chinese coolies are employed, and there is a
good hospital, under the supervision of a
European doctor, on the property.
Mr. N. S. Mansergh who has managed the
estate during the last two years, previously had
eleven years' planting experience in Ceylon.
He is assisted by Messrs. R. A. Clark, H.
Russell, and E. H. Scott.
SIJENTING ESTATE.
The Sijenting estate is situated on the main
road from Port Dickson to Malacca, 11 miles
distant from the former. It has a sea frontage
of half a mile in length on each side of Cape
Rachado. Out of a total area of 450 acres, 150
acres are fully planted with coconuts which
are seven years old. During the past year
Para rubber has been planted to a considerable
extent, and already 210 acres are under cultiva-
tion. Mr. W. H. Tale, of the Perak firm of
contractors Messrs. W. H. Tate and Co., is the
owner of the property.
BUKIT ASAHAN AND KBSANG RIM
ESTATES.
The Malacca Rubber Plantations, Ltd., own
the Malacca estates known as Bukit Asahan
and Kesang Rim, which have a total area of
13,000 acres. Of this area, 6,000 acres are
planted with Para rubber.
The Bukit Asahan property is 32 miles by
cart-road from the town of Malacca and 13
miles from Aver Kuning railway station. It
comprises 10,300 acres, 4,600 of which are
under Para rubber, while tapioca is planted as
a catch-crop. About 40,000 Para rubber trees
are now in bearing, and many others will
annually come into bearing. The land is un-
dulating, and naturally well drained by ravines.
The estimated crop of tapioca for 1907 is
8,000 piculs. The estate has its own tapioca
JUGRA ESTATE, SELANGOR.
The Stores and an Avenve of Eubber and Coconut Trees.
SEREMBAN ESTATE.
East Seremban Estate. 2. Young Rubber Trees (0.\e Year) with Old Trees in the Background
3. Eight Years Old Rubber Trkes. 4. The Manager's Bungalow.
(See p. 483.)
New Rubber Clearikg.
SIJBNTING ESTATE, CAPE RACHADO, PORT DICKSON.
Youxc. Coco.Nl'TS. (The view is from tlie centre of the estate through the valley towards the sea.)
W.
H. Tate (Proprietor).
(See p. 4S3.)
Aloxg the Main Road.
BUKIT ASAHAN ESTATE, JASIN, MALACCA.
SUPERINTEXDEXT'S BUXGALOW, RUBBER TREES IXTERPLANiED WITH TAPIOCA, THE TAPIOCA FACTORY, ANB SEVEX YEARS OLD RUBBER
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
487
and rubber factory, complete with modern
machinery. There are six good bungalows, a
hospital in charge of a fully qualified medical
officer, and extensive coolie lines. The labour
force consists chiefly of Chinese, with some
hundreds of Javanese and Malays, but Tamil
labour is now being largely imported. The
health of the coolies is excellent.
The Kesang Rim 'estate is 15 miles from
Malacca town and 13 from Bukit Asahan. Its
total area is 2,700 acres, 1,400 acres of which
are planted out with Para rubber. Tapioca is
planted as a catch-crop and about 4,000 piculs
are estimated for 1907. The land is inclined
to be hilly and is naturally well drained. This
estate also has its own tapioca factory.
The directors of the Malacca Rubber Planta-
and studied rubber-growing. Realising the
possibilities of the Federated Malay States in
this direction, he returned to the Orient in
December, 1905, and shortly afterwards ob-
tained possession of the Sungei Koro estate.
This is situated it miles from Kuala Selangor,
and has an area of about 600 acres, Mr.
Vaughan having power to acquire more if
required. Already 230 acres have been planted
with Para rubber trees, which are very healthy
and show the usual remarkable growth of
these States. The land, which is undulating,
with natural streams, was specially chosen by
Mr. Vaughan on account of its resemblance to
the " lianos " of South America, where the
rubber thrives best. Tamils, Chinese, Siamese,
Banjorese, Malay, and Javanese coolies are
and this realised nine dollars a picul, but as
with this product a "fat year" and a "lean
year " alternate, the 1907 crop was estimated
at six or seven thousand piculs. Two streams
traverse the estate, which is for the greater
part drained naturally. There are on the
property three bungalows, a tapioca factor}-,
washing and drying sheds, and fifteen sets of
coolie lines. Over 600 coolies are employed
(of whom 400 are Chinese, 200 Tamils) and a
few Malay contractors.
The Asiatic Rubber and Produce Company,
Ltd., has a capital of ;£i40,ooo. The directors
are Messrs. E. M. Shaltoch, F. L. Clements,
R. F. S. Hardy, and G. H. Alston. Messrs.
Lee, Hedges & Co., Colombo, are the secre-
taries. The company has lately been taken
SUNGEI KORO ESTATE, KUALA SELANGOR.
The Clearings, the Lines, and the Proprietor (F. P. Vaughax).
tions, Ltd., are Messrs. Geo, B. Dodwell
(Chairman), W. C. Punchard, A.M.LC.E., J. Mal-
colm Lyon, and J. A. H. Jackson (Managing
Director), with Mr. A. W. Copeland as secre-
tary. The London offices are at 4, Sun Court,
Cornhill, E.C. Mr. W. E. L. Shand is the
general manager of the estates and Messrs.
H. J. Murdoch, S. H. Burgess, and W. E.
Fowler are his assistants.
SUNGEI KORO ESTATE.
Mr. Vaughan, proprietor of the Sungei
Koro estate, has had a very varied experience
in many parts of the world. Born in ,1870, he
received his education at Winchester and New
College, Oxford, where he graduated B.A. in
1892. After spending several years in the
East and acquiring an intimate knowledge of
Burma and Siam, he went to South America
employed on the estate, which is equipped
with coolie lines and conductor's house, as well
as a most commodious manager's bungalow.
DIAMOND JUBILEE ESTATE.
This estate, in Malacca territory, is one of a
group of properties situated in various parts of
Malaya belonging to the Asiatic Rubber and
Produce Company, Ltd. It is situated 24 miles
from the town of Malacca on the Jasin road,
and embraces 3,706 acres of fertile undulating
ground. Of the total area, 2,444 acres have
been planted with Para rubber, interplanted
with tapioca. Altogether there are 365,000
Para trees, 35,000 of which are two years old,
70,000 eighteen months old, and 260,000 twelve
months old, while the tapioca varies in age
from three months to two years. In 1906
there was a crop of 11,103 piculs of tapioca,
over by Messrs. Harrison and Lampard, of
London, and is to be re-formed as a sterling
company.
Mr. Sydney W. Moorhouse, the manager of
the Diamond Jubilee estate, is the son of Mr.
T. H. Moorhouse, planter, of Port Dickson.
He was born at Colombo, in 1874, and re-
ceived his education at St. Thomas's College,
Colombo, and in England. At the age of
seventeen he commenced planting in the
DimbuUa district of Ceylon, and two years
later went to Johore to join the staff of a coffee
plantation. A fevir months later, however, he
returned to Ceylon, invalided by fever, and was
engaged on a tea estate at Kotmali. In 1898
he came to the Federated Malay States, and
was employed on coffee estates in Selangor
and Negri Sambilan. When that form of
cultivation became unprofitable, he entered the
Federated Malay States Government Sei-vice
as forest officer. At the commencement of
DIAMOND JUBILEE ESTATE, JASIN, MALACCA.
J-'OURTEEN Months Old Rubber Trees, Rubber Trees axd Tapioca, the Tapioca Factory, axd the Superixtexdent's Bungalow.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
489
the rubber boom he resigned his position, and
after obtaining the option of several available
estates, he went to Ceylon and floated them as
rubber-planting companies. He has held his
present position since the beginning of igo6.
BUJANG ESTATE.
The Bujang estate is situated ii miles
from Kuala Lumpor, and lies on the south side
of the railway at Sungei Buloh station. It
embraces 1,000 acres of good undulating
planting land, and at the end of 1907 some
400 acres were under Para rubber cultivation.
The Sungei Buloh river and various small
tributaries run through the estate and form a
natural drainage system. An intere'sting ex-
periment has been tried by Mr. Ross, the owner
of the estate, with a small creeping plant of the
clover family, scientifically known as Des-
modinm triflorum. This plant, which re-
sembles the shamrock in appearance and
spreads thickly over the ground, is believed to
have A highly nitrifying effect upon the soil,
and, while not hindering the growth of rubber,
to keep dovi'n no.xious weeds. A labour force
TRAFALGAR ESTATE.
Though at the present day rubber-cultivation
is attracting so much attention in the Malay
Peninsula, there was a time when but little
was thought of it, and when coconut-planting,
also, was looked upon as a doubtful form of
investment. There were a few people, how-
ever, who took a different view and had the
courage of their convictions, and to-day they
are reaping a rich reward. Mr. J. Winter, the
proprietor of the Trafalgar coconut and rubber
plantations, is one of these. His plantations
cover 255 acres. A European syndicate took
over the estate from a Chinaman, and in 1892
Mr. Winter purchased it from them. At that
time the price of nuts was 13 dollars per i,coo,
and the price of copra about 4 dollars per picul.
The plantation yielded an average of 10,000
nuts a month, with some 6,000 trees in full
bearing. To-day the price of nuts is 40 dollars
per 1,000, and that of copra 10.50 dollars per picul,
and the average monthly yield from 7,000 trees
is 25,000 nuts. Some six and a half j-ears ago
Mr. Winter was induced to plant 200 stumps of
Para rubber, by way of experiment. These
man and an enthusiastic sportsman — these are
the chief characteristics of Mr. Cheah Tek
Thye, the son of the late Mr. Cheah Chow
Pan, a well-known Pinang merchant. Born in
i860, he was given a thorough education at
Pinang Free School, St. Xavier's Institution,
Pinang, and Doveton College, Calcutta. For
a short time he was assistant to Chop Sin Eng
Moh, tin merchants, after which he joined the
Pinang Khean Guan Insurance Company, the
only Chinese insurance company with head-
quarters in the Straits Settlements, and has
been its secretary for many years. He is also
the proprietor of the Eng-Moh-Hui-Thye-Kee
estate in Seraelin (Kedah), which embraces up-
wards of 3,400 acres planted with over 20,000
coconut-trees — some of which are in full
bearing — and 30,000 young rubber-trees, vary-
ing from one to two years old. Ten thousand
coconuts a month are sold from the esta,te,
which gives employment to 300 men. For
some time Mr. Cheah Tek Thye was agent
for Lipton's wines, but has transferred this
agency to Messrs. J. W. Halifax & Co. Mr.
Cheah Tek Thye has been a warm supporter
of the turf for a number of years. Formerly
RUBBER CLEARINGS ON BUJANG ESTATE.
of 120 Tamil and Javanese coolies is employed
on the estate.
Mr. C. M. T. Ross, the owner, was born in
Sutherlandshire in 1869, and received his
education at Edinburgh Academy. He went
to Ceylon in 1889, and was engaged on various
tea- estates in the island until he came to the
Federated Malay States and acquired the
Bujang estate from the Government in April.
1906. He is a member of all local clubs, and
his recreations are tennis, golf, football, and
shooting.
appearing to do well, Mr. Winter continued
the cultivation. He has now about 6,000 trees,
ranging from six and a half years of age to six
months. About half of them are planted be-
tween old coconut-trees, which are from 30 to
35 feet apart. About 500 trees were ready for
tapping in 1907, whilst in 1908 there will be
double this number. With the exception of
the Government Economic Gardens, Mr.
Winter has the largest number of trees ready
for tapping in the island.
Mr. Cheah Tek Thye.— A keen business
he owned several racehorses, and won many
events at meetings in the Straits Settlements
and the Federated Malay States. The clock on
the tower of the grand stand on the Pinang race-
course was presented by him to the club, of
which he is still a member. He has been twice
elected a member of the Municipal Commission,
and he is on the committee of the Pinang Free
School. He is also one of the principal head-
men of his clan, surnamed " Cheah." Mr.
Cheah Tek Thye has been twice married. His
first wife was the youngest daughter of the late
ENG-MOH-HUI-THYE-KEE ESTATE.
Rubber Nursery. 2. Estate Bungalow. 3. young Rubber Trees.
(See p. 489.)
TRAFALGAR COCONUT AND RUBBER PLANTATION
1. Rubber Trees. 2. J. Winter (Proprietor). 3. Coconut Trees. 4. Coconut and Rubber Trees.
(See p. 4S9.)
492
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Mr. koh Teng Choon, but she died after thirteen
years of married life, and a year later he married
Mr. Gim Tong's daughter. His family consists
of four sons and four daughters.
PEEMATANG ESTATE.
The Permatang coconut estate, situated seven
miles from Jugra town, has several interesting
and distinctive features. The coolies are not
housed in "lines," as is usual on estates in the
Federated Malay States, but in houses built by
Syndicate. His principal recreations are shoot-
ing and riding, and he is a member of all local
clubs.
AYEE SILOLO AND AYEE
ANGAT ESTATES.
These Negri Sambilan rubber properties
belong to the Anglo-Malay Rubber Company,
Ltd., the directors of vphich are Sir Frank
Swettenham, Colonel Durand, and Messrs.
G. Lampart and. H. Brett. The estates are
situated iij miles from Seremban railway
he remained for six years. He came to the
Federated Malav States in 1900, and from that
year until 1905 v^as engaged in the construction
of roads and bridges, by contract, for the
Federated Malay States Government. He has
held his present position since 1906. With
him, as assistants, are Messrs. Lockhart and
Campbell Swinton.
ATHEETON ESTATE.
The Atherton estate, situated close to Siliau
railway station on the line running from Ser-
PEEMATANG ESTATE, JUGEA, SBLANGOE.
The Estate Cattle a\d Six Years Old Cocoscts.
themselves to their own design and scattered
over the property. Each house has its own
patch of garden. The manager has introduced
dairy farming, and the sale of milk and butter
from his thirty-five head of cattle yields a profit
after paying all expenses. The estate is 785
acres in extent, 300 acres of which have been
planted with coconuts, varying in age from
seven years to a few months, and with bananas,
castor oil, and marrows as catch-crops, from
time to time. There are altogether 17,000
coconut-trees, and the produce from those in
bearing in igo6 was 77,335 nuts ; the esti-
mated yield for 1907 was 150,000 nuts. The
nuts are made into copra on the estate, and
the product is sold in Singapore.
Mr. R. W. Munro, the manager, was born in
1864, in Hertfordshire, and received his educa-
tion at Westminster School. After being en-
gaged in the insurance business for ten years,
he came to the Federated Malay States in 1895,
and spent four years coffee-planting in Negri
Sambilan and Selangor. He has managed the
Permatang estate since igoo, when it was first
opened up, and is the managing director and
one of the largest shareholders of the pro-
prietary company, the Morib Coconut Estates
station and half a mile from the Pedas station.
The railway line divides the property which
abuts upon it for two miles on either side.
The two estates have a combined area of 2,087
acres, 650 acres of which are under Para rubber
cultivation, the trees varying in age from one
to eight years. A plot of 130 acres is inter-
planted with coffee. The land is undulating,
and has a rich, loamy soil an:l an admirable
drainage system, so that the growth of the
rubber is all that could be desired. Dry rubber
is prepared from the latex in a factory which
is fitted up with the latest kind of machinery.
In 1906 the yield amounted to 21,000 lbs. of
dry rubber and 200 piculs of coffee ; the crop
for 1907 was estimated at 50,000 lbs. of rubber
and 230 piculs of coffee. Small areas have
also been interplanted with nutmegs and coco-
nuts. There are two bungalows and 13 sets of
coolie lines upon the property. A well-
equipped hospital is under construction.
Mr. N. E. A. Gardiner, the manager, is the son
of Major S. H. Gardiner, of Seaton, Devon-
shire, and was born at Connemara, Ireland, in
1875. He received his education at Dover
College and Blundell's School, Tiverton, and
in 1894 started tea-planting in Ceylon, where
emban to Port Dickson, is the property of the
Consolidated Malay Rubber Estates, Ltd., and
is worked in conjunction with their other two
estates named Ainsdale and Leigh. The pro-
perties are held under the most favourable
terms from the Government, Atherton and
Leigh being freehold. They were taken over
in November, 1905, and were then partly
planted. Previously they had been under
cultivation for coffee. Out of a total area of
4,279 acres, 1,620 acres are now planted. On
the Atherton estate 30,821 rubber-trees were
planted in 1899-03 ; 17,879 in 1901-04 ; and
22,601 in 1906. Six hundred acres are planted
with 71,319 Para and 3,343 Rambong rubber
trees. On the Ainsdale estate 6,750 trees were
planted in 1900, 10,126 in 1903, 9,174 in 1904,
and 37,249 in igo'', making 63,299 trees (all
Para) on 426 acres. The Leigh estate has 258
acres planted with 35,502 Para trees, the
balance of the cultivated area being planted
with Para rubber in 1907. In 1906 the pro-
duction of dry rubber was 33,000 lbs., and in
1907 it was estimated to exceed 50,000 lbs.
Rambong rubber grows well on Atherton, and
is to be thoroughly tested as to yield. The
estates are fully equipped with rubber
THE ANGLO-MALAY RUBBER COMPANY, LTD.
I S: .. MANAGER a™ assistant MANAGER'S BUNGALOWS GN AVER ANGAT ESTATE. 3. RUBBKR TREE EIGHT YEARS OLD (JC inches In girth 3 feet from the ground)
4. Lnterior of Rubber Factory. = .> , s /
494
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
ATHBBTON ESTATE.
AvEXUE OF Para Rubber Trees akd View showing Para akd Ramboxg Rubber Trees.
machinery. In 1906 the crepe rubber produced
sold at an average of 5s. per lb. net. Tamil
labour is mainly employed. A hospital on the
property is regularly visited by a European
doctor.
Mr. F. M. Porcher is the general manager
and has three European assistants. He has
been planting in the Federated Malay States
for seventeen 5'ears. He started in Perak,
and afterwards worked in Selangor for a
short period before going to Negri Sam-
bilan. While managing Linsum estate Mr.
Porcher planted many of the famous trees
there. He was the first to tap Linsum's
largest tree in i8g6, when he obtained from it
15 lbs. of rubber at one tapping.
THE THIRD MILE DEVELOPMENT
SYNDICATE, LTD.
This company was formed in 1906, and took
over a fine property at the third mile-stone
from Seremban on the main road to Malacca.
The manager, Mr. Ian O. Macgregor, is one of
the older planters in the Federated Malay
States, and opened up and planted the estate
with Para rubber in March, igo6. Before
that time the land had been cultivated for
the production of coffee, and to-day it is
splendidly clean for a new property. There
is a total area of 2,009 acres, 600 of
which are planted with Para rubt^er up to
sixteen months old. This rubber has made
good progress, and as the estate borders on
one of the most famous properties in the States,
its soil is certain to be highly favourable for the
growth of the trees. Jungle still covers a
portion of the land, but this will be cut down
and the area planted at an early date. One
hundred and fifty Chinese and Javanese coolies
are employed.
Mr. Ian Macgregor and his brother, Mr. J. A.
Macgregor, share the" distinction of being two
of the most prominent planters in Negri
Sambilan. They have been responsible for
planting rubber on several important properties,
including the Terentang estate, which has
yielded abundantly. Mr. Macgregor has just
planted a block of 200 acres with rubber at
Kembau. This is his own property, and has a
frontage of ij mile to the railway and main
road. There is also a railway station on the
estate. The rubber here is making excellent
progress.
SBNA^WANG ESTATE.
Situated six miles from Seremban on the
Tampin road, this estate is an old and well-
known property. Together with the adjoining
estate of Sungei- Simin, it was one of the
original coffee estates of Negri Sambilan ; but
coffee has here, as elsewhere, given place to
rubber, and of the 1,945 acres comprising the
two estates, 800 acres are now under rubber
cultivation. Of this area, about 500 acres are
planted with Para rubber and 300 acres with
Rambong rubber and coffee interplanted with
Para. The Rambong rubber is a feature of the
estate, as the trees are of a good size and are
already in bearing. As compared with Para the
Rambong variety is comparatively little known,
and it is impossible to say what results may be
obtained from old trees. It is known that
trees of the banyan type attain an immense
size (one at Kuala Lumpor covering a quarter
of an acre), and, as every branch can be
tapped, the yield from aged trees should be
prolific. The Para rubber trees range from
five years old down to newly-planted stumps,
and although some few trees are already being
tapped, it will be some time longer before the
majority begin to come into bearing. The
estate is well situated in the centre of a district
which has been proved to be highly suitable
for the cultivation of rubber ; adjoining it is
one of the best rubber properties in Negri Sam-
bilan. Senawang is owned by the Senawang
Rubber Estates Company, Ltd., of Shanghai,
and is under the management of Mr. B. C.
Griffin, Messrs. F. W. Barker & Co. being the
Singapore agents.
MESSES. ■WHITTALL c& CO.
Messrs. Whittall & Co., estate agents and
general merchants, are a branch of the fii-m
of Messrs. Whittall & Co., Ceylon. Mr. F. O.
Sander, of this firm, first came out to Ceylon
in 1895, and joined Messrs. J. P. Green &
Co., merchants. He remained in their service
for four years, and in 1899 joined the
firm of Messrs. Whittall & Co., Colombo,
for whom, in Xovember, 1906, he opened a
branch first at Klang, and, later, at Kuala
Selangor. In the Federated Malay States
at the present time the business branches are
managed by Messrs. R. W. Harrison and -F. O.
Sander, assisted by two European and eight
Asiatic clerks. The firm are agents for the
following companies : Sungei Kapar Rubber
Company, Ltd., Seremban Estate Rubber Com-
pany, Ltd., Kapar Para Rubber Estate Company,
Ltd., Beverlac (Selangor) Rubber Company,
Ltd., Bahru Selangor Syndicate, Ltd., Lankat
River (Selangor) Rubber Company, Ltd., Shel-
ford Rubber Estate, Ltd., Bukit Panjong Syndi-
cate, Ltd., Ulu Rantan Rubber Estates Co., Ltd.,
Jeram Rubber Company, Ltd., and the Ayer
Hitam Planting Syndicate, Ltd. Of the last
two they are also the secretaries.
Mr. R. W. Harrison, of Klang, is one of
the leading men in the Federated Malay States.
THE THIRD MILE ESTATE.
1. General View of the Estate (Rubber Trees Fourteen Months Old). 2. The Manager's Bungalow, showing Part of the Estate.
I, View of the Estate.
SBNAWANG. .ESTATE.
^ Rambong and Para Rubber Trees.
MESSRS. WHITTALL & CO.
Interior of Klaxg Offices.
(See p. 494.)
BRATAM RAYAH RUMPOT RUBBER ESTATE.
(Chee Swee Cheng proprietor.)
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
497
Born on February 12th, 1866, at Welshpool,
Montgomeryshire, he is a son of the late Dr. E..
T. D. Harrison, who practised medicine there
and afterwards retired to Clifton, where he
resided for some years before his death, in
1907. Mr. R. W. Harrison was educated at
Clifton College, and subsequently pursued the
study of medicine at Queen's College, Birming-
ham, for about a year, when he gave it up and
went out to Kentucky in the United States,
ranching and " roughing it " for about two
years. After this experience, he returned to
England, which, however, he again left in
order to join his brother, the late Mr. E. D.
Harrison, on Dandu Kelava estate. Not many
months later he was appointed assistant super-
intendent of various estates belonging to the
Eastern Produce and Estate Company, including
Meddecoombera, Talawakelle, and Laboukellie.
Having remained in this service for five years,
Mr. Harrison in iSoi took charge of Heathers-
Malay States shortly, but for a trip only. Mr.
Harrison, who may be regarded as the leading
planter in the country, is chairman of the
United Planters' Association of the Malay
Peninsula, and a member of the Immigration
Committee ; he was for four years Chairman
of the Kalutara District Planters' Association,
Ceylon, and one of the leading and most highly
esteemed planters there. At an early date he
hopes to join Messrs, Whittall & Co. as a
partner in their local branches in the Federated
Malay Slates. Mr. Harrison is a member of all
the local clubs in Selangor, takes an interest in
racing and owns a few griffins ; is a member of
the Colombo Club, Ceylon ; a Pastmaster and
P.Z. of St. George's Masonic Lodge, No. 2170,
E.C., Colombo ; a member of Read's Lodge,
No. 2337, Federated Malay States ; and a
member of the Badminton and Eldon Clubs,
London. Mr. Harrison is married and has two
children — a son and a daughter.
third of 1,700 acres. Mr. Milne is a son of Mr.
Alexander Milne, planter, Ceylon, and is married
to a daughter of the late Mr. E. Irving, Auditor-
General, of Singapore. He is an all-round
sportsman.
Mr. Chan Kang Swi.— In 1853 the late
Mr. Chan Tiew arrived in Malacca from
China. He was thirteen years of age and
started work as a servant. At the end of four-
teen years he had managed to save a little
money and with this he commenced business
as a rice merchant. He was successful, and
eight years later became a tapioca-planter,
building up a large fortune prior to his death,
in 1892. His estate descended to his only son,
Mr. Chan Kang Swi. It comprises 8,000 acres,
3,500 acres of which were planted with tapioca
by Mr. Chan Tiew. In 1902 Mr. Chan Kang
Swi commenced interplanting Para rubber with
the tapioca, putting in 180,000 of these trees
and 1,000 Ficus clastica. At the present time
VIEWS ON SAGGA ESTATE.
ley estates, and in 1903 moved on to CuUoden,
which he continued to manage with two or
three neighbouring estates till January, 1906.
During the time he was on CuUoden estate he
acted also as visiting agent for a good many
other tea and rubber estates. As CuUoden led
the way in the matter of rubber-planting in
Ceylon, Mr. Harrison was practically the first
man in the island to engage in this industry.
In January, 1906, Mr. Harrison gave up tea-
planting to follow rubber-growing, and, coming
to the Federated Malay States, he joined in
partnership with Mr. W. W. Bailey, from whom
he took over the visiting agencies for about
twenty-five rubber estates, including some of
the best properties in Selangor — such, for
example, as Vallambrosa, Highlands and Low-
lands, Selangor Company, Sungei Way, and
Seremban estates. His partner, Mr. Bailey,
who has been away in Europe for eighteen
months, expects to come back to the Federated
Mr. A. B. Milne. — One of the best known
planters in the Federated Malay States is Mr.
A. B. Milne, the manager of Bukid Panjang,
Sungei Sambilan, and Bukid Kloh Rubber .
estates. He was born in March, 1879, at
Maturata, Ceylon ; educated at Gordon College,
Aberdeen, and at St. John's College, Preston;
and went to Ceylon in i8g6 as a tea-planter on
Tyspane estate, Kotmale. He afterwards
served on Imboolpitiya estate for two years,
then went over to Travancore, in India, where
he was engaged in planting tea, cardamoms,
coffee, and cinchona for seven years. He
came to the Federated Malay States in 1905,
and was in charge of Sungei Way estate for
eight months, after which time he was em-
ployed for a year in opening up and planting
Cherakah estate, before taking over the manage-
ment of the three estates named above. Of
these estates, the first-mentioned has an area of
1,100 acres, the second of 700 acres, and the
7,000 acres are planted with tapioca and rubber.
Coconuts and pepper are also cultivated. Mr.
Chan Kang Swi has a business in First Cross
Street, Malacca, and is a wholcbale dealer in
tapioca, rice, cloth, &c. Mr. Chan, who was
born in 1875, and was educated at the High
School, Malacca, married Ng Teh, daughter of
Mr. Ng Gong Kow, of China, and has two
children. He is vice-president of the Chinese
Malacca Club, and a member of the Chinese
Lawn Tennis Club.
Mr. Tan Jiak Lim is one of the sons of
the late Mr. Tan Beng Gnat, a well-known
merchant and steamship-owner of Malacca and
Singapore, who died in 1891, leaving a widow,
four sons, and six daughters. The widow, Mrs.
Wee Giok Liam, whose photograph we repro-
duce, is now sixty-six years of age. Mr. Tan
Jiak Lim was born in' Malacca in 1867. In
partnership with his brother, Mr. Tan Jiak Hoe,
and a friend, he purchased 4,500 acres of land
TAN JIAK LIM'S FAMILY.
Mrs. Wee Giok Liam.
^fp. AND Mrs. Tan Jiak Lim.
The Late Tan Beng Guat,
Tan Jiak Lim's Sons
CHAN KANG SWI AND VIEWS OP HIS RUBBER ESTATE IN MALACCA.
(See p. 497.)
600
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
at Tebong, 23 miles from Malacca town, in
igo2, and planted it with tapioca and rubljer.
About 800 acres are under cultivation, and Mr.
Tan expects that in two years' time the re-
mainder of the land will have been fully planted.
In addition to this property, Mr. Tan has an
interest in his late father's estate. He is
village. He has since taken another 150 acres
about a mile from Pungor and planted it with
rubber. His trees on this estate are from six
months to two years of age. Mr. Tan has an
interest in several other estates, and holds
various agencies. He married a daughter of
Mr. \eo 'Tek Jin, a planter.
High School, Malacca. On the death of his
father he inherited considerable property, and
in 1900 commenced planting his estate of 5,100
acres, at Bekoh, with tapioca. He has now
4,000 acres under cultivation, including a
quantity of rubber, which he interplanted in
1905. Two years later he opened tin mines at
BEKOH RUBBER AND TAPIOCA ESTATE.
I. Gexeral View of the Estate. 2. The Blxgalow. 3. Machixeey,
married, and has four sons and three
daughters. He is president of the Malacca
(Chinese) Club.
Mr. Tan Jiak Hoe is a son of the late
Mr. Tan Beng Guat. He was born in Malacca
in 1879, ^""i W''^ educated at the High School
there. He served three years with the Straits
Steamship Company, and then started planting
50 acres of land which he purchased at Pungor
Mr. Lee Keng Hee. — For six generations
past the ancestors of Mr. Lee Keng Hee, a
planter and miner of Malacca, have been born
and have lived in the Straits Settlements. Mr.
Lee Keng Hee's father, the late Mr. Lee Cheng
Gam, in partnership with his brother, carried
on an extensive merchant's business in Singa-
pore. Mr. Lee Keng Hee was born in
Singapore in 1870, and was educated at the
Chin Chin and Kasang, situated 24 and 18
miles respectively from Malacca town,^ Mr.
Lee married Tan Kiin Choo Neo, daughter of
Mr. Tan Chin Hoqu, and has three sons,
Messrs. Lee Sian Eim Lee Sian Kay, and
Lee Sian Quan, and t*o daughters. He is
a member of the Malacca (Chinese) Club
and of the Singapore Weekly Entertainment
Club.
PuNGOR Rubber Estate.
PUNGOR RUBBEB ESTATE.
^ Tam JrAK Hoe. 3. Est.«e Bungalow.
4. The Store
502
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Mr. Kam Keng Lim, tapioca-planter, is a
son of Mr. Kam Soon San, of Hongkong, in
which city he was born in 1877. After leaving
Hongkong and coming to Malacca, he went
to Muar, and there worked as a tin miner for
two years. At the conclusion of that period he
was engaged as a foundry hand in Singapore
for six months. Subsequently he returned to
KAM KENG LIM.
Malacca, where he obtained einployment on a
tapioca estate as an engine-driver, and at the
same time he learned planting. A little while
later he purchased 12 acres of land at Puloh
Sabang, and started to plant tapioca on his own
account. As the result of two years' hard
work, he saved enough money to purchase
some more tapioca land. In partnership with
others, he subsequently bought 5,000 additional
acres, which he planted with tapioca, and by
dint of steady application to business he made
a small fortune. Mr. Kam is married and has
one son, Mr. Kam Hock Chye, and one
daughter. Miss Kam Hock Xeo, both of whom
are married. He owns a pawnshop, styled
Chop Guan Wat, as well as house and land in
Malacca.
Mr. Tan Hoon Choon. — At the age of
twenty years Mr. Tan Hoon Choon came from
China, and opened a small shop with a miscel-
laneous stock in Malacca. Eight years later,
finding it necessary to remove to larger pre-
mises, he took the store which he now occupies.
As his business still further increased in volume
he opened a branch shop under the style of
Chop Yap Fong Seng. In 1893 he purchased
5,200 acres of land in Shekie, 39 miles from
Malacca, and partly planted it with tapioca.
He has since planted some 7,500 rubber-trees
on the property, which is named the Shekie
estate. Mr. Tan owns two other properties —
one known as the Sagotong estate of 5,500
acres at Linggi, 42 miles from the town of
Malacca, and the other consisting of 2,000
acres at Lindu. Both are planted with tapioca
and rubber. Mr. Tan is married and has two
sons.
Mr. E Kong Guan is a prominent tapioca
and rubber-planter and manufacturer in Malacca,
as well as a landowner. In partnership with
others, he owns tapioca and rubber estates to
the extent of about 3,500 acres, complete with a
factory, at Ayer Chermin and Alor Gajah, and
he himself owns lands and houses in Malacca,
Singapore, and the Federated Malay States.
He was born at Malacca in 1869, and comes
from a well-known family. His great-grand-
father, Mr. E Boon Toe, settled in Malacca
some hundred and fifty years ago, and his
grandfather was the late Mr. E Chin Kee.
His father, the late Mr. E Say Swee, who was
born in Malacca, was at first a Singapore
merchant, but, after marrying, at the age of
twenty-eight. Miss Tan Ong Lian, daughter
of the late Mr. Tan Choon Bock, the pioneer of
the steamship service plying between Singa-
pore, Malacca, and Pinang, he returned to
Malacca to carry on business as a tapiocal
planter at Ayer Chermin. At the finish of his
educational career, which included instruction
in the Chinese languages, Mr. E Kong Guan
entered commercial life, at the age of eighteen,
as an importer of Chinese goods and a dealer
in general stores. He continued in this
business for six years and then took to planting.
E KONG GUAN.
He started in 1893 by purchasing the estate of
Bukit Kajang, and planting it with tapioca. He
carried on the business of tapioca-planting and
manufacturing for eleven years, or until about
1904, when he commenced interplanting the
estate with rubber. He married first the eldest
daughter of Mr. Chan Say Peng, and, on her
death, her sister, Mr. Chan Say Peng's third
daughter, who is also dead. By each of these
wives he has a son. Master E Yew Cheng and
Master E Yew Kim, born in 1891 and 1904
respectively.
COCONUT CULTIVATION
By L. C. brown, Inspector of Coconut Plantations, Federated Malay States.
HE coconut industry in
the Federated Malay
States, althougti far
behind that of Ceylon,
both in extension and
development, is be-
ginning to assume
fair proportions, and
is likely year by year
to attain a more important and prominent
position among the agricultural interests of
the States.
The climate and soil throughout the States
generally are well adapted for this cultiva-
tion. Apart from the plantations owned by
Europeans — all of which plantations are
making such progress as will induce others
sooner or later to interest themselves in the
product — the coconut industry is one which
naturally attracts the attention of a large sec-
tion of the native community, as it affords
them a reliable, easy, and unfailing means of
subsistence. As I have stated in one of my
reports : " I think the great advantage lies in
the fact that a native with comparatively small
means who possesses 5, 10, or 20 acres of
coconuts properly kept is, in his own way, as
well and comfortably off as the more wealthy
owners of the large estates."
The products from the fruit, the leaves, and
even the stem of the palm itself, can all be
utilised in a great variety of ways — as food,
oil, fuel, and sugar for cooking purposes, for
the manufacture of materials, &c. It is, there-
fore, hardly to be wondered at that the natives
should be glad to interest themselves in the
cultivation.
At the end of 1903 I estimated the area
under coconuts in the States at 77,500 acres,
and in my report for 1906 I give the approxi-
mate area as 105,000 acres, which shows that
the cultivation is steadily increasing.
This acreage is distributed over the four
States in the following manner : —
Perak
- 53,395
Selangor
... 19,216
Negri Sambilan ...
... 17,196
Pahang
■■• 15,193
Perhaps about half, or rather more, of the
trees are in bearing, the whole being valued
at 20,000,000 dollars.
It is to be regretted that the plantations
owned by Europeans form a very small pro-
portion of the above area. I believe that for a
sound and safe investment, and one that may
be depended upon to give steady and good
returns, the cultivation of coconuts by Euro-
peans is hard to beat among tropical agricul-
tural products. This is especially so when the
area is extensive — say 2,000 acres — as, in such
a case, with the trees in full bearing, it would
be quite possible to have enough material
to maintain a coir and oil factory on the
property.
The coast districts — i.e., Lower Perak, Kuala
Selangor, Kuala Langat, and Sipang, the latter
bordering the States of Selangor and Negri
Sambilan — undoubtedly offer the greatest
advantages for this cultivation ; indeed, it is
no exaggeration to say that these localities
may be classed as a perfect home for coco-
nuts, and it would be difficult to find the palm
being grown under more favourable condi-
tions. Here the trees come quickly into
bearing — usually in four or five years — and
yield magnificent crops, averaging from sixty
to eighty nuts per tree per year when the trees
have reached maturity, while, owing to the
fertility of the soil, no manure is required.
In addition to the above advantages, the
means of transport, either by land, river, or
sea, is generally all that can be desired.
There are also some very fine plantations
inland ; and, although the trees there do not
so quickly reach maturity, yet they give
excellent returns on coming to that stage,
and a better price is obtained for the nuts
than in the coast districts. This is accounted
for by the fact that inland there are fewer
plantations, or the plantations are situated
near the larger towns, in which case the
nuts sometimes fetch as high a price as
10 cents each, whereas in the coast districts
the price seldom, if ever, reaches more than
4 cents.
The cost of bringing coconuts into bearing or
to maturity naturally varies according to the
locality. For instance, felling may be more
expensive and more draining may be required
in one place than another. As against this,
however, the means of transport and materials
may be less costly, and so one disadvantage
may be counterbalanced by a saving in another
direction.
Generally speaking, I should say that 160
dollars to 175 dollars per acre is a safe and
fair estimate for bringing trees into bearing
under ordinary conditions, and in no case,
with proper management, should 200 dollars
be exceeded.
The usual custom is to plant the trees 27 feet
to 30 feet apart. Personally, I think the latter
distance the best, as it allows of catch-crops and
fruit-trees being planted in between, and these
often help to pay for the upkeep until the coco-
nut-trees themselves come into bearing. There
are a few European-owned coconut plantations
interplanted with coffee, which has proved quite
a success, and although I do not believe myself
in interplanting coconuts and rubber, still I
know of a plantation where this has been
done, the rubber put in quincunx, and the
trees of both products have now reached
maturity, and are both doing well.
The Rynchophofus ferruginous and Orycles
rhinoceros, commonly known as the Red and
Black Coconut beetle, became such exceedingly
troublesome pests that in the year i8g8 an
Ordinance was passed with the object of over-
coming this source of danger. For the first
few years, however, the law was never properly
enforced, the consequence being that the in-
roads of these beetles upon the trees became
so serious that the United Planters' Associa-
tion, through their hon. sec, Mr. E. Darby,
addressed the Government on the subject, and
the following is an extract from the letter : —
" That in view of the alarming spread of the
coconut beetle pest the Government be asked
to appoint a special European Inspector in
each State, whose duty it shall be to see that
the provisions of Enactment IV. of 1898 are
strictly enforced. That in the opinion of this
Association it is essential."
The outcome was the establishinent, in Octo-
ber, 1902, of the Coconut Department, to deal
with the proper enforcement of the Ordinance.
With what success the work was undertaken
may be gathered from the following extract
from the annua! report of the United Planters'
Association for 1903, under the heading of
" Coconuts " : —
" On all sides it is admitted that an immense
amount of good has been done by the Depart-
ment which has been entrusted with the
working of the Ordinance for the protection
of coconut-trees. It has, no doubt, been a
comparatively easy matter for the Protector
to see that the European estates are kept in
order, but this cannot have been the case with
native cultivation. An immense area has to be
traversed and carefully inspected, and the often
careless and lazy owners persuaded that it is to
their best advantage that their trees should be
not only cleared but kept clear of the destruc-
tive insect whose presence spells not only ruin
to themselves but to their neighbours. With
what success this arduous undertaking has
been attended can be seen in almost every
quarter where before it seemed scarcely pos-
sible that there could be any money in the
industry ; and it does not seem too much to say
that the results have been so satisfactory to the
natives themselves that they will soon do all
504
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
that is necessary on their own initiative, with-
out any compulsion from Mr. Brown's Depart-
ment. Whereas two years ago none coming
to the States with the idea of opening in
coconuts could fail to be struck with the
danger attendant upon such a speculation, this
feature has greatly improved to-day, and the
Government have every reason to feel proud
of the results of their timely action in the
matter.
" Probably there has never been any period
in the European planting history of the native
States in which the coconut industry has pre-
sented such interesting features as during the
past year. Land which has been condemned
as being quite unsuited to this cultivation has
shown that it can grow as good coconuts as
probably any in the world."
From this it will be seen that, apart from the
stamping out of the beetle pest, the Department
has had a wider sphere of influence in the
development of the cultivation generally. The
marked progress and improvement that have
taken place in the condition of the native hold-
ings, so much to the welfare of the owners, is
attributable to its workings.
The work already done by the Coconut
Preservation Staff demonstrates to other agri-
cultural countries the advantages to be gained
by having a staff of experts to inspect a
valuable staple product, and by taking steps
to prevent loss from disease due to insects or
other causes.
By far the greater proportion of the present
yield from the trees is utilised for seed and
consumption in the States themselves. I esti-
mate approximately that last year at least 30,000
piculs of copra were exported from the States.
In addition to this, 12,657 piculs of copra were
purchased by the Selangor Oil Mills, Kuala
Selangor (the only oil mills in the States), which
turned out about 6,000 piculs of coconut oil.
The principal exports of copra were — from
Teluk Anson 23,000 piculs, from Kuala
Selangor 4,900 piculs, and from Klang 1,800
piculs.
In conclusion, I would mention that I have
the greatest belief in the further development
and future bright prospects of the coconut
industry. So far as the native is concerned, I
feel that this is assured ; and as regards the
Europeans, although it is true that they have of
late years turned their attention mainly to Para
rubber, I believe the time will soon come
when they will see the advisability of hav-
ing two strings to their bow ; and the culti-
vation of coconuts, offering as it does a safe
and sound investment, will no doubt induce
them again to interest themselves in this direc-
tion.
Mr. L. C. Brown, the Inspector of Coco-
nut Plantations for the Federated Malay
States, was born on November 11, 1851, and
came to the Federated Malay States in his
present capacity in 1902. His headquarters
are at the Federal Agricultural Institute,
Kuala Lumpor, but his duties take him for the
major portion of his time into outlying parts of
the country.
I I I I I I I I
^
THE PINEAPPLE INDUSTRY.
THE cultivation of pineapples for exporta-
tion is the chief — indeed, it is the only —
industry indigenous to Singapore. The trade
has held a prominent position in the com-
mercial life of the community for many years,
and it is estimated that at the present day no
less than three-quarters of the world's con-
sumption of tinned pineapples is supplied
by the settlement.' Extensive areas in the
island are under cultivation for the produc-
tion of the fruit, and large numbers of men
are employed regularly in the various branches
of the industry. The quantity of preserved
pineapples sent to the United Kingdom, the
Continent of Europe, and America for the
last six years was, according to the Singa-
pore Exchange Market Reports, issued by the
Chamber of Commerce, as under :
Year.
190I
igo2
1903
1904
1905
IQ06
Cases.
400,683
426,028
421,897
403,879
429.337
505,789
The export of preserved pineapples to all
places for the last three years, according to
the Trade Returns issued by the Colonial
Government, was :
Year. - Cases.
1904 ... 447,955
1905 ... 548,330
1906 ... 707,943
Value.
12,470,602
2,788,363
3,246,178
During the first months of 1907, 761,045
cases of preserved pines, valued at 2,934,262
dollars, were exported from Singapore, as
compared with 583,227 cases, valued at
2,704,037 dollars, during the corresponding
period of 1906.
The pine plant is grown from the grassy
shoot cut from the top of the ripe fruit. It
takes about one year for this plant to mature
and bear fruit. As the fruit ripens a fresh
shoot starts from the original root and bears
a pine about four months after the first, but
this shoot is cut away in order to strengthen
the plant. Subsequently another shoot grows
from the parent stem, and bears a pine of
almost equal quality to the first. When this
fruit has been gathered the plant is useless.
The work of tending the fruit while growing
is not arduous, and one Chinaman usuallv has
about three acres under his care. Wheii ripe
the pines are cut by Chinese coolies at the
rate of from two hundred to three hundred a
day per man, the rate of pay for such work-
men being about 9 dollars a month. The
fruit is conveyed in bullock-carts, holding
something like five hundred pines each, to
the various factories situated near the town.
The price obtained by the growers for their
produce ranges from 40 cents to as much as
3 dollars per hundred, the difference being
regulated according to the condition and size
of the crop.
There are about a dozen tinning factories in
Singapore, all of which are owned by Chinese.
Difficulty is never experienced in obtaining
sufficient quantities of raw fruit ; for, besides
those grown in Singapore, pines are brought
from many of the small islands in the neigh-
bourhood, such as Pulo Sambo (where the
fruit is far superior to that at Singapore), Pulo
Tekong, and Pulo Seking. On arrival at the
factory the pines are distributed to the cutters,
whose duty it is to strip them of all leaves
and skin, remove the eyes and core, and cut
them into the various sizes — whole pines,
slices, chunks, or cubes, as the case may be.
The men engaged in this task have to wear
rubber gloves to protect their hands from the
rough skin of the fruit and from the strong
acid which the pines contain, for otherwise
this would eat away the finger-tips and cause
painful sores. The" fruit is then washed and
packed into the tins, and covered with syrup
of the required sweetness. The tin is then
closed and placed in a shallow pan of water,
heated by means of steam from ordinary
engine boilers, in order to cook the contents.
This cooking process takes about an hour or
a little more, and when it is finished the tin is
pierced with a small hole, so that the steam
may escape. After being allowed to cool, it
is heated again, and the small air-hole is
soldered up. The tin thus becomes perfectly
air-tight, and is quite ready for labelling and
packing. The average output of an ordinary
factory is about eighteen thousand tins a day,
but the quantity varies according to the season.
There is a long season extending from March
to August and a short season, for the inferior
fruit, between November and January.
The proprietors of the factories sell the
tinned fruit to the European houses for ex-
port. There are nearly a dozen firms engaged
in this business in Singapore, and the pines
are sent by them to all parts of the world.
The United Kingdom and America are the
largest buyers, but Australia, Japan, Germany,
Holland, and France all take big consignments
during the season.
From a profit-making point of view the trade
in Singapore is in anything but a satisfactory
condition. It is difficult to determine the pre-
cise cause of this, for there is a steady and
continual increase in the volume of business
done. Competition in other parts of the world
is not feared, neither does it satisfactorily
explain the decline in prices. The general
opinion among experts appears to be that in
Singapore there aie too many engaged in the
industry, with the natural consequence of an
over-production. During the season ending
August of 1906 the prices obtained in Europe
were so low that in many of the outlying
districts of Singapore the pines were allowed
to rot in the ground, the sum offered for them
by the packers not being sufficient to pay for
the cost of collection and cartage.
^-
'^^iS-
.sc^er
-S;^^
"S^Ss^
MINING
HE present prosperity of
the Federated Malay
States is chiefly due to
the wonderful develop-
ment of the mining
industry since the
establishment of the
residential system about
thirty-two years ago.
Mining was also to a large extent responsible
for the introduction of that system, as it was
mainly the fighting between rival Chinese
tribes over the possession of the tin-fields in
the Larut district of Perak that caused the
intervention of the British.
The earlier records of mining in the
Federated area are somewhat scanty ; but
there is no doubt that for centuries tin had
been mined and exported. It is probable
that some of the tin used in making the
implements of the Bronze Age came from
the peninsula, for all the early bronze im-
plements have been found to contain one part
of tin to nine parts of copper. In most of
the tin-fields that have been opened traces of
very old workings have been found, and we
know from the records that the Dutch opened
trading stations on the peninsula to trade
for tin.
Statistics are available from 1889, and they
show that the output of tin in that year
amounted to 440,000 piculs- The annual out-
put steadily mounted to 828,000 piculs in 1895,
then fell to 654,000 piculs in 1899, gradually
rose to 869,000 piculs in 1904, and since that
year has declined, the output for 1906 being
816,000 piculs.
The Chinese miners are mainly responsible
for the output, and the evolution of their mining
methods has been interesting to observe.
Their success in the earlier days was largely
due to their ability to control labour and to
their system of payment for work done, which
enabled them to exploit their claims on far
more advantageous terms than were possible
in the case of the Europeans who were tempted
to endeavour to win some of the profit which
seemed to be available from tin-mining.'
In Perak mining was first carried on in the
plains of Larut. These — stretching between
the mountains and the sea — were highly
mineralised, and the even character of the
alluvial drifts, combined with the shallowness
of the overburthen, made it an ideal field for
development by the Chinese methods. In the
State of Selangor the fields first developed and
worked by the Chinese were in Serendah,
Rawang, and Ampang.
The method of working universally adopted
at first was simple in the extreme, and to a
great extent prevails to this day. A large
majority of the workings being open, this is
the surest and least expensive means of winning
the alluvial deposits, which are generally found
close enough to the surface to admit of being
worked on the open-cast system.
Deeper deposits are worked by means of
shafts, sometimes to depths of over 200 feet,
and there are also cases in which the tin ore
extends from the surface down to bedrock.
As to the source from which the alluvial tin
in the Federated Malay States is derived but
little is known, owing to the fact that the
geological formation is difficult to trace, the
country being covered by dense forest. There
has been no deep mining to provide means by
which the stratification of the various rocks
could be studied.
The occurrence of tin is so widespread and
the conditions under which it is found are so
various that no theory of its genesis seems to
fit all cases. Generally speaking, it is difficult
to find ground in which tin is not present. It
occurs in all the alluvial flats, in most of the
low hills, on many of the high granite moun-
tains, and on the top of and in the caves of the
numerous limestone hills which are scattered
through the States.
However, the general character of the wash
from which the tin is won shows that it must
originally have been contained in veins run-
ning through the slates and granite. The
absence of lodes in the country and the
richness of the alluvium go to prove that for
ages the rocks containing the mineral in veins
were subjected to erosion and denridation,
until the whole of the mineralised portions had
been disintegrated and carried away by the
action of water. This is proved by the nature
of the detritus in the tin-bearing gravels and
clays, which almost invariably consist of the
constituents of slate and granite rocks, together
with quartz particles, all of which are much
water-worn. The clays, which form the
bottom of most of the deposits, must have
originated from the slates that overlay the
granites.
There is, unfortunately, no evidence. to, show
the exact form in which the cassiterite originally
occurred, but this only strengthens the theory
that the cassiterite now being exploited is due
to the almost complete denudation of the
original tin-bearing rocks. A Government
geologist has recently been appointed, and in
time his researches will probably throw some
light upon this subject.
The site for mining having been chosen,
either by boring or by the employment of a
pawang, or diviner, and the necessary grants
and permissions obtained from the Govern-
505
ment, a start is made by felling the jungle and
burning it off. Attap sheds are constructed for
the accommodation of the coolies, and the
necessary watercourses cut to bring in water
with which to wash the karang, or pay-dirt,
and to turn a water-wheel for driving a wooden
chain-pump. The excavation of a huge hole
is then commenced, the overburthen being
carried by coolies, who work on task, to some
distance from the hole, round which it is
stacked, so as to form a dam to prevent the
inrush of surface water during heavy rains.
When the karang is reached it is excavated
by wages men and carried by them to the wash-
boxes. As the karang does not run evenly
and is often mixed with boulders, it would not
pay to employ men on contract, or task, to lift
it, for they would surely leave behind the
patches most difficult to get at, and those are
generally the richest. Arrived at the wash-
box, the karang is there treated in a stream of
flviwing water until nothing remains but the
valuable tin-ore.
The first hole, or paddock, having been
cleared of its karang, the work extends on all
sides, the overburthen now being deposited on
the worked portion of the ground. Operations
are continued in this manner until the land
available has all been turned over and the
karang exhausted.
This was the system almost entirely in vogue
during the early days, when mining was in the
hands of a few Chinese capitalists, who im-
ported from China labourers to whom they
paid little or no wages beyond the food they
ate and the clothes they wore. As was natural,
the coolies, tiring of working for almost noth-
ing, absconded from their employers. They
banded together in small gangs to mine on
their own account, and the success of some of
them led to immigration from China, which,
together with the repeal of the enactment to
regulate indentured labour, gave to the country
a large number of free labourers, and intro-
duced the chabut, or co-operative, system of
mining.
Under this system the person who has
acquired the right to mine a certain piece of
land clears it of jungle and erects coolie sheds.
A notice is then posted in a prominent place
inviting labourers to come in and mine on
terms which are clearly stated in the notice.
Generally speaking, the terms are that the
proprietor for the time being agrees to provide
all the necessary capital for tools, &c., and to
supply the coolies with food, clothes, and small
cash advances during a certain period — gene-
rally six months. The food and clothes are
charged for above market rates, and the cash
is advanced at a substantial discount. Then,
at the end of the period, the accounts are
made up, the tin is sold, and the balance, after
506
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
payment of all expenses, is divided in accordance
with the terms of the notice.
If the mine has proved rich, every one con-
cerned makes a profit. If only sufficient tin
has been won to cover expenses, the proprietor
still makes a profit on everything supplied, and
the coolies get nothing beyond the food, cloth-
ing, and cash which they have received while
working. If the venture proves a failure, the
proprietor loses all he has put into it, while the
coolie loses his time and labour, against which
he has been fed and clothed for six months.
This is a system deservedly popular with all
classes, and at the present day is respotisible
for the majority of the tin won in the Fede-
rated Malay States.
Mining is also carried on in the hills or
wherever water and clearance for tailings is
waterwheels were invariably made of the same
diameter. If more power was required, two
wheels or more were used, and, no matter
what the available fall might be, the diameter
of the wheels was never increased.
With the advent of the European centrifugal
steam pumps soon superseded the wooden
kinchar in all the larger mines, but, beyond
these, no machinery of any kind was used until
quite recently. Probably this is owing to the fact
that all the earlier attempts of Europeans to use
machinery for mining ended in failure, and it
was only by working on the Chinese methods
that European-owned mines could claim any
measure of success. This was largely due to
the low price then prevailing for tin, and to the
difficulty of securing sufficient capital, as people
were unwilling to supply money to develop
made to describe the tools and methods used
from the earliest times to the present day.
In open-cast mines, as the overburthen is
removed the workings are constantly deepfened,
and ladders are made by cutting steps at an
acute angle in the trunks of trees, which are
laid down the sides of the workings. Up and
down these the coolies run in endless streams,
carrying baskets of earth slung on either end
of a stick, about 5 feet long, which rests on
the shoulder. Payment is made at a fixed rate
per chang (30 feet square by ij deep). The
rate used to be 7 dollars, and is now about
13 dollars. When stripping to the top of
the karang is completed, trestles of round poles
are erected across the bottom with single
planks laid across for the coolies to walk on
while stripping the next paddock, so that this
YONG PHIN MINE NEAR TAIPING.
(The property of Mr. Chung Ah Yong.)
available by means of lampaning, or ground
sluicing. A dam is made and a watercourse
cut to the scene of the proposed operations.
Then a narrow ditch is cut at a careful grade
just below the ground to be treated, and the
ground is broken into this ditch, in which the
water is kept running, by means of crowbars.
One or two men keep stirring the ground as it
falls into the ditch, and the water carries away
the lighter portions, leaving behind the tin,
which is cleaned up every two days or so.
When the ground has been broken so far back
from the edge of the ditch that it will not easily
fall into it, a fresh ditch is cut close up to the
face. By this means ground which is very
poor in values can be worked profitably.
Thirty years ago no machinery of any kind
was used on the mines beyond the Chinese
wooden endless chain pump and overshot
waterwheel, and it is curious to note that these
properties in an unknown country which, in
the minds of the general public, was chiefly
associated with weird stories of yellow-skinned,
ferocious pirates. Be that as it may, attempts
to mine profitably in Selangor and Perak all
ended in failure where Europeans were con-
cerned, and at the end of 1892 most of the
European-owned mines had ceased to work.
There was one exception — the Societe des
Etains de Kinta, which was the first to com-
mence operations in Kinta and has a long and
brilliant career. At the present day it is operat-
ing on a large scale, and, with the assistance
of thoroughly up-to-date plant and machinery,
adding each month a large amount to the tin
output. This company is also responsible for
the first hydro-electric power-station recently
installed at Kampau, in Perak.
The various systems of working have already
been outlined, and an endeavour will now be
work can continue without interfering with the
raising of the karang ; and in the bottom of
each mine a closed drain is carefully con-
structed by which all the water finds its way
to the pump sump.
The karang is washed in a coffin-shaped box
fixed at a grade of about i in 12, the slope
being from the wider end. This end is closed
by a baffle-board, about 8 inches deep, over
which . the water falls, and through one side,
about l8 inches below the baffle-board, an
aperture is cut, to admit a second stream of
water which flows along the edge of a pile of
karang and carries it into the box. To assist in
this operation, one or two men are constantly
engaged raking and mixing the karang with
the side stream by means of long-toothed
rakes. .\t the baffle-board stands one man,
or more, accoi'ding to the size of the I30X, and
with a long-handled mattock he pulls the
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
607
karang against the stream of water, constantly
stirring it and splastiing water on it as it
gradually heaps below the baffle-board, so that
in time a heap of tin ore accumulates, when
the water is shut off and the tin ore lifted out
into tubs.
cate below and all the karang to be taken out,
in practice this is seldom the case unless the
ground is very rich, and, as a consequence,
much is left behind and the ground spoiled.
Most of the tin ore now goes to the Straits
Trading Company's smelters in Singapore and
one of these a coolie is stationed, who scoops
up with a small tin dish on a handle the karang
from his stage to the next one above. The
karang being mixed with water, each scoop
assists the disintegration, until on arriving at
the surface the karang is puddled ready for the
TAM YONG'S MINE NEAR SEBBMBAN.
TAM YONG'S RESIDENCE AT SEBEMBAN.
Formerly the wash-boxes were about 30
feet long, tapering from a width of 4 feet 5 inches
at the top to 12 or 13 inches at the lower end.
Five men were employed in each. This was
too costly for small parties of tribute coolies,
and consequently when the rush came to Kinta
in 1892, a short box of from 12 to 14 feet was
used, and with so much success, that a longer
box is now seldom seen. In Negri Sambilan
the wash-box used was never wider than 2 feet
at the top end, and in some of the Siamese
States a box is used having the same width
throughout.
The endless chain pump consists of a
wooden channel about 15 inches deep by 5
wide. In this channel travel a series of flat
wooden slats, cleverly linked together, which
almost fit the section of the channel. The
channel is slightly curved, and the slats, run-
ning up continuously, carry the water to the top,
where it discharges into a ditch cut for the
purpose of carrying it away.
In cases where the overburthen is too deep
or the karang too poor to admit of open-cast
mining, shafts are sunk. If the ground is too
deep, these are roughly timbered and made
oblong in section, 6 feet by 3 feet, in two com-
partments. Rough windlasses are used for
hauling, and as much karang as can easily and
safely be got at is hauled out. Then the shaft
is abandoned and another sunk close by. This
is a wasteful system -of working, as though in
theory the workings are supposed to communi-
Province Wellesley, but some Chinese still
smelt their own ore in their crude furnaces, In
these a shallow iron pan is set on legs and
plastered with mud. A mud cylinder is erected
upon this, held together by iron bands, and the
smelter is complete. Tin ore and charcoal are
fed into the top, and the blast comes from a
wooden blower, which is a hollow cylinder
with a flap valve at either end, with a piston in
the centre, which is packed, to make it air-tight,
with bunches of cock's feathers. Power is
obtained by a man walking backwards and
forwards pulling and pushing the piston to
and fro. The tin and slag run down through
a hole in the side of the furnace.
Where, as is the case on many fields, the
karang is of a clayey nature and not easily
disintegrated, it becomes necessary to "puddle"
it before the tin ore can be separated from Ihe
gangue, and in order to do this the karang is
deposited in large square, shallow boxes. At
one end of the box a stream of water is admitted,
which has its outlet at the other end, and a
number of coolies, armed with mattocks, chop
and rake the karang, mixing it with the water
over and over again until the whole of the clay
has been floated away and nothing remains but
the gravel and tin ore.
Another method of recent introduction is a
kind of human elevator, by which the karang is
puddled on its way to the surface. On the side
of the mine are made a series of small stages
or terraces, spaced at about 4 feet. On each
wash-box. There are mines where as many
as fifteen lifts are made, but both systems of
puddling are costly and slow, and it was for
this work that the Chinaman first adopted
European methods. He employed the harrow
puddler, which was first introduced by Mr.
John Addis, an old-time -Australian miner on
the now famous Tronon Mine.
With the rise in the value of tin which
commenced about 1898, and the consequent
increased profits of the already established
mining companies, the attention of investors
was attracted to the Federated Malay Straits,
and since that time many companies have
been floated to develop tin properties, generally
with considerable success.
Modern machinery and labour-saving appli-
ances have been extensively adopted, and, as
a result, many propositions are paying good
dividends which, under the old methods, could
not have been dealt with at all.
The hydraulic system of working is one of
the most economical methods of winning tin
ore where a sufficient fall of water can be
obtained. In order to secure this it is some-
times necessary to carry the water for long
distances through large iron pipes. The
enormous pressure given by the head of
water is directed against the sides of the hill
containing the pay-dirt, which is washed down
in large quantities and then treated in the ordi-
nary way, either in wash-boxes or by a sluice
in which riffles are placed to arrest the tin ore.
Chung Thye Phin's Mine xear Tronoh.
Head Office at Ipoh (Chung Thye Phin's BuUdings). Interior of Pinang Office, showing Racing Trophies.
CHUNG THYE PHIN.
CHUNG THYE PHIN.
Chltng Thye Phin's Hvdkaulic Mine at Taipixg (Two Views) and the Yoxg Phix Mine near Taipixg.
The Taiping mines are an object of more than ordinary interest by reason of the fact that their owner, Mr. Chung Thye Phiu, of Ipoh, has adopted modern Western methods
and appliances in, pr_eference to ihe ol.d-fashionqd ways still largely, adhered to by his countrymen in the States. The property is situated about one mile from Taiping, and
has an area of i 500 acres. It is plentifully watered by the rivers Batu Tiigo, Sungei Rantin. and Sungei Janah. Work goes on day and night, and in'twenty-four hours
the monitors are capable of cutting 1,000 cubic yards, representing the labour of 500 coolies. When the hydraulic pipe lines that are now being laid are completed it is
estimated that the monthly output of the mine will be 600 piculs.
Y '■•'
510
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
The Chinese have not been slow to follow
the example set them by their Western neigh-
bours ; and now no mine is regarded as
properly equipped unless rails, trucks, and
hauling engines are used to replace the coolie.
Puddlers of various kinds are employed to
disintegrate the karang on its reaching the
surface, and the old-fashioned coffin-shaped
wash-box has given way to long sluice-boxes
paved with riffles.
Probably this would not have been the case
had not the more easily won tin deposits been
exhausted, and all expenses greatly increased,
so that it became impossible to work profitablv
under the old systems. That tin is more
difficult to win is evidenced by the declining
output during the last few years, in spite of
increased labour supply and abnormally high
price for tin. The day when the Federated
Malay States might be regarded as the happy
hunting-ground for the small miner seems to
have passed, and the future of the tin mining
industry in the States will depend upon the
economical development on a large scale of
low-grade propositions.
Hitherto the tin exported from the States has
all come from alluvial deposits, no lode workings
of any importance having been opened, with
the exception of the mines in Pahang, where
work has been carried on for many years, but
unsuccessfully. Lately these workings have
been reorganised. The lodes are reported to
be very rich, and a bright future is anticipated
for them under new management. There is
also now being developed a promising lode in
the Kledang range of hills near Ipoh.
The Government exercises control over the
mining industries through the Mines Depart-
ment, administered at an annual cost of about
153,700 dollars. Revenue to the amount of
40,947.08 dollars was collected in 1906. The
Department issues licences to tin-buyers and
smelters, undertakes the survey of boilers and
the examination of engine-drivers, and assists
prospectors by the loan of boring tools.
The total revenue from all sources relating
to mining was as follows : —
igoO.
1905-
Perak
Selangor
Negri Sambilan
Pahang
8
5,681,340
3,582,729
1,020,089
304,666
5,097,216
3,342,909
984,246
265,130
Total
$10,588,824
$9,689,501
The revenue was derived from the following
sources : —
igo6.
I9P3.
$
.*
Warden's office
40,946
35,095
Premia on leases ...
216,279
114,230
Rent on leases
264,280
262,332
Individual licences...
ii,.529
10,087
Prospecting licences
4,450
4,250
Export duty on tin ore
10,036,796
9,249,627
Export duty on wolf-
ram
2,259
2,213
Royalty on gold
11,140
9,830
Commuted royalty on
gold
902
1,609
Ore-buyers and gold-
smiths' licences ...
243
228
Total
$10,588,824
$9,689,501
the revenue derived from all sources relating
to mining.
The export duty, which varies according to
the price of tin on the Pinang and Singapore
markets, is fully explained in our article on
"Exports and Imports."
The statistics regarding the output of tin and
the average prices obtained make an instructive
study, and perhaps the sterling figures are best
for purposes of comparison. In 1889 the total
output was 440,000 piculs, valued at ^£2,400,000,
or an average of £g!^ per ton. The output
rapidly increased during the next three years,
but the price remained about the same. In
1893 there began a tremendous fall in price,
the increase in the output, however, con-
tinuing, with the result that in 1895 the tin and
tin ore exported amounted to 820,000 piculs,
valued at ;j3,8oo,ooo, or an average of ;^64 per
ton. In 1896 the average price fell to ;^'62 per
ton for a slightly lower output, but two years
later came a rapid recovery. The year 1900
saw an output of 720,000 piculs, of the value of
;^5,5oo,ooo, or an average of ;£i30 per ton. A
drop to an average of ;£io8 per ton in the
following year was succeeded by averages of
;£li6 in 1902, ;£i22 in 1903, ;£l20 in 1904, £138
in 1905, and ;^I74 in 1906.
The output from each State and its value at
the average local prices for 1906 and 1905 — viz.,
89.60 dollars and 80.77 dollars per picul respec-
tively (exchange at 2s. 4d. per dollar) — were as
follows : — -
of labourers who work on tribute is increasing,
whilst the number of those on contract and
wages is decreasing. The labour force is
supplemented by engines of 8,180 horse-power
— a labour equivalent of 65,440 — Perak con-
tributing more than one-half of this total and
Selangor more than one-fourth. The total
labour force at the end of 1906 was, therefore,
approximately 278,100.
The total area of land alienated for mining
■purposes at the close of 1906 was 263,800 acres,
namely, 150,376 in Perak, 68,512 in Selangor,
28,476 in Negri Sambilan, and 16,436 in Pahang.
A net increase of 6,285 acres over the total for
1905 was shown. It must be remembered that
upon only a small portion of the acreage
alienated are mining operations actually pur-
sued.
The future of tin-mining in the Federated
Malay States seems on the whole assured.
Lode formations are being discovered in all
the States, and when exploited may help largely
towards the permanence of the tin output on
its present scale. Scientific mining is making
enormous advances in Perak and Selangor.
The outlook in Negri Sambilan is not so
promising, perhaps, but in Pahang there are
vast possibilities, especially in the Kuantan
district.
Wolfram is won to a small extent, most of ii
coming from Chumor, Batang Padang, and
Ulu Gopeng. It occurs with tin. During
1906 2,259 piculs were exported, as against
1906. 1503.
Decrease.
Increase.
Perak
Selangor
Negri Sambilan
Pahang
Piculs.
435,909
268,624
77,765
34,488
Value.
$39,057,446
24,068,710
6,967,745
3,090,124
Piculs.
446,781
289,867
85,133
34,879
Value.
$36,086,512
23,412,558
6,876,192
2,817,166
Piculs.
10,872
21,243
7,367
391
Value.
$2,970,934
656,152
91,553
272,958
Total
816,786
$73,184,025
856,659
$69,192,428
39,873
$3,991,597
The highest price per picul in Singapore
during the year 1906 was 102.50 dollars and
the lowest 80.25 dollars. On the London
market the highest price was ;£2I5 per ton and
the lowest £161 los., the average price, as
quoted by the Mining Journal, being
^180 I2S. 9d. The following table gives the
sterling values in each State for 1906 : —
2,213 i" the previous year — an increase of
46 piculs. Taking the price at an average of
25 dollars per picul, the value would be 56,475
dollars.
Gold-mining is the only other mining
industry of any importance in the P'ederated
Malay States. The total production during
1906 was 11,580 ounces, of which 1,057 ounces
state.
Block Tin. Tin Ore. '^"Loc'a" Price"^'
Perak
Selangor
Negri Sambilan
Pahang
Tons. Cwts. 1 Tons. Cwta.
7,908 18.13 i 18,038 1. 14
6,962 8 1 9,027 3.23
2,826 15.54 1,802 2.65
560 14.55 1,492 2.77
£ s. d.
4,556,702 0 8
2,808,016 3 4
812,903 II 8
360,514 9 4
Total
18,258 16.22 1 30,359 9.79
;^8,538,I36 5 0
The total expenditure on the administration
of the Mines Department was 1-45 per cent, of
The figures are obtained by multiplying the
number of tons by the local sterling value per
ton, ;^I75 12s. 3d., the fraction in the dollar
average being ignored.
A large and steadily increasing labour force is
employed in the tin mines, the census returned
at the end of 1906 showing a total of 212,660.
Of that number more than half are employed
in Perak, and the remainder are distributed as
follows : Selangor, 71,243 ; Negri Sambilan,
23,427 ; Pahang, 10,933. Of this labour force,
163,104 are employed in open-cast mines, 20,369
in underground workings, and 29,187 in lampan-
ing. The total may again be divided into 59,259
who work on the contract system, 27,519 who
work for wages, and 125,882 who work on the
tribute system. It is noticeable that the number
came from Perak, 434 from Negri Sambilan,
and 10,089 from Pahang. The gold won in
1905 amounted to 11,453 ounces. The value
was roughly 397,028 dollars, or £46,320, in
1906, against 392,672 dollars, or £45,812, in
1905, taking the average price to be £4 an
ounce. In Perak a large proportion of the
gold was won at the lode mines at Batu
Bersawah. The remainder was derived from
alluvial washings in Batang Padang, where
the gold occurs in association with alluvial
tin, and is worked in much the same manner
as the tin. The wash-dirt is raised and cleaned
in the ordinary way in a wash-box with a
stream of water, but care is taken that the
tin-sand is not freed from all the sand and
"araang," as this would lead to a great loss
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
511
of gold. Further washings are carried out
in shallow wooden dishes or " dulangs," about
20 inches in diameter. These correspond
to the "tin dishes" used in Australia. The
washers are extremely clever in separating
the gold, and after an expert washer has
finished with the sand very little of the
precious metal is lost. The only gold-mine
in Pahang is that in the Raub district. The
headquarters are at Bukit Koman, where an
up-to-date hydro -electric plant is employed to
supply power to the workings. The current
is generated some miles away on the Sempan
river. The operations were first commenced
under the management of the late Mr. W.
Bibby, and according to the returns from the
mine they ran to an average of nearly an
ounce per ton ; but on sinking the yield
gradually became poorer, and is now about
5 dwts. per ton. The mine has passed under
new management, and with the employment
Sambilan, until he assumed his present duties
in igo3 under the Federal Government.
Mr. A. Q. Mondy, Inspector of Mines at
Kuala Lumpor and Ulu Langat, comes from
Japan, having been born in Tokio in 1878. He
is a son of Professor E. F. Mondy, late of the
Indian Education Department, and was edu-
cated in Scotland and at the Royal School of
Mines in London. He became an associate
of this institution in 1901, and two years later
was made an associate of the Institute of
Mining and Metallurgy in London. His con-
nection with the Federated States commenced
in 1902, when he was appointed Inspector of
Mines. He received his present position in
1904. In June, 1907, he was Acting Assistant
Warden of Mines at Seremban.
Mr. Walter C. Vanrenen, Warden of
Mines for the State of Perak, is in charge of
the Mines Department for the whole of that
State, but subject to the control of the Senior
the Mineral Ores Enactment is Mr. Robert
Glyn Evans, who was born in 1879, and
proceeded to the Federated Malay Slates in
igoi as a shorthand writer in the Resident-
General's office. He passed in Malay in 1903,
and in law the following year, assuming his
present duties in 1904. He is now on leave.
Mr. G. D. Lucas, A.R.S.M., A.Inst.M.M.,
the Assistant Warden of Mines, Kuala Lumpor,
was born in 1878 at Hitchin, and was educated
at Haileybury and at the Royal School of
Mines, London. He was appointed Inspec-
tor of Mines in the Federated Malay States
in 1902, and became Acting Assistant Warden
of Mines in 1903, receiving the substantive
appointment two years later.
THE TAMBUN MINE.
The Tambun Mine, situated five miles to the
north-east of Ipoh, is one of the largest in
1. G. CUMMING'S MINE AT SALAH SOUTH. 2. QUABTZ FROM THE MINE CONTAINING 80 PER CENT. OF TIN OXIDE
of modern cyaniding plant there seems to be
every prospect of good profits being made in
the future. The mine is the only gold-mine
in the peninsula where deep sinkings have
been attempted ; it was at one time arranged
that the Government and the Raub Australian
Gold Mining Company should jointly bear
the cost of sinking a shaft in order to prove
the value of the reef to a deep level, but for
some reason this was abandoned.
Mr. Frecheville Joseph Ballantine
Dykes, Senior Warden of Mines, Federated
Malay States, was born in 1869. In 1892 he
was appointed Inspector of Mines, Perak, and
in 1897 he took up a similar post in Kuala
Lumpor. Since then he has held the position
of Warden of Mines in Selangor and Negri
Warden of Mines, Federated Malay States.
He entered the Mines Department in 1899 as
Acting Inspector of Mines at Kuala Lumpor.
In 1902 he was made Assistant Warden of
Mines, Selangor, and in 1905 attained the
position he now holds. In the service of
the Department there are thirteen Europeans
and about thirty-five natives. To the Mines
Department is also attached the Boiler
Department, which has under its care the
inspection of boilers, of which there are 441,
with a nominal i.h.p. of 4,906. Mr. Vanrenen
is a magistrate of the first class for the State of
Perak, and holds court at Batu Gajah for deal-
ing entirely with mining cases, of which there
were 331 last year.
Mr. R. Q. Evans. — The Inspector under
the Federated Malay States. It was there that
the first attempt was made in the Federated
Malay States to do away with labour for con-
centrating ore. The land upon which the
mine is sunk originally formed part of a coffee
estate. In extent it is something like 288 acres,
and at the time of writing there are 12 acres of
open-cast mine of an average depth of about
70 feet, whilst too acres have been planted
with rubber. To prospect the land originally
Towkay Leong Fee had shafts sunk, and, as
good karang (wash) was found, this was
worked and treated for a time with hand
puddlers. It was then determined to put in
a good plant and deal with a larger quantity
of karang, and in 1901 Mr. H. F. Nutter was
given the contract to design and put in an
GENERAL VIEWS OF TBONOH MINE, NEAR IPOH.
"^>h
^ t<^i^,^^^^i^
TAMBUN MINE.
The Machinery and General View.
(See p. 511.)
514
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
installation. Mr. Nutter was made managing
engineer, and the labourers, then numbering
about four thousand, and consisting chiefly of
Klings and Chinese, were under the super-
vision of a relative of the owner. This
arrangement continued until 1903, when Mr.
Nutter was joined by Mr. Cecil Pearse, for-
merly Warden of Mines, Perak, and the mine
subsequently passed under the management of
the firm of Messrs. Nutter and Pearse. The
present staff consists of the managers, one
European engineer, and two Chinese assist-
ants, with a labour force of about nine hundred
Bengalis, Klings, and Chinese, the large reduc-
tion being due chiefly to the introduction of
concentrating machinery, but in some measure
to an improved system of supervision.
The old Chinese shafting methods remained
in operation until the end of 1906. Perpen-
dicular shafts, measuring 6 feet by 3 feet, were
sunk 40 feet apart, to a depth of from 40 to 180
feet. On encountering the tin-bearing deposit
drive's were thrown out to connect the various
shafts, this securing the thorough ventilation
of the mine. The whole of the tin-bearing
ground was taken out between the shafts, the
ground being supported by posts, which had
caps but no sills or solid bases. The effect of
this system of timbering is to drive the uprights
into the ground, the subsidence being roughly
about 6 inches a day. A 7-foot post, if left,
would be driven into the ground in about a
fortnight, so that the mining really amounted
to a continuous digging out of the uprights,
the overburden being supported by the caps.
Theoretically, the mine was one huge room,
7 feet in height, and two or three acres in extent ;
but this was not actually apparent owing to the
fact that the shafts were not all of the same
depth, and also to the fact that an uneven lime-
stone bottom and unequal working brought
about unequal subsidence. In this way a slice
70 feet in thickness was taken out, and the
method was only discontinued because the
ground began to break up, and it was feared
might become dangerous.
It is upon the site of this old shaft mine that the
present open-cast mine is being worked. The
plant, which was first put into operation
towards the end of IQOI, comprises six 26-feet
puddling machines driven by two horizontal
engines ; four sets of jiggers and trommels, in
which the concentrates are treated ; a Hunting-
don mill, in which the coarser stone is crushed ;
and a Wilfley table, on which it is then sepa-
rated ; an ore-crusher, in which rock is treated ;
and, finally, furnaces and moulds, in which the
ore is smelted and cast. At present ordinary
Chinese furnaces are used, but a larger furnace
is being put in, built on the lines of those in use
at Banca and Billiton. For the rapid disposal
of the overburden, and the conveyance of the
karang to the puddlers, trucks worked by steam
haulage are employed, use being made, wher-
ever possible, of the force of gravitation.
Electricity is generated on the premises for
lighting. The plant erected cost altogether about
£20,000, and is, perhaps, the most complete in
the peninsula. An additional plant has been
added recently on the further side of the mine
for dealing with overburden containing a small
percentage of tin. The overburden is brought
up in trucks from the mine by means of hauling
engines ; they are then run over high-speed,
closed-in puddlers containing revolving blades,
into which the contents are dumped with water
to facilitate the breaking down of the clay,
thence passing out into ordinary slow-speed
puddlers, which complete the disintegration.
The mud and water (containing fine tin) which
are always overflowing from the slow-speed
puddlers are elevated by a steel tailings wheel
into the riffle-boxes, of which there are two,
300 feet long each. The concentrates from the
puddlers and the riffle-boxes are gathered in
from time to time, and are sent down for final
treatment to the jigger plant mentioned pre-
viously. This plant is run by powerful hori-
zontal engines and boilers.
In average seasons there is an ample supply
of water for all requirements ; and at the same
time the mine is almost entirely free from those
difficulties which result from flooding, though
powerful pumps have been provided for use
in the event of such a contingency.
The tin occurs in an alluvial deposit ; it has
probably come up through the bedrock, which
is limestone, in solution, and. been deposited in
the alluvial clays overlying the limestone.
Subsequent denudation has formed the con-
centrates which are now being worked.
It is curious to recall that five years ago,
when a report was made upon the mine with
a view to turning it over to a company, the
experts gave the mine a life of two years.
How thoroughly this prognostication has
been falsified may be judged from the fact
that during the past five years the net profits
have aggregated some five million dollars,
and there is every indication that the mine
has still several years' life in front of it.
The year 1903 was remarkable for the
phenomenal output at this mine. Not only
was a world's record established at least twice
in that year, when the outputs of tin ore were
374 tons and 377 tons in May and August
respectively, but the aggregate for the whole
year, amounting to no less than 3,455 tons of
tin ore, constituted a record for a year's output
from a single mine. At the time of writing
the mine holds the record for monthly output
during 1907 for the Federated Malay States.
THE RAHMAN TIN COMPANY, LTD.
Situated at Intan in Rahman, one of the small
Northern States of the Malay Peninsula under
Siamese protection, the mines of the Rahman
Tin Company, Ltd., are reached by means of
steam launch from Pinang to Kuala Muda in
Kedah, a distance of 12 miles, and thence by
shallow-draft native boats up the Muda river to
Baling, a distance of 66 miles. From that
place a road, 14 miles in length and 12 feet
broad, has been made to the mine by the
company. This road traverses two ranges of
hills, the first of which is 1,200 feet, and the
second 2,000 above the altitude Baling. From
the summit the road runs down an easy slope
to the site of the battery, situated on a small
hill facing the mine, which is 800 feet higher
up, on the summit of Bukit Paku. Transport
of machinery from Pinang was the most
serious difficulty that beset the company at the
beginning, owing to the shallowness of the
river, small size of the boats, and the countless
snags and rapids. From Baling the machinery
was carted or dragged to the mine by krebaos
(native water buffaloes). Altogether, the trans-
port work from Pinang to the mine occupied
twenty-one months. The conveyance of tin
ore from the mine to the Straits Trading Com-
pany's smelting works at Butterworth, how-
ever, is comparatively easy, the road to Baling
being downhill for the greater part of the way.
A mill is at present being constructed on a
small hill about 800 feet below the mine, and
three-quarters of a mile distant. Messrs.
Fraser & Chalmers, ofXondon, supplied all the
machinery. The concentrating plant consists
of five 5-stamp batteries (750 lbs. each stamp),
and ten 6-feet Frue vanners. At the top of the
mill are two 7-inch x 9-inch Dodge crushers
for breaking up the rock rejected by the Grizz-
leys, and feeding direct into ore-bins. Five
Challenger feeders serve the stamps auto-
matically, one to each battery of five stamps.
Power plant consists of two Babcock & Wilcox
cross-type boilers, each of 401 square feet
heating surface, for use with wood fuel ; one
coupled horizontal lo-inch x 12-inch steam-
engine, for driving batteries ; and one 7j-inch
X lo-inch vertical engine for driving vanners.
The mill is to be lit throughout by electricity.
the dynamo being a S-kw. direct-current gene-
rator, driven by an extra pulley on the 7j-inch
X lo-inch engine. Timber for the mill build-
ings, ore-bins, battery, posts, &c., is of meriban,
a very strong hardwood, and, when sound,
almost impervious to the attacks of white ants.
An aerial ropeway, 3,800 feet long, conveys
the ore from the mine to the mill. The
distance is covered in six spans, the rope
running over five steel trestles, the highest of
which is 80 feet from the ground. Of this line
the capacity is 10 tons an hour, each bucket
carrying a load of 4 cwts., and running at a
speed of 1 10 yards a minute. Near the mine is
the loading-station, 40 feet high, connected with
the mill buildings in such a way that the ore is
dumped directly on to the top platform of the
mill. Initially the ropeway is to be driven by
a horse-gear, but it is hoped that in a short
time the installation will be entirely automatic.
At the time the company began operations
no local labour was procurable, with the
exception of Patani Malays and a few Siamese,
who were unreliable and much addicted to
opium-smoking. No useful work could be
done until Chinese and Javanese labour had
been imported, the wages for the former being
90 cents per day and for the latter 50 cents.
All rice and food-stuffs have to be brought from
Pinang, the local supply being insufficient.
These stores are sold to the coolies at a rate
exclusive of the cost of transport and customs
duty through Kedah. At present the labour
supply is plentiful.
One and the same tin-bearing upheaval
crosses Rahman from N.N.W. to S.S.E. From
the borders of Perak it traverses the whole of
Rahman, cutting into Kedah and stretching to
Tongkah. An extensive slate formation is the
predominant and characteristic rock of Rahman,
traversed by stanniferous quartz veins and
trap-dikes, limestone overlaying the slate
formation only occasionally. Tin is found
throughout this formation, Bukit Paku range
forming the central belt, the course of which
may be traced by the remains of many ancient
workings and by the existing mines. Stanni-
ferous quartz is also found abundantly all over
the surface and can be traced as veins inter-
secting the slate formation.
The water-supply for the mill, &c., is taken
from the River Kajang, the intake being at a
point distant about one mile from the mill site.
The supply is brought along a watercourse for
a distance of about 70 chains to the pressure-box,
thence by a line of pipes, 5 inches diameter,
through an inverted syphon, to the settling tank
at the mill buildings — a distance of about
18 chains.
Most of the mining land in the vicinity of
this company's property is now taken up, the
greatest portion being leased by the recently-
formed Rahman Hydraulic Tin Mining Com-
pany, Ltd., managed by Messrs. Nutter &
Pearse, Ipoh. This company intend working
their land on the hydraulic system, introducing
water from the rivers Jerneh and Telor Ayam.
Also adjoining the Rahman Tin Company's
property is the land of the Raja Prempuan,
which has been under exploitation for over two
centuries. This land is worked on the old
Chinese system of "tampans," but a large
quantity of tin-bearing rock has been left un-
touched owing to the difficulty of dealing with
it. Numerous other small blocks are worked
by Chinese in the same way.
The relations between the above companies
and the Siamese authorities are of a very
harmonious nature.
BRUSEH HYDRAULIC MINE.
In the middle of Lower Perak, three or four
miles from the Bidor railway station, is situated
the Bruseh Hydraulic Tin Mine. This is one
of the leading undertakings of its kind in
Malaya, and comprises a series of low hills
I- D. Kemp (Manager).
THE RAHMAN TIN COMPANY. LTD
1. View of the Mine.
THE BBUSEH HYDRAULIC TIN MINING COMPANY, LTD.
2. General View, showing Monitors at Work. 3. Monitors Working on 320 feet F.^ce.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
617
THE BBUSEH HYDRAULIC TIN MINING COMPANY, LTD.
The Tailings Monitor and View of the Mine,
between 200 and 300 feet in height, which
are very rich in lode tin. Operations were
tirst commenced on the property in igoi. The
whole of the first year was occupied in im-
pounding a certain amount of the waters of the
Sungei Gepai, and in laying down hundreds of
yards of wrought-iron main piping, 24 inches
in diameter, from the river to the foot of the
hills comprising the mining area. To this
were connected steel pipes of smaller diameter,
called monitors. The water from the river
(Sungei Gepai) is forced through these moni-
tors at such a rate that there is a pressure of
130 lbs. per square inch upon the piping.
From the open end of the monitors the
water is discharged with such force that if
a human being were to come in its way every
bone would be crushed immediately. This
tremendous force of water is played upon the
hills, which are quickly reduced. The tin-
laden earth and water run down the hill-side
in a voluminous stream, which is directed into
a series of sluices constructed of walls of hard
wood, lined with hard wood blocks. At regular
intervals across the sluices are iron bars, and,
as the stream passes over them, the tin, being
heavier than the earth, sinks into the inter-
stices, while the sand and dross are carried
away. Once in three or four days the monitor
is stopped, and clear water is run down the
sluices to cleanse the ore. The pressure of the
stream in the sluices is such that the wooden
blocks are rounded like pebbles in a very short
time, and the iron b.irs are brightened and
sharpened until they become like a series of
knives. There are several hills yet to be
worked in this way, and when this has been
done there will be sufficient tin in the flat earth
to run a successful open-cast mine for several
years. The whole of the machinery is of the
most up-to-date description, and is in excellent
condition.
The Bruseh mine is the property of the
Bruseh Hydraulic Tin Mining Company, Ltd.,
which was floated in 1901 with an authorised
capital of 600,000 dollars. Most of this capital
was furnished by the Borneo Company, Ltd.,
and the cost of installing the plant was so
heavy that a further 200,000 dollars had to be
put into the concern. For the first three years
there was no return for this outlay, but since
then the additional capital has been paid back
with interest, and last year a dividend of 20 per
cent." was declared. From May i, 1906, to
April 30, 1907, the total output of tin-ore from
the Bruseh mine was 5,100 piculs, which
realised 305,990 dollars. An area of 120 acres
of land belonging to the company, which is
of no use for mining purposes, has been planted
with rubber, and the trees are in a flourishing
condition. The directorate of the company
consists of Mr. W. Patch itt (Chairman), Mr. R.
Pawle, A.R.S.M., M.LM.E., and Mr. E. F. H.
Ediin. Mr. J. Deniston is the Secretary, Mr.
W. D. O'Brien the' General Manager, and Mr.
H. Brett the Assistant Manager.
KAMUNTING MINE.
One of the leading properties in the Feder-
ated Malay States is the Kamunting Mine,
Taiping, which belongs to Mr. Ng Boo Bee,
and is worked entirely by Chinese methods.
The open-cast is 2,400 feet long by 150 feet
broad, and has an average depth of from 40
to 50 feet. This pit is being carried across the
property, the overburden, washdirt, and tailings
being dumped on to the exhausted ground.
The tin is extracted from common land shoots
without preliminary puddling. There are two
sets of powerful steam pumps which carry off
all the water in the mine. There is a large
extent of virgin tin land still untouched. The
ore obtained is of good quality. It is sold
about three times a month, and a large portion of
it is purchased by the Straits Trading Company.
In 1904 the mine was %isited by the Governor
of the Straits Settlements, and since then it has
loomed large in the public eye. Within recent
years the labour force has been growing very
rapidly. On the occasion of the Governor's
visit it numbered 2,500, and at the time of
writing (1907) it comprises no fewer than 4,500.
The happiest relations exist between the "I'ow-
kay and his coolies. From the day a newly
arrived sinkch commences work he is paid
exactly the same as the free labourer at his side,
andthe onlydeduction made from his earnings is
the 15 or 20 dollars that it has cost his employer
to import him. The coolies work about six or
six and a half hours a day, and are afterwards
their own masters entirely. They are housed
in roomy and airy lines which receive the full
benefit of the cool breezes from the sea only a
few miles distant. The arrangements for
catering for the labourers are excellent. In a
central building there is a shop at which
wholesome food of nearly every variety is
procurable. There is also an opium-shop
where chandu is manufactured on the pre-
mises. The kitchen is contained in a separate
building, and from here cooked rice is supplied
giatis. The water-supply arrives through an
earth trench, and falls into two settling tanks,
one below the other, so that in the lowest tank
the water is as free from suspended matter as
is possible without actual filtration. That the
coolies' lot is a happy one is manifest from the
fact that old coolies returning to China often
bring back their friends with them to labour in
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NG BOO BEE'S OPEN CAST TIN MINE AT KAMUNTING.
1. General View. 2 & 3. Cross Sectioms.
NG BOO BEE'S OPEN CAST TIN MINE AT KAMUNTING.
I. The Coolies at Kamunting Mine. z. Washing Tin Ore.
NG BOO BEE'S OPEN CAST TIN MINE AT KAMUNTING.
I. New Kongsi House. ^. Mr. Ng Boo Bee. 3. "Boo Bee" Railway Siding.
522
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
what to them is " a land flowing with milk and
honey."
Born in the Hokien Province of China, Mr. Ng
Boo Bee, the owner of the mine, was educated
in his native land, and came to the Straits
Settlements some twenty-eight years ago.
After a short time spent in commerce in Pinang,
he settled down in the State of Perak, and
started business as a brick manufacturer and
timber merchant at Taiping, Ipoh, and Teluk
Anson, under the style of Chop Swee Bee,
which he still employs as his trade name.
LBE HENG & CO.
The firm of Messrs. Lee Heng & Co., Main
Road, Sungei Siput, Perak, of which Towkay
Loke Yew is half owner, is situated only a few
minutes' distance from Sungei Siput railway
station, and is in the charge of Mr. Loo Hoi
Choon. Mining forms the main part of Mr.
Loke Yew's undertakings at Sungei Siput.
Altogether some 1,500 coolies are employed
and managed by Messrs. Lee Heng & Co.
The firm are also buyers of tin, and handle a
^0
G)
1. LBE HENG & GO'S. PREMISES, SUNGEI SIPUT.
2. LOO HOI CHOON.
(Manager.)
Shortly after arriving in Taiping he became a
railway contractor, and continued as such for
twenty years under Mr. C. R. Hanson, I.S.O.,
Resident Engineer for Railways, Perak. During
that time Mr. Ng Boo Bee acquired the mining
land at Kamunting, Taiping, which has proved
to be such a valuable property. For the last
three years Mr. Ng Boo Bee has been the con-
trolling partner of the Perak General Revenue
Farm, leased for that period from the Govern-
ment for a sum of 6, 120,000 dollars. He has also
been controlling partner of the Perak Coast
Chandu Farm, which has been held since 1907
at a monthly rent of 12,000 dollars. His business
qualities are well demonstrated by the vast
wealth he has acquired froni'such small begin-
nings. Mr. Ng Boo Bee is a member of the
Taiping Sanitary Board, a Visiting Justice, and
one of the leaders of the Hokien commu-
nity. His father, Mr. Ng Koh Sung, and his
mother, II Choot Kwah, both lived to a good
old age in their native province of Hokien.
Mr. Ng Boo Bee is the eldest of three
sons. His eldest surviving son is Ng Ann
Thye.
very large portion of the products of the
district. Mr. Loke Yew is also half-owner of
the Kamuning estate.
KLEDANG TIN MINING COMPANY, LTD.
This company possesses in the Kledang tin
mines one of the richest mining properties yet
exploited in the Kinta valley. The mines,
which are fitted with modern machinery and
appliances, were prospected and reported on
by Messrs. F. Wickett and Perry, and subse-
quently floated as a sterling company by Mr.
James Wickett, of Redruth, Cornwall. His
son, Mr. Fred Wickett, who is now resident
manager of the Kledang mine, with Messrs.
Wickett and Perry as general managers, was
born in April, 1876, at Redruth, and educated at
Truro College. After going through a course
at the School of Mines, and gaining a first-class
in the honours stage of mining and the raising
and preparation of ores, with four extra bronze
medals, he joined Bassett, Ltd., as a miner. In
their service he became underground manager
within four years. At the end of that period
he resigned, and in i8q8 came out as mining
engineer for the Straits Tin Company, Ltd.,
with whom he remained for twelve months
at Gopeng. Then he started in practice for
himself, prospecting and reporting upon tin-
mines generally, among them being the famous
Tronoh mines, which were floated by a limited
liability company on the basis of his report.
Of these mines he was appointed general
manager in 1902, with Mr. Perry as assistant
manager. At the end of eighteen months both
Mr. Wickett and Mr. Perry resigned from
this company's service in order to engage,
as partners, in prospecting for tin mines.
Together they were appointed general
managers of the Heawood Syndicate, Ltd.,
for whom they carried on prospecting work
without discovering anything worth men-
tioning until, at the end of four years, they
were fortunate enough to strike this rich tin-
mining land at Kledang, on which are situated
the valuable mines now owned by the Kledang
Mining Company, Ltd. Mr. Wickett has
reported on most of the leading mines in
Perak, and upon his reports many companies
have been floated in London. His father,
Mr. James Wickett, who is a share-broker in
Redruth, has floated many tin-mining companies
in the Federated Malay States, including the
pioneer Gopeng mine of Perak, which, after
having repaid its capital ten times over, is still
very rich in ore.
Mr. R. W. Perry, M.LM.E., general
manager of the Kledang Tin Mining Company,
Ltd., has had a wide experience in his pro-
fession, having practised in four continents.
The son of the late Mr. William Perry, land-
owner, of Elmsleigh, Cribb's Causeway, near
Bristol, he was born on August 22, 1871. He
received his education at Bristol Grammar
School, at Cardiff, and at Camborne School of
Mines, where he gained the Miners' Association
Medal in 1891, and in the same year won
another medal, awarded by the City and Guilds
of London for the principles of mining, as well
as several certificates for papers on mining,
ore-dressing, metallurgy, and chemistry. In
1892 he went to St)uth Africa for the Ferreira
Gold Mining Company, Ltd., and was cyanide
manager for over four years. He was subse-
quently appointed assistant manager to the
Santa Francisca Gold Mining Company, in
Nicaragua. After two and a half years' service
he was sent by this company to manage their
mine at Nueve Segovia, and in 1902 he came
out to the Federated Malay States as assistant
manager of the Tronoh Tin Mine in Perak.
Eighteen months later he left Tronoh and went
into partnership with Mr. Frederick Wickett.
In the same year Mr. Perry went to England,
where he formed the Heawood Syndicate in
Cornwall to prospect Heawood estate at Sungei
Siput, Perak. After four years' prospecting
and boring in different districts, Mr. Wickett
and he purchased the Kledang property for the
syndicate, and floated the Kledang Tin Mining
Company, Ltd., of which Messrs. Wickett and
Perry became joint general managers. Mr.
Perry resides in Ipoh, where he has a house
and some property on the Tambun road. He
is married and has two children, one of whom
is in England.
WING HING COMPANY.
In this prosperous tin-mining company there
are two partners, Mr. Chooi To and Mr. Ow
Kong. Mr. Chooi To is China-born, and in the
year 1889 was invited to come to the Federated
Malay States by Mr. Chan Kang Chuan, who
was then partner in and manager of the Perak
Farm. On arriving in the States Mr. Chooi Tq^
was appointed general manager of the well^
known chop Thye Lee at Ipoh, owned by
Messrs. Chan Thye, Chan Kang Chuan, Ow
Cheok, and Chan Shoon. In this position he
made a considerable amount of profit for his
THE KLBDANG TIN MINING COMPANY, LTD.
I. General View of Kledang Mine. 2. The Trucks and Rail Lines. 3 & 6. Views of Kled.ang Mine. 4. Fred Wickett. 5, R. W. Perry.
1. OW KONG.
2. OHOOI TO.
3. GENERAL VIEW OF MINE AT MBNG LEMBU.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
525
Towkays. In 1898 they stopped their mining
business, sub-leasing their lands for tribute and
letting their houses for rent. Under the altered
regime Mr. Chooi To continued to work as
manager, although his salary was reduced by
half on account of the business being less. From
that time he commenced mining on his own
account along with Mr. Ow Kong, and in May,
1907, he left the service of the chop Thye Lee,
finding that his own interests demanded
his full attention. With his partner he
started the mining company styled the
Wing Hing Company, with head offices
at No. 20, Station Road, Ipoh. This com-
pany has many mines, of which the one at
Meng Lembu, as shown in the accompanyin.g
photograph, is the largest. At present about
five hundred persons are employed on this mine,
and there are five engines and two winches
working both day and night. The estimated
value of this mine is ;£7o,ooo. The second
partner, Mr. Ow Kong, is a Cantonese,. and was
born in 1874. He came to the Federated
Malay States in 1889 at the invitation of Mr.
Ow Check, a part-owner of the well-known
chop Thye Lee, Ipoh, by whom he was re-
commended for the post of accountant to the
chop. He is very popular in the Federated
Malay States, and is a member of the Perak
Mining and Planting Association, the Perak
Anti-Opium Society, and the Perak " Kung
Lup " School.
"The Separators, Ltd." Until a few years
ago, the dressing of the tin ore in the Federated
Malay States was performed in the most primi-
tive fashion, and it is estimated that quite 20
per cent, of the tin of many mines has been
lost through this cause. The Chunkat Pari
plant, however, which is laid down at Ipoh,
has brought about a great improvement in this
direction. At first the proprietors had a hard
battle to fight against the aversion with which
their machinery was regarded by the Chinese,
but this is now a thing of the past, and tin ore
from all parts of the Federated Malay States
passes through the establishment of the Sepa-
rators, Ltd. The managers are Messrs. R. L.
and F. Corbett, two enterprising New
Zealanders, the first named of whom is also
managing director of the company.
FUSING LAMA TIN MINING
COMPANY, LTD.
Of this well-known mining concern the
manager is Mr. W. M. Currie, A.R.S.M. At
the time of writing he is away on leave, and
Mr. H..O. Crighton, A.I.M.M., is acting manager.
The estate, consisting of about 150 acres, is
situated near the village of Papan, in the terri-
tory of Kinta, Perak, and was taken over by the
present proprietors in 1904. The producing
stage was reached in April, 1905, and the
a hydraulic plant, 15 head of stamps, Wilfley
tables, slimers, &c. The installation has
recently been increased by 15 head of stamps,
besides other labour-saving and ore-dressing
machinery. An electric-lighting plant has also
lately been erected. The mine has proved to
be one of the richest, and is reputed to be one
of the best managed in the native States. The
assistants on the mine are Messrs. H. G. Harris
and G. L. Harvey ; a third assistant is expected
shortly. The secretary is Mr. E. A. Roadnight,
the engineer Mr. G. Rodgers. The new plant
has been erected under the superintendence of
Mr. W. H. Knapp.
CHOP KWONG SANG.
One of the most influential of the Chinese
firms carrying on business in Seremban is that
trading under the style of Chop Kwong Sang,
thechief partner in which is Mr. Chu Shu Ming,
of Singapore. This firm own about one-quarter
of the houses in the town of Seremban, besides
a large smelting works and several other
businesses in the vicinity. At Batang Benar
they possess a large mine, employing some
2,000 coolies, and practically the whole of the
property in the neighbourhood. Close to the
mine they also have a rubber estate of 650
acres, with trees rising three years old. At
their various mines, scattered over the States,
CHUNKAT PARI ORE REFINERY WORKS.
The Man.\ger's Bungalow and Ore Refinery. The Rehn'ery.
THE SEPARATORS, LTD.
One of the most notable undertakings in the
Kinta Valley is the Chunkat Pari electro-
magnetic ore-dressing plant operated by a
company of Perak miners, under the style of
company commenced to reap profits in June
following. From that time the value of the
output has steadily increased. In 1906 it was
13,458 piculs, or 801 tons, valued at ;^83,298,
and the dividend was four shillings per share.
There are on the works 5 puddling machines.
they employ about 7,000 coolies. The whole
of the tin turned out by these miners, as well
as large quantities of ore purchased from other
miners, is smelted at the firm's own works, the
Kong Fook Sang, situated in Setul Road, and
capable of dealing with about 3,000 piculs per
:**¥Wrf5-5^
A -..'/■ .■iA-.iasj?«5«*'*
•K
t~i**'^'' \
1> .
f^^^^^
7T
/^A
CHOP KWONG SANG, SBREMBAN.
1. RUBBER Estate at Bata.ng Benar. ^. The Head Office at Seremban. 3 & 4- Views of the Town or Batang Benar. 5. Smelting House.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
257
mensem. The firm has been estabUshed in
Seremban for upwards of thirty years, and is
the oldest iji the town, if not in the State.
OSBORNE & OHAPPBL.
The first firm to introduce hydrauhc working
in the tin mines of the Federated Malay States
& Osborne are the general managers for
various valuable properties, including the Kinta
Tin Mines, Ltd. ; Gopeng Tin Mining Company,
Ltd. ; New Gopeng, Ltd. ; Rambutan, Ltd. ;
and Tekka, Ltd., all of which they floated as
limited companies. The firm are at present
experimenting with a suction dredge, which
promises to be a very important advance in
SUNGBI BESI MINE.
was en-
vState of
Till strong underground water
countered, this property, in the
Selangor, some nine miles south of Kuala
Lumpor, was owned and worked by the late
Captain China, who conducted operations
principally by shafting and driving on the
FOO CHOO CHOON'S SUNGEI BESI MINE.
I. Kampar Office. - & 3. Vikws of the Mine.
were Messrs. Osborne & Chappel, who brought
out the necessary machinery in 1891. The
business was established by Mr. Osborne in
1890, and is now well known throughout the
native States. Mr. Chappel was admitted to
partnership in 1901. The interests of the firm
lie entirely in tin mining. Messrs. Chappel
mining machinery. Mr. Osborne is a member
of the State Council of Perak, a Fellow of the
Royal Colonial Institute, a member of the
North of England Institute of Mining and
Mecliahical Engineers, and a member of the
Institution of Mining and Metallurgy and many
other similar institutions.
richest seams of ore. The influx of water,
however, necessitated the closing of the mine,
and some years later Messrs. Foo Choo Choon
and Mons. Edgar acquired the property, subse-
quently opening it as an open-cast mine. The
water is being dealt with by means of a
Hay ward Tyler pump, 23 in. by 20 in. by 18 in..
THE SUNGBI BESI MINE.
IPOH Office.
Foo Choo Choon's Mine near Kampar,
Foo Choo Choos. Foo Choo Choon's Office at Lahat.
KuBBES Estate at Gopeng Road.
GENERAL VIEWS OP FOO CHOO CHOON'S MINE AT SUNGBI BBSI.
530
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
VIEW OF FOO CHOO CHOON'S MINE AT SUNGBI BBSI.
of a normal capacity of 150,000 gallons an hour.
The depth of the mine from grass level in 1907
was 80 feet, top area about 12 acres, and bottom
area about 2j acres.. The depth of the waste
dirt was from surface at least 200 feet. The
overburden varies from 30 to 40 feet in thick-
ness. The labour force numbers about 600,
and consists almost entirely of Indians. Mr.
Grant Mackie manages the mine, and Mr.
George Velge is the chief engineer.
ATLESBTJBY & GARLAND.
Messrs. Aylesbury & Garland, of Ipoh,
have a branch at Tapah ; their office is the
only European establishment in the township.
The bulk of the tin produced by Chinese
miners in the Batang Padang district passes
through the hands of this firm, which pur-
chases much ore on behalf of the Straits Trading
Company. Messrs. Aylesbury & Garland also
conduct an agency business in a variety of lines.
The establishment is managed by Mr. A. A.
Robin, who has been with the firm for four
years. Mr. H. G. James is assistant manager.
THE JEHBB AND SBBANDAH MINES.
The Jeher Mines, situated on the border of
the States of Selangor and Perak, are carried on
by the Jeher Hydraulic Tin Mining Company,
Ltd., with a capital of ^30,000. The high-pressure
water supply is obtained from a branch of the
Bernam river, and conveyed to the mines
through a water race six miles long. Hy- .
draulic elevators and monitors are used. The
mine has paid dividends amounting to 25 per
cent, of the paid-up capital within a year.
The Seraridah mine is the property of the
Serandah HydraulicTin Mining Company,Ltd.,
and covers an area of 430 acres. Its water line is
one and three-quarter miles long, has a fall
of 7 feet to the mile, and will carry 1,800 cubic
2±; \V --v-y^^^^V,
• O-r, irV
AYLESBURY & GARLAND, IPOH.
I. T(VLEOT Motors. 2. E. L. Bailey. 3. E. T. C. Garland.
AYLESBURY & GARLAND, IPOH.
I. IPOH Office. 2. Stokotte Works. 3. " Little Giaxt " Tractor. 4. Tapah Office.
THE JEHER AND SERANDAH MINES.
i. Reception ajter Opexixg Ceremony at Seraxdah Mixe.
4. Lore Chow Thye,
2. jEHER Hydraulic Mixe, showing Cuttixg.
S. Opening Cerehiony at Seraxdah Hydraulic Mine.
3. Sekandah Hydraulic Mine.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MAI.AYA
.533
feet per minute. The property was opened by
Messrs. Loke Chow Thye and Loke Yew,
and was the first in Selangor to be installed
with hydraulic machinery. The photographs
show the opening of it by Mr. H. Conway
Belfield, British Resident of Selangor.
The managing director of the two concerns
is Mr. Loke Chow Thye, one of .the most pro-
minent figures in mining circles in the Feder-
ated Malay States at the present time. He was
born in Pinang in 1871. After being educated
at the Free School in that settlement, he
migrated to Selangor in 1892, and entered the
State Railway Department. A year later he
commenced tin-mining, and lie now has large
interests in mines in both Selangor and Perak.
Besides being a director of a newly-formed
engineering company and holding shares in
another engineering company in Scotland, he
education at Melbourne University. Afterwards
he joined the Atlas foundry, and was there for
three years. He worked at the Langford
foundry, Melbourne, for another three years,
and sulisequently engaged in the business of
making mining machinery. He was at the
Gingillic tin mines, Upper Murray, Victoria,
for eighteen months and at the Maritena gold
mines for a similar period. On returning to
Melbourne he entered the service of the
Watson Denny Contracting Company. In the
course of his travels he has constructed mining
machinery in New Zealand and various parts
of Australia, and has been engaged as a miner
in Central America. After two years in South
America he returned to Australia and obtained
an appointment as manager of a hydraulic and
dredging machinery business. He remained
in charge of this concern for seven years, and
Serandah Hydraulic Tin Mine Company, Ltd.
The Serandah mine was the first hydraulic
mine in Selangor, and is reputed to be the
third highest ore-producing concern in the
Federated Malay States,
KANABOI, LTD.
In January, 1907, this company was floated to
exploit a large area of mining land in the
Kanaboi valley. The company obtained dredg-
ing rights over five miles of the Kanaboi
river, and from preliminary operations there
are indications of a profitable tin and gold
deposit. The company has acquired altogether
2,000 acres of good mining land, including 900
acres in Kanaboi valley, which is rich both in
tin and gold. During the first year activities
were concentrated upon prospecting, and upon
KANABOI, LTD.
The Pipe Line and the Dam and Pipe Line.
is the owner of much landed property, includ-
ing several rubber estates. Mr. Loke takes a
great interest in public affairs generally and
the education question in particular. He
founded a scholarship at the Brothers' School,
Pinang, and has sent his daughter to England
to be educated. He is a keen motorist and an
all-round sportsman. His race-horses have met
with considerable success. He is president of
the Weld Hill Chinese Club, of which he was
a promoter, and vice-president of the Miners'
Association and of the Selangor Anti-Opium
Society. He has travelled in England and on
the Continent.
Mr. Rene Proust, the manager of Serandah
mine, Selangor, is a son of the late Mr. R.
Proust, engineer, Ecole. He has had a varied
career, and a long experience of mining opera-
tions in many countries. Born on July 6, 1862,
at Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, he received his
then, after a trip to London, entered the service
of the Modack Gold Dredging Company, and
subsequently of the British North Borneo
Chartered Company. He did gold mining
and dredging on the property of the Chartered
Company, and stayed with them four years.
He next went to the Philippines, to Rio Grande,
Mindanao, and did a great deal of prospecting
on his own behalf. At the outbreak of the
Spanish-American war he joined the United
States service, and was on active service for
three years. Having resigned his position in
the ■ army, he came to Singapore and was
appointed mining engineer by the Malaysian
Company on their reefing gold mine at Raub,
Pahang. He retained this position for four
years, and then joined the Jehar Hydraulic Tin
Sleiving Company at Jehar, Tanjong Malim,
Perak. He worked for a short while with this
company, and then took charge of the
the importation of machinery to the property.
The first plant installed consisted of two and
a half miles of 24-inch pipe line capable of
carrying 2,000 cubic feet of water a minute ;
one Hendy's hydraulic, elevator (16 inch) ; one
lo-inch and one 5-inch water lifter working
in a pontoon 15 feet by 45 feet, and into 400
feet of 4-feet sluice boxes, using Censor riffles.
(This -plant deals with 1,500 to 2,000 cubic
yards per 20 hours.) A small bucket elevator
and motor pump capable of elevating 500 cubic
yards a day, and a centrifugal suction elevating
plant are to be installed, the latter for river-
dredging purposes. A portable 8 - inch
hydraulic elevator is to work out two iniles
of the river bed, which will be left dry when
the big hydraulic installation is working. The
scene of the company's operations is in Negri
Sambilan, near the boundary between that
State and Pahang. This neighbourhood is the
534
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
gold country of Malaya. The mine started
working on October 17th. Mr. W. W.
Richardson, the general manager, resides in
Seremban.
Mr. A. A. Henggeler, M.E., is the
manager of the recently floated tin mining
company, Kanaboi, Ltd., which is opening up
large hydraulic mines in the Kanaboi district.
He has had prospecting experience in all parts
of the Federated Malay States, as well as in
Siam, and holds considerable interests in
different Siamese prospecting syndicates.
THE STRAITS TRADING COMPANY.
It is computed on good authority that fully
one half the tin produced in the native States
some new premises were erected during 1907,
in the best quarter of the town. From this
centre the whole of the Perak business is
directed. The staff comprises twelve Europeans
and numerous Chinese and native clerks and
assistants.
Mr. William J. Murray, agent of the
Taiping branch of the Straits Trading Company,
Ltd., is a native of Banff, Scotland. He came
to the Straits Settlements to join this firm in
1904, and was given his present appointment
in the following year.
Mr. Law Foo, one of the best-known
miners in Perak, is the son of the late Mr. Law
Sum, a pioneer of the mining industry in the
Federated Malay States. The deceased gentle-
THE STRAITS TRADING COMPANY'S HEAD OFFICE FOR PERAK AT IPOH.
passes through one or other of the Straits
Trading Company's many branches. The
head office for Perak is at Ipoh, where hand-
man emigrated from China to Pinang, but
removed to Taiping at a time when the place
could be reached only by means of small
Chinese craft. Mr. Law Sum found favour
with the Raja, and was made the chief, or
headman, of the Chinese community. He con-
tinued to work as a tin miner for some time
after the Perak War and the establishment
of the British Protectorate. When he retired
to China in 1880 he was succeeded by his son,
Mr. Law Foo, and six years later this gentleman
left Taiping and went to Ipoh, where he
has been successful in further mining
ventures. He owns landed property in
Perak, and has a permanent residence in
Pinang.
Mr. Eu Tong Sen.— Some thirty-five years
ago Eu Tong Sen's father, Eu Kong, emigrated
from his home in Kwung Tung (South China)
and became an assistant in a Chinese grocery
business in Pinang. ^\'ith characteristic pre-
science he opened a place of business of his
own in the Federated Malay States, and his
choice fell on Gopeng, then a newly founded
settlement. Here he was soon successful in
securing the monopoly of the General Farm
from the Government, carrying on an extensive
grocery business the while under the style (or
" chop ") Yan Sung, which continues to flourish
to this day under his son's direction. His keen
business instinct led him to extend his opera-
tions by opening a Chinese dispensary, and
later, when the tin boom began, he was quick
to perceive the possibilities of what was to
prove the foundation of Perak's remarkable
prosperity, and speedily secured the right to
work some excellent mining land. His strenu-
ous and successful life was, however, destined
to be but short, and in 1890 he died at the
early age of thirty-eight, just after his return
from a visit to China. His son, to whom he
bequeathed a substantial estate (which was
afterwards augmented by a legacy from his
step-mother), was at the time still a minor and
pursuing his education in the great Middle
Kingdom, the estate being in charge of Mr. Grant
Mackie's brother, of the Straits Trading Com-
pany. After completing his Chinese education
Mr. Eu Tong Sen studied English under a
private tutor^Mr. F. W. Harley — in Pinang,
taking up his residence with Mr-. R% Butler, with
whom he lived two and a half years^ Coming
to Ipoh, he attended the Government School,
with the result that by the time he took over
charge of his own affairs he had acquired an
excellent knowledge of the English language.
He administered most successfully the intricate
details of his father's estate. He made good
to his married sister, the wife of Mr. Leong
Kwong Hin, of the Chinese Protectorate, Singa-
pore, several tens of thousands of dollars due
under her father's will, and at the early age of
thirty was one of the largest as well as one of
the most opulent tin miners in the Federated
Malay States. In Perak he owns as many as
eight or nine mines — two at Kampar, three at
Gopeng, one at Tronoh, one at Chenderiang, and
one at Papan, employing in all about 8,000
coolies. In the neighbouring State of Selangor
Eu Tong Sen owns two mines — oneat Ampang
and one at Kancheng — giving employment to
about 3,000 coolies. Finally, in Batang Benna,
Negri Sambilan, he owns a mine employing
about 1,000 coolies. To this day Mr. Eu Tong
Sen takes much interest in the medicine shops
at Kampar and Gopeng, which are doing a
flourishing business, and naturally has not
overlooked the rubber industry. Recently he
commenced planting on two estates of 450 and
250 acres respectively. Every worthy cause
in this country has in Mr. Eu Tong Sen a stout
champion and liberal supporter, while he does
not fail to take his share of public work and
responsibility. He is vice-president of the
Anti-Opium Society and a member of the Kinta
Sanitary Board. A good sportsman, he takes
keen interest in horse-racing, motoring — his
was the first motor-car to be imported into
Perak — and rifle shooting. In conjunction
with Mr. Chung Thye Phin he recently built
THE LATE EU KONG. EU KBNG GHEE. EU TONG SEN.
EU TONG SEN'S RESIDENCES AT KAMPAB, GOPBNG, AND KUALA LUMPOR.
BU TONG SENS MINES.
Mink near Kamfar, Perak.
Talma Mine, Ka.mpar.
Heau Office at Kampar.
Pa pan Mine, Pekak.
Kaxchexg Mine, Kampar.
THK ANYSANG JUNE.
Mine near Gopeng.
BU TONG SEN'S MINES.
GCJPENG (Pekak) Office.
The Teicki Hydkaulic Mine.
(Two views.)
IPOH (PEKAK) OlFICE.
CHEXDERIAXG (PKRAK) MIX'K.
EU TONG SEN'S MINES.
MixE AT Bataxc; Bexx\, Ne(;hi Sambilax.
Mine near Tronoh (Perak).
KUAiA LrmpoR Office.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MAI.AYA
639
a large Chinese theatre in the important
mining town of Kampar, near Ipoh.
Towkay Yau Tat Shin.— A prominent
part in building up the industry of Ipoh has
been taken by Towkay Yau Tat Shin, of Perak,
who came to Negri Sambilan in i8g8, and for
two terms was the general farmer. To him
belongs the distinction of having established
the first smelting works in the State. These
are located at Rasa, and deal not only with the
product of the Towkay 's mines, but also with
a considerable quantity of ore from outside
sources. Although the smelting is conducted
according to Chinese methods the works have
been able successfully to compete with
European methods, their monthly output
averaging from i,ooo to i,20oslabs. The Tow-
kay also owns house property which brings
Chin Ah Saick has been engaged successfully
in tin mining. He was born in Pinang in
1870 and educated in the Pinang Free School.
When he started mining in Kinta, Perak, he
was twenty-two years of age, and now he is a
landed proprietor and holds the lease, in
partnership, of a mine in Sungei Raia Gopeng,
which is proving a profitable investment. Mr.
Chin resides in Gopeng.
Mr. Lee Tian Siew, son of the late Mr.
Lee Tong Seng, was born at Pinang in 1872
and received his education at Pinang Free
School. After two years' commercial experi-
ence in his native place, he spent three years
with a Kuala Lumpor firm, and then went to
Perak to start mining, at the same time dealing
in tin ore from other mines at Kampar, Gopeng,
and Tronoh. In 1903 he accepted an appoint-
land in Batu Pahat from the Sultan of Johore,
and cultivated coconuts and rubber. Mr. How
Wan Yuk is a member ol^ the Chinese clubs at
Kinta and Tapah and of ihe Malay Club at
Batu I^ahat. Besides owning house property
in Ipoh he has land in Perak.
Kwong Kut Cheong & Co.— An important
Chinese house in Tapah is thai carried on
under the style of Messrs. Kwong Kut Cheong
& Co., No. 41, Bridge Road, and owned by
Mr. Leong Lok Hing, of Pinang. Mr. Shem
Kuon Teng, the local manager, was born in
China, and received an excellent English edu-
cation at Queen's College, Hongkong. This
firm has been established in Tapah for the last
twenty years as miners and merchants. In
addition to working mines at Chenderiang,
Bedor, and Kuala Lumpor, the chop does a
YAU TAT SHIN'S SMELTING HOUSE AT RASA AND SEBEMBAN OFFICE.
in a substantial revenue. Mr. J. M. Scully, who
has been with him for upwards of ten years,
holds his power of attorney and manages his
affairs, with the assistance of a Chinese mana-
ger, at Seremban.
Mr. Cheah Kok Phin was born and edu-
cated at Taiping. He is the son of the late
Mr. Cheah Fook, who was also a miner in
that district. After leaving school in 1897, at
the age of sixteen, Mr. Cheah Kok Phin joined
the Police Department, and after four years'
service resigned in order to start tin mining in
Kampar. For five years he was manager of
his father-in-law's mine, and then took charge
of his own mine at Sumput, near Gopeng,
where five hundred coolies are employed.
There are two petrol engines on the works,
one 10 h.p. and the other 12 h.p. The output
of tin is about 300 piculs a month. Mr. Cheah
Kok Phin is married and has one son and two
daughters.
Mr. Chin Ah Saick,— For fifteen years Mr.
ment as manager, with power of attorney, for
Mr. Eu Tong Sen, but continued his own
business operations. He owns a tin mine in
Kampar, which provides work for five hundred
coolies ; several smaller mines, which he leases
out ; and considerable shop property. He
acquired his fortune in an adventure in mining
at Kampar, from the locality where his late
father, who was a mine owner in Gopeng and
Kampar, lost his life through a landslip. He
is a member of the Perak Anti-Opium Society.
Mr. How Wan Yuk has for some years
devoted himself almost exclusively to tin
mining. A son of Mr. How Kinag Choon,
merchant, of Singapore, he was born in China
in 187s, and educated at the Raffles Institution
in Singapore. In 1893 he settled in Ipoh,
where he opened a general store, and now
owns the chop Katt Sang. Five years later
he established a branch in Kuala Lumpor.
Subsequently he turned his attention to tin
mining, and has since leased a large tract of
considerable trade in buying in tin and re-
selling it to European houses. The mines
mentioned above have been worked for many
years, and are profitable concerns.
Mr. Yau Tet Shin has been a well-known
miner and merchant in the Kinta district for
the last thirty years, under the style of Chop
Tat Fob. The son of Mr. Yan Chee Thin, of
Kayinchow, he was born in China, and at an
early age came to the Federated Malay States,
where he has since amassed a fortune by
mining. The foundation of his wealth was
laid from profits derived by him as a share-
holder in the General Farm of Perak. Of his
many mines the best is at Ampang. At one
time he held gambling farms and other
monopolies from the Government of Negri
Sambilan. At present he is one of the largest
property owners in Ipoh, where he has about
250 houses already in occupation, and is build-
ing a new township of 350 houses on the
Gopeng road. He is also owner of the Meng
I. Mink at Ampaxg.
YAU TET SHIN.
WoxG Kap Soot. 3. Smelting House, Meng Lksieu.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSTONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
541
Lembu Smelting Works, the largest establish-
ment of the kind in Perak, where seven hundred
slabs of tin are turned out weekly, and is a
very extensive buyer of tin ore. Mr. Yau is a
member of the Anti-Opium Society, a
liberal donator to charities, has taken an inter-
est in the movement for teaching the Mandarin
dialect of Chinese, and has provided accom-
modation for the Ipoh school free of charge.
In Ipoh Mr. Yau's attorney, and the general
manager of all his business is Mr. Wong Kap
Soot, who has held this important and respon-
sible post for sixteen years. He is a mem-
ber of the Ipoh Sanitary Board, to which
he was elected in 1907, and is a well-known
member of the Ipoh community. In him Mr.
Yau Tet Shin reposes full confidence, which
has been justified by the success attending his
many undertakings.
Yeoh Chin Kee. — Eight years ago Mr.
Yeoh Chin Kee, who had previously been an
assistant in a local business house, opened an
establishment of his ovi'n in Kampar. He took
his brother-in-law, Mr. Oh Cheang Keal, into
partnership, and they carried on business under
the chop Ban Seng Leong. They have an
interest in a number of mines, and they possess
smelting works and buy tin ore on a large
scale. Their principal customers for the
refined ore are the Straits Trading Company.
Our illustration shows the firm's premises at
Nos. 7, g, and 11, Jalau Gopeng, Kampar.
Mr. Kwa Chooi Seng; possesses the only
tin smelting works at present in operation in
the Taiping district. It is conducted on the
usual Chinese lines, and gives employment to
a large number of coolies. Mr. Kwa Chooi
Seng is a son of the late Mr. Kwa Soo, a mer-
chant and trader of Pinang, who came to
Perak some thirty years ago and commenced
mining and smelting. He is now one of the
heads of the Hokien community in Taiping,
^
OH CHEANG
and the owner of one of the three large mines
of the district. He has property in several
KAMPAR.
YEOH
KEE.
towns in Perak and other States, besides
the proprietor of a rubber estate of 200
being
acres
KWA CHOOI SENG, TAIPING.
I. Mine near Taiping. z. Rubber Estate at Taiping.
The late Kwa Soo (Founder of the business).
Smei.tint. HorsK.
KWA CHOOI SENG, TAIPING.
Rksidexci-: at Taipinx;.
Kwa Chooi Seng
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
543
in full bearing in the vicinity of Kamunting
township. Mr. Kwa Chooi Seng is married
and has three sons.
Mr. Sung Ah Ngew.— It is now fifty-two
years since the late Mr. Sung Ki Long settled
in Perak and commenced tin-mining. He
opened a large mine at Klian Bahru (Kumut-
ing), in the Larut district, employing about
one thousand coolies, but owing to Chinese
disturbances he had to abandon operations in
1872. He was banished to Trong for five
years by Prince Tunku Muntri, of the Larut
district, and at the request of his Highness
opened up and worked a tin mine there. This
did not prove successful, and at the expiration
of five years Mr. Sung Ki Long went to
Gopeng, where he was engaged in mining until
his death in 1896. He did much to improve
Gopeng, and in recognition of his work the
Government named a street after him. Mr.
Sung Ah Ngew, his son, has taken over the
management of his estate. He was born in
1870 at Taiping and educated there. At the
age of twenty-five he commenced tin mining on
his father's property in Sungei Raia, and
opened up and worked several new mines,
including the rich Ula Teka mine, which he dis-
covered four years ago. An illustration of this
property appears on the next page. Mr. Sung
Ah Ngew, who owns considerable property in
Pinang and Gopeng, is married, and has three
daughters.
to Papan, where he purchased mining land.
For the last thirty-five years he has been
engaged in mining. On his tin mine in
Tongang, near Pusing, he employs 250 coolies,
working the property on the single-shaft
system. He owns other smaller tin mines,
and has partnerships in several mining enter-
prises, besides being the proprietor of a Chinese
medicine store. Mr. Hiu is married and has
three sons — Hiu Khong Ngean, Hiu Yew
Ngean, and Hiu Kong Ngean.
Mr. Leong Chin, of the chop Kwong Chin
Hin, Ipoh, was born in China in 1874. He
was educated in his own country, but left there
some twenty-one years ago and came to Ipoh.
He obtained employment as a clerk in the tin-
mining works of Mr. Leong Fee, and after six
years' faithful service was made manager, and
invested with power of attorney. Mr. Leong
Chin remained in this position for twelve
years, when, havmg saved sufficient money,
he started business on his own account as a
tin miner. He purchased land in Tambun,
Ampang, and Ulu Kinta districts. In Tambun
he opened a mine, which is worked by
up-to-date hydraulic machinery, and gives
employment to 350 coolies. Very rich
returns have been obtained, and Mr. Leong
Chin is now opening another mine at Kampar
on a large scale, fitted with the most modern
machinery and appliances. His head office is
at Ipoh, and is styled Chop Kwong Ching Hin.
able management the mines have made marked
progress.
Mr. Foo Chew Fan, of Ipoh, is a son of
the late Mr. Foo Loo Kong, and was born and
educated in China. In i8gr, when twenty-four
years of age, he came to Lahat, Perak. where
he entered the service of Mr. Foo Choc Choon
as a clerk. At the end of two years he opened
up a smelting establishment in partnership
with his previous employer. Of this business
he was manager for ten years, and in 1903 he
started a business at Ipoh, under the style of
Chop Eng Ho Leong, buying and selling tin
ore. At the same time he purchased land at
Polai and started tin mining on the " open-
face " and Lan Choot's systems, employing
three hundred coolies. Mr. Foo Chew Fan
has a branch chop in Polai called Wing Yit
Foh. He is also a sub-farmer of the spirit
and gambling farms at Tamban and Tanjong
Tokallang. The manager and cashier at Ipoh
is Mr. Foo Chew Yean, and at Polai the
manager is Mr. Law Choon Kong, and the
cashier Mr. Foo Choon Chow.
Mr. H. W. Metcalfe occupies the re-
sponsible position of manager of the famous
Red Hill Mines, on the road to Lahat, operated
by Messrs. Osborne & Chappel. For many
reasons this mine is one of the most noted
in the Slate, and its management is a task
calling for a man of ripe experience. In the
winning of tin there more machinei'v is
1. ONG CHI SIEW.
2. SIN MEW SIN MINE, KEPONG.
3. ONG CHI SIEW'S MALACCA RESIDENCE.
Mr. Hiu Tong Sen, the well-known
mine-owner of Ipoh, and the son of Hiu Nam
Su, was born in China in 1850. He came to
Federated Malay States about thirty-seven years
ago, and stayed first at Sungei Ujong, moving
a year later to Teluk Anson and subsequently
Besides his land and mines, Mr. Leong Chin
owns many houses in Perak. He is married
and has a large family.
Mr. Lam Yuen San is the manager of
Towkay Chung Thye Phin's mines at Tronoh.
He is an experienced miner, and under his
employed than on almost any other mine in the
Federated Malay States, and as the mine is
more famous for the quantity of tin-bearing
land that it covers than lor its richness, a great
deal of work is entailed. The works, lit by
electricity, are run day and night, and give
' ' f'^-
-^^^ /,»*»Hi-'^> " -'^■S*^"
VIEWS OF SUNG AH NGEWS MINE AT SUNGEI RAIA.
(See p. 543 )
1. MACHINSaY AT TAMBON MINE.
2. THE HEAD OFFICE AT IPOH.
4. LEONG CHIN'S TAMBON MINE.
3. LEONG CHIN.
(See p. 543.)
54G
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
employment to a large body of men. Mr.
Metcalfe came to the Federated Malay States
about eleven years ago, after having travelled
extensively in different parts of the world. He
engaged in mining with Messrs. Osborne &
Chappel, and developed their property at
Gopeng under a company styled the New
Gopeng, Ltd., after which he joined the Red
Hills Company as manager about a year ago.
Towkay Wong Lam Yen is a well-known
of age, and started business as a general
merchant. After a few years, however, he
turned his attention to tin mining in Perak,
and in 1896 entered into partnership in mining
with Mr. Loke Yew. In 1870 he married Pam
Kim Leng, by whom he had two sons^Low
Chick Tan, who is managing his deceased
father's estate, and Low Foong On, Both
' these gentlemen own houses in Pinang, Perak,
and Selangor, in addition to tin mines in the
WONG LAM- YEN AND HIS SONS.
Kampar miner. A son of Wong Seng Chong,
of Canton, he was educated in his native
country, but settled in Gopeng twenty-five
years ago and commenced mining. He now
owns properties in both Gopeng and Kampar,
the most profitable being the Temoh mine, on
which he employs about 1,500 coolies, and
from which he obtains about 600 piculs of
tin a month.
The late Mr. Low Ah Pang was one of
many Chinese who left home when youths and
won success in the Federated Malay States.
He came to Pinang in 1864 when twenty years
two latter States and extensive padi fields in
China.
Mr. J. J, Tail, a native of Scotland, is one
of the oldest and most respected residents of
Tanjong Malim, and one of the pioneers of the
State of Perak. Altogether he has spent
twenty-seven years in the Straits Settlements
and the Malay Straits, and for the last sixteen
he has lived in Tanjong- Malim. Among the
many works which Mr. Tait has carried out
for the State may be mentioned the construc-
tion of 100 miles of road between Para Bunta
and Tanjong Malim, and the construction of
the roads between Ipoh and Batu Gajah and
Taiping and Pinang. These undertakings
were executed successful!}' at a time when
large areas were covered with jungle, and
when there were neither railways nor any
other facilities for travelling. Of late years
Mr. Tait has devoted most of his time to tin
mining, and owns the Salak Prangin mine.
This property, which has been worked since
189s, was, until recently, let on tribute to the
Jeher Hydraulic Tin Mining Company, but it
has now been taken over by Mr. Tait person-
ally. It is not yet fully opened, but it is pro-
ducing between 35 and 40 piculs of tin a week,
and, as there are indications of a rich deposit,
this output is likely soon to be materially
increased,
Mr. Cheah Eng Wah is a son of the late
Mr. Cheah Chan, miner. He was born in 1873 at
Pinang, and was educated there. He joined the
service of Mr. Low Boon Kim, at Kuala Lumpor,
as a clerk, and was with him for six years.
Afterwards he became manager of the chop
Wan Hong, a business belonging to Mr. Khoo
Gin Ho, He remained in this position for two
years, and then joined the firm of Messrs. Khoo
Kai Cliai & Low Boon Tit as a minins; clerk.
After serving in this capacity for another two
years he was sent by the firm to Seremban,
where he remained for three years as manager
of their tin mines. Then, after living in Pinang
for a year, he joined a syndicate, on whose
behalf he visited Rasa, Selangor, purchased
land, and began tin mining. About one
thousand coolies were employed, and good
profits were made before the mine was
exhausted. Subsequently Mr. Cheah Eng Wah
purchased more land in Ulu Yam, and opened
another mine. Four hundred coolies are
employed here, and 220 piculs of tin ore are
produced per month. In partnership with
Mr. J. A. Russell he opened a second mine at
Kuala Kubu, where 250 coolies are engaged.
Mr. Cheah ling Wah manages these mines him-
self. He has, also, other interests — house
property, land tribute, and smaller concens —
and, it may be said, he has attained his present
position by sheer h:ird work. He is a member
of the Merchants' Clubs of Pinang and Kuala
Lumpor. He is married and has one daughter.
Mr. Choo Hu Seong. — A prominent mem-
ber of ihe mining community in the Federated
Malay States is Mr, Choo Hu Seong, of Kuala
Lumpor, The son of Mr, Choo Geok Han,
merchant, of Amoy, he was born in 1863
and educated in that Chinese port. When
seventeen years of age he emigrated to Perak,
and for thirteen years he prospected and mined
on his own account on a small scale. Removing
to Kuala Lumpor in 1893, he established a
business, of which he is still the manager,
under the style of Chop Seng Eng Guan,
buying and selling tin ore. In company with
others he has started mining on a large scale
under the, name of the Eng Ann Mining
Kongsee, of which he is manager. The
kongsee employ three hundred coolies on their
mining property, which is worked by most
modern machmery. Mr, Choo Hu Seong is
married to a daughter of Mr. Taoh Kim
Leong, and has one son and three daughters.
He is a member of the Merchants' Clubs of
Pinang and Selangor.
Mr. Choo Cheeng Khay. — An instance of
the success achieved by intellectual Chinese
endowed with modern ideas is afforded by
Mr. Choo Cheeng Khay, of 17 and 18, Church
Street, Kuala Lumpor. His father, Mr. Choo
Hoon Slew, was a well-known merchant
trading between Pinang, Kedah, and Achin.
Mr. Choo Cheeng Khay left Pinang, his native
place, for Kuala Lumpor nineteen years ago, at
the age of twenty. He commenced business
in partnership with an old schoolfellow, who
furnished most of the money. After a few
years the partnership was dissolved, and Mr.
Choo Cheeng Khay entered the service of
J. J. TAIT.
I & 3. Views on Tix Mine near Taniox'g Malim.
2. J. J. TAIT.
1. ijjjU yam tin mine.
2. CHEAH BNG WAH.
3. KUALA KUBU MINE.
. z
" S
S S
^ 2
2i
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TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
649
Towkay Loke Yew as manager of the attap
farm, which Mr. Loke Yew held from the
Government. Recognised as a sound business
man, when the attap farm was discontinued by
the Government he was retained by Mr. Loke
Yew as assistant manager of his business at
Tong Hing Loong. Meanwhile he had ac-
to go on a tour in China, Japan, and Manchuria,
with the object of making investigations as to
the possibility of opening up mines in those
territories. A staunch supporter of the Anti-
Opium Movement, he was the founder of the
Selangor Anti-Opium Society. One of our
illustrations depicts Mr. Choh Cheeng Khav
of a group of mining properties located in the
vicinity of Seremban, and, although at the
present time Negri Sambilan is less favoured
in respect to mining than the other States, the
mines under Mr. Tedlie's control promise
well, and are to be fully developed. The group
comprises the properties of the Sipiau Tin Min-
THE STRAITS TRADING COMPANY, NEGRI SAMBILAN BRANCH.
(See p. 553.)
quired lime-kilns at Kuala Lumpor, which
proving successful enabled him to embark
upon a mining venture at Kajang. He found
tin in large quantities and worked the mine for
two years. Mr. Choo Cheeng Khay purchased
more mining land at Sungei Besi, and opened
the mines now known as the Old Blondin
mines. This property received its name from
the fact that Mr. Choo Cheeng Khay was
among the first miners in the Malay States to
introduce machinery for working a mine, and
the first to test the Blondin apparatus. A
company was formed with a capital of 40,000
dollars to carry on operations, but the capital
proving too small the shareholders, despite
Mr. Choo Cheeng Khay's assurances, refused
to increase it, and Mr. Choo Cheeng Khay
thereupon again took over the whole property
and worked it at his own expense. Acquiring
another mine at Sungei Krayong, he removed
his Blondin apparatus to it, and worked the old
mine very successfully by the open-cast system.
The new mine, known as the New Blondin
Mine, was offered to the shareholders in the old
company, but they refused it. Mr. Choo Cheeng
Khay is the owner of considerable property
and of many portable engines, which are
rented from him. In 1907 he was unanimously
elected a member and secretary of the Selangor
Chinese Chamber of Commerce, but shortly
after his election he resigned his seat in order
distributing anti-opium medicine in Kuala
Lumpor for the first time, whilst another shows
the house, No. 8, Wild's Hill Road, the free use
of which he gave to the Anti-Opium Society.
He takes a great interest in all public affairs.
He was one of the prime movers in the educa-
tional question, and assisted in founding local
establishments for the education of poor boys,
irrespective of nationality. Mr. Choo Cheeng
Khay lias given liberally to charities.
Mr. Chang On Slew. — Associated with
the tin-mining industry of the State of Perak is
Mr. Chang On Slew, who is one of the best-
known Chinese towkays in the town of Lahat.
He is the son of Chang Kwei Long, who came
to the Federated Malay States from China some
fifty years ago. Chang On Slew came to Ipoh
in the early eighties, and has since been
engaged in tin mining in the Perak territory.
He now owns and works mines at Kacha,
where upwards of four hundred men are
employed ; possesses a rubber estate of about
3,000 acres in Kota Bahru, partly bearing ; and
has owned many mining properties that have
been acquired by limited liability companies.
The eldest son, Mr. Chang Mook Yen, assists
in the management of his father's affairs. The
second son, Mr. Chang Tek Yan, is in business
in China, and the third son, Chang Sen Yen, is
at school studying Chinese and English.
Mr. T. H. Tedlie is the general manager
ing Company, Ltd., the Temiang Syndicate, Ltd.,
and the SetuI Hydraulic Tin Mining Company,
situated respectively 4, 3, and 13 miles from
Seremban. These properties were found and
prospected by Mr. Tedlie, and floated on reports
by expert mining engineers selected by the
subscribers. Tlie Sipiau Company has paid
steady dividends since its inception, and is
about to instal a power plant to increase the
sluicing capacity and develop a lode lately
discovered. The Temiang Company has
ordered a 3io-h,p. gas suction plant for pump-
in.g to the monitors. On the property of the
Setul Company all construction works have
been completed over a length of 10 miles, and
sluicing is being carried on with a 3-inch
nozzle monitor working under a pressure of
125 lbs. per square inch.
Seremban Miners' Association.— Some
years ago the Chinese miners of Negri Sam-
bilan decided to form an Association for the
protection of their interests. The Government
presented them with a site one acre in extent,
in the heart of Seremban, and in 1904 the
Association Rooms were formally opened by the
British Resident in the presence of the leading
members of the community. As will be seen
from a photograph reproduced on p. 553, the
premises are spacious and are handsomely
furnished in European style. Surrounding the
rooms is a garden, tastefully laid out. The
Chang On Siew ix his Motor Car.
The Estate Bungalow.
CHANG ON SIEW.
Rubber Estate at Kota Bahru.
Residence at Lahat. Mixk at Lahat.
(See p. 549.)
I
1. BASA TIN MINE,
2 & 4, THE RESIDENCE.
3. LOW BOON KIM,
TIN MINE NEAR KUALA PILAH.
TOWKAY TDNG YBN.
WONG WEB YENG'S HOUSE, SINGAPORE STREET, SERBMBAN, AND BUNGALOW AT KUALA PILAH,
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF ERITISH xMALAVA
553
founder and first president of the Association
was the late iVIr. Chu Chak Sang, general
manager of the Kong Sang firm of Seremban,
and at that time Chinese representative on the
paratively small supplies obtainable. These
out-stations include Jelebu, Kuala Pilah, Tam-
pin, and part of Pahang. The tin ore is sent
by rail to Port Dickson, whence it is shipped
NEGRI SAMBILAN MINERS' ASSOCIATION.
(See p. 549.)
State Council. To this gentleman was due
much of the initial success which attended this
movement. He died in 1907, and a new
president has not yet been appointed. Mr.
Wong Wee Yeng is vice-president and owner
of chop On Tai, Mr. Wong Yick Tong hon.
secretary, and Mr. Chu Chee Seow hon.
treasurer. The committee are Messrs. Tam
Yong, M.C., Chu Wei Nam, Lim Sam, Tang
Yen Kong, Tan Swee, Choi Yip Sam, and
Chan Chin Ek. As well as providing a
meeting-place for the miners of the State,
the Association is able to place four well-
furnished apartments at the disposal of visitors
from other places.
THE STRAITS TRADING COMPANY, LTD.
Though not so large as the establishments
in Perak and Selangor, owing to the mining in
the State being on a smaller scale, the Negri
Sambilan branch of the Straits Trading Com-
pany, Ltd., is an important ramification of the
company's business, and it is interesting as
being the initial venture of the company in
the native States. Mr. H. Muhlinghaus opened
the branch in iStiy. The purchases of tin ore,
which in the first twelve months totalled
only 3,000 piculs," have now reached 50,000
piculs yearly. The headquarters are at Serem-
ban, where the company have a large and
commodious' godowh and offices in Paul
Street. The business at the out-stations, which
extend to 30 miles roiind Seremban, is
worked through Chinese, owing to the com-
to the company's smelting works in Singa-
pore. The branch is in the charge of Mr. E.
Cameron, who has had an experience in the
Straits Settlements and Federated Malay
States of twenty-three years, fifteen of which
have been passed in the service of the Straits
Trading Company. He is assisted by one
European and a large native staff, and has
occupied his present post for the last eight
years.
Chop On Woh. — The widespread opera-
tions of the well-known Federated Malay States
millionaire, Loke Yew, ai'e outlined on another
page of this volume. In the little town of
Kuala Pilah the Towkay carries on a large
business as a tin miner. His most valuable
mine in this neighbourhood is at Beting, where
1,600 men are employed. He has also mines
at Parit Tinggi and Jemapoh, and the total out-
put from the three properties is 800' piculs a
month. Mr. Tung Yen, the manager, is a
Cantonese gentleman of advanced ideas. He
is a generous supporter of all local charities,
and is at present starting an English school for
boys of all nationalities at Kuala Pilah. He
represents the local Chinese community on the
Kuala Pilah Sanitary Board.
Mr. Wong Wee Yeng, who trades under
the chop of On Tai, at 33," Paul Street,
Seremban, Negri Sambilan, is a native of
Canton. After spending five years in Pinang
he moved to Seremban, which, though still
in its infancy, was then becoming well known
to miners. . He immediately engaged in tin-
mining, and at the present time has five mines
under his control, one each in Seremban, Jelebu,
Kuala Pilah, Pahang, and Malacca. The first
three are old properties, and have yielded large
outputs for the past ten years. About two
thousand coolies are employed by Mr. Wong,
who personally supervises the whole of the
mining, making periodical visits to the different
localities. He is held in high esteem by the
miners of the State, who, some years ago,
elected him vice-president of the Seremban
Miners' Association. At one time Mr. Wong
tried coffee planting, but, like many other
planters, lost money owing to the decrease in
the value of that product. Mr. Wong resides
with his wife and five children in Singapore
Street. His brother, Mr. Wong Lam Yen, of
Kampar, is also a well-known miner.
Chop On Woh. — This establishment is a
branch of the many businesses of Towkay
Loke Yew, who has just extended his operations
to Muar, Johore, and is at present engaged in
opening up a mining property 5j miles from
the town. On the works 200 coolies are
employed, and good results are anticipated.
The manager of the company is .Air. Tung
Chee, a Cantonese, and a nephew of Towkay
TUNG CHEE.
Tung Yin, of Kuala Pilah, who is in partner-
ship with Towkay Loke Yew. Mr. Tung Chee
has been in the Federated Malay States for
eight years, and has had a good deal of mining
experience.
2 A.
FISHERIES
O seas in the universe
contain more edible
fish than the seas of
the Malay Archipelago.
The best quality is
found in the compara-
tively shallow waters
bordering the granitic
and sedimentary form-
ations of the peninsula's shores. The principal
edible varieties are bawal, blanah, chencharu,
gelama, kurau, parang-parang, siakap, tenggiri,
yu-laras, yu-parang, slangin, slangat, kidera,
jenahak, gurot-gurot, pari and plata. Prawns,
crabs, and shrimps are also procurable. All
along the Pahang coast sea-turtles abound,
and their eggs, which are found in large
numbers buried in the sand, are much prized
as a food by the natives and are regarded as
rare delicacies in the European settlements.
The Malays are expert fishermen ; they
catch their fish by a variety of devices — by
hook and line, by many kinds of nets, by weirs
and traps, by spearing, and by poisoning the
streams with naixotic juices, of which the
best-known and most generally used is the
juice of the tuba-root. But the Malays are
excelled, even in their own waters, by the
Chinese, who make up for less skill by un-
tiring application. The fishmongers are almost
invariably Chinese.
As the fishing-boats return from the fishing
grounds in the morning, beach sales are
conducted in very much the same way as in
our big fish markets at home. Owing to the
climate, it is impossible to send much fresh
fish to the inhabitants of inland districts, but
dried fish is supplied in large quantities, and
forms a staple article of food for all classes of
natives. The very small fish, together with
the fluid in which the larger kinds have been
cured, are sold as manure to the spice and
coconut planters.
The fishermen on the Malayan coasts do not
often venture far out to sea, but, as a rule,
pursue their calling in inshore waters with
small craft, the most common of these being
the koleh, which carries a crew of three men.
During rough weather, however, this is
abandoned in favour of the jalak, a large
seaworthy boat measuring about 30 feet in
length by 10 feet in beam.
The chief kinds of nets used are the pukat
chang, pukat dalam, pukat tangkul, and pukat
tangkok. Of these, the first-named is the most
expensive, costing about 250 dollars. There
appears to be no reason why trawl-nets should
not be successfully and profitably employed on
many parts of the coast, for although there is
no " close " season, the supply of fish at present
falls far short of the local demand, and a ready
sale is always assured. This is more particu-
larly the case between December and March,
when the north-east monsoon prevails and
renders fishing on the east coast a very
hazardous occupation. At Kuala Pahang a
large net, called by the natives the " ampang,"
is freely employed. Oblong or square in shape,
it is stretched out flat on the mud at low ebb,
the ends being pegged down and the whole
covered with sand or coral to conceal it.
Stakes are driven into the mud at intervals of
30 feet and attached to the net, the outer edges
of which are tied to the stakes with cords.
At high-water the cords are pulled to raise up
the outside skirts of the net, which is after-
wards emptied of its contents at low-water.
The kelong besar, or large fishing stake-trap,
is a permanent structure very generally used
by the Malaj's. In design, the kelong besar
resembles the salmon-nets to be seen on
British coasts. It consists of four compart-
ments, and is usually constructed of stakes
and rattans. Each compartment is shaped
like the head of an arrow, the last being
narrowest, and when once the fish get into
this, they are unable to get out again.
In Singapore waters nearly 200 fishing-boats
and 249 fishing-stakes are registered, and it
is computed that about 20,000 tons of fish,
worth nearly 2,500,000 dollars, are taken
annually. The trade in salt fish is extensive.
In Pinang Island, the approximate quantity of
fresh fish sold in the town markets and
surrounding villages is 10,000 tons, and of salt
fish 8,000 tons, valued together at about
1,800,000 dollars.
The principal fisheries in the State of Perak
are at Matang, a sub-district of Larut. From
the last report issued by Mr. H. C. Robinson,
Inspector of Fisheries in the F"ederated Malay
States, it appears that in Perak waters, during
1906, some 1,500 fishermen were actively
engaged, and from their licences 6,477 dollars
was derived, equivalent to an annual taxation
of about 5.75 dollars per head.
In the State of Selangor about 1,300 fisher-
men were engaged in the industry, and the
revenue was 7,934 dollars, taxation thus
amounting to about 6 dollars per head. In the
Kuala Selangor district of this State the larger
fishing-stakes are mainly worked by Malays,
but the fishing industry, nevertheless, is chiefly
in the hands of Chinese. Over 1,200 licences
for nets of the jaring type were issued during
the twelve months. Including 215 dollars for
554
boat licences, the revenue amounted to 4,614
dollars. The number of fishermen was about
600, and the rate of taxation averaged about
7.50 dollars per head — a higher rate than in any
of the other coastal regions of Selangor. The
exports of fish were valued at 23,500 dollars.
In the Klang district there were 400 fishermen,
90 per cent, of whom were Chinese. Here
the most important branch of the work is the
drift-net style of fishing, the fish being sent in
ice to Port Swettenham and thence to Klang
and Kuala Lumpor. In the Kuala Langat
district of Selangor, 490 fishing boats were
licensed, and the fishermen numbered about
250. Exports of fish from the port slightly
exceeded 1,000 dollars in value, while imports
of the same food-stuff were valued at 2,220
dollars, and consisted of salt-fish and dried
prawns from Bernam for the coolies on the
gambler and pepper plantations at Sepang.
On the coast of the Negri Sambilan the
fishing industry is small, and much of the fish
is caught by hook and line for domestic
requirements. There are about 200 fishing-
boats sailing out of this station.
The principal fishing centres in Pahang are
at Rompin, Kuala Pahang, Penoh, Berserah
and Gebing. The most important of these is
Berserah, in the Kuantan district. The exporta-
tion of fish from the coast of Pahang in igo6
represented in value roughly 60,000 dollars, to
which no less than 58,470 dollars was contri-
buted by the Kuantan district.
In Pahang all Malays have a common right
to fish in the rivers, and each owner of a
swamp or pond has the exclusive right to the
fishing on his property. Xo restrictions in the
shape of taxes are imposed on river fisheries
in Pahang, for the reason that the fish caught
are intended purely for local consumption by
the peasants themselves, and only in a few
instances are they put on the market for sale.
As many as 43 varieties of fish are to be
obtained from the rivers, but some of them are
not wholesome to eat. Several other kinds
also are found in swamps and ponds, these
being mostly caught for food by the peasants.
In the inland villages most of the river-fishing
is done by women.
A practice that used to be common in Pahang
was that of poisoning streams with powerful
narcotics, which had the effect of stupefying
the fish and bringing them to the surface, where
they were speared and captured in great quan-
tities by the natives. The use of the tuba-root
for this purpose is now prohibited by law, but
it is still occasionally employed in the more
remote river reaches. On State festivals, when
courtesies are exchanged between the native
Rajas, or when the visit of the High Com-
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
555
raissioiier or some other eminent dignitary is
to be celebrated, tuba fish-drives are organised
on a large scale, and form an interesting and
picturesque spectacle.
Of late years, dynamite was introduced into
the country as a fish-killer, but its use is now
forbidden. A single dynamite cartridge was
sufficient to kill or stupefy all the fish in a pool
or a considerable stretch of river, and the
Malays welcomed this easy method of securing
" a catch ; " but, unfortunately, some who were
inexperienced in handling the dangerous ex-
plosive were " hoist with their own petard."
The only diving fishery in the States is one
conducted on a small scale off the island of
Tioman and the neighbouring islets by Orang
Bersuku or Sakai Laut, natives of the Aor and
Tinggi Islands, who are capable of diving to a
considerable depth and of remaining a remark-
ably long time under water without artiScial
aid. These divers obtain beche-de-mer and a
shell known as gewang, from which common
pearl buttons and ornaments are made. They
are a timid and inoffensive people, and are now
so far under control that they take out annual
licences for boats. During the prevalence of
the north-east monsoon, between December
and March, when fishing is impossible, they
return to their homes on the Aor and Tinggi
Islands. In the calm season they live almost
entirely on the water, and may frequently be
met with in the small bays and inlets of Tio-
man, Sri Buat, and other adjacent islands. It
is believed that these divers occasionally bring
up pearl oysters, and it is not considered im-
probable that there may be pearl-beds around
the islands belonging to fhe State of Pahang.
In every fishing community the fishermen
elect a headman, whom they obey, and upon
whom they depend in all matters concerning
their welfare. Cases are on record of v^'hole
villages moving from one place to another
simply from a desire to follow their headman.
Though great quantities of fish are procured
annually from the fisheries, prices have risen
enormously within recent years, and are more
than double what they were some ten years
ago. The fishing population is increasing, and
the industry promises to become very lucrative
indeed in the near future. The sea fisheries
all round the Federated Malay States coasts
bring in a fair revenue to the Government.
The fishing-boats are licensed, and a small
charge is made for fishing-stakes off the shore
and for nets. There is in Pahang an export
duty of I2j cents per picul (133J lbs.) payable
on all fish sent out of the country. In Negri
Sambilan no export duty is levied and in Perak
and Selangor 10 per cent, ad valorem is
charged.
From an angler's point of view there is very
little sport to be had in the rivers of the
Federated Malay States. Most of the streams
are polluted by the detritus washed out of the
tin mines, and it is necessary to travel far to
get beyond the influence of this. Even then,
in the clear rivers near the hills, though an
occasional fish may be taken by persistent
spinning or live-baiting, there is no certainty
that any sport will be obtained, and a blank
day is the rule rather than the exception.
European fishing tackle rots very quickly in
this climate.
In conclusion, mention might be made of
the karin, a well known and pecriliar little
fish native to these waters. The Malays rear
these tiny fish and match them to fight against
one another for sums of money ; and so pug-
nacious are they that the combat only ends
with the death of one of the two miniature
gladiators.
METEOROLOGY
THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.
HE climate of the Straits
Settlements is remark-
able for its equable
temperature and its
humidity. Lying in a
sheltered recess off the
southern coast of the
Malay Peninsula, in
latitude i° 17' X, and
longitude 103° 51' E., the island of Singapore is
so situated as to be free from the influences of
either cyclone or typhoon ; therefore the dif-
ference in the readings of the barometer and
the thermometer is not very appreciable. As
will be seen from the appended table of obser-
vations, the highest annual mean barometrical
pressure during the last 38 years was recorded
in 1905 as 29910 inches, while the lowest was
29-802 inches, in 1870. Under the caption
"Annual Mean Temperature of Air," it appears
that during the same period the highest maxi-
mum was reached in 1903, when 9i"5° F. was
registered, and the lowest minimum in 1884.
with 7i'8" F. In 1906 the rainfall was greater
than in any other year of the period under
review, excepting 1870, the respective figures
being Il8'38 inches in 1906 and I23'24 inches
in 1870. In, the year 1905 the rainfall was
83-40 inches. During the time covered by the
annexed table the lowest rainfalls were recorded
in 1877 and 1883, the figure for each of these
years being 58-37 inches. The number of rainy
days during the last ten years has been as
follows : In 1896, 166 ; in 1897, 182 ; in i8g8,
189 ; in 1899, 196 ; in 1900, 176 ; in 1901, 169 ;
in 1902, 150 ; in 1903, 183 ; in 1904, 176 ; in
1905, 157 — giving a mean annual return of 175
rainy days for the ten years.
The north-east monsoon generally com-
mences in November, but its direction is not
steadily maintained until December, and some-
times even later, so that during the last two
months of the year the winds, as a rule, blow
from varying directions, usually east, north, and
north-north-east. The north-east monsoon
ceases in March, and is followed by an interval
of a few weeks in which the winds are again
shifty and uncertain in direction. The south-west
monsoon begins usually in April, and some-
times even as late as May. During the pre-
valence of this monsoon, Singapore is often
visited by severe squalls of brief duration,
chiefly in the early morning, known by the
name of " Sumatras." It is also at this time of
the year that the so-called " Java wind " blows
— hot, moist, and unhealthy. The average
velocity of the wind is greatest at this season,
there being comparatively few calms.
From the following list the principal meteoro-
logical records for the last 38 years for Singa-
pore will be seen at a glance.
1906 was I02-2I inches. The wettest month
was November, when there was a rainfall of
13-74 inches ; and the driest month was
IVIarch, during which only 1-68 inches of rain
fell. The heaviest fall of rain to occur in 24
hours was in April, when 5-70 inches fell.
Abstract of Meteorological Observations taken at Singapore.
Annual Mean
Annual Mean Temperature of
Annual Mean Temperature of
Barometrical
Pressure
Reduced to
Air.
Radiation.
Total Mean
Rainfall.
32° F.
Maximum.
Minimum.
In the Sun.
On Grass.
Inches.
1869
29-846
86-6
74-6
149-2
70-7
90-63
1870
29-802
85-9
73-5
149-1
70-9
123-24
I87I
29-836
85-9 73-2
147-5
71-3
109-45
1872
29-824
86-5 ! 73-4
144-0
71-0
75-30
1873
29-829
86-6 74-0
145-3
71-9
85-60
1874
29-879
86-3 727
150-6
70-2
87-05
1875
29-884
86-0 ! 72-5
147-0
70-1
93-96
1876
29-885
86-6 1 73-3
148-8
70-2
89-91
1877
29-903
87-9 i 737
151-7
70-0
58-37
1878
29-864
87-4
74-9
148-4
72-5
103-16
1879
29-857
86-1
73-6
147-0
70-7
116-14
1880
29-863
87-1
73 -S
148-6
70-9
iii-o8
I88I
29-874
88-0 73-3
150-9
70-8
94-00
1882
29-863
87-6 1 72-9
149-6
69-7
88-i6
1883
29-878
86-6 72-2
146-9
69-3
58-37
1884
29-890
86-3
71-8
146-1
69-5
80-13
I88S
29-889
87-2
72-3
148-7
69-1
67-32
1886
29-869
87-0
72-5
147-0
71-0
95-19
1887
29-867
85-9
727
144-7
70-4
112-97
1888
29-892
87-7
73-2
147-7
71-2
65-56
1889
29-891
87-6
74-2
144-4
71-8
84-13
1890
29-887
86-1
72-9
145-5
70-3
117-78
I89I
29-878
87-2 I 73-2
147 -I
7I-I
88-48
1892
29-836
86-8 i 73-5
147-3
70-6
99-70
1893
29-830
86-8 i 72-3
145-2
68-1
1x1-41
1894
29-837
86-7
73-3
148-5
70-8
81-24
1895
29-857
86-5
73-6
146-5
7I-I
98-14
1896
29-877
86-9
74-0
145-6
70-0
74-07
1897
29-890
87-2
74-9
145-2
6q-8
101-58
1898
29-876
86-8
74-1
142-3 1 71-2
io6-ig
1899
29-893
86-9
73-9
1-14-3 f 7I-I
108-60
1900
29-886
88-0
74-8
145-5 i 72-6
90-98
1901
29-890
87-3
73-4
139-2 71-4
83-56
1902
29-891
87-1
72-4
139-3
70-7
82-28
1903
29-826
■§^5
737
143-0
72-6
103 -95
1904
29-890
86-7
72-8
1397
70-5
101-54
1905
29-910
89-1
74-3
140-6
71-4
83-40
igo6
29-897
88-1
747
140-9
727
118-38
In Pinang, which is situated in lat. 5° 24' N.
and long. 100° 20' E., the total rainfall during
556
Over the whole year the barometrical readings,
corrected and reduced to 32° Fahrenheit, showed
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
557
a mean of 29'go8°. The mean air-temperature
was 80-3°, with a maximum of 88-9° and a
minimum of 74"4° ; the temperature of radiation
was 148-0'' in the sun and yrcP on grass ; the
prevailing direction of wind was north-west,
and its mean velocity 231-40 miles.
In Malacca (lat. 2° 14' N. and long. 102° 14' E.)
the rainfall was 80-57 inches ; barometrical
readings showed a mean of 29-834° ; the
mean temperature of air was 79'6°, with a
maximum of 89-2'' and a minimum of 70-7° ; the
temperature of radiation was ISI'3'' in the sun
and 62-3'' on grass. The mean velocity of wind
was 209 miles, and its prevailing direction
north-west.
In Province Wellesley (lat. 5° 21' N. and
long. 100° 28' E.) there was a mean rainfall of
88-79 inches. The mean temperature of air
was 8i-o°, with a maximum of 91 '9° and a
minimum of 74-0° ; and the temperature of
radiation was 143-3° in the sun and 72-9° on
grass. In the Dindings the rainfall amounted
to 90-34 inches.
FEDERATED MALAY
STATES.
The climate of the Federated Malay States
is very uniform, and can be described in
general terms as hot and moist. Except in dis-
tricts close to the mountain ranges, the annual
rainfall is about 90 inches. In towns, such as
Taiping, Tapah, and Selama, lying close to the
mountains, the rainfall is 50 per cent, more
than this. At Taiping the average of ten years'
rainfall has been 164 inches. There is no well-
marked dry season. Generally speaking, July
is the driest month, but there is seldom a fall
of less than 3J inches. The wettest season
is from October to December, and there
is another wet season of less marked duration
during March and April. Rain rarely falls
before 11 a.m., so that six hours of outdoor
work can be depended upon all the year
round.
In the low country the average maximum
temperature, occurring between noon and
3 p.m., is just under 90°, and the average mini-
mum, occurring just before sunrise, is just over
70°. The general mean temperature is about
80°. There is very little change in the mean
monthly temperature throughout the year, the
average of ten years' readings at Taiping
exhibiting a difference of only 3-2° between
the mean temperature of May, the hottest,
and of December, the coldest, month of the
year.
The variation of temperature with altitude
may be taken roughly as a decrease of 3° for
each 1,000 feet increase of height. Thus the
mean maximum and minimum at altitudes of
7,000 feet may be taken as about 70° and 50°
respectively. This rule, however, applies more
closely to the minimum temperature, because
on a bright still day considerable temperatures
Mean Readings of Thermometer.
Place.
Period.
Max. ".
Min. '.
Perak.
Taiping
1 896-1905
89-22
73-59
Kuala Kangsa ...
89-22
72-81
Batu Gajah
89-63
73-16
Gopeng
89-28
69-27
Ipoh
89-46
73-09
Teluk Anson
88-70
71-85
Tapah
89-00
71-31
Parit Buntar
88-83
73-42
Kampar
1898-1904
88-92
7IOI
Selangor.
Ulu Selangor ...
I90I-I905
910
71-5
Kuala Selangor ...
86-7
75-4
Ulu Langat
J,
88-3
74-1
Kuala Langat ...
86-2
72-2
Kuala Lumpor . . .
I 896-1 905
90-0
7I-I
Klang
igoI-1905
86-2
73-6
Negri Sambilan.
Seremban
1897-1905
89-1
68-7
Pahang.
Kuala Lipis
I90I-I905
94-0
69-S
may be reached even at high altitudes. On
Gunong Ulu Liang, at a height of 6,335 feet,
93° were registered.
The subjoined tables give the average rainfall
and the readings of the thermometer, so far as
they are ascertainable, in each of the four
States for several years.
Average Rainfall.
Place.
Period.
Mean Totals.
Perak.
Taiping
1894-1903
163-53
Kuala Kangsa ...
,,
75-50
Batu Gajah
,,
98-25
Gopeng
,,
110-29
Ipoh
,,
101-28
Teluk Anson ...
,,
103-01
Tapah
,,
140-81
Parit Buntar ...
,,
84-98
Selama
..
132-75
Selangor.'
U.lu Selangor ...
,,
120-40
Kuala Selangor...
,,
76-76
Ulu Langat
„
89-31
Kuala Langat ...
))
81-04
Kuala Lumpor ...
V
102-02
Klang
n
89-53
Negri Sambilan.
Seremban
1896-I903
88-02
Jelebu
1896-I9OO
70-22
Kuala Pilah
,,
71-12
Tampin
I898-I9OO
81-81
Pahang. =
Kuala Lipis
I898-I903
97-19
Temerloh
I898-I902
77-19
Pekan
,,
97-83
Kuantan
>i
104-97
Raub
83-59
^ Above shows average for nine years, no record
for igoo being found.
=^ In each case above no records were found for
1900.
2A"
GEOLOGY OF THE FEDERATED MALAY STATES
By M. J. B. SCRIVENOR,
Government Geologist, Federated Malay States.
GEOLOGICAL survey
of the mining districts
of the Federated Malay
States was commenced
by the writer towards
the close of 1903.
As he was without any
colleagues in this work,
it will readily be under-
stood that ideas concerning the general struc-
ture of so large and so densely wooded a
country must as yet be somewhat vague, and
therefore it is necessary to remark at the out-
set that the arrangement adopted of the rocks
forming this portion of the Malay Peninsula is
provisional, and may be modified in the future
as further facts are brought to light. It is
significant, however, that the palfflontological
evidence already collected points to a close
relationship between the Federated Malay
States and the Netherlands Indies on the one
hand, and with India on the other. It is hoped
that in time it will be possible to produce a
map that will join the work of the Dutch
geologists to that of the Indian Geological
Survey. But the writer's immediate aim is the
Economic Geology of the Federated Malay
States, and a large proportion of his three
years' service has been expended in study-
ing the gold-mining districts. Unfortunately
this industry has given very poor returns,
contrary to the expectations of some, whose
hopes were founded, I fear wrongly, on the
evidence of work carried out by Malays.
But for two points the gold mines have not
afforded anything of great geological interest.
These are the occurrence of scheelite with the
gold on the Raub Australian Gold Mining Com-
pany's land and the existence of a gold-bear-
ing granophyre at Pasoh, in Negri Sambilan.
The physical features of the Federated Malay
States are strongly marked. The backbone of
the peninsula, separating Pahang from the
Western States, is a long range of granite
mountains. On the west subsidiary granite
ranges occur ; while on the east, in the centre
of Pahang, is the huge isolated Benom Range,
also composed of granite. To the north of the
Benom Range lies the Tahan Range, composed
almost entirely, as far as is known, of sand-
stone, shale, and conglomerate. Another
similar, but much smaller range, the Semang-
gol Range, separates Larut from Krian in
Perak ; and in Pahang again other conglome-
rate and sandstone outcrops form a long line
of foothills to the- main granite range. In
addition to these ranges there is a third type,
composed of limestone, remarkable for rugged
summits and precipitous sides. This type is
strongly developed in Kinta, the chief mining
district of Perak, but fine examples occur in
Selangor and Pahang as well.
The two largest rivers are the Perak river
and the Pahang river. In their upper reaches
most of the rivers are full of rapids, but once
they leave the hills they meander through
extensive alluvial flats, affording excellent land
for agriculture, and, in some cases, extensive
deposits of rich alluvial tin ore. Near the sea
are large tracts of mangrove swamp, from
which, on the west coast, rise islands of granite
and of schists. The mouth of the Pahang
river is remarkable for being shallow, sandy,
and almost devoid of mangrove.
Two extensive series of stratified rocks have
been distinguished with certainty. The older
series is composed of shale, calcareous shale,
marl, and limestone ; the younger of estuarine
rocks, shale, sandstone, and conglomerate. The
former, named provisionally the Raub Series,
ranges, probably, from the Carboniferous to
the Permian ; the latter, named provisionally
the Tembeling Series, probably from the Trias
to the Middle Jurassic. In tlie Malay Archi-
pelago the limestones of West Sumatra (Car-
boniferous) and of Timor and Rotti (Car-
boniferous and Permian) are roughly on the
same horizon as the Raub Series ; while the
Tembeling Series may be referred to the Trias,
Lias, and Dogger of West Borneo. Again, the
Raub and Tembeling Series may be respec-
tively referred to the Productus beds of the
Saed Range and the Upper Gondwana in India.
A further series of rocks, comprising chert
and carbonaceous shale, both with radiolaria,
and light-coloured siliceous shale, in which no
radiolaria have been found as yet, has been
named provisionally the Chert Series, and is, it
is believed at present, a deep water equivalent
of the Raub Series ; that is to say, the Chert
Series was deposited very slowly and in a
great depth of water far from land, while in
shallower water a greater thickness of calcare-^
ous rocks was being formed at a greater rate.
Associated with the Raub and Chert Series
are numerous beds of volcanic ash and lava,
comprising the Pahang Volcanic Series. The
eruptions were chiefly, if not entirely, sub-
marine, and the rocks vary considerably in
composition, ranging from basic andesites to
trachytes. In the conglomerate of the Tem-
beling Series pebbles both of chert and of
rocks of the Pahang Volcanic Series have been
found. This indicates an unconformity between
the Raub and Tembeling Series. At some
period after the deposition of the Tembeling
Series the crust of the earth in this region was
greatly disturbed, being thrown into folds, dis
located, and sheared. This resulted in long
lines of weakness, trending roughly NNW-
SSE, which admitted of the intrusion of masses
of granite, bringing with it the tin which is
now the chief source of wealth to the Fede-
558
rated Malay States. Later denudation de-
molished superincumbent rocks and carved
the granite and Raub, Tembeling, and Chert
Series into the present configuration of the
Malay States and Straits Settlements ; but at
some time previous to this small dykes of
dolerite were injected into the granite.
Until recent years the tin ore exported from
the Federated Malay States has been almost
entirely won from alluvium, soil, and soft
decomposed outcrops of stanniferous rocks.
The alluvial deposits, for the most part, are
of no great interest. It is true that many have
proved extraordinarily rich in tin ore, but apart
from ore contents there is little to claim atten-
tion here.
An alluvial tin-field of more than ordinary
interest is the Machi (or Manchis) tin-field in
Pahang. Here no granite is visible in any of
the mines or in the immediate vicinity. The
tin ore, there is good reason to suppose, has
been derived from small lodes in hardened
shale, one of which contains large quantities of
garnet. The ore in the alluvium varies in
grain greatly, and is singularly free from heavy
impurities, such as iron ores.
At Chin-Chin, in Malacca, is an excellent
example of tin ore in soil. Another occurs at
Serendah, in Selangor. In such cases the ore
is derived from small lodes in the country
under the soil, and is to a certain extent
distributed by soil-creep. At Bruseh, in Perak,
quartz reefs projecting into the soil have acted
as natural ripples against tin ore coming slowly
down a hill slope. At Tanjong Serai, in
Malacca, there is an interesting deposit on the
sea floor. It is the result of the action of the
sea on a soft stanniferous granitic rock. Pro-
specting has been carried on with a suction
dredge. At Sungei Siput, Kuala Dipang, in
Perak, remarkable cemented detrital deposits
have been found in " swallow-holes " in lime-
stone.
The exploitation of " lode " tin ore proposi-
tions is claiming more and more attention
from mining engineers. Although it cannot
be said that the development of these ventures
has yet attained great importance, there is
good reason to be sanguine for the future.
The most interesting " lode " deposits, from
a purely geological point of view, are those in
the crystalline limestone of Kinta. Little is
known of them as yet, but two " chimneys " of
ore are being worked at Ayer Dangsang and
Changkat Pari, while at Siak a Stockwerk in
limestone has been prospected. At Lahat a
remarkable pipe of ore, the nature of which is
not clearly understood, has been worked for
some years.
With alluvial tin ore, wolframite, scheelite,
corundum, and monazite are not uncommon.
Quantities of wolframite have been exported,
but no market has yet been found for the
corundum or Tnonazite.
SPORT
THE HUNTING OF BIG GAME.
By THEODORE R. HUBBACK,
Author of " Elephant and Seladang Hunting in the Federated Malay States."
ILTHOUGH during the
last ten years all the
better-known parts of
the Federated Malay
States have been opened
up to such an extent
that thehunter in search
of big game has now
to go much farther
afield than formerly, the increasing facilities
of transport probably equalise the greater
distances to be travelled, and places that, a
decade ago, required several days to reach can
now, with the help of rail and motor-car, be
considered well within a day's journey. To
enumerate all the places in the Federated
Malay States where big game can still be
found would scarcely come within the province
of this article ; let it suffice to say that the State
of Pahang at the present time offers the best
sport.
The big game to be found in the Malay
Peninsula consist of the Indian elephant
(Elcphas ma viiniis) ; two species of wild cattle
embracing a local race of Gaur (Bos gaiirus
Imbbacki), generally known as the seladang ; a
local race of Bantin (Bos sondaicus butleri),
which appears to be very scarce and does not
probably exist south of the Bernam river on the
west coast or south of the Pahang river on
the east coast ; two species of rhinoceros — the
Java rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus), which
Has only one horn, and the Sumatran rhinoce-
ros (Rhinoceros snmatrensis), which has two
horns and is the common rhinoceros of the
Malay Peninsula ; the Malay tapir (Tapirus
indicus) ; the tiger (Fclis tigris} ; and the
leopard (Felis pardus), commonly known as
the panther.
Practically all big-game hunters in this
country confine themselves to the pursuit of
the elephant and the seladang. Rhinoceroses
are occasionally obtained ; most of those shot
by Europeans have been in Perak ; and tigers
also afford a certain amount of sport, but the
common method of shooting them — waiting in
a tree or on a built platform over a beast that
has been previously killed — while exciting
enough, scarcely comes within the category of
hunting. Panther-shooting also comes under
this head, these beasts being sometimes
obtained after committing severe depredations
on one's fowl-house.
The tapir is, I think, hardly ever hunted ; it
carries no trophies and, as far as I know, its
meat is not used for food except by Sakais, the
aborigines of the peninsula, who will eat
anything. Although tapirs do not appear to be
sought in their native haunts, that they can
afford excellent sport is shown by an article on
the subject in Mr. George Maxwell's charming
book " in Malay Forests," and as it is a very
common beast in many parts of the Malay
States where the nobler game is not to be
found, it may well repay the attention of
sportsmen.
To undertake a hunting trip in the Federated
Malay States the sportsman would expect to
bag specimens of elephant and seladang,
possibly a rhinoceros, and, with great luck,
a tiger, so the equipment for his irip would
have to be laid out on such lines. Considering
the required battery first, as being the most
important part of the outfit, it must be borne in
mind that all hunting of elephant, seladang,
and rhinoceros is conducted on foot, and as
90 per cent, of the shots at these beasts will be
taken within a range of 25 yards — frequently
very much less than this — it is obvious that the
hunter requires to be armed with a weapon so
powerful that, even shooting through the thick
bush, it is possible to inflict a wound so severe
that the animal's entire attention will be
occupied with its hurt and, for a few moments
at least, diverted from the hunter. In recent
years the cordite rifle has been brought to such
a state of perfection that the heavy bore black
powder rifles are now out of date, and
although the old 8-bore rifle, firing 10 drams
of powder and a 2-oz. spherical bullet, was a
inost useful weapon at close quarters, it cannot
be compared for handiness with a cordite rifle
of '450 or '500 bore. Personally, I prefer a
•500 as being the most useful class of gun now
on the market for large game in the Malay
States, but many experienced hunters state
that the -450 cordite is powerful enough for
anything, and quite equal in stopping-power to
an 8-bore. A double-barrelled rifle is a neces-
sity ; it may be essential to use both barrels in
a remarkably short space of time when you are
within a few feet of a wounded elephant or
seladang in jungle so thick that your clear
vision is limited to a radius of five or six yards.
A magazine rifle requires a mechanical move-
ment to bring another cartridge into action.
a double-barrelled rifle merely the movement
of a finger the fraction of an inch.
All cordite cartridges should be put up in
sealed tins containing ten cartridges each.
Few cartridges are used even on a long trip.
The opportunities for shooting are never
numerous, and cartridges that have been lying
about for some time, exposed to the influences
of the atmosphere, should be avoided. On a
two or three months' trip, when communica-
tion with civilisation is almost impossible, the
hunter should take with him at least two rifles
and a shot gun, which would be useful to
secure any small feathered game that might
come his way. A pair of cordite rifles, or
a cordite rifle and an 8-bore black powder rifle,
would make a good battery for the heaviest
game, but the battery taken is largely
influenced by the pocket of the hunter, and the
above should merely be taken as the minimum
battery required. I do not think that the
ordinary express rifles firing black powder ar£
heavy enough for hunting dangerous game in
the Malayan jungles.
Going into the heart of the peninsula in
search of game, it becomes necessary for the
hunter to take with him from one of the chief
towns sufficient stores to carry him through
the entire trip, also a camp bed, two or three
waterproof sheets, and a small stock of useful
medicines, as well as a liberal supply of jungle
clothes and boots. Khaki is not a suitable
colour to hunt in ; a dark green cloth must be
procured, and for a two months' trip at least
six suits should be taken. It is most important
to put up all one's stores in suitable cases, so
that no single case will exceed a cooHe load.
The 6o-lb. load of Africa is more than a coolie
load in this country ; a limit of 40 lbs. should
not be exceeded if one wishes to keep one's
porters together. Directly the hunter leaves a
main road, or, if he be using a river as his
highway, his boat, all his goods have to be
carried over indifferent or bad jungle paths,
and frequently over no track at all, except that
made by the beast he may be pursuing. A
coolie carrying 40 lbs. on his back in such
circumstances is, after all, well loaded, and
generally earns his day's wages. Keeping in
mind that the sportsman is entirely dependent
on the natives, Malays or Sakais, for trackers
and carriers, it is necessary to consider as
much as possible the feelings of the coolie,
who will not be very anxious to go at all, and
certainly will not remain with you if asked to
560
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
carry too much or walk too far for his day's
pay. Native trackers can generally be picked
up who will be able to track to a certain
extent, and who may try to find game for the
sportsman ; really good trackers are scarce,
and are not obtainable without the assistance
of some one well acquainted with the country
and the ways of the native.
The cream of hunting in the Malay States is
undoubtedly the pursuit of the seladang. The
largest of the ox tribe now existent in the
world, its grand proportions and the noble
trophy which its head produces make it an
especially fascinating beast to try to obtain.
Add to this the extreme difficulty of approach-
ing it in thick jungle, where it is generally
found, and its great cunning when once
alarmed, and it becomes a prize to be striven
after with all a hunter's energy and resource.
Occasionally seladang are found feeding in
open clearings, but only in the very early
morning or late in the evening. They are
then sometimes killed comparatively easily, but
this method of getting them is the exception
rather than the rule, and most of the hunter's
trophies will be obtained after many hours,
even after many days, of hard tramping and
careful stalking through the densest of jungles.
A seladang is often represented as being
a very dangerous beast to hunt, a favourite
expression of the uninitiated in the art of hunt-
ing but well initiated in the art of talking being
that a seladang charges at sight. This is quite
a mistaken idea. If seladang were so inclined,
it would be impossible to hunt them for long
without coming to grief, and they would
certainly be left alone even by the hardiest of
sportsmen. All wild animals hate the smell of
man ; to see him is bad enough, but to smell
him is worse, and the seladang is no exception.
In addition to a keen scent he has a very sharp
pair of eyes, and his hearing is more than
ordinarily acute, so it may easily be imagined
that it is a difficult matter to approach seladang
in thick jungle.
But a seladang, like most other animals in
this respect too, if he only sees a human being
and does not scent him, will sometimes, not
always, hesitate a few seconds, staring hard at
the intruder before dashing off, thus possibly
giving the hunter a chance. If he winds one,
however, he never hesitates in any circum-
stances, never looks round, just disappears like
a flash, crashing through the densest jungle,
creepers and rattans giving way like so much
pack-thread before his mighty bulk. You
follow him up, you hope he may not have gone
far, you pretend to make yourself believe that
he was not alarmed very much ; he certainly did
not see you : how could he have done so ? — his
stern was towai'ds you ; surely you must get up
to him again in half an hour or so. Your tracker,
if he be experienced in the ways of seladang,
will smile and say nothing ; it is his lot to do
what his master wills. Six hours later, with an
empty water-bottle, footsore and weary, ten
miles from your camp, only a hazy idea of
your locality, you begin to speculate on the
seladang and his ways, and to wonder if the
game of hunting such an extremely timid
beast is really worth the candle. Of course,
you never see him again ; but remember next
time to do your best to keep to leeward of
him ; do not give him a chance of smelling
you, because the smell of you is a very horrid
thing to a seladang.
But a wounded seladang is quite another
beast to tackle. Although many of them do
not show fight— probably because the wound
is so severe that they have no longer any heart
or strength to fight, yet are able to get a long
distance away — a large proportion of them do,
their pluck and vitality being astonishing. I
will cite two personal incidents to illustrate
what I mean. A seladang, whose head I possess
as a valued trophy, was killed by me about
three years ago in the Jerang Valley, in the
State of Negri Sambilan. I had wounded it
with a shot that went through one lung and
just nicked the other, and, after giving it half
an hour's grace, 1 followed the tracks, which
were fairly sprinkled with blood, until they
crossed the Jerang river, where the blood trail
stopped. I deduced from this that the beast
had drunk at the stream, and I expected that
the water would soon tell on his damaged
lungs. Sure enough, not a hundred yards
from the river bank — a steep hill rose almost
from the river — I caught a glimpse of the beast
far up the hill-side standing quite still with its
head hanging low, apparently in great distress.
I followed up the side of the hill, but the
farther I went the less I was able to see of the
seladang — the undergrowth was very thick —
and when I did get another shot at it the result
was not very satisfactory, the beast, with a
heavy lurch to one side, disappearing alto-
gether, and I could hear it crashing up the hill.
The bullet I found afterwards had taken it much
too far back. The beast stopped quite close to
the top of the hill, for we soon saw the daj'light
through the trees which indicated the top, and
presently a loud snort and rush told us of his
whereabouts. I thought he was coming down
on the top of us, and expected to see his huge
form at any moment, but the snort was evi-
dently one of alarm rather than rage', and
nothing happened. Being now in close prox-
imity to a wounded seladang, and feeling sure
that he would not go far without stopping
again, I followed him with the greatest caution,
but when we reached the top of the hill we
could neither see nor hear him. His tracks
led along the ridge of a steep spur, and when
.going along this ridge I saw him about fifteen
yards below me walking in the opposite direc-
tion to that in which we were going, having
doubled right back on his tracks. He seemed
to see me at the same moment that I saw him,
and, turning round, came straight up the hill
at me. Now, this hill- side was so steep that a
human being could not walk up it or down
it without holding on to the saplings to enable
him to keep his footing, yet this badly wounded
seladang actually tried to charge up such a
place. A bullet in the chest stopped him easily
enough, but subsequently I examined his tracks
and found that he had actually come up five
yards of the intervening fifteen in the space of
time that it took me to throw up my gun and
fire at his chest. It does not require a great
stretch of the imagination to speculate as to
what he could have done on the level even in
such a badly wounded state. On another
occasion I had a shot at a bull seladang just as
he rose from a morning siesta ; he was about
twenty j'ards from me in fairly thick jungle,
and almost broadside on. I hit him too high,
but broke his back. I immediately fired again
at the black mass that I could see in the under-
growth— he fell, of course to the first shot —
and then I moved away from my original
position to reload my rifle and to get a better
view of him. My rifle again ready, I was
unable to see the beast at all until an exclama-
tion from one of my men directed my attention
to a spot much closer to me than I had been
looking, and, behold, there was the seladang
within seven or eight yards of me, wriggling
his way through the undergrowth for all the
world like some huge prehistoric monster, with
his useless quarters trailing behind him ! The
spirit was willing, nay, anxious to fight, but
the flesh was weak. It is always so with
seladang. When dying they will face the
point of danger if their strength permits, and
if the hunter happens to be close to them, they
will certainly try to make some sort of demon-
stration. The largest authentic seladang head
€ver obtained in the Malay States was shot by
Mr. C. Da Prah, in the Jelai Valley, in the
State of Negri Sambilan. This head is a
world's record for outside span of horns. The
dimensions were : —
Widest outside span of horns, 46 inches ;
widest inside spnn of horns, 40 inches ; width
between tips of horns, 33 inches ; tip to tip of
horns across forehead, 78J inches ; circum-
ference of base of horns, 20J inches.
The horns of a good head of a full-grown
bull seladang will measure between 30 and
34 inches outside span of horns, and about
18 inches in circumference at the base ; but
there is a great number of types which vary
a good deal in the different localities where
seladang are found, and no general rule can
be laid down. An old bull seladang will stand
between 17 and 19 hands at the shoulder,
and will measure between 8 feet 6 inches and
9 feet 6 inches from nose to rump, measurements
taken between perpendiculars.
If seladang-hunting is to take the first place,
elephant-hunting certainly runs it very close,
and there is little to choose between them for
excitement. Elephant-hunting is probably a
little less difficult than seladang-hunting, a
seladang having the advantage over the ele-
phant in keener eyesight and keener hearing.
In fact, an elephant has wretched eyesight,
and it is not surprising that it does not hear
much, owing to the habit it has of continually
flapping its ears. Of course, if it is alarmed at
all it will keep its ears quite still for long
periods, during which I have no doubt that it
can hear well enough. An elephant seldom
makes any mistake though, when once it has
got the scent of the human animal, and, in the
case of an uninjured beast, it leads for parts
unknown immediately ; in fact, an elephant
can disappear in an instant in a way that no
one would credit who had not been through
the experience.
A wounded elephant will often wait just off
his track for the hunter, and probably, as soon
as he has got his wind, will charge home if
not stopped with a heavy ball. I do not think
that an elephant will attack without first getting
the position of his adversary from his scent.
Elephants when wounded sometimes behave
in a very extraordinary manner, an instance of
which I will give. I was returning from a
trip down the Triang river, in Pahang, and came
on the tracks of a big bull elephant on a sand-
spit early one morning. I left my boat and
followed up the tracks, which almost imme-
diately joined those of a herd of five or six
smaller beasts, who had been feeding about
the river bank all night. \\'e got up to them
in a quarter of an hour, and I was fortunately
able to locate the bull at once, but could not
see his head clearly enough to get a shot at it.
I manoeuvred for a minute or two but with
no success, and, becoming nervous lest the
elephant should wind me, I decided to try a
body shot He moved slightly forward and
exposed that part of his body which gave me
a good chance for his heart, at which I aimed.
He was about fifteen yards from me, but nothing
appeared to happen to him. The other ele-
phants stampeded, but he remained in exactly
the same place. The smoke from my 8-bore
clearing away, I gave him the second barrel,
which seemed to wake him up a bit, and
he moved forward a few steps and swung
round to the other side. He now commenced
to roar, but not very loudly, and, getting hold
of a single lo-bore rifle that I had with me,
I brought him down with a shot in the
shoulder. Almost immediately he got up
again and moved on a little bit. I reloaded
my 8-bore, but by this time he had moved
away about a dozen yards into a very thick
patch of thorn jungle, and I could no longer
see him, although I could hear him quite
plainly. I approached a few steps and, mak-
ing out his form through the tangled mass,
I fired both barrels one after another, as
quickly as 1 could, at the point of his shoulder.
■The result was very startling. He came flying
out of the thicket like a rocket, lurched round
in my direction, and charged straight at the
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPEESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
661
smoke. I was not there. He came over in
his stride two large dead trees which were
quite three feet from the ground, and fell dead
with a crash on the other side. Subsequent
examination showed that the first shot had hit
him right through the heart. I might have
saved my other cartridges had I known this,
but it is very easy to be wise after the event.
He was a big elephant, and carried a nice pair
of tusks.
Those who wish to hunt in the Malay
Peninsula must be prepared for a great deal
of hard work for a numerically small reward.
But to those whose keenness for sport is
greater than their desire for a colossal "bag,"
the sport provided in Malaya in the pursuit of
big game will, I feel sure, satisfy them. The
best authentic bag that I know of as ever
having been obtained by a white hunter in the
Federated Malay States on a single continuous
trip consisted of three elephants and three
seladang. These were obtained during nine
weeks of hard work by an experienced hunter,
assisted by first-class native trackers.
In a concluding word let me advise the
would-be hunter not to be discouraged if at
first his efforts are fruitless. The game is in
the country and can be obtained, and to those
who really strive hard, and in other walks of
life, the reward is often very great.
SNIPE AND CROCODILE
SHOOTING.
By W. D. Scott, District Officer, Raub.
On the west coast of the Federated Malay
States the seaboard is not very inviting at close
quarters, except to the sportsman. Miles of
swampland, dead level, stretch between the
limit of serai-civilised life and the sea, or river,
where the rice-fields join the mangrove or
nipah swamps, to the line of demarcation
between the snipe-grounds and the haunts of
the crocodile. Beyond doubt, the best snipe-
grotinds are to be found in the district of Krian,
in Perak, and in Province Wellesley, the main-
land opposite Pinang. Good sport may be
obtained inland in many places, but the
grounds are very restricted, and the popula-
tion is far more dense than in the coast
districts. The rice-fields and the low scrub
jungle in the vicinity are the feeding-ground
and! resting-place of the snipe.
Tjhe snipe is a migratory bird. He usually
arrives from the north about the beginning of
September, and is away again on his flight
northwards towards the end of February. It
is joyful news to the jungle wallah to hear that
the snipe are in ; it is news which brings with
it fresh energy to the listless and tired Euro-
pean, who gets up betimes in the morning in
the happy pursuit of the bird. The early
mornings in the East are fresh and cool, and
the sportsman starts on his day's shooting full
of vigour and enthusiasm. It is not for long
that he can keep dry-shod, for the narrow bands
of turf between each little padi-field require the
nerve and skill of a Blondin to negotiate them.
One tries to keep out of the water, but the
inevitable soon happens, and after that one
splashes about for the rest of the day. The
first feeling is akin to that produced by putting
on a wet bathing-suit ; but once really wet it
does not matter. And then "kik !" up gets a
snipe ; " bang !" down comes the first bird, and
one forgets all about being wet and muddy to
the knees. It is hard work getting through
the rice-fields when the padi is young, for the
ground has been dug up and ploughed, or
churned by buffaloes before the young plants
are placed out from the nursery. Frequently
between field and field a quaking morass has
to be crossed. It heaves up and down as one
walks over it, and then pop ! in goes one foot,
and the gunner sinks in sideways to the groin,
his other leg being in a position like one of the
three in the Manx coat-of-arms. " Kik ! " again,
but one is in an impossible position to fire. The
sun gets up and the snipe desert the padi-field
for the shade of the scrub ; it is now that the
best sport is obtained. The keen sportsman
will, if he have the time and opportunity, burn
off the scrub-jungle in the dry season just
before the rain sets in. Then he has firm
ground underfoot, fairly open ground to work
over, and the certainty of many a sporting shot
as the snipe top the brushwood. Once back
again in the road, there is a dimness of the
throat accentuated by the dampness of the
body ; a long drink, into the buggy with a
full snipe stick, and what could a man want
more !
With the rapid march of civilisation the
shooting does not improve. Twenty guns are
out now where there used to be only one. The
railway brings down week-end parties to spoil
our pet grounds, but we still have a place or
two known only to the select few. The sports-
man may seem selfish, but the keeping of good
things for an intimate friend is highly to be
commended.
Messrs. E. W. Birch, C.M.G. (Resident of
Perak), and F. J. Weld still hold the record bag
for the Federated Malay States, igoj couple
obtained on November 15, 1893, in the Krian
padi-fields. The year 1893 was a particularly
good one for snipe, and some big bags were
made by these two gentlemen and by Sir Frank
Swettenham, Mr. Conway Belfield, and the late
Mr. G. F. Bird. No fewer than 834 couple fell
to Mr. Birch's gun.
In certain favoured spots a snipe-drive can
be worked ; and driven snipe require a good
man behind the gun to make a decent bag.
Then there is the poacher's dodge of shooting
snipe just at dusk, when the birds alight on the
ground. A gleam of silver-white is seen as the
snipe " tilt " just before dropping their feet to
the ground ; and one shot brings down, per-
haps, from one to twenty victims. This form
of shooting, however, is only recommended
when the larder is empty and there are guests
to dinner. Vale, Snipe ! you are a sporting bird
and a toothsome morsel ! (N.B. — Grill a snipe's
head in brandy ; it cannot be beaten.)
And now for the wily crocodile. I remember
a little ditty that Walter Passmore used to sing
in the " Blue Moon." It ran like this : —
" Now, children all, both large and small, when walking
by the Hoogly,
If ever you should chance to view a tail just like a
' Googlie,"^
'Twin only show that close below there crawls a fear-
some creature ;
For a crocodile perhaps may smile, but all the same he'll
eat you."
Truth to tell, he is a fearsome creature, and
the warning, although culled from a comic
opera, is worth heeding. It is only a few yards
from the snipe-ground to our local Hoogly ; past
a belt of nipah palm, and we are on the river-
bank. As the tide is running out, take a Malay
sampan and go with the stream, and have a
Malay well versed in the wiles of the crocodile
with you. Again I must revile civilisation !
In the good old times no disguise was neces-
sary. The crocodile, although a hardened
sinner, had still things to learn. But now he
has profited by past experience, and the gleam
of the sun on the white helmet of the detective
on his track is quite sufficient to induce him to
make himself scarce. The European must dis-
guise himself as a Malay if he really wishes to
bring back the " Uriah Heap " of the river with
him for his reward. There is a sort of holy
joy in shooting a crocodile. His cruel jaws,
backed by his fishy green eyes, and flabby web
feet, give one at first glance an insight into his
character. Again I repeat the advice to take a
good Malay with you, for he will see the croco-
dile long before you will, unless you are well
versed in the ways of the beast. He has the
wiles of a pickpocket, gliding along unnoticed
by any one, and picking up tit-bits here and
there. You will see a V-shaped ripple in the
stream, which you may mistake for the current
breaking against a submerged stick, but it is
due to the snout of the crocodile. As you
approach, the ripple will cease, and it will be
followed by a swirl of the water as the olive-
green tail propels the crocodile along. Do not
shoot at him in the water ; you will not gather
him if you do, and you may disturb another of
his kin just round the next bend. The tide has
now receded, disclosing the oozing mud, the
playground of numberless little crabs — black,
light blue, and pink, but all alike in one strange
deformity, for each has one large and one small
claw — the large to slay with, the small to con-
vey food to the mouth. Then there are weird,
unholy-looking mudfish playing and feeding on
the mud — strange-looking fish, all head and
eyes, that can stand on their tails, all fit com-
panions for the loathsome croc ! Softly your
boatman whispers to you, "There he is," and
points out what at first sight looks like a nipah
palm frond stuck in the mud. It is a croc
right enough, enjoying his mid-day siesta in his
mud bath. But he sleeps with one eye open,
and with a splutter is waddling fast through
the mud, making for the water. Do not fire at
his shoulder ; take aim at his neck, just behind
the base of his skull. Bravo ! you've got him !
Did you notice how he opened and snapped
his jaws ? That was a sure sign that he won't
move again. Had you hit him in the shoulder
he would probably have died, but he would
first have given a tremendous swirl with his
tail and toboganned down the mud into the
river, with the result that you would not have
gathered him.
Every year the crocodiles take their living
toll from amongst the river folk. Here is the
story of one of their crimes. I quote from a
letter written to me in December, i8g6, by my
old friend, Dr. F. Wellford, who was shot dead
in the Boer War : " Shortly after I arrived here
this morning (before you were up probably)
the Tuan Haji Duaman came with a lot of
Malays to tell me that a man had just been
taken by a crocodile at Tanjong Sarang Sang
(on the Selangor river, near Kuala Selangor),
which is at the end of the reach my bungalow
overlooks. It seems that he was throwing the
jala (cast-net) from a sampan with his brother.
The croc seized his arm as he was leaning
over the side of the boat and pulled him down.
His brother caught hold of his other arm and
was so pulled into the river too, the sampan
being capsized. The brother swam safely
ashore. The Malays wanted me to go out on
the chance of getting a shot at the brute, so I
went up to the place with four of them in my
boat. About eight other boatloads turned out
to watch for the croc. Some men on the spot
said they had seen him come up once or twice.
Thinking it now likely that he would go down-
stream, I paddled down some way, and after
some three hours, as we were paddling home,
some men in another sampan higher up shouted
out that they were following the croc down,
and almost immediately afterwards, nearly in
mid-stream, a great black head came up, "and
then the shoulders and back. He was close to
us, and I got a shot at him with my elephant
rifle. The smoke prevented me from seeing
anything, but the men who were with me are
certain he was hit ; they say he threw hjs head
and shoulders out of the water with his mouth
wide open, and that he was hit somewhere
about the left forearm. All I saw was a great
commotion of the water. On the whole, I think
he is probably done for — the boat was steady
and we were fairly close, and I got a good,
steady aim. I also think it likely that he is the
2 A*"
562
TWEXTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
criminal, as he was very big and black, as the
{)oor boy whose brother was grabbed described.
If he is dead now his body will come up in
three or four- days, and of course I am very
keen on getting his skull. Also I want the
men who were with me to get the Government
reward, and I have promised them 5 dollars
for his skull and, if he is really as big as they
say, for his bones. My point in writing is to
ask if any one brings in the croc to refrain
from giving the reward till you have ascer-
tained who killed it. There is an avaricious
beast who has gone down the river on spec,
and he will probably be hunting about for it
for the next three days or so. Odd this, after
talking of crocs last night ! If the beast does
come up near here and is at all approachable,
I shall have a look inside his ' tummy ' to see if
he has swallowed any of the boy. I can't see
how a croc negotiates such a big morsel as a
■human being."
Well, to make a long story short. Dr. AVellford
did not shoot the brute that he was in quest of,
for about two months afterwards a huge
crocodile over 18 feet long was caught on a
line and brought alive to Kuala Selangor for
my inspection. I executed him on the jetty,
and afterwards held a i>osi-mortem examination.
I discovered in- his belly the ornamental buffalo-
horn ring of the jala, and two finger-rings were
identified by the father as belonging to the
unfortunate lad who was seized on December 26,
l8g6, at Sarong Sang. Is it any wonder that I
hate crocodiles ?
Mr. Walter Dare Scott, District Officer,
Raub, Pahang, who was born in July, 1870, is
a son of Mr. W. Ramsay Scott, a former member
of the Straits Settlements Legislative Council.
He was educated at Crawfurd College, Maiden-
head, and joined the army as a second lieutenant
in the 3rd Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regi-
ment in 1890. In the following year he entered
the service of the Selangor Government, and
has filled during his varied career the posts
of Acting District Officer at Ulu Langat, Kuala
Selangor, Kuala Pilah, Jelebu, and Batang
Padang ; Assistant District Officer at Kuala
Lumpor, Sungei Besi, and Krian ; Assistant
Secretary to the Selangor Government and to
the British Resident of Selangor ; .Acting Magis-
trate at Seremban and Kuala Lumper ; and
Acting Collector of Land Revenue and Registrar
of Titles, Seremban. In October, 1906, he
was appointed to the substantive office he now
holds, but recently proceeded to Kuala Kangsa
to act as District Officer there. He is an
enthusiastic footballer, and captained the
Selangor team for about five years. Big-game
shooting has in Mr. Scott a follower of no
small skill, eight elephants and a seladang
having fallen to his gun, whilst he is quite an
authority on the pursuit of smaller game and
snipe.
Perak Ladies' Rifle Association. — It is
not surprising that in a country like the
Federated Malay States, where shooting is
one of the most popular sports, ladies should
share the enthusiasm for it. At a meeting held
at the house of Mrs. W. W. Douglas in April,
1903, the fifteen ladies present formed the
Perak Ladies' Rifle Association. Mrs. (now
Lady) Rodger, wife of Sir J. P. Rodger,
K.C.M.G., became the first President, and
Mrs. Douglas the first Hon. Sec. and Trea-
surer. Lieut.-Colonel Walker, C.M.G., kindly
placed the range of the Malay States Guides
at the disposal of the Association, and gave the
members a series of lectures on rifle-shooting.
Rook rifles were first used, but now many of
the ladies have become expert with the -303 inch
service rifle at 150 and 200 yards. In a recent
match with the officers of the Malay States
Guides the Perak ladies' team lost by only one
point, while they defeated the Perak Rifle As-
sociation (gentlemen) by fourteen points. Since
the club was formed fifty-six members have
joined, but as they are always " coming and
going " it is seldom that the club musters
more than twenty members on the range.
"At Homes" are held periodically, when pair
shooting, surprise target, and vanishing target
competitions are held. The members recently
expressed their appreciation of the services of
Mrs. Douglas in forming the club by presenting
her with a suitably engraved cup. The Presi-
dent of the association is Jlrs. Birch, the Vice-
president Mrs. \\'. H. Tate, and the Hon. Sec.
and Tieasurer Mrs. J. P. Harper.
HORSE=RACINQ.
The existing records of horse-racing in the
Straits Settlements are very meagre, the Library
documents having suffered from the ravages
of white ants, while those formerly in the pos-
session of Mr. C. E. Velge, of the Straits Racing
Association, were unfortunately destroyed by
fire. It would appear, however, that races
were first held at Singapore in 1843. These
took place on Thursday and Saturday, P'eb-
ruary the 23rd and 25th, the programme open-
ing at II a.m. with the race for the Singapore
Cup of 150 dollars. This was won by Mr.
W. H. Read. There were four races the first
day and three the second, with several matches
to fill up time. The events were decided over
the same course as at present, but the stand
was on the opposite side, near Serangoon
Road, and the progress of the competitors
could only be seen partially by the spectators,
as the centre of the course had not then been
cleared of jungle. A Race Ball was held on
the following Monday at the residence of the
Hon. the Recorder, the stewards being Lieu-
tenant Hoseason, Messrs. Lewis Fraser, Charles
Spottiswoode, W. H. Read, William Xapier,
James Guthrie, Charles Dyce, and Dr. Moor-
head. In the next year the races were held in
March. They took place on Tuesday, Thurs-
day, and Saturday— as at the present day — but
in the morning. On the evenin? before each
race day a dinner was given at the Race Stand,
to which all members were invited. In March,
1845, the races were held only on two days,
and in the afternoons. They were attended
THE EACECOURSB, PINANG.
NOTABLE PERFORMERS ON STRAITS SETTLEMENTS AND FEDERATED MALAY STATES RACECOURSES.
Vaxitas. Xereus.
Ban ESTER.
Residue.
Pawnbroker.-
Jim Gosper.
Batteneerg.
564
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
by Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane and
a large party from his flagship, the Agiiicoiirt.
From that time onward the races have been
an " established institution " in Singapore, and
now there are two meetings every year — each
extending over three days — one in May and
the other in October. The oldest member of
the Sporting Club at present in the colony is
Mr. Charles Dunlop, who acted as secretary
and clerk of the course in the early years of
the club's history. The racecourse was granted
to the club by the Government, and is vested
in a body of trustees. It has a track of a mile
and a distance (83 yards) in length, and the
turf is of excellent quality. Originally the
racing was confined to gentlemen riders,
but professionalism was introduced about the
time when the Imperial Government took over
the colony from the Indian Government in
1867. Now the trainers and jockeys are nearly
all professionals from Australia.
Racing in the Straits Settlements is con-
trolled by the Straits Racing Association, on
which body there are representatives from the
Singapore Sporting Club, the Pinang Turf
Club, the PerakTurf Club, the Kinta Gymkhana
Club, the Selangor Turf Club, and the Seremban
Gymkhana Club.
At the Spring Meeting of the Singapore
Sporting Club there are on the first day seven
races, of which the most important is the
Singapore Derby over a distance of a mile and
a half for a cup presented by the committee,
with 2,000 dollars added money. On the second
and third days the premier events are the Club
Cup, value 1,500 dollars, and the Stewards'
Cup, value 1,000 dollars. At the Autumn
Meeting the principal race on the first day is
for the Governor's Cup, with 2,000 dollars
added money ; and on the second and third
days, as at the Spring Meeting, the chief
events are respectively the Club Cup and the
Stewards' Cup. On each day also there are
two handicaps for griffins, which are brought
racecourse. The stands and lawn are occupied
chiefly by Europeans, but the course inside the
track is thronged with multitudes of Chinese,
Malays, and Indians, who evince great interest
in the racing and organise numerous sweep-
share of pool 900 dollars, dividend 6 dollars.
Third horse, 15 tickets ; share of pool 900 dol-
lars, dividend 60 dollars.
The records for the Singapore course are
as follows :
Year.
Horse.
1904
Oberon
1904
Architect
1898
Culzean ..
1898
Lockv
1904
Idler
1897
Vanitas
1900
Residue
1904
Essington
Weight.
St. lb,
10 O
9 7
ID 9
9 II
10 4
11 7
9 10
8 10
Round course (i m. 83 yds.)
Ditto
J m.
ij m.
i|m.
Round course and a distance
Singapore Derby (ij m.)
Ditto
I 52
I 52|
1 17
2 143
2 4ii
2 7
2 42t
2 42t
stakes on the various events. No betting is
allowed on the course, except through the
Totalisator (or Parimutuel), which is under
the management of the committee. This
system is well known and generally followed
in India and Australia, but a few words of
explanation here may not be out of place.
Each horse is numbered. Those who desire
to bet may buy as many tickets as they choose
for any horse they fancy. The tickets cost
5 dollars each. All the takings are pooled,
and after each event the pool (less 10 per cent,
commission) is divided between those who
have placed their money on the winning
horse. In the place Totalisator the rules
are rather more complicated. There is no
betting when less than four horses start.
When there are more than six horses in the
race the pool is divided between the holders
of the tickets for the first and second horses ;
when there are more than six it is divided
between first, second, and third. For example :
ON THE BACECOUESB, KUALA LUMPOB.
up from Australia in batches and apportioned
by lot among the members of the Sporting
Club.
At race time the Singapore course presents
a striking contrast in appearance to an English
Total number of tickets taken on seven starters,
600. Value of pool 3,000 dollars — less 300 dol-
lars club's commission = 2,700 dollars. First
horse, go tickets ; share of pool goo dollars,
dividend 10 dollars. Second horse, 150 tickets ;
THE TUBP CLUB.
The Turf Club in Pinang was founded as
long ago as 1867. Mr. David Brown, a well-
^i>^A^;^
E. H, BEATT.
(Official Handicapper.)
known spoi'tsman, was the first president, and
in later years he was succeeded by Mr. J. F.
Wreford, who has done much to further the
interests of the turf in the settlement. At the
outset the Government liberally assisted the
young institution by the free grant of land for
a course. On this the first stands and buildings,
of wood and attap, were erected in i86g, and
small annual meetings were started. These
gatherings were in the nature of gymkhanas,
and the total prize money never exceeded
600 dollars a year. But as the population of
the island increased the club grew in import-
ance, and by i8g8 two meetings annually were
being held. These extended over two days in
January and two days in July, and the prize
money for the year totalled S,g50 dollars. In
igoo new and substantial stands were erected,
and the present prosperity of the club is
indicated by the fact that, in January, igo7,
prizes to the value of no less than 26,000
dollars were distributed during a three days'
meeting. The entries include horses from the
Federated Malay States, Singapore, the Nether-
lands India, Burma, and India.
The membership of the club numbers 500.
The prettily situated course, surrounded by a
wealth of tropical verdure, presents an attrac-
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566
TWEXTIETH CENTURY IINIPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MAI.AYA
live spectacle on race-days, with its brightly-
dressed crowd largely composed of natives.
The days of the race meetings in January and
July are observed as holidays in the settle-
ment. Mr. A. R. Adams is the president of
the club, Mr. U. A. M. Brown is the secretary
and clerk of the course, Dr. P. V. Locke and
Messrs. A. K. Buttery, G. H. Stitt, Jules Martin,
C. G. May, and Lee Toon Tock constitute the
committee.
On the Pinang course the following records
have been established :
1899
Great Scott
1900
Bittern ...
1905
Essington
1898
Vanitas ...
1900
Reward ...
1898
Rill
Residue four years previously ; indeed, such
good form did Essington show that his owners,
the Bridge Kongsee, entered him for the
Viceroy's Cup, in India, but he was left at the
post. "Xasib, trained in Kuala Lumpor, when
competing in the Singapore Derby, was con-
sidered almost unworthy of notice by the
experts, but he was ridden by his owner, Mr.
Wm. Dunraan, one of the best amateur riders
ever seen in the peninsula, and was first past
the post after a memorable and exciting con-
test. It is needless to recall the names of all
Weight.
Distance.
Time.
St. lb.
m. s.
9 9
I m.
I 49
10 6
Jm.
I I9i
10 3
•I m.
I 44*
II 7
ij m.
2 13
8 10
Ij m.
2 42i
,s 1
Round course
' T ^n
(7
f. 81 J yds.).
) '^"^
which is situated on the right-hand side of the
Ampang Road, Kuala Lumpor. It was neces-
sarily of a very primitive description, with attap
buildings ; but since then any profit made by
the club has been spent upon improvements,
until Selangor can now boast of a racecourse
as fine almost as any in the peninsula.
The Selangor Turf Club may claim to have
The history of the turf in the Federated
Malay States, like most histories, tells of gradual
change — a change from the days of amateur
racing and gymkhanas to the present day of
meetings organised under the code of rules
now almost universally adopted ; from the
days when the only racecourse for ordinary
racing was that at Taiping, to the present day
when the Kuala Lumpor, Batu Gajah, and
Xegri Sambilan courses have quadrupled the
the horses who enjoyed local fame, but mention
may be made of Why Not, Mattie, Jimmy,
Cadenas, Reward, Lyon, Malleolus, Lulworth,
Banester, Juindo, Benedic, Lady Joe, Flora,
Xerxes, and Duchess.
Racing began in Selangor under the patron-
age of the late Sir Wm. Maxwell, the then
resident, who was instrumental in securing for
the purposes of public recreation a course
situated where the Federal Home for Women
THEEB CHINESE SPORTSMEN OF SINGAPOBE.
LI.M KOOX YAXG. LEK PEK HOON. LEE TOON POON.
opportunities for this, the most popular form
of sport.
To take the horse first, the earlier races were
run chiefly by Burma and Java ponies, but
they soon gave place to Australian griffins, the
importation of which began about the year
1890. As the interest increased so the sup-
porters-of racing made more and more strenu-
ous efforts to improve their studs, with the
result that to-day the Federated Malay States
can boast that more than one horse trained in
the States has won the blue ribbon at Singa-
pore. Essington, in 1904, ran the Derby in
2 min. 42-i sec, equalling the record time of
P. 'W. GLEESON.
(Well-ltnowa Totalisator Manager.)
inaugurated the thoroughbred griffin scheme.
Three lots have now been imported, and,
although the scheme met with considerable
opposition at first, the griffins have proved to
be the mainstay of racing in the country. The
griffins must be certified to be clean thorough-
breds, with sire and dam entered in the Aus-
tralian stud-book ; they are subscribed for, and
the subscribers draw lots for them. Mr. Geo.
Redfearn, son of Mr. James Redfearn, the well-
known Caulfield trainer, is the leading local
trainer, and has brought over a good many
horses of his father's stables. There are several
horses in the Federated Malay States sired by
now stands. The course was made entirely at
Government expense, and a grand stand was
provided. There was in the title, however, a
proviso that only amateurs should be permitted
to ride, and the men chiefly interested found,
as time went on, that the sport could not be
continued profitably with amateur racing only.
Sir Wm. Maxwell, who had meanwhile become
Governor of Singapore, was asked whether
he would allow professional riding, but he
returned an emphatic negative, whereupon
Mr. Geo. Cumming and two or three other
prominent racing men took the matter in hand,
and were able to secure the present racecourse,
AECHIE CAMPBELL.
(Popular Trainer of Pinang.)
Malvolio, which, with Geo. Redfearn up, won
the Melbourne Cup in 1891.
Of the many gentlemen who have been
directly interested in the turf in the Federated
Malay States the names most impressed on the
memorv are those of Messrs. H. Aylesbury,
W. H. Tate, H. Ord, Geo. Tate, Wm. Dunman,
A. C. Harper, T. W. Raymond, J. W. Welford
ME. CHUNG AH YONG'S RACING ESTABLISHMENT.
2. Racing Trophies.- 3. the Racing Stables at Taiping.
568
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
and F. Douglas Osborne. In later days Capt.
Talbot, Dr. Travers, Messrs. \V. W. Bailev,
W. McD. Mitchell, Alma Baker, and Chung
Ah Yong have been among the mojt enthusi-
astic supporters of the turf. Xor has the sport
lacked its devotees among prominent Govern-
ment officials — the late Sir A\'illiam Maxwell
did all he could to promote the interests of
racing in the anti-professional days, and himself
figured successfully in many a race as a gentle-
man rider ; whilst Mr. J. P. Rodger, when
Resident of Selangor, encouraged racing in
every way.
Of gentlemen riders past and present other
names which may be recalled are those of
Messrs. J. Paton Ker, T. W. Raymond, W.
Dunman, Noel Walker, C. B. Mills and J. R. O.
Aldworth, F. O. B. Dennys, J. Magill, and
Dr. Braddon. Of professionals the most suc-
cessful recently have been V. Southall, E,
Fisher, O. Randall, R. Bryans, S. Banvard,
J. Duval, and J. R. Elliott — jockeys well known
in the colony and States as well as further
afield.
The Perak Turf Club has been in existence
for over twenty years, and has now a member-
ship of about 250.^ Five members form the
committee, Mr. E. W. Birch is the president,
and Mr, W. H. Tate acts as hon. secretary
besides representing the club on the committee
of the Selangor Racing Association, to which
association the club was affiliated early in i8g6.
H.H. the Sultan of Perak and the British
Resident are hon. members. The meetings
usually take place in August, the present course,
which is 7 furlongs 157J yards in length, being
at Taiping, It was on the old course, situate<i
about three miles from Taiping, that racing, as
known at the present day, was cradled. At
Year,
I goo
1897
igoo
1898
1890
Lucifer * ...
Why Not ...
Silvertone...
Puritan
Leichol
Distance.
Time.
I m. 67 yds.
I m. 67 yds.
|m.
I m.
ij m.
m. s.
I 56«
I S3
I 21
I 5i|
248I
Tlie Maiden Ptate.
The Kinta Gymkhana Club was founded in
1890, and now consists of over 300 members.
The race meetings are held at Batu Gajah, the
course and training stables being situated on a
plateau about 350 feet above the sea level.
The course is 7 furlongs ; an excellent inside
secretary. The club has about three hundred
active members, the subscription being 15
dollars a year, with an entrance fee of 10
dollars.
The following aie the best times which have
been recorded on the course : —
Date.
Horse.
I
Distance.
Time.
Dec, 1904
1 Ladv Joe and Flora (dead heat) ...
4f.
m. s.
0 55
June, 1904
J Xerxes
sf.
I 51
June, 1906
1 Lady Joe
Si-
I 5*
June, 1900
Lyon
6f.
I 18J
June, 1904
Meros
6f.
I i8f
Julv, 1907
i Lady Brockleigh
Round
course, i m
75* yds.
I 49l
July, 1907
Kington
Round
course and distance
2 7
June, 1904
1 Duchess
i| m.
2 I3f
Dec. ,1904
] Banester
ij m.
2 41
track has been completed, and both tracks are
in good order. The meetings are usually held
during the Chinese New Year festival.
MR.
CHUNG THYE PHIN S DEVILMENT.
(Winner of Singapore Derby, 1905, &c.)
that time — 1886 — Burma ponies provided
most of the racing, and the meetings were
primarily social functions. The record times
on the Taiping course are :
The Selangor Club was on January 1, 1896,
associated with the Straits Racing Association.
Captain Talbot is president of the club, Mr.
G. Gumming vice-president, Mr. D. E. Topham
The Seremban Gymkhana Club was founded
on December 20, igoi. It took the place of tlie
Negri Sambilan Turf Club and consists of
about 13s ordinary and visiting members. Dr.
Braddon acts as hon. secretary and clerk of
the course, and also represents the club on the
Straits Racing ' Association committee. The
meeting takes place in June, on the racecourse
at Gedong Lallang, three miles from Seremban.
The course is the lohgest and widest in the
peninsula, being I mile 93 yards in length and
66 feet wide.
The Klang Gymkhana Club has a circular
race-track of four furlongs, overlooked by the
Klang club house, which is used as a grand
stand. A race meeting, held annually about
May, was inaugurated some years ago, and the
formation of a track was commenced, but the
project was abandoned owing to its principal
promoter being transferred to another district.
In May of 1903 Mr. H. Berkley and others
revived the race meeting, which had been
discontinued, and through his good offices the
track was finished. The training and riding
of horses appearing at the annual meetings is
confined to amateurs, and there are both flat
and hurdle races. The first batch of griffins im-
ported were Java ponies, and the second batch
were Chinese, but now galloways are brought
from Australia, There are no money stakes,
the prizes consisting of cups. The club,
however, organises lotteries on all races, and
these are open to owners and members* Mr.
F. Bede Cox is president of the club, and
the committee consists of Messrs. R. W.
Harrison, R. A. Crawford, O. Pfenningwerlh,
H. A. Wootton, and Dr. M. Watson,
Mr. E. H. Bratt, J. P. —This well-known
planter of Pinang and the Federated Malay
States was born at Berbice, British Guiana, in
1862, and received his education at the Mer-
chant Taylors' School, the Dollar Institution,
and Owens College, Manchester. He studied
originally as a mechanical engineer, and sub-
sequently became a member of the Institution
of Mechanical Engineers, In 1883 he went to
the West Indies as a sugar engineer, and re-
mained there for four years. After a spell in
England, he came out to the Straits Settlements
in 1887 as superintendent engineer of the
Pinang Sugar Estates Company, Ltd. This
t. Trapper.
MB. LIM SOO CHBE'S RACING ESTABLISHMENT.
2, RACING Trophies. 3. Latona. 4. Una.
5. Rose Giq.
570 TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OP BRITISH MAI>AYA
GUNNER AND RACING TROPHIES, THE PROPERTY OP LIM EO'W THOON, OF PINANG.
appointment he resigned five years later,
and started business for himself as a con-
tractor. Having made a success of this venture,
he began planting, and was one of the first
Europeans in the Straits to take up rice cultiva-
tion on a large scale. The first tract he opened
up consisted of 250 acres, but this not proving
altogether a success, Mr. Bratt in 1898 planted
Sandycroft estate with rubber and coconuts.
At first he opened about 160 acres, but at
present 400 acres are in cultivation and the
company's shares stand at a high premium.
As a hobby he took up racing, and in igoo
was made handicapper to the Pinang Turf
Club, while in 1904 he was appointed official
handicapper to the Straits Settlements Racing
Association and the Nieuwe Deli Race Club,
Sumatra. He formerly owned many racehorses,
and has always taken a keen interest in this
branch of sport. His favourite recreation,
however, is snipe shooting. Mr. Bratt
is a director and visiting agent of the
Sandycroft Rubber Company, Ltd., the Sione
Rubber Company, Ltd., and Ledbury Rubber
Company, Ltd., besides being visiting
agent of the Senawang Rubber Com-
pany, Ltd., the Belle Plaine Rubber Syndi-
cate, Ltd., and the Hidden Streams Rubber
Syndicate, Ltd. He is a son of the late
Mr. James Bratt, of Hoff van Aurich estate,
Essequibo, British Guiana, and is married to
a daughter of Dr. Thomas Hodson, of Ingate-
stone, Essex, and has one son. Mr. Bratt is a
member of the Sports Club, London, and of
all the local clubs, and in igoi was made
a Justice of the Peace for Pinang.
Mr. Q. R. K. Mugliston.— One of the
most prominent all-round sportsmen in the
Malay Peninsula is Mr. Gerald Roland Knight
Mugliston, the eldest son of Dr. T. C. Mugliston,
Colonial Surgeon at Pinang. Born at Thun,
Switzerland, twenty-two years ago, he was
educated at Rossall School, Lancashire, and
after serving two j-ears with Messrs. Doxford,
marine engineers in Sunderland, came to
Pinang in 1904, where he has been associated
MUGLISTON.
(Captain, Pinang Cricket Club, and one of the most
prominent sportsmen of the Northern Settlement.)
with Messrs. Sandilands, Buttery & Co. He is
captain of the Pinang Cricket Club, and has
played in several Straits Settlements v. Fede-
rated Malay States and other important matches.
He had the honour of captaining the first colony
XL ever to beat the Federated Malay States,
namely, at Pinang in August, 1907, when the
colony won by an innings and 96 runs. In
addition to his keen interest in cricket, he is an
ardent golfer, and has w-on the Pinang golf
championship for the past three years. He
holds the record of the Pinang links with a
score of 74, and has a handicap of plus 5. In
igo6 he was runner-up in the local tennis
championship ; he has played with the Pinang
Football Club in several inter-State matches.
As a gentleman rider he is well known on the
turf. He steered Fickle Fortune past the
post when that horse won the Roadster Cup at
the Pinang July Meeting in 1907.
Mr. P. W. Gleeson, of Perak, has been
connected with the various turf clubs of the
peninsula for many years, and has acted for
them as manager of their lotteries and as
auctioneer in the selling sweepstakes. For a
long time past he has controlled the totalisator
with such success and satisfaction to the
stewards that his services are regularly in
request. In the above capacities Mr. Gleeson
has served for years the Perak Turf Club,
Kinta Gymkhana Club, Ipoh Gymkhana Club,
Selangor Turf Club, and Seremban Gymkhana
Club. He is a Government contractor, and
has done a great deal of road-making and
other work in the State of Perak.
Mr. Lee Toon Tock, son of the late Mr.
Lee Phee Choon, a well-known Pinang mer-
chant, was born in Pinang in 1875. He
received his education at Pinang Free School
and at Roberts' College, Calcutta, after which he
assisted in his father's business and managed
the Juru estate in Province Wellesley for him.
This property, of which Mr. Lee Toon Tock is
now sole proprietor, is 1,800 acres in extent, and
is planted mainly with coconuts, betel-nuts, and
OSION.
Lee Toon Tock and Racjxg Tbophieb.
LEE TOON TOCK.
Senator.
Oberon.
FoKEST Empress.
672
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
tapioca. A considerable number of rubber-
trees, however, have been put in recently. Mr.
Lee Toon Tock has always taken a great interest
in horse-racing, and is one of the most popular
members of the Turf Club in Pinang. He was
the owner of the famous Oberon when, in
1904, she won the Maiden Plate and at the
same time established a record by covering the
Singapore course in i min. 52 sees. During the
last eight or ten years Mr. Lee Toon Tock has
won many important events in Pinang, Singa-
pore, the Federated Malay States, and Sumatra,
his most successful horses besides Oberon
being Architect, Senator, Colford, Forest,
Empress, and Orion. Last year he carried off
the Pinang Plate, the Paddock Cup, and the
Scurry Stakes at the Pinang meetings, and also
secured several trophies at races in the Federated
Malay States. This year he has again met with
considerable success. Mr. Lee Toon Tock is
on the committee of the Pinang Turf Club. He
married a daughter of Mr. Khoo Chew Eng in
1896, and has a family of six sons.
Mr. Lim Koon Yang. — As an all-round
sportsman, and as one devoted to horse-racing
in particular, Mr. Lim Koon Yang is widely
known in the Malay States and in Singapore.
Both in business and in sporting circles he is
very popular with Europeans and Chinese
alike. He is a member of the Singapore
Sporting Club.
Mr. Tan Hood Quan. — Among well-known
devotees of the turf in Singapore may be num-
bered Mr. Tan Hood Guan, whose racing name
is Hood. During the last four years his stable
has been represented at every local meeting,
and he has always obtained at least one suc-
cess. His best known horses are Rockhill
and Tease. The former has won several events
at Kuala Lumpor, and at a recent Singapore
meeting Tease carried off the Stewards' Cup.
TAN HOOD GUAN.
Mr. Tan Hood Guan is a member of thei Singa-
pore Sporting Club, of the Inter-Sports Club,
the Malay States Club, and the Chinese Weekly
Entertainment Club. He takes great interest
in volunteering, and was one of the members
of the Straits Settlements contingent that visited
England on the occasion of the coronation of
King Edward VH.
Mr. C. E. Paterson.— Born in Norway,
Mr. C. E. Paterson received his education in
Adelaide, Southern Australia, where he was
trained as a mechanical engineer. He was one
of the pioneers of the Broken Hill Tin Mine
and Western Australian Gold Mines. After a
year's travelling he came to Malaya in 1900,
and joined the Government Railway Construc-
tion Department at Taiping. On leaving that
service he commenced business as a con-
tractor, and now holds contracts for public
works throughout the northern territories.
During the last two years he has interested
himself in rubber planting. Mr. Paterson was
one of the earliest automobilisfs in the Straits
Settlements. He drives " Rambler," "Rover,"
and " Swift " cars, and he is now getting out a
new 40-h.p. car. On the occasion of the visit
of the Duke and Duchess of Connaught to
Pinang, Mr. Paterson had the honour of driving
the royal party on their sightseeing rounds. A
prominent member of the turf in both South
and West Australia, Mr. Paterson has also
taken a keen interest in racing in the Straits.
His residence is in McAlister Road, Pinang.
Mr. Lee Toon Poon. — One of the best
known sportsmen in the Chinese community
is Mr. Lee Toon Poon. He has won many
events with his horses, and is the owner to-day
of Benison and First Belle. The son of Mr.
Lee Phee Choon, a well-known merchant of
Pinang, Mr. Lee Toon Poon was born and
educated in that town. For four generations
his ancestors have held prominent positions in
SOME OF ME. PATERSON'S TROPHIES.
O. K PATERSON.
THE RACER ACTRESS.
MOTOR-CAR.
DR. P. V. LOCKE, HIS BACBE CHEVALIER, AND TWO WELL-KNOWN TROTTING PONIES.
574
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
THE LATE TAN KIM CHING.
TAN BOO LIAT.
THE FAMOUS RACEHOBSE VANITAS.
(Owned by Tan Boo Liat.)
YAP HON CHIN'S BACEHOBSE RAPID PILGRIM.
the Straits Settlements, and liis grandfather,
Mr. Ivce Geang, was one of the best known
business men in the settlements. Upon coming
to Singapore Mr. Lee Toon Poon entered the
service of the opium and spirit farm as assist-
ant manager, and when the present syndicate
acquired the monopoly in 1906 he became a
partner in it, and was appointed manager of
the liquors farm. This responsible position he
still holds.
Mr. Tan Boo Liat is a Straits-born China-
man well known on the turf. In l8g8 his
famous horse Vanitas won the Viceroy's Cup
V in India. This was the first and only occasion
on which a horse from the Straits or the
Federated Malay States has carried off this
coveted trophy. At that time Mr. Tan Boo
Liat kept a stable of a dozen racehorses,
including many of the best animals in Singa-
pore, and won events. But in spite of the
success with which he has met, it is understood
that Mr. Tan Boo Liat is now giving up his
stable. The son of Mr. Tan Soon Toh, he was
born in the Straits, where his ancestors for
four generations have lived. His grandfather,
Mr. Tan Kim Ching, was a wealthy man who
ovi'ned a rice mill at Bangkok and held the
position of Siamese Consul-General ; while his
great-grandfather, Tan Tock Seng, founded
the hospital in the Serangoon Road, Singapore,
which bears his name. The family — one of
the leading families among the Chinese of
Singapore— still carry on the business estab-
lished by their ancestors ; they have a rice
mill at Bangkok and under the name of Kim
Ching conduct the business of general dealers
in the offices at 28, Boat Quay, Singapore. Mr.
Tan Boo Liat was educated locally. A member
of the' Singapore Volunteer Infantry, he was
one of the contingent present at King Edward's
coronation.
MR. DAN LOGAN'S STRING OF RACEHORSES.
I. Festike. 2. Reward. 3. Group of Racehorses.
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TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
577
■ ^lo *'h"ng Thye Siong.— Born at Pinang
in 1885, Mr. Chung Thye Siong was educated
at the Free School and St. Xavier's Institution.
He IS the eighth son of the late Captain Chung
Ah Kvvee, and brother of those well-known
local sportsmen, Messrs. Chung Thye Phin and
Chung Ah Yong. He assists in the manage-
ment of his father's huge estate, and resides in
the old family house in Church Street, which
we reproduce on the opposite page. Like
his brothers, he is an enthusiastic sportsman, a
strong supporter of the local turf, and the
owner of several tamed racehorses, notably
Benares and Yeng, who have made successful
appearances on local courses on more than one
occasion. He has a fine country residence,
Green Lodge, in Macalister Road. In 1893 he
he joined the Straits Steamship Company, and
has been an assistant to that firm ever since.
Mr. Lee Pek Hoon married a daughter of Mr.
Tan Kung Hoe, of Malacca.
Mr. Chung Ah Yong is one of the most
enthusiastic sportsmen in the Federated States.
His racing stables cost him upwards of 12,000
dollars a year. A European trainer is in charge
of the horses, which, of late years, have met
with considerable success. Mr. Chung Ah
Yong is a member of all the important racing
clubs in British Malaya. The eldest son of the
late Captain China Ah Kwi, he was born in
Pinang and educated at Doveton College, Cal-
cutta. On leaving school he entered Govern-
ment service in Perak, but after a few years
took over the management of his father's min-
behind Raffles Hotel, and in igoi t(j the pre-
sent site, where about six acres of ground are
occupied. At first he purchased horses that
weie brought to Singapore by the sandal-wood
schooners, and sold them by auction in Raffles
Square ; but when the sandal-wood trade col-
lapsed and the schooners were no longer
available, Mr. Abrams imported horses from
Australia. In course of time the business wa.s
extended, and not the least important branch of
it to-day is the training of racehorses. In this
Mr. Abrams has had considerable experience.
When he first came to Singapore there was a
Turf Club, of a sort, in existence, and he started
racing, riding at 8 st. 7 lbs. During his career
as a Jockey he rode at one meeting in 18 races,
and won 14 of them. This is believed to be a
3qi
MRS. CHUNG AH KWBE.
THE LATE CAPTAIN CHUNG AH KWEB.
MRS. CHUNG THYE SIONG.
married Koh Chooi Peng, eldest daughter of
Kaw Cheng Sian and grand-daughter of Koh
Seang Tat.
Mr. Lee Pek Hoon, of Singapore, has
from time to time owned many racehorses
under the name of P. H. Lee. He won the
Pinang Derby three years ago with Pawn-
broker, and at the Singapore May Meeting of
1907 his horse Halopin ran second in the
Maiden Plate. The son of the late Mr. Lee
Cheng Tee, merchant, of Singapore, Mr, Lee
Pek Hoon is thirty-five years of age. He was
born in Singapore, and was educated both in
English and Chinese at St. Joseph's Institute.
He speaks several Chinese dialects, as well as
some Japanese. Mr. Lee Pek Hoon entered
the service of Messrs. Harris, Goodwin & Co.,
of Singapore, and in 1888 went to China as
agent at Amoy, Swatow, and Hongkong for
Lloyds' Khw Tiong Po Bun Hin line of
steamers. He remained in China for ten
years. Upon returning to Singapore, in 1898,
ing and other interests, holding full power of
attorney. When his father died, Mr. Chung
acquired a large share in the Taiping property,
and he is now also part-owner of the Yong
Phin mine at Kota, near Taiping, and the pro-
prietor of several other mines in the vicinity of
Taiping, and of the Heawood rubber estate of
3,000 acres at Sungei Siput. He is a member
of the Society of Arts, London, a member of
the Taiping Sanitary Board, and a Visiting
Justice. He has several sons, who are learning
English.
Mr. H. Abrams, proprietor of the horse
repository bearing his name, is one of the
oldest European residents in Singapore. He
came from London thirty-five years ago in
charge of horses for Lady Clarke, of Australia,
and, seeing that there was an opening at Sin-
gapore, commenced business. Originally his
premises were in what was known then as the
Old Masonic Hall and now as the Pavilion.
In 1878 Mr. Abrams removed to buildings
world's recoi'd. Amongst the owners for whom
Mr. Abrams has ridden is the Maharaja of
Johore. Mr. Abrams has always been a hard
worker, and has ridden and driven as many as
37 horses in a day. For years he did all the
veterinary work in Singapore. He keeps
horses and carriages of all kinds for hire,
has works where conveyances are built — the
only parts imported being the leather work,
springs, and axles — and superintends livery
stables and trains horses for other owners.
As a trainer he has been highly successful.
The business has gradually increased until
now Mr. Abrams employs a staff of about
eighty, including four European riding boys
and one European and four native brakemen.
Mr. Abrams is assisted in the management by
his son, Mr. C. W. Abrams, M.R.C.V.S. At
the last show Mr. Abrams won a prize for
jumping, and two of his daughters were
awarded second prizes for competitions in
which they took part. All his daughters are
2 B
-"—
I. H. Abrajis (Proprietor).
ABRAMS'S HORSE REPOSITORY, SINGAPORE.
2 & 4. Racing Stables (Exterior and Interior),
3. A Coach and Four.
DALLAN'S AUSTRALIAN HORSE REPOSITORY, SINGAPORE.
I. The Bungalow .
^. George A. Greavks {Piophetoi).
(See p. 580.)
3, Generai View ov the Yard,
580
TWEXTIEIH CEXTURY LMPRESSIOXS OF HRITrSH MALAYA
horsewomen, and once Mr. Abrams attracted
attention by riding round the esplanade accom-
panied by six of them on horsebaclc. The
equipage used by T.R.H. the Duke and Duchess
of Connaught on the occasion of their visit to
Singapore was supplied by Mr. Abrams.
Dalian's Australian Horse Repository.
— In a large and prosperous town like Singa-
pore, with a climate which renders walking
practically impossible except in the early
morning and in the evening, the demand for
smart-looking and comfortable conveyances is
naturally considerable. It is not surprising,
therefore, to find the jobmasters flourishing.
Dalian's Australian Horse Repository was estab-
lished some twelve years ago in Armenian Street
by Mr. W. Dalian, who came from Australia.
Two years later these premises were abandoned
in favour of those now occupied in Koek Road.
Mr. Dalian died in 1901, and his widow carried
on the business until 1905, when Mr. Greaves,
the present proprietor, took it over. Mr.
Greaves had then been in the colony four
5'ears. He is a native of Melbourne, and,
previous to coming to the Straits Settlements,
spent seven years in India. The stables of the
firm accommodate 225 horses, about 150 of
which are for sale or hire, and the carriage
department is replete with all kinds of- con-
veyances. Excellent polo ponies are always
to be obtained, and a speciality is made of
providing smart turnouts for weddings. A
large business is done in Indian and Australian
fodder, shipments of which are received every
fortnight. The buildings cover about three
acres of ground and include two bungalows —
one occupied by the proprietor and the other
by the trainer and his assistants. Four Euro-
peans and about 125 natives are employed.
POLO.
The first attempt to introduce polo into the
Straits Settlements was made at Singapore in
1891, but as no proper ground could be pro-
cured for the game the project was dropped.
In 1899, however, the Singapore Polo Club was
formed, largely owing to the efforts of Lieut. -
Colonel Pennefather, Captain Duff, and Mr.
\\'. S. Symes, and an arrangement was made
with the Sporting Club for the use of the Singa-
pore Racecourse twice a week. The first game
was played on the course in February, 1899. It
would be difficult to find a better polo ground
in the East than the Singapore Racecourse ; it
is practically the full size, is perfectly level, and
the turf is kept in good condition by the fre-
quent rains. The officers of the King's Own
Royal Lancaster Regiment, which was stationed
in the settlement in 1899 and 1900, did much to
encourage the game, and presented to the club
a cup, known as the K.O.R. Cup. For this
trophy a competition open to all teams in
Malaya is held annually, and forms the prin-
cipal event of the club's tournament. The
rules of the Indian Polo Association are
followed, and practically all the ponies used
now are Walers, though originally there were
some Arabs and country-breds. When the
Singapore Polo Club was founded it had a
membership of 78, of whom 26 were playing
members ; now the figures are 84 and 28
respectively. Mr. W. C. Michell is the presi-
dent.
As in India and other places where English-
men are stationed, the ''royal game" is
played in Selangor, Federated Malay States.
Through the courtesy of the Selangor Turf
Club, the local polo club has made an excellent
grass ground, almost full size, in the centre of
the racecourse. It is situated amid charming
surroundings about two miles fi-om the town
of Kuala Lumpor. The club was started in the
beginning of 1902 through the exertions of the
late Mr. D. H. Wise. A batch of ponies, ordered
through Mr. Abrams, of Singapore, arrived in
May, 1902, and the first game in the Federated
Malay States shortly afterwards took place.
The first committee formed consisted of Messrs.
C. E. Spooner, C.M.G. (president), G. Curaming,
D. H. Wise, A. Berrington, and C. Maxwell.
The club at present numbers some 18 playing
and 25 non-playing members. The following
are hon. members : H.E. the High Com-
missioner, the Resident-General, T.H. the
Sultans of Perak, Selangor, and Pahang ; and
the Yang-di-Pertuan of the Negri Sambilan,
the British Residents of Perak, Selangor, Negri
Sambilan, and Pahang; H.H. the Raja Muda
of Selangor, members of the Singapore Polo
Club, and the president of the Selangor Turf
Club. As a rule, practice games are played
throughout the year on Wednesdays and
Saturdays, commencing at 5 p.m. The presi-
dent presented a junior challenge cup to the
club in 1905, and up to date it has been held
by the local club against all competitors. The
Sultan of Perak and Mr. D. P. MacDougall, of
Singapore, each presented a handsome chal-
lenge cup to the club in 1907. Besides
organising teams to contest for these trophies,
the club has for the past few years competed
at Singapore for the K.O.R. Cup. In August,
1907, a polo club was started at Klang amongst
the planters and others, with Mr. S. R. Smith
as hon. sec.
AUTOMOBILISM.
Malaya is a delectable land to the auto-
mobilist, for the roads are excellent, there is
no speed limit, and there are no import duties
on cars. A licence to drive and a licence for
the car (according to weight) have, however, to
be obtained by permanent residents.
At one time French cars of small horse-power
were in most common use, but within the last
two years a large number of English cars have
been imported. Among these may be mentioned
the Talbot, Arrol-Johnston, Humber, Argyll,
Swift, Adams-Hewitt, Albion, Siddeley, Rover,
Belsize and Orleans. American cars have not,
on the whole, proved so satisfactory as those
made in Europe, but it is only fair to add that
none but light, cheap American cars have so
far been tried in Malaya.
Cars up to about 16 h.p. with a moderate
wheel base are probably most useful for general
country work, but for professional men, who
drive chiefly in and around the towns, smaller
and less expensive cars have been found quite
satisfactory, notably the 8-h.p. de Dion. Big,
heavy vehicles of high horse-power would
merely represent wasted money if imported
for daily use in the Federated Malay States or
the Straits Settlements. In the larger towns
many Government officials, professional men,
and merchants, who formerly drove to their
offices, to the club, golf links or polo ground
in carriages, now use motor cars, whilst in the
country districts this form of locomotion is
equally popular with planters, miners, and
district officials. Two Malay Sultans own cars
— without counting the Sultan of Johore, who,
of course, is well known in Europe as a driver
of fast, powerful cars. His Excellency the
Governor, Sir John Anderson, the Resident-
General, Sir William Taylor, and the British
Residents of Perak, Selangor and Negri
Sambilan are all automobilists. Three out of
the five cars owned by these gentlemen are of
French manufacture. It has now become the
fashion for wealthy Chinese to own at least
one car, with the result that the largest and
most expensive cars on the road belong, as a
rule, to Chinamen. Motor vehicles for commer-
cial purposes are gradually coming into use.
Private firms favour petrol lorries and the
Public Works Department steam wagons,
which are found to be very useful for transport-
ing metal, stores, &c. The fire engines at
Singapore, Pinang, and Kuala Lumpor are
all self-propeUing vehicles.
The hot climate does not appear to have any
particular effect on tyres, but a car with a poor
water-cooling system soon has its weakness
exposed. There are garages in two or three
of the chief towns. As a rule, owners drive
their own cars, and have a practical acquaint-
ance with their mechanism ; otherwise, the
paid driver is generally a Malay. Public service
cars are run by the Government Railway
Department across the main range of mountains,
connecting the railway system of Selangor
with the chief towns in Pahang. European
as well as Malay drivers are employed. Petrol,
obtained from Sumatra, just across the Straits
of Malacca, costs about is. lod. a gallon.
For motor cars of moderate power the road
system in the Federated Malay States is all
that could be desired, except that sharp corners
are very numerous on the hilly and not over-
wide main roads in the interior. At the end
of 1906 there were 1,583 miles of metalled
cart-road and 277 miles of earth cart-road
in the Federated Malay States, and every
year the mileage is being increased. A tour
through the Federated Malay States should
commence from Pinang, at which most of the
mail steamers from Europe and India call.
From the mainland just opposite Pinang a
very interesting trip may be made through
Province Wellesley, right through Perak, and
thence, via Kuala Kubu in Selangor, across
the mountain range into Pahang. Returning
by the same road to Kuala Kubu, the tourist
would proceed to Kuala Lumpor, the capital
of the Federation ; thence on to the State of
Negri Sambilan, finishing up on colonial soil
again in the old town of Malacca. By the end
of 1908 it will be possible to get a car through
from Malacca to Singapore by rail. At present
it is necessary to travel by steamer, as there is
no main road through Johore.
In Singapore recently an Automobile Club
was formed for the purpose of promoting
the interests of motor-car owners. Under its
auspices, motor runs are to be held at intervals
and tours arranged. Owners of motor cars in
Pinang and in the Federated Malay States have
indicated a desire to become associated with
the movement, and no doubt one general
association of automobile owners in the Straits
Settlements and the Federated Malay States
will be formed before long.
CRICKET.
Cricket has been played in the colony from
the earliest days. It is impossible to say when
it was first introduced, but in old Singapore
records there is a reference to the game in
1837. Then, it appears, objections were made
to a number of Europeans playing on the
Esplanade on Sunday afternoons, and the
protests were so emphatic that the practice
was stopped. Since that time cricket has
grown steadily in popular favour until now in
the Straits Settlements there are a number of
clubs, possessing good grounds and fine club
houses. Foremost among these is the Singapore
Cricket Club ; then, in Singapore also, there is
the Recreation Club and the Royal Garrison
Artillery Cricket Club, each with a ground
of its own. The Royal Engineers, the Royal
West Kent Regiment, the members of the
police force and of the volunteers, often raise
teams to meet the second elevens of the larger
organisations. Until recently there were inter-
settlement matches between Singapore, Pinang,
Perak, and Selangor, but lately, owing to the
great difficulties experienced in organising
teams to go away, the only matches played
have been between Pinang and Perak, Singa-
pore and Selangor, and Selangor and Perak.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
581
Elevens representing the colony and the
Federated Malay States, however, still meet
twice a year. Until a few years ago matches
were arranged occasionally between the Straits
Settlements and Hongkong and Shanghai, but
these interesting fixtures seem likely to be
abandoned. At Christmas, igo6, a Straits team
visited Rangoon and played two matches, one
against Burma, the olher against the Rangoon
Gymkhana -Club, As is usual, however, a
number of the best local players were unable
to get away, with the result that the Straits,
being represented by a moderate team only,
lost both games. The more important matches
are usually witnessed by a large number of
spectators, and it is on these occasions, or
at the time of the Pinang races, that the
members of the various clubs find it convenient
to meet and arrange fixtures and discuss
cricket matters generally. Those who attend
these somewhat informal meetings may be
said to constitute the governing body of cricket
in British Malaya.
The States of Perak and Selangor have had
their State elevens for the past eighteen years.
The first match between these rival teams took
place in Taiping in 1889, since which year
annual fixtures have been played, and the
greatest interest has always been taken in the
meetings of the two teams. For a long period
the Perak eleven was a very strong one, and
held an unbeaten record for eight or nine
years. The Perak and Selangor teams also play
Singapore and Pinang elevens.
In the days before railway communication
the arrival of a cricket eleven at a station was a
great event. Everyone played the game then,
and the men who were not actually partici-
pating in the match made up for their absence
from the field by the enthusiasm they displayed
as spectators . Now, alas ! things are changed ;
cricket is played by a fair number, but merely
tolerated by a very large proportion who know
little and care less about the game.
The Federated Malay States have always
been asked by the Singapore Cricket Club, the
ruling body of cricket in the Malay Peninsula,
to supply players for the combined Straits
eleven in the periodical fixtures with Ceylon
and Hongkong, and a record was created in
l'8g7 when eight men from the Federated
Malay States found places in what was pro-
bably the best team that ever represented the
Straits. This team visited Hongkong and beat
the Hongkong eleven by an innings and 79 runs,
Shanghai by an innings and 11 runs, and
the combined elevens of Hongkong and
Shanghai by an innings and 232 runs.
The most important fixture now played in
the Straits is that between the Federated
Malay States and the colony — i.e., an eleven
picked from the native States and an eleven
selected from Singapore, Pinang, and Malacca.
This fixture has been in existence since 1905,
and two matches have been played each year.
Of these the Federated Malay States have won
three and the colony one.
Cricket in the Federated Malay States owes a
great deal to Sir Frank Swettenham, K.C.M.G.,
formerly Governor of the Straits Settlements
and Resident-General of the Federated Malay
States; the Hon. Mr. E. W. Birch, C.M.G., British
Resident of Perak, and. Colonel Walker, C.M.G.,
Commandant of the Malay States Guides.
These three keen sportsmen gave their whole-
hearted support to the game in Perak, and
by doing so set an example to Selangor that
was followed with the greatest zeal. The lead-
ing players in the Perak eleven during its
invincible period were, in addition to the three
mentioned above : Captain H. L. Talbot, Dr.
S. G. Fox, A. B. Voules, A. L Infall, F. W.
Talbot, O. Marks, and R. McKenzie, while
latterly Captain E. M. Barrett, of Hampshire
fame, E. Bradbery, and N. Grenier have
rendered the club great assistance.
In Selangor cricket was not played under
the same favourable circumstances as in Perak,
but even in the old days the eleven would
play a good game against the redoubtable
Perak team, and more often than not beat
Singapore and Pinang. Amongst those who
rendered yeoman service in the past were
L. Dougal, C. G. Glassford, J. G. Glassford, E.
W. Neubronner, and A. H. Bagnall ; then came
A. B. Hubback, T. R. Hubback, and M. H.
Whitley, who were followed by E. W. X.
Wyatt, C. R. Martin and A. C. Corbetta. A
large proportion of these players are still to be
found in the team, and it is worthy of notice
that in the Federated Malay States team that
beat the colony in Kuala Lumpor at Easter,
1907, no fewer than ten Selangor men were
playing.
In Negri Sambilan cricket has not obtained
such a secure hold as in the other States, but
there is little doubt that before many years
have passed this State will put an eleven in the
field capable of holding its own against the
other teams.
Generally speaking, the cricket in the
Federated Malay States is of a fairly high-class
character. TJie full combined strength of the
Straits and Federated Malay States would
probably meet the smaller of the first-class
English counties on level terms, while any
of the Federated Malay States or colony sides
would be equal to the best team of the minor
counties.
TENNIS.
With that happiness of expression which is
part of their national character, the French say
of the Englishman that he never sees a hill but
he must forthwith climb to its summit. As
regards the Britisher in the East, it may with
equal truth be said that he no sooner comes
across a level patch of greensward than he
desires to lay out a tennis-court or a cricket
pitch upon it. In the Straits Settlements and
the Federated Malay States every second
residential bungalow boasts its own tennis-
court, and the game has been played since the
earliest days of the settlements. After the
fierce afternoon heat has subsided it is possible
to play for fully an hour and a quarter before
the light fails, and, following as a natural
sequence upon constant practice, the average
standard of the play is considerably higher than
in England. On the other hand, however, there
are few players who would be able to compete
with any hope of success in the open champion-
ships, for the game is not studied as a hobby,
but played simply as a recreation. All the
courts are of grass — not sand, gravel, or
cement, as in India. The courts in Pinang are
faster than those in Singapore, for the club
courts in Singapore lie low. The game, how-
ever, has a larger number of exponents in
Singapore, where there are two clubs, the
Singapore Cricket Club and the Ladies' Lawn
Tennis Club, both of which are well supported.
Under their auspices, two tournaments are
held annually on each club ground. The best
player in these parts is Mr. W. P. Pinckney, of
Sumatra, who comes from a well-known tennis
family. His brother has held the champion-
ship of Hongkong for some years. During
the last two years Mr. F. Salzmann and
Mr. L. E. Gaunt have held the Singapore
championship alternately, the former winning
in the spring tournaments and the latter in the
autumn tournaments.
Tennis is extremely popular in the Federated
Malay States. It is played chiefly in centres
like Kuala Lumpor, Taiping, Ipoh, Batu Gajah,
and Seremban. Although many bungalows
have a court, it is difficult to arrange meetings
to bring together the players of the Federated
Malay States, so the champion of the States
has yet to be decided. The courts are mostly
grass, and none of them in the places named
are very good. On some estates there are
gravel courts, and these conduce to a better
and faster game than grass.
FOOTBALL.
In spite of a mean shade temperature of over
80 degrees, both Association and Rugby foot-
ball are freely played by the European
residents of the Straits Settlements. Owing to
the exhausting nature of the game and the
short duration of the daylight after the heat of
the day has subsided, it is the rule only to play
Iwenty or twenty-five minutes each way.
Association football is played all the year round,
but Rugby can only be indulged in during the
rainy season (October to January inclusive), as
the ground is too hard at other times of the
year. In Singapore, two competitions a year
are conducted under the auspices of the local
Football Association — one in May and June, for
the Singapore Cup, and the other in November
and December for a shield bequeathed by the
Singapore Football League, which, formerly
run in opposition to the Association, is now
defunct. Entrance to the Association is limited
to European and Eurasian clubs, and those at
present affiliated to it are seven in number,
namely, the Singapore Cricket Club (football
section), the Singapore Recreation Club, the
Prison Warders' Football Club, the Y.M.C.A.,
the West Kent Regiment " A " and " B " teams,
and the R.G.A. teams. The West Kent " B "
team are the present holders of the Cup, having
defeated the West Kent " A " team in the final
by one goal to nil. A great deal of interest is
shown in the game by the public, and consider-
able crowds gather to witness the final stages
of the Cup competition. Two or three times a
year matches are contested between a picked
team representing Singapore and the State
teams of the Federated Malay States or a
combined Federated Malay States team.
•Matches are also arranged periodically with
teams from war-ships calling at the port.
There is an Association League in Pinang,
which holds an annual shield competition.
The present holders of the trophy are the
Pinang Y.M.C.A. A high average standard of
play is maintained in the colony, and most
of the teams would be able to hold their own
against provincial town amateur teams at home.
To foster the love of the game among
younger players in Perak, Colonel R. S. F.
Walker, C.M.G., Commandant of the Malay
States Guides, has presented a challenge cup.
Originally it was competed for on the cup tie
system, but now a league has been formed,
and each club plays each other club home and
home matches, the one securing most points
holding the cup for the time being. Taiping,
Kuala Kangsa, Ipoh, Batu Gajah, Tapah, Teluk
Anson, the Taiping Recreation Club, King
Edward VII. School, and Matang, have all at
one time or other entered for the cup. in
Selangor, also, there is a cup competition.
When inter-State matches are played it is no
unusual sight to see a crowd of two or three
thousand natives watching and applauding.
The usual duration of the matches is half an
hour each way.
Although it does not arouse as much public
interest as Association football, the Rugby
game is followed with even greater enthusiasm
by the players themselves, because of the
limited period during which it can be played.
There is only one Rugby club in Singapore—
that run under the auspices. of the Cricket Club
— but it can boast 45 playing members.
Matches are arranged every week between
various sections of the club, or between the
Cricket Club team and scratch teams from the
military, from employees of one or two large
companies, and from war-ships temporarily in
2B"
582
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
port. There is no Rugb}' league or competi-
tion, but the players are sutficiently enthusiastic
to train for the Rugby season, and a fast game
is played. Inter-State matches with Federated
Malay States teams take place every year and
attract considerable interest. The only Rugby
football played in Pinang is the St.Andrew's Day
scratch match, Scotland v. The Rest of the World.
It is worthy of note that the Malays play an
excellent Association game. In Singapore
alone there are twenty-four Malay teams, and
an annual competition is held for a silver cup.
In nine cases out of ten the elevens play bare-
footed. Even in competition matches, although
the players appear on the field dressed in
and the standard of play is, generally speaking,
up to that of the average provincial town team
in the Old Country. There is no league or
competition by the players, but one or two
matches a week are usually played among the
local teams, and once or twice a year meetings
are arranged between teams representative of
Singapore and of one or other of the native
States. Periodically, too, scratch matches are
arranged with naval teams, or with army and
navy combinations. In Pinang hockey is
played only to a small extent.
Hockey has been played for some years in
the Federated Malay States, and inter-State
matches take place regularly at Whitsuntide
colony. Under its auspices all kinds of games
are carried on, including cricket, lawn tennis,
football (Association and Rugby), hockey, and
bowls. It was formed in i86r, and enjoys the
use of half the padang on the Esplanade at
a peppercorn rental. A handsome and
commodious club-house has been recently
constructed at a cost of 48,416 dollars, of which
sum 16,000 dollars still remain to be paid. Two
hundred and five members joined the club
during the year 1906-7, and there is now a
membership of 666 as compared with 608 in
1906. The entrance-fee is 10 dollars, and the
monthly subscription ij dollars, but lately 50
cents more have been added to the subscription
SINGAPORE CRICKET CLUB PAVILION.
European style, with regulation football boots,
it is a common sight to see them discard their
footgear after five minutes' play.
HOCKEY.
In Singapore there are half a dozen hockey
teams, namely, the Cricket Club first and
second teams, and the Russell's Infantry, West
Kent Regiment, Y.M.C.A., and Recreation Club
teams. "The game is played in the evenings
throughout the year, and all matches take place
on the Cricket Club's ground, which is very
fast and true. The usual duration of the game
is forty minutes — twenty minutes each way —
between Perak and Selangor. In Perak there
are inter-club matches, at Taiping and Ipoh,
and Batu Gajah. In Selangor the only out-
stalion enthusiastic about the game is Kajang,
which plays two or three matches yearly with
teams from Kuala Lumpor. In Negri Sambi-
lan the game has languished, but now shows
signs of reviving, and it is likely that an annual
match will be arranged between Xegri Sambi-
lan and Selangor. Selangor has an annual
fixture with Singapore. The grounds, as a
rule, are fast and true, conditions which make
the game exceptionally enjoyable.
The Singapore Cricket Club is one of
the most popular and successful clubs in the
in order to help to defray the balance outstand-
ing on the building fund. For the year ending
June, 1907, the general account closed with a
balance in hand of 4,407.06 dollars, and of this
the committee transferred 4,000 dollars to the
building fund. The management of the club
is vested in a committee consisting of a
president and eight active members. At the
time of writing the committee consists of the
hon. captain, A. H. Young, C.M.G. (president),
Captain C. Druce, Messrs. J. Kerr Black, H. M.
Cantrell, E. F. H. Edlin, W. J. Mayson,
N. E. Kent, R. Scoular, and E. L. Talma.
The cricket section is controlled by a sub-
committee consisting of Captain C. Druce,
Messrs. H. M. Cantrell, E. F. H. Edlin, and
THE CHINESE BECREATION CLUB, PINANG.
J. THE Pavilion.
2. Gan Teong Tat (Cricket Captain). 3. Gan Teong Teik (Secretary).
(See p. 584.)
4. The Members.
584
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPHESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
E. L. Talma. There is no regular captain of
the cricket team, but before each match the
sub-committee decides who shall direct the
field. During the year 1906-7, 27 first XI.
and 7 second XI. matches were played. R. T.
Reid secured both the batting and bowling
prizes for the first XI., and P. J. Sproule and
A. W. Beven won the batting and bowling
prizes respectively for the second XI. Tennis
is, perhaps, even more popular than cricket
with the members, and tournaments are held
in the spring and autumn of each 3'ear.
F. Salzmann won the championship in the
spring, and L. E. Gaunt in the autumn.
Football is played regularly during the year,
but the club teams were less successful in
1907 than formerly. A match was played in
Singapore against Selangor at Christmas, 1906,
and resulted in a draw of one goal each. In
the Cup ties the club was defeated in the first
round by the " A " team of the West Kent
Regiment, the score being 4 goals to nil.
During tlie Rugby season much enthusiasm
was shown by all playing members, and the
club won all its matches. At Christmas a
Selangor XV. was beaten by 17 points to
nil. Interest in hockey is well maintained,
and some 50 games, in which about 70
members participated, were p'ayed in 1906-7.
An inter-port match took place at Christmas
against Selangor, the club winning a well-
contested game by 3 goals to nil.
The Recreation Club. — Directly opposite
the Singapore Cricket Club pavilion, at the
other end of "the plain," is situated the head-
quarters of the Singapore Recreation Club,
which was founded in 1883. The members
are mostly Eurasians. The present substantial
pavilion was erected in 1905 at a cost of
12,000 dollars, and it speaks well for the vitality
of the institution that nearly the whole of this
sum has already been paid off. In front of
the pavilion the club has a fine stretch of
playing-field, on which are six tennis-courts
and an area for football and hockey. The
outside aid was received towards the erection
of the pavilion. The membership numbers
140, and the officers of the club are : President,
Mr. D. M. Martia ; vice-president, Mr. G.
Pereira ; hon. sec. and treasurer, Mr. A. V.
Peralta ; captain, Mr. E. J. Gomes. The club's
affairs are managed by a committee, consisting
of the officers and six other members.
The Ladies' Lawn Tennis Club, Singa-
pore, was founded by the most influential
residents of the settlement in 1884, and the
original membership was between 90 and
roo. The use of about four acres of land
lying between Bras Basah Road and Stamford
Road was granted by the Government to the
club, and upon this ground there are now
twelve excellent tennis-courts and two croquet
greens. Three years ago a well-equipped
pavilion was erected at a cost of 5,000 dollars.
This has been paid for, and the club has a sub-
stantial credit balance. From the first both
sexes have bsen admitted to the club, although
a distinction has been made by describing
ladies as members and gentlemen as sub-
scribers. The latter are not eligible to serve
upon the committee, except in ex-officio
capacities. Two tournaments are held each
year, and in these the standard of play is
almost as high as that of the best players in
the cricket club. The membership is limited
to 250, and the full complement has now been
reached. The entrance-fee is 10 dollars, and
the annual subscription for both ladies and
gentlemen is 12 dollars. Mrs. Salzmann, Mrs.
Saunders, Mrs. Bowes, Mrs. Murray, and Mrs.
Dare form the present committee. Mr. M. J.
Upcott is the hon. sec, and Mr. H. M. Cantrell
the hon. treasurer.
Perak Club is the premier social institution
of Taiping and is the senior club in the native
States. For its formation in 1881, and its sub-
sequent progress. Colonel Walker is in large
measure responsible. Among the early patrons
were Sir Hugh Low, formerly British Resident
in Perak, Mr. W. E. Maxwell, Assistant Resi-
PINANG SWIMMING CLUB.
club's football and hockey teams have been
very successful. Members' subscriptions, at the
rate of 1.50 dollars a month each, are the
9hief source of revenue, but considerable
dent, and Major Swinburne. The capacious
club-house was erected by the Government,
and is still kept in repair by the Public Works
Department, In front of the building is an
admirable playing-field, which is used for
cricket, football, hockey, and tennis. The
athletic section of the club is known as the
Cricket and Recreation Club, and is the leading
sporting club of the Federated Malay States.
It was the father of cricket and football in the
peninsula, and the first inter-State matches in
Malaya were arranged by it. Practically every
European resident of Larut, Matang, Krian, and
Upper Perak is a member of the club, and, as is
usual with most Federated Malay States clubs,
ladies are admitted to its privileges gratis.
The Hon. Mr. E. W, Birch, C.M.G., British
Resident of Perak, is the president, and Mr.
W. Sayers is the hon. secretary and treasurer.
The committee consists of Messrs. H. B. Col-
linge, B. W. E. Dunsford, N, Grenier, P. Moss,
A, B. Stephens, A. B. Voules, and C, Goldham.
The Chinese Recreation Club, Pinang,
was formed in the beginning of 1893 for the
encouragement of all kinds of sports and
recreations among the Chinese. It was re-
organised in 1901, and, as the result of an
appeal to the Chinese community, the sum of
50,000 dollars was raised, and a piece of ground
in Pangkor Road, embracing 3J acres, was
purchased. This ground, "Victoria Green,"
is lent to the club for cricket, football, and
tennis. A very handsome bronze statue of the
late Queen Victoria has been imported, and it
is intended to erect this on the ground. A
temporary club-house, containing dressing-
rooms and a games-room, furnished with a
full-size billiard-table, has been erected, and
here the members enjoy indoor games and
social intercourse in the evenings. It is in-
tended to build a large and up-to-date pavilion
in place of the present temporary structure.
The membership now stands at 250, and is
increasing rapidly, and it is satisfactory to note
that the club is in a good financial position.
The football team run in connection with the
institution attained to the third position in the
Pinang Association Football League in 1906
and 1907 ; the cricket team also has a good
record ; and tennis is exceedingly popular
among the members. Mr. Lini Kek Chuan
is president of the club ; Mr. Lam Hor Choong,
vice-president ; Mr. Toh Lip Koo, honorary
treasurer ; Mr. Gan Teong Teik, honorary
secretary ; Mr. Gan Teong Tat, cricket captain ;
Mr. Cheah Thean Lye, football captain ; and
Mr. Yap Swee Lin, superintendent of grounds ;
while the committee comprises Messrs. Yeoh
Boon Swee, Yeoh Boon Chit, Yeoh Guan Seok,
Boay Siew Chan, Lim Seng Hooi, and Sim
Swee Ee. The subscription to the club is only
a dollar and a half a month.
A Chinese Lawn Tennis Club was
founded at Malacca in 1893, largely owing to
the efforts of Messrs. Tan Chay Yan, Chan
Koon Chiang, Chi Kan Cheng, and Chan Cheng
Siew. The object of the institution is to en-
courage the practice of both outdoor and
indoor games — notably tennis, croquet, billiards,
and chess — among the English-speaking Straits-
born Chinese of Malacca. A tennis tournament
is held once a year. In 1906 the championship
was won by Tan Wi Yan ; the singles handicap
by Tan Soo Chi, and the doubles handicap by
Tan Soo Chi and Kan Hock Chye. The officers
of the club are : President, Tan Chay Yan ;
vice-president, Chan Cheng Siew ; hon. secre-
tary, Koh Keng Bock ; hon. treasurer, Neo Swi
Hock ; committee, Chan Koon Chiang, Chi
Kan Cheng, Tan Wee Yan, Tan Soo Hock,
Low Cheng Chuan, and Tan Kwi Hee,
SWIMMING AND
ROWING.
The Singapore Swimming Club has a
membership of over 450, and is the chief
Sunday morning resort of Singapore young
men. It was started about twelve years ago
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
585
with an original membership of 38 and a
small attap house at Tanjong Katong as its
headquarters. The club's present handsome
quarters were erected in 1905 on the site of
the iirst headquarters at a total cost of 16,000
dollars. The institution is in a healthy financial
condition, and is carried on mainly by members'
entrance fees at the rate of 10 dollars a head,
and subscriptions amounting to 1.25 dollars
each a month. The land on which the pavilion
now stands is the club's own property, and
quite a large slice of it has been reclaimed
from the sea by the club's employees. Members
swim in the open sea, and never in the club's
history, has there been a member injured by
sharks or crocodiles, which abound outside the
enclosure, or seriously hurt by the sun. Every
Sunday .morning between 100 and 150 members
put in an appearance. They are conve5'ed in
a launch, specially chartered by the club, that
makes four journeys each way from Johnston's
Pier. The club pavilion is fully equipped to
meet members' requirements. A good tiffin is
served there whenever the launch is run, and
there is a bar, and a good supply of comfortable
long chairs in which members can lounge after
their exertions. Every alternate year a carnival
is held. On the last occasion it was witnessed
by no fewer than 3,000 people. A minstrel
troupe and band of music entertained the
throng, swimming races were held, and alto-
gether the scene was one of great gaiety.
Monthly swimming races are arranged, and
the event of the year is the competition for the
Jackson Miller Cup, which is awarded to the
highest aggregate scorer in three races, over
100 yards, 150 yards, and 300 yards respectively.
Water polo is also a popular feature. The
club's polo team achieved a record in igo6,
going through the year without a single de-
feat. The officers of the club for 1907 were :
President, Mr. Justice Braddell ; vice-president,
J. le Mesurier, J. W. Thomson, A. E. Baddeley,
R. L. Cuscaden, and G. Wald. Members are
elected by ballot by an election committee.
The Pinang Swimining Club's head-
quarters at Tanjong Bungah, six miles from
SINGAPOBE SWIMMING CLUB.
Mr. F. M. Elliott ; captain, Mr. C. E.D. Warry ;
vice-captain, Mr. J. Kerr Black ; hon. treasurer,
Mr. A. W. C. Hanbury ; hon. secretary, Mr.
M. B. Brockwell. The management committee
consists of all the officers, together with Messrs.
the town, are approached by a road which
skirts one of the loveliest stretches of sea
beach in the island. The club bungalow looks
out over a charming little bay, hemmed in by
fantastic rocks, and half-hidden by varied
•-■t^lML
LADIES' DAY AT THE PINANG SWIMMING CLUB.
2 B
586
T^^^N^TIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
tropical foliage. Perhaps it is seen at its best
at one of the periodical moonlight fetes, when
the shore is dotted with hundreds of coloured
lights and the strains from a band of music
float across the water. These gatherings are
always largely attended. It was on June 5,
1903, that a representative meeting of the
young Europeans of Pinang decided to form
the Swimming Club, and among those who
have done most to bring the club to its present
flourishing condition should be mentioned
Messrs. Wilson, Adams, Low, and Wallace
Jones, together with Mr. V. Gibbons, who has
been indefatigable as the hon. secretary of the
club since the latter part of 1904. The club-
house was erected in April, 1904, by the issue
of 3,000 dollars' worth of debentures, which
were taken up by the original members. Last
year there was a net profit of 1,710 dollars
after the payment of all expenses, including
interest on the debentures. The club has an
active membership of 200, and sports are held
regularly. Thursdays are set apart as ladies'
days ; and the club often forms the rendezvous
of the members of the Hunt Club for Sunday
morning breakfast.
The Singapore Rowing Club, which has
its headquarters on the banks of the Singapore
river, just above Cavenagh Bridge, was founded
in 1883. The first secretary was Mr. F. G.
Davidson, of. the P. & O. Company, who, on
leaving Singapore in 1890, presented the club
with four challenge cups, which, after many
contests, were eventually won by Messrs. R.
Scoular, H. Wade, H. Tregarthen, A. R. Catto,
and C. Charlwood (cox). In 1890 a crew was
sent to compete against Hongkong, consisting
of the following : H. Tregarthen, E. J. Nanson,
R. F. Boileau, and Dr. H. Smith. Singapore
lost the two four-oared races, but H. Tregarthen
won a massive silver salver, which was given
by the Hon. Mr. J. J. Keswick for the sculling
match. In 1894 Lieut. Campbell Coffin, R.E.,
presented four silver goblets for competition.
The only one now in the colony is in the
possession of Mr. M. Kodesse, for many years
secretary of the club. Since then, other valu-
able trophies — the " Chiengmai " and the
" Scott Russell " challenge cups— have been
given to the club. In addition to these gifts,
the club had another windfall when the sur-
viving members of the defunct Singapore
Yacht Club presented it with a sum of over
300 dollars in 1895, in consideration of which
they were all made honorary members.
The first European contest held in the
Federated Malay States in racing boats was
rowed at Kuala Klang (now Port Swettenham)
in 1898, and won by the Singapore Club, which
provided both boats. The crews were as
follows : Singapore — E. Maxwell, bow, 10 st.
7 lbs. ; C. A. Palmer, 11 st. 10 lbs. ; M. Rodesse,
11 st. II lbs. ; R. Scoular, stroke, 11 st. 5 lbs. ;
and C. Wiggins, cox, 8 st. 12 lbs. Selangor —
C. Severn, bow, 11 st. 7 lbs. ; W. Moore, 13 st.
12 lbs. ; H. Tregarthen, 12 st. 11 lbs. ; F. B.
Hicks, stroke, 11 st. 13 lbs. ; and Captain Edyo,
cox, 8 St. 7 lbs. The club has eighty members,
and possesses two four-oar boats, two double
sculling boats, two single sculling boats, and
one tub pair. Three pair-oar boats have been
ordered.
MILITARY
THE REGULAR FORCES.
[NGAPOKE is the most
important strategical
position in the Middle
East, and is strongly
fortified and garrisoned.
Every vessel travelling
to the Far East has to
pass through a strait
only two and a half
miles wide, south of the islands of Pulo Brani
and Blakang Mati, on which are forts and
batteries armed with heavy and quick-firing
ordnance. The names of these islands are
significant : Pulo Brani means " brave island,"
and " Blakang Mati, " death from the back."
The total garrison of the settlement numbers
about 2,500 of all ranks, and consists at the
time of writing of two companies of Royal
Garrison Artillery (Nos. 78 and 80 Companies),
one company of Royal Engineers (41st
Company), one battalion of British Infantry
(the 2nd Battalion of the Queen's Own Royal
West Kent Regiment), one battalion of Native
Infantry (the 95th Russell's Infantry), and a
company of Native Artillery (No. 2 Company
of the Singapore Battalion of the Hongkong
Artillery (Sikhs), together with detachments of
the Army Service Corps and Army Ordnance
Corps, and the 32nd Company of the Royal
Army Medical Corps.
The Artillery are stationed on Blakang Mati
island, the Engineers on Pulo Brani, the Native
Infantry at Alexandra Barracks, about four
miles from the town of Singapore, and the
British Infantry in Tanglin Barracks, over-
looking the Botanical Gardens. The head-
quarters offices are at Fort Canning.
The only regular force in Pinang is a
company of the Malay States Guides. For-
merly two companies of British Infanti-y were
stationed in Pinang on detachment duty from
Singapore, but they were finally withdrawn in
1899. There are no troops in Malacca.
H.E. the Governor is Commander-in-Chief
by virtue of his office. H.E. the General
Officer commanding the troops is Major-
General T. Perrott, C.B., and the principal
officers of the command are : Lieut. H. M.
Holland, R.A. (aide-de-camp to the G.O.C.),
Captain F. C. Dundas, Argyll and Sutherland
Highlanders (Deputy Assistant Adjutant and
Quartermaster- General) ; Brevet-Colonel G
Wright, D.S.O., R.G.A. (O.C. Artillery) ; Lieut.-
Colonel H. V. Kent, R.E. (O.C. Engineers),
Major R. Ford, D.S.O. (O.C. Army Service
Corps) ; Lieut.-Colonel H. H. Johnston, C.B.,
M.D. (Senior Medical Officer) ; Major C. R.
Hodgins, R.A. (Chief Ordnance Officer) ; Lieut.-
Colonel J. E. Benbow (District Paymaster), and
Lieut. H. D. Belgrave, R.W. Kent Regiment
(Garrison Adjutant).
The colony's military contribution is fixed at
20 per cent, of the revenue, omitting receipts
from the proceeds of land sales, premia on
leases or statutory grants, and Christmas
Island revenue. In the case of railways, tele-
SUBADAB-MAJOR GUBDIT SINGH.
(A.D.C. to H.E. the High Commissioner.)
phones, and other productive undertakings the
contribution is calculated on the net revenue
after making allowance for working expenses,
charges for interest on borrow.'ed capital, and
sinking fund. The contribution of the colony
in 1906 amounted to 1,763,488 dollars, as
compared with 1,923,995 dollars in 1905 and
2,367,354 dollars in 1904.
Major-Qeneral T. Perrott, C.B.— A
biographical sketch of H.E. the General
Officer commanding the. troops oi.the Straits
587
Settlements, Major-Geiieral T. Perrott, C.B.,
will be found under the heading " Executive
Council."
ST. JOHN AMBULANCE
ASSOCIATION.
A branch of this association, with Singapore
as its centre, was started in 1907, with H.E. Sir
John Anderson, K.C.M.G., as president. The
leading physicians of the city, with the officers
of the Royal Army Medical Corps, are the
lecturers and examiners. During the first nine
months of the society's work in the Straits
Settlements, courses of instruction were held
in " First Aid," " Hygiene," and " Military
Sanitation," at Singapore, Pinang, and Malacca.
These lectures were attended by 180 students,
and in the examinations 117 gained the
certificate of competency. The value of the
association, in view of the naval and com-
mercial importance of Singapore, and the
establishment of a Naval Sick Berth Corps,
was first pointed out to H.E. the Governor by
Colonel A. C. Yate, Hon. Organising Secretary
for India ; and on the arrival of the Rev. P. N.
Hunter, Military Chaplain, who is hon. secre-
tary of the association, work was begun in
earnest with the assistance of Drs. D. J. Gallo-
way, D. A. Young, More, Hewetson, and J H
Duguid, R.A.M.C, and Colonel Johnston,
R.A.M.C. It is expected that in a short
time all the chief centres of population in the
Straits and States will be associated with the
Singapore headquarters.
MALAY STATES GUIDES.
■The regiment designated the Malay States
Guides was formed in 1896 from the armed
police forces in Perak, Selangor, and Pahang.
It consists of six companies of Infantry, "a
Depot Company with Field Battery of " 15-
pounder breech-loading guns, and a Mountain
Battery. Each company consists of two native
officers and a hundred non-commissioned
officers and men, under the command of a
European otBcer, appointed from the regular
army at home or in India on a seconded period
of three or five years.
The headquarters of the regiment is at
Taiping, Perak. One company is on detach-
ment duty in Pinang.
The regiment is liable to be called out to
strengthen the garrison of the Straits Settle-
ments in case of war. A portion of it attends
THE OFFICERS.
Reading from Icjt to right.
S/aKrfiiig.— Jemadar Jag Singh. Subaoar K\h Singh. Jejiadar Prem Singh. Subadar Bachan Singh, Jemadar Rada. Subadar Jewala Singh.
Subadar-Major G[;rdit Singh. Sub\dar Mcstax Khan. Subadar Jewand Singh. Subadar Mewa Singh. Jemadar Jesw.ant Singh.
Subadar Gurdit Singh. Jemadar Gl-hdit Singh. Jeimadar Vadhawa Singh.
S/////f.iJ.— LlEU'lENANT C. H. M. McCALLUM. LIEUTE.NANT J. H. G. MARRIOTT. CAITAIN E. H. G. LEGGETT. CAPTAIX H. \V D. ADAM. MAJOR A. S. VaNRENEN.
Lieutenant-Colonel E. S. F. Walker, C.M.G. Captain- W. E Long. Captain E. \. JL B.arrett. Lieutenant B. W. E. Dunsford.
Lieutenant O. T.' MacR. Leckie. Lieutenant S. A. MacMillan.
COLOUE PRESENTED BY THE SULTANS OF PERAK,
SELANGOR, NEGRI SAMBILAN, AND PAHANG.
INTER COMPANY SHOOTING SHIELDS, WARREN
SHIELD IN CENTRE.
BISLEY TEAM, 1906.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
589
the annual mobilisation manoeuvres at Singa-
pore.
The regiment was organised and is still
commanded by Lieut.-Colonel R. S. Frowd
Walker, C.M.G., late of the 28th Gloucester-
shire Regiment, who had previously been in
command of the armed police in Perak since
1879. The other officers, besides the company
commanders, consist of two field officers, the
senior of whom is the second-in-command,
and an adjutant, quartermaster, and medical
officer.
The armoury is under the charge of an
experienced European with a strong staff of
sergeants. Everything in connection with
repairs to rifles is undertaken. A clothing
store is attached to the regiment, under the
charge of a European master-tailor and assis-
t:mt, and uniforms for police, gaols. Sec, are
made and issued from it, in addition to those
for the regiment.
The barrack-rooms are excellently designed,
each accommodating one company. The
cantonment is laid out under most satisfactory
sanitary conditions, and includes gymnasium,
school, and gurdwara.
The men are enlisted from natives of the
Punjab— Jat Sikhs— with the exception of one
company, which consists of Punjabi Mahome-
dans and a small percentage of Pathans. They
enlist for five years, but can remain in the
corps longer at the discretion of the com-
manding officer. They are under a Military
Discipline Act, and are entitled to a pension
after they attain forty-five years of age. For
discipline and training they are subject to the
orders of the General Officer Commanding the
Straits Settlements.
The regiment has acquired a high standard
of efficiency in musketry. It won the Warren
Shield in igoo, 1902, 1903, and 1904, and took
the first eight places with its eight teams in
1905. A team of the regiment, which competed
at Bisley for the " Kolapore " and " Mac-
kinnon". Cups, was placed fourth in each
event. Several members of the team carried
off prizes in the open competitions. Corporal
Bogh Singh was only one point behind the
winner in the Secretary of State for War's prize.
Lieut. =Colonel R. S. Frowd Walker,
C.M.G,, the Commanding Officer of the Malay
States Guides, has the distinction, not only of
being the civil servant of longest standing
in Malaya, but of being more intimately
connected with the growth and rise of the
State of Perak than any other official. He saw
Perak and its capital, Taiping, grow into their
present flourishing condition, and was largely
responsible for the progress of the town. This
fact was acknowledged in 1880 by the presenta-
tion to him of a sword of honour for settling
the Chinese troubles in Perak. Colonel Walker
was born at Chestercastle on May 13, 1850,
and having received his earlier education at
Brentwood School, entered the Royal Military
College, Sandhurst, where subsequently he was
presented by the late Duke of Cambridge, who
was then the Commander-in-Chief, with the
sword of honour for efficiency. At the age
of twenty he joined the 28th Foot — now the
Gloucester Regiment — being the last ensign
gazetted in the British army, and with them he
served at Gibraltar and Malta. In 1874 he
came out to the war in Perak, but was moved
to Hongkong, whence he came to Singapore.
Here, in 1878, he was aide-de-camp to Sir
William Robinson, then Governor of the Straits
Settlements. Early in 1879 he entered the
service of the Federated Malay States as Acting
Commissioner of the Perak Armed Police, and
served subsequently in the substantive office,
discharging also the duties of Acting Assistant
Resident. By 1884 he was Commandant of the
1st Perak Sikhs with the local rank of Major.
Five years later he was gazetted Hon. Lieut.-
Colonel. He acted as Assistant Resident,
Perak (1882), Secretary to the Government of
Perak (1889), British Resident, Selangor (1899),
and British Resident, Perak (1900). In 1902 he
was granted the local rank of Lieut.-Colonel
while employed as Commandant of the Malay
States Guides, a regiment which he raised in
i8g6 and has brought to a high state of
efficiency. Lieut.-Colonel Walker is regarded
In the matches at the Surrey Oval versus
Scotland, 1870 and 1872, he scored the only four
goals obtained for England, and in later years,
while at Hongkong, he played cricket regu-
larly against the coast ports, besides stroking
the regimental boats of four Scotch inter-
nationals who won the famous race against the
officers of the United^ States' ship Kcarsage.
LIEUT.-COLONEL R. S. F. WALKER, C.M.G. (COMMANDANT).
as a fine type of the British soldier and sports-
man. He was instrumental in forming the
Perak Turf Club, and to him also is due the
initiation of the Perak Cricket Club, which for
nine years never lost a match against Singa-
pore, Pinang, or Selangor. Even now, at the
age of fifty-seven, he may still be seen handling
a bat or defending the goal in the football field
with as great a zest as ever. While at Sand-
hurst he captained the cricket eleven, and
proved himself an enthusiastic football player.
It is needless almost to add that Colonel W aiker
is a member of many sporting, service, and
social clubs, including the New Club, Perak, of
which he is president and secretary, the
United Service Institute, Naval and Military,
Wellington, Ranelagh, Sports, and all Malay
States and Straits Settlements clubs. Colonel
Walker, in spite of his duties, finds time to
devote attention to the collection of Malay
weapons, brasses, and silver, and has the finest
collection of old china in the peninsula. In
THE BARRACKS.
PRESENTATION OF COLOUR, FEB. 12, 1906.
FIRE BRIGADE (6 REEL AND 1 LADDER DIVISIONS).
AMBULANCE CORPS.
THE MOUNTAIN BATTEEY. BRIDGINC^BABRBL BAFT. MACHINE GUNS (VICKEBS-MAXIM IN
DOUBLE LOCK BEIDGB. BATTEBY 15-POUNDBB B.L., REVIEW OBDER.
592
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
recognition of his knowledge of Malaya and
the Malays he has been elected a Fellow of
the Royal Geographical Society, the Royal
Zoological Society, the Royal Colonial Society,
and of the Royal Colonial Institute. In recogni-
nition of his public services he was created
a C.M.G. in 1901. The thanks of the Home
Government were also accorded to him in
connection with the suppression of the Perak
riots in 1879 and the expeditions of 1892 and
1894 to Pahang. On the occasion of the late
Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee he com-
manded the dismounted colonial troops. In
January, 1896, Lieut. -Colonel Walker married
Mrs. Bolton, widow of Colonel Bolton, Royal
Horse Guards, and eldest daughter of the late
Mr. T. J. Ireland, M.P., of Ousden Hall, Suffolk.
Colonel Walker's London residence is at
Queen's Gate, Kensington.
Major Arthur Saunders Vanrenen,
second-in-command of the Malay States
Guides, is the eldest son of Lieut.-General
Vanrenen, R.A., and was born at Lucknow in
1862. He was educated privately and at
MAJOR A. S. VANBENBN.
(Second-in-Command.)
Cheltenham College, and received his com-
mission as Lieutenant in the 2nd Batt. Lincoln-
shire Regiment in 1883. Ten years later he
was promoted Captain in the same regiment,
and in 1897 he joined the Malay States Guides
as Wing Commander. In the following year
he was promoted second-in-command of the
Guides. In addition to filling that position
he has acted as Superintendent of Prisons,
Selangor, Perak, and Federated Malay States ;
Inspector of Prisons, Federated Malay States,
and Commandant Malay States Guides for two
and a half years. He is a member of the
Incogniti Cricket Club, the Sports Club,
London, and of all Perak and Federated
Malay States clubs. The Taiping Rifle As-
sociation owes its origin to him. In 1879
Major Vanrenen married the eldest daughter
of the late Mr. E. C. Iremonger, formerly
Colonial Treasurer of the Straits Settlements.
Mrs. Vanrenen is the crack shot of the Perak
Ladies' Rifle Association, and won the chal-
lenge trophy in 1907.
VOLUNTEERS.
SINGAPORE.
Though, as a rule, the mixed population of
Singapore is a peaceable community, yet the
proportion of Europeans is small, and, should
serious disturbances arise among the native
races or clans, the regular troops might need
the assistance of the civilians to quell them.
Therefore, both to supplement the defence of
the port against a foreign invader and to guard
against possible internal troubles, the Colonial
Government supports a volunteer corps.
It is greatly to the credit of the British
subjects in Singapore that the volunteer force
receives so much support. The enervating
climate, the short hours of daylight available
for drill after work is finished, and the constant
coming and going of the population are diffi-
culties not encountered by the volunteer
regiments at home. The Government has
always offered the utmost encouragement to
the corps, and members have overcome the
difficulties in their way and given up their
spare time in order to learn to be of use in the
defence of the Empii'e.
The first proposal to form a volunteer corps
was made as early as 1846, as a direct con-
sequence of the Chinese riots which occurred
in that year. The proposal, however, was
dropped, and it was not revived until the
time of the Crimean War, when a rifle corps
of 61 members was enrolled. The corps was
presented with a set of colours in 1857, and on
that memorable occasion in 1858, when the
Queen's proclamation taking over the direct
government of the Indian dominions was read,
the members paraded with the rest of the gar-
rison. In 1868 a half battery of mountain
artillery was added to the corps, but the guns
were sent to the Malay States Guides when the
volunteer artillery was formed. This artillery
unit sprang from the rifles, in obedience to a
general consensus of opinion, and the rifle
corps ceased to exist. It was the first volunteer
corps raised in the East, and bore as its motto
the words " Primus in Indis." The members
were armed at first with a smooth-bore musket,
which was replaced later by the Snider carbine.
Their uniform was a rifle-green frock, with
black belts and pouches embossed with the
rifleman's horn, while the headdress was the
shako, with a sun cover to protect the neck.
In 1887 a committee of energetic and patriotic
citizens was formed, and two members were
selected to approach the Governor on the sub-
ject of forming a volunteer artillery battery.
The function of this battery was to be the
attainment of a certain proficiency in garrison
gun drill at one selected type of gun mounted
in the defences of Singapore. At the interview
the Governor and the General, who was. also
present, expressed their entire agreement with
the scheme, and the Singapore Volunteer Artil-
lery sprang into being. The first enrolled
members numbered about ninety, and they
were trained by sergeants of the regular
artillery. Major McCallum, then Colonial
Engineer, was appointed Commandant. The
Singapore Volunteer Artillery had no drill
hall, and their stores, which had to be ordered
from England, were put in the municipal
buildings. But a 7-inch R.M.L. gun was
mounted on the site of the present drill hall,
and gradually stores, arms, range finders,
signalling gear, and other equipment were
acquired. Meanwhile, camps were constantly
held at the various forts, and in 1892 the
present drill hall was built. In this year also
four Maxim guns were presented to the corps
by subscriptions from local firms, both Euro-
pean and Chinese. .
In 1895 a cyclist section was raised in
connection with the signalling section, and
a gymnasium and canteen were opened. In
the year previous the volunteers were allotted
to a definite position in the scheme of defence
of the colony ; but during the latter part of
1896 the fort to which they had been allotted
was dismantled, and a battery of six 2-5-inch
mountain guns was taken over by the corps.
They were drawn by Deli ponies, and many
a hill in Singapore has felt the impress of their
wheels. These guns were in their turn re-
placed by the more modern lo-pounder B.L.,
but these latter were withdrawn from the
defences in 1906, and the Singapore Volunteer
Artillery once more reverted to their original
role of coast defence artillery. The motto of
the first rifle corps from which this unit
sprang has been adopted by the artillery in
a slightly altered form: "In Oriente primus "
are the words that now appear on the scroll
beneath the gun which is the crest of all
artillery units. In 1898 Major McCallum, now
Governor of Ceylon, left the colony, and in
consequence resigned the commandantship.
His departure was a great loss to the corps,
whose efficiency he had materially assisted to
maintain by his energy and popularity. His
place was taken by Major Murray, who came
from Ceylon to fill the post of Colonial
Engineer. During the above period two
members of the corps had seen active service
— Lieut. St. Clair (now Major on the retired
list), who was sent up to Pahang on special
service during the rebellion in 1891 ; and Ser-
geant Cloke, who went out to South Africa
during the Boer War as a private in Thorney-
croft's Horse, and died of enteric in that
country.
After the outbreak of the South African War
in 1899 the regular garrison of the settlement
was reduced, and in 1900 the British community
in Singapore formed a volunteer rifle corps.
The corps at first consisted of about one hundred
members, but soon increased to two strong
companies of nearly one hundred each. In its
ranks were to be seen the Attorney-General, a
member of the Legislative Council, and more
than one head of the large mercantile firms.
A great deal of steady hard work was per-
formed by the corps, and the idea of sending
a contingent to South Africa was even mooted,
but it was found impossible to carry it into
effect on account of the smallness of the com-
munity. The rifles were disbanded in 1904,
when the settlement had a regular British
battalion in garrison once more, and the
members passed to one of the other units or
to the reserve.
In igoi ,an engineer unit of Europeans was
formed, which, after the Coronation of H.M.
King Edward VII., received the title of
"Singapore Royal Engineers (Volunteers)."
In 1901 also the Singapore Volunteer Infantry
was raised, No. i Company being formed of
Eurasians and No. 2 Company of Chinese.
The formation of the latter company was due
principally to the energy and substantial
support 0/ the Hon. Mr. Tan Jiak Kim, M.L.C.,
who personally visited the War Office and
obtained permission to enrol Straits-born
Chinese as volunteers. The cadets were
formed from a nucleus of boys who had been
given elementary drill at Raffles School ; in
fact, the drilling of these boys preceded the
formation of the infantry. Their numbers
were added to in 1906 by the formation of
two additional companies at St. Joseph's In-
stitution and the Anglo-Chinese School. This
corps serves as a feeder to the Singapore
Volunteer Infantry, the boys being mostly
Eurasians and Chinese.
In 1904 Lieut. -Colonel Murray resigned the
corps, and his place is now filled by Lieut.-
Colonel E. G. Broadrick, President of the
Municipal Council. The corps contributed to
the Coronation in 1902 a contingent consist-
ing of Major Murray, in command, 13 non-
commissioned officers and men of the S.V.A.,
II non-commissioned officers and men of the
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OP BRITISH MALAYA
593
S.V.R., and 15 nou-commissioiied officers and
men of the S.V.I. They encamped in Alex-
andra Park, and took part in the review of
colonial troops and in the Coronation cere-
mony.
The present establishment of the corps is as
under : —
Staff (including an adjutant and sergeant-
major from the regular forces appointed for
three years), 11 officers and non-commis-
sioned officers.
S.V.A., 6 officers and loi men.
S.R.E., 3 officers and 61 men.
Maxim Company, 3 officers and 57 men.
S.V.I., 6^officers and 202 men.
There is also a bearer section of i officer
and 34 men.
The actual strength of men at present
serving in the colony is approximately 70
S.V.A., 60 S.R.E., 40 Maxims, and 180
Infantry, the Chinese company of the latter
unit have lately gained so many recruits as to
be at present over strength. Each of the three
school cadet corps contains 50 boys. The
officers are Europeans, with the exception of
one Chinese officer in No. 2 Company S.V.I.
The non-commissioned officers are selected
from the ranks, each section being under a
sergeant, with a corporal and two bombardiers,
or lance-corporals, to assist him. A reserve is
formed of men who no longer wish to take a too
active part in the corps, having already borne
the heat and burden of the day. These reserve
members are required to do a few drills and
a shortened musketry course every year.
Honorary members are admitted on payment
of a subscription of 25 dollars per annum to
the corps funds.
A corps of Guides is now in process of
formation, whose duty it will be to know every
foot of the island, so that in time of war an
intelligence staff may be at the disposal of the
General Commanding.
The rules and regulations which govern the
volunteers in Singapore are very similar to
those which are in force at home. These are
made law by an Ordinance passed in the year
1888, authorising the raising of a volunteer
force in the colony. The Ordinance provides
that volunteers serving with regular troops
shall be under the command of the officers of
his Majesty's regular forces, but under the
immediate leadership of their own officers.
Within the limits of the settlement the
Governor may call out the volunteers in time
of national danger. In such a contingency
the force would receive service rates of pay ;
and, under the Ordinance, allowances might
also be made to the families of such as needed
support. The management of corps business
and funds is entrusted to committees elected
by the various units. Members are required
to undertake to serve for two years, after
which time they may, if they wish, resign or
pass to the reserve. Active members are
required to attend a certain number of drills
in the year, varying from at least 24 in the
infantry to 12 in the artillery. Each member
must be present at the annual inspection,
which is carried out by a senior officer of the
regulars, of the same branch of the service
as that to which the unit under inspection
belongs. With the exception of the S.V.A.,
every unit undergoes a course of musketry.
The capitation grant earned by members who
qualify as " efficient " is 25 dollars. From this
money all uniform and clothing for the corps
are purchased and incidental expenses are
met. Camp expenses, ammunition, transport,
upkeep of arms, &c., amounting to some
35,000 dollars per annum, are paid for by the
Government.
The corps' uniform is khaki. The Euro-
peans wear the Wolseley pattern helmet, the
S.V.I, the slouch hat. Those of the Chinese
who have not become sufficiently westernised
to cut off their towchangs, curl them around
SINGAPORE VOLUNTEER OFFICERS.
I. Lieut. H. R. Llewellyn, S.V.L 2. Capt. F. Hilton, S.V.A,,
LiEUT.-CoLOXEL E. C. Broadrick, Commandmant S.V.C. 4. Major
6. Capt, F, J. Benvafield (M,n>:ini Dct.) 7. Capt.
Major E, C. Ellis, S,V L
Extra A.D.C.
G. A. Derrick, S,
J, A, R, Glenme,
VA.
s,vr.
594
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH :MALAYA
their heads and tuck them under their hats.
The units all wear the khaki puttee except the
S.V.A., which adheres to the old blue puttee.
All units have distinctive badges and buttons,
and the accoutrements consist of a plain brown
leather belt and bandolier. The arms are the
M.L.E. rifle and bayonet. The scheme of
work varies with the different corps, but is
generally similar throughout, in that two drills
are held in the drill-hall each week and one
week-end camp is arranged for each unit per
month. These week-end camps are spent by
the artillery in the forts at work on the
garrison guns ; and by the engineers in search-
light or field engineering practices. The
Maxims and the S.V.I, sleep the night under
canvas, and spend the days in manoeuvres.
The Maxim guns are drawn by Deli ponies,
but can, if necessary, be taken off their wheels
and fired from a tripod. The cadets take part
LIEUT. D. ROBERTSON.
in these field-days and prove themselves fit to
march with their older comrades. Swamps have
no terror for the boys, but sugar-cane planta-
tions prove a demoralising attraction.
The headquarters of the corps is the drill-
hall at the mouth of the Singapore river, but
this is in course of demolition and a new site
will be provided.
Dancing, smoking concerts, and other enter-
tainments are arranged under the auspices of
the canteen committee, to popularise the
volunteers. The Eurasian company has a
canteen, and the Chinese, with the aid of
subscriptions raised among their community
and the help of Government, have recently
built themselves a club-house.
Cups and trophies are competed for
annually and arouse keen rivalry among the
competitors. Briefly enumerated, these are :
Sir C. Smith's cup and shield for the most
efficient subdivision of the S, V. A. ; Sir H. E.
McCallum's trophy for the best Maxim detach-
ment ; Major St. Clair's cup for the best
section S.V.A. ; the Finlayson and the Murray
trophies for teams of five men from subdivi-
sions, the latter being an attack competition ; the
Bromhead-Matthews shield for team shooting ;
and three cups— the Manchester, the Cam-
bridge, and the Macbean — are given for in-
dividual shooting. A handsome salver is
offered for the best swimmer in the S.V.A.
The birthplace of the Singapore Rifle
Association was the present racecourse. In
1868 all rifle shooting was carried out there at
ranges from 100 to 300 yards ; matches were
arranged between the civilians and the military,
and these matches led in 1873 to the formation
of a rifle association, of which the volunteers,
as such, were not at first members. In 1878
practice on the racecourse was found to be too
dangerous, and the old artillery range at
Balestier was re-opened a-s a rifle range.
Shortly after this, the S.V.A. took over the
management of the range, and the present
association was formed. The commandant
S.V.C. is now cx-ojficio president, volunteers
are ex-officio members, and officers of the army,
navy, and police and customs are elected as
members on' payment of a small annual sub-
scription. Non-commissioned officers of the
regulars are admitted as associates. The range
extends to 1,200 yards, is on flat ground, and is
very slightly subject to wind. There are six
reciprocating targets, and markers are always
in attendance. The cost of upkeep is borne by
the Government. Every year a prize meeting
is held, and every month a handicap takes
place. Many friendly matches are held during
the year, the most important being the Inter-
port Trophy match, a competition between the
rival ports of Singapore, Hongkong, Shang-
hai, and Pinang. For this match a trophy
is now being provided by the subscriptions of
the inhabitants of the various ports.
On the range is carried out the class-firing
of the various units, similar to the volunteer
musketry course at home. Each member, in
addition to the ammunition for these practices,
is allowed 100 rounds free. It is, however,
found that the standard attained by the ordinary
shot is not so high as to give results in propor-
tion to this allowance of ammunition. 'This
is accounted for by the expense of travelling
to and from the range and the purchase of
additional ammunition. To remedy this -state
of affairs the Government has provided a
Wilkinson "sub-target machine," and a minia-
ture range for the use of adaptors in the rifle
is being erected near the drill hall. The
standard of shooting in the colony is high.
In 1905 Captain F. M. Elliot, S.V.I., one of the
best shots in the Straits, was tenth in the
King's Prize at Bisley.
Such is the Singapore Volunteer Corps,
composed of three greatly different elements —
Europeans, Eurasians, and Chinese — each of
which is, however, animated by the same
spirit of determination to preserve the Empire
and to keep the King's peace in one of his
most distant dominions.
Lieut.-Colonel Edward George Broad=
rick has been associated with the Singapore
Volunteer Artillery since its formation. In
civil life he is President of the Singapore
Municipal Commissioners. Born in Plymouth
on July 29, 1864, he was educated at Sher-
borne School. In 1884 he entered the Home
Civil Service, and was for three years in the
Office of Works. At the end of this period
he came to the Straits Settlements as a
cadet, and after studying Tamil in Madras he
was appointed Acting District Officer, Pro-
vince Wellesley, South. Between 1890 and
i8g6 he held the positions of District Officer,
Acting Second Magisti'ate, and Acting Second
Assistant Protector of Indian Immigrants in
Pinang. During the next two years he filled
various official positions in Pinang and Malacca.
Since 1898 he has served in Singapore succes-
sively as Inspector of Prisons, Acting First
Magistrate, Acting Assistant Colonial Sec-
retary, and Acting Colonial Treasurer, while
his present appointment dates from June,
1904. When the Singapore Volunteer Ar-
tillery was started he joined as a gunner in
the ranks. His absence in the northern settle-
ment for eleven years prevented any practical
expression of his enthusiasm for volunteering,
but on his return to Singapore he received
rapid promotion, and in 1900 was appointed
Captain in the Singapore Volunteer Rifles.
While at home on leave about this time he
passed the School of Instruction. Upon his
return to Singapore he was promoted to field
rank ; in 1902 he acted for a time as Com-
mandant, and succeeded Colonel R. Murray,
V.D., in that rank on March I, 1905. In 1906
he was promoted Lieut.-Colonel. Colonel
Broadrick is president of the Singapore Rifle
Association, and is a member of the Sports
Club, London, and of all local clubs. He was
formerly on the committee of the Singapore
Cricket Club, and has held office as president
of that institution.
Major George Alexander Derrick, who
commands the Artillery Volunteers, was born
in Southampton in i860, and was educated
privately. He came to Singapore at the age
of eighteen in the employment of the Eastern
Extension, Australasia and China Telegraph
Company, but after being with this company
for a year he entered the firm of Martin, Dyce
& Co., general merchants, who had important
branches in Singapore, Java, and the Philip-
pines, and on that firm's failure in 1884 he
wound up their Singapore affairs. He then
commenced practice as an accountant, and
Messrs. Derrick & Co. are now one of the
leading firms of accountants in Singapore.
The firm has liquidated several large local
companies, was engaged by the Government
in connection with the investigation of the
accounts of the Tanjong Pagar Dock Com-
pany, Ltd., prior to expropriation by Govern-
ment, and is now one of the auditors on behalf
of the Government for the Tanjong Pagar
Dock Board. Mr. Derrick is on the committee
of the Singapore Club and other clubs, is on
the board of directors of Howarth Erskine,
Ltd., the Straits Ice Company, the Belat Tin
Mining Company, and other companies. As
a Freemason he has passed the chairs of all
the Masonic degrees that are or have been
worked in the colony, and is a Past Deputy
District Grand Master of the District of the
Eastern Archipelago. He was one of the
original members of the Singapore Artillery
Volunteers, joining the corps as a gunner.
Major Evelyn Campbell Ellis joined the
Maxim detachment of the Volunteer Artillery
in Hongkong in 1894, and in 1899 was
gazetted Second Lieutenant. On coming to
Singapore he was transferred to the Singa-
pore Volunteer Rifles as Lieutenant, and in
1902 was appointed Captain of the Eurasian
and Chinese Company. Early in 1907 he
received his field rank as Major commanding
the infantry units of the volunteers in Singa-
pore. Mr. Ellis is head of the firm of Drew &
Napier, advocates and solicitors. He has prac-
tised in Singapore since i8g6. Born in London
in 1865, and educated in a private school in
Devonshire, he was subsequently articled to a
firm of solicitors. In 1889 he became qualified
as a solicitor in England, and journeying East
to Hongkong in 1891, practised there for five
years. He came to Singapore in 1896 as a
partner in the firm of Drew & Napier. He
is a member of the Isthmian and Sports Clubs,
London, and of practically all the local clubs.
His recreations are cricket, shooting, and
motoring. He is a keen sportsman, and was
part owner of the well-known Australian
griffin Laurie, and formerly owner of Bargee,
another notable performer. He is also a
prominent Freemason.
Captain Frank Hilton was born at White-
field, near Bury, Lancashire, in 1869. He was
educated privately, and in 1890 came to Singa-
pore to join the staff of the Borneo Company,
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MAI.AYA
595
Ltd., ill which firm he is now one of the senior
assistants. In i8gi he joined the Singapore
Volunteer Artillery as a gunner, and, like all
the other officers of that unit, rose through the
ranks. In i8g6, on the recommendation of
Major (now Sir Henry) McCallum, he received
her late Majesty Queen Victoria's commission
as Second Lieutenant, and was promoted
Lieutenant in 1901 and Captain in 1904. In
igo6 Captain Hilton passed an Army Board
examination in gunnery, and in the same
year was appointed extra A.D.C. to H.E. the
Governor (Sir John Anderson). Captain Hilton
has acted as Officer Commanding the S.V.A.
for several terms, and is a member of the com-
mittee of the Rifle Association. He is on the
committee of the Singapore Club, and is a
member of the principal local clubs and of
the Johore Club. In igo6 he founded the
Singapore Lancastrian Association, for which
body he acts as hon. secretary and treasurer.
His residence is " Woodsville," Serangoon
Road, Singapore.
Captain J. A. R. Qlennie, of the Chinese
Company of the Singapore Volunteers, is the
Assistant Medical Officer of the Singapore Muni-
cipality, and Deputy Coroner. He was born at
Kinneff, Kincardineshire, on May 21, 1868, and
was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School and
Marechal College, Aberdeen University, where
he graduated M.B., CM. in 1889. He was
subsequently appointed Medical Officer of
Aberdeen, and in 1897 obtained the Diploma of
Public Health. In the same year he came to
Singapore as .Assistant Health Ofticer to the
Municipality. Dr. Glenuie, who had held the
rank of First-Class Staff Captain in the volun-
teer medical staff of Aberdeen, joined the
volunteer force in Singapore, and was eventu-
ally gazetted Captain of the Chinese Company.
Dr. Glennie is a member of the Rifle Associa-
tion and of all local clubs.
Lieutenant Herbert Roland Llewellyn
was born at Worcester in 1873, and was
educated at Bromsgrove School. Alter his
scholastic career he was articled to Messrs.
Bayfield & Bayfield, chartered accountants,
of London and Birmingham, and qualified in
1895. He came to Singapore in 1904, and is
now a partner in the well-known firm of
accountants, Messrs. Derrick & Co. In the
Tanjong Pagar Dock arbitration case, Mr.
Llewellyn acted as accountant for the Govern-
ment. He is on the committee of the Tanglin
Club, and is a member of the Singapore Club,
and sporting, cricket, and garrison golf clubs.
As a member of the Queen's Own Worcester-
shire Hussars (5th I.Y.), he went through the
South African campaign (1899-1901), and was
awarded the Queen's medal with four clasps.
On arriving in the East he received his com-
mission as Second Lieutenant in the Singapore
Volunteer Infantry, and is now Senior Lieu-
tenant. He is also on the committee of the
Rifle Association.
Captain Colbecic, Adjutant of the Singa-
pore Volunteers, is a son of Dr. T. W. Colbeck,
of St. Leonard's-on-Sea, and was born at
Dover in June, 1879. He received his educa-
tion at Dover College and Woolwich. On
the outbreak of the South African War, he
went to the front as Second Lieutenant, and
served with the troops there for five years,
being present at the Colesberg action. At the
end of the war he was transferred to Egypt,
where he was attached to No. 4 Mounted
Battery. After twelve months' stay there he
went home on furlough, and in February, 1904,
he was promoted Captain on his appointment
as Adjutant of the 2nd Heavy Brigade (Volun-
teers). He has held his present appointment
since June, 1906.
PINANG.
It was in 1899, some time before the out-
break of the South African War, that a move-
ment was started for the formation of a corps
of Rifle Volunteers in Pinang. This was in
consequence of the final withdrawal, early in
the year, of the two companies of British
Infantry stationed previously in the settlement
on detachment duty from the battalion at
Singapore. The leading spirits in the move-
ment were Dr. Brown, M.L.C., and Mr. P.
Kennedy, then President of the Municipal Com-
missioners. The corps was well started before
the outbreak of the Boer War, and by the end
of the year its strength (196) was greater than
it has ever been since. In the following year
reaction set in, and there was a continual
depletion of the ranks, until, in 1906, , the
membership fell to 89. But, thanks largely
to the enthusiasm of Captain Adams, . the
Commandant, the numbers rose to 117 by
October, 1*907, including g officers (3 honorary)
and 15 reservists. Ninety-six members are
Europeans and 25 are Eurasians.
Captain G. L. Hibbert, of the 4th (King's
Own) Regiment, was deputed to organise the
corps in the early stages, and after him is
-named the inter-company challenge cup, shot
for annually. Mr. P. Kennedy was first
gazetted as Commandant, but was ordered
home on account of ill-health, and, being
unable to return, the Hon. Mr. A. R. Adams,
Captain S. G. Allen.
Lieut. J. O. Hallifax,
PINANG VOLUNTEERS.
Captain A. R. Adams (Commandant).
Surgeon-Lieut. J. Kirk.
Chaplain the Rev. f. W. Haines.
Lieut. A. Bowers-Smith.
' -"ir.«2ibi!kAc>iA»'
EINANG VOLUNTEERS,
The Cadet Corps and the Volunteers on Parade.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
597
PINANG VOLUNTEERS.
The Coronation Contingent and 'i'he Oi-i-ickrs at the First Caah'.
M.L.C., who had acted as Commandant in his
absence, was confirmed in the appointment.
In 1902 fourteen men and one officer from the
corps formed part of the Straits Settlements and
Federated Malay States Coronation contingent.
They left Pinang in April and returned in
October. During their stay in England they
canrped at Alexandra Palace with the other
colonial representatives.
The corps is armed with the Martini-Lee-
Enfield rifle, and the rifle range, extending to
1,000 yards, is situated at Kampong Bharu,
Ayer Itam, five miles from the town. In
1906 the Murray trophy, open to competition
by Straits Settlements volunteer teams of si.x,
was won by the following team from the
Pinang volunteers : — Lieutenant A. Wilson
(leader). Sergeants Rutherford and Hunt, and
Privates V. Lumberg, D. Robinson, and J.
Pennycuick,
The old Dutch fort is used as the head-
quarters, and when the question of the demo-
lition of this building was brought before the
Government in November, it was decided to
remove to a drill hall in Northam Road. To
earn the Government grant, privates who have
been passed as efficient in previous years are
required to attend 10 company drills, the
second-class musketry course, and the annual
inspection. During 1906 no parades were
held. Recruits are expected to attend 24 squad
and company drills and the annual inspection,
and to fire the prescribed musketry course.
Reservists' drills are voluntary. The total cost
of maintenance in 1906 was 11,255 dollars, and
the capitation grant was 1,775 dollars.
The corps is detailed under the Defence
Scheme for the island of Pinang, and its
efficiency is tested once every year, when,
without previous warning, alarm rockets are
fired for the mobilisation of the corps. An
annual camp is held at Kampong Bharu,
usually at the Chinese New Year, and the
annual inspection takes place then. Week-end
camps are also held on the same ground once
a month, and permanent buildings have been
erected for the purpose. The officers are :
Captain A. R. Adams, Commandant ; Captain
S. G. Allen ; Lieutenants J. O. Hallifax and
A. Wilson ; Second Lieutenant A. Smith ;
Hon. Captain J. Kirk, Surgeon ; Hon. Cap-
tain the Rev. F. W. Haines, Chaplain ; and
Captain H. W. D. Adam (Malay States
Guides), Adjutant. The inspecting officer is
detailed from the Singapore garrison, and the
General Officer commanding troops in the
Straits Settlements also inspects the corps once
a year.
Captain A. R. Adams, Commandant. —
A biographical sketch of this gentleman appears
under the heading '' Legislative Council."
FEDERATED MALAY
STATES.
By Major A. B. Hubback, Commandant
M.S.V.R.
The volunteer movement in the Federated
Malay States began towards the end of 1900. A
large number of men in Perak and Selangor
had expressed themselves willing to form a
volunteer corps, and, as the Governments in
both these States were ready to consider the
idea, local committees were formed to discuss
the draft enactment and rules prepared by
Lieut.-Colonel Frowd Walker, CM. G., Comman-
dant, Malay States Guides. The result of their
deliberations was sent to the Government for
final approval, and in the meantime preliminary
drills were commenced in Perak and continued
for some considerable time. In Selangor, how-
ever, no action was taken pending the receipt
of the Government's formal approval.
By an oversight, the draft enactment was
pigeonholed for a year, but the men in Perak
manfully struggled on with their recruit drills,
and appointed officers provisionally. In 1902
the enactment was passed by the State Councils
of Perak and Selangor, but the Perak men
declined then to go any further in volunteering,
and approached the Government with a view
to forming a subsidised Rifle Association. Per-
mission for this was granted, and thus the
volunteer movement in Perak died a violent
death, strangled in its infancy by those who
should have made every effort to keep it alive.
When the enactment became law in Selangor,
a final meeting was called, forms of enrolment
were sent to all District Officers, and under the
presidency of Mr. E. M. Merewether (now
Sir E. M. Merewether, K.C.V.O., C.M.G.), then
British Resident of Selangor, the Selangor
division of the Malay States Volunteer Rifles
was enrolled on May i, igo2, the period of
each man's enrolment being for two years.
Drills were commenced at once under the
supervision of Captain A. McD. Graham, the
officer commanding the detachment of the
Malay States Guides stationed in Kuala Lumpor.
The strength of the corps: within one month
of enrolment was 57." Out-station members
showed great enthusiasm, coming into Kuala
Lumpor by train and then cycling back to
their districts, some 20 miles away, after parade
was over.
The enactment provided for officers to be
commissioned by the Resident-General, and Mr.
F. St. G. Caulfeild, Director of Public Works,
was appointed Commandant with the rank of
598
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Major. The next matter to engage attention
was the question of arms and equipment. A
short time before the enrolment of the
volunteers the Malay States Guides had been re-
armed with magazine Lee-Enfield rifles in place
of Martini-Enfield rifles, and the opportunity
was taken to pass these old pattern rifles on
to the volunteers. These weapons had been
in constant use for more than five years, and
those who know what the life of a rifle is
will easily understand the feeling of the
volunteers, whose principal accomplishment
should be accurate marksmanship. When these
weapons, useful for drill purposes only, were
served out, Major Caulfeild very strongly repre-
sented the matter to the then Resident-General,
Sir W. H.. Treacher, K.CM.G,, with the result
that magazine Lee-Enfieldrifles were eventually
obtained at the end of 1903.
not well attended, owing to their uninteresting
nature. By the end of 1904 the numbers had
dwindled down to 24, and the question
of disbandment or reorganisation had to be
considered. In the early part of 1905 a special
meeting of officers and sergeants was held
to discuss the situation, with the result that in
April a scheme of reorganisation was laid
before the Government.. Briefly this provided
for the erection of a semi-permanent camp
in the vicinity of Kuala Lumpor, the holding of
monthly camps of instruction in field man-
oeuvres, a reduction in the number of "barrack-
square " drills, and a special allowance of ball
ammunition for musketry practice. This scheme,
which the General Officer Commanding the
Troops, Straits Settlements, said he considered
suitable in every way, was sent, on to- H.E.
the High Commissioner, Sir John Anderson,.
MALAY STATES VOLUNTEER BIPLES.
(Winners of llie Bro:iihead-Matthews Shield, 1903-4-5 and 7, and Winners of tile Warren Siiield, lgo6.)
Drills had been carried on in Selangor, and
after an examination held by Captain A. McD.
Graham and Lieutenant A. R. J. Dewar, of the
Malay States Guides, A. B. Hubback was
appointed Divisional Commander, with the rank
of Captain, and H. R. Shaw and E. M. Baker
were gazetted Lieutenants.
The first annual inspection of the corps was
held in March, 1903, by Lieut.-Colonel Frowd
Walker, C.M.G., Commandant, Malay States
Guides, who reported very favourably on the
drill and manoeuvres. The musketry .was
curtailed considerably, owing to the unsatis-
factory condition of the arms.
In July, 1903, an instructor from the 2nd
Batt. Manchester Regiment, then stationed in
Singapore, was appointed. Colonel Walker in-
spected the corps in March, 1904, and the
report was again very favourable. Towards
the end of that year it was decided that the
officers of the corps should be commissioned
by the High Commissioner instead of by the
Resident-General, so as to place them on the
same footing as those holding commissions in
the colonial forces.
The enactment had provided in the annual
efficiency qualification for attendance at a very
large number of drills, and it was found that
the stereotyped barrack-square parades were
K.C.M.G., for his criticism. In July, 1904,
the High Commissioner interviewed the officers
and sergeants of the corps, and informed them
that he considered a volunteer force in this
country was necessary, and that the Govern-
ment would assist it in eveiry possible way.
He promised to sanction the scheme for re-
organisation and to grant the necessary funds
for pitching the camp.
As soon as it was known that the new
scheme had received official sanction, a large
number of men joined the corps, and by Octo-
ber, 1905, the strength was 65, comprising
three infantry sections, one mounted infantry
section, and one Maxim gun section. In Nov-
ember, igo6, the corps was inspected by Major-
General Inigo Jones, General Officer Com-
manding the Troops in the Straits Settlements,
who reported most favourably on the general
efficiency of the corps. In 1907 the strength of
the mounted infantry section was increased
from 12 to 20, and four sections of infantry
were formed. The total strength of the corps
at the time of writing is 105.
The monthly camps of exercise are held at
the Volunteer Camp on the hills in the direc-
tion of Ampang, some three miles out of Kuala
Lumpor, and adjoining the rifle range. The
camp opens on Saturday afternoon, when
some special scheme of field manoeuvres is
carried out. Sunday morning is spent in
squad and company drill, and in musketry
instruction. These camps are well attended.
Special arrangements are made for transport,
and all out-station members are allowed free
railway passes to and from Kuala Lumpor. By
reducing the uninteresting " barrack-square "
drills and instructing men specially in attack
practice, outpost duty, skirmishing, and scout-
ing, it has been possible to enable each indi-
vidual to understand how to take advantage of
cover, to use his own initiative, and to realise
the practical part of the instructions laid down
in the infantry training. A squad of signallers
has proved itself most efficient and exceedingly
useful in all manoeuvres.
In 1906 the corps was placed under the
orders of the General Officer Commanding
the Troops. Straits Settlements, for the pur-
poses of military training and discipline. By
this change the M.S.V.R. has become a part of
the forces of the Federated Malay States, and
is recognised as such by the War Office, to
whom the reports of the annual inspection are
sent-
The musketry of the corps has reached a
very high standard. Since the enrolment in
1902 the Bromhead-Matthews Shield (open to
all volunteer units in the Straits Settlements
and Federated Malay States) has been won in
1903, 1904, 1905, and 1907 ; while the Warren
Shield (open to all troops, regular and auxiliary,
in the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay
States) was won in 1906 with the record score
of 555, an average of 92-3 per man for a team
of six.
The Rifle Club in connection with the corps
is affiliated with the National Rifle Association.
Practice shoots are held every Sunday morning,
and a handicap competition for a spoon takes
place on the first Sunday in each month.
Competitors are divided into two classes, each
class having its own prize. The spoon compe-
titions and the practice shoots are very well
attended. A prize meeting is held annually, and
the entries for the open events are very good.
In July, 1907, Major F. St. G. Caulfeild re-
tired. As the first Commandant he had done
a great deal in promoting the welfare of the
corps, and, although he took no active part in
drill or manoeuvres, his constant attendance
during camp testified to the interest which
he felt in the corps. Captain A. B. Hubback,
Divisional Commander, Selangor, was pro-
moted Commandant with the rank of Major
on Major Caulfeild's retirement. The other
officers of the corps are Lieutenant H. R. Shaw
and Lieutenant P. W. Parkinson. Captain
A. J. Fox, 3rd Batt. Royal Irish Regiment,
is attached, and in command of the mounted
infantry section, and Lieutenant G. C. Forbes
is attached from the South Indian Railway
Volunteer Corps, and is in command of the
Maxim section. Sergeant H. C. Kallud, of the
2nd West Kent Regiment, is instructor and
sergeant-major.
Major Arthur Benison Hubback,
A.R.I.B.A., Commandant of the Federated
Malay States Volunteers, is Architectural Assist-
ant to tlie Federal Government Public W'orks
Department. He was born in 1871, and entered
the service of the Selangor Government in 1895
as Chief Draughtsman. After acting as District
Engineer in Ulu Langat, and as Factory Engi-
neer at Kuala Lumpor, he resigned the service
at the end of 1897, but rejoined in 1901 as
Architectural Assistant to the PubHc Works
Department, under the Federal Government.
Major Hubback has contributed much by his
zeal to the efficiency of the volunteer corps
which he commands. He is an enthusiastic
cricketer, and also has a place in the local foot-
ball and hockey teams. He is brother to Mr.
T. R. Hubback, of Pertang, Jelebu, the well-
known authority on big-game shooting in the
Malay Peninsula.
THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS
SINGAPORE
LAD in a rich mantle of
green that never loses
its freshness, the island
of Singapore may justly
be termed the Emerald
of the British Empire in
the East. Lying at the
foot of the Malay Penin-
sula, from which it is
separated by the Straits of Johore — a narrow
channel varying from three-quarters of a mile
to two miles in width — it is the chief of the
Straits Settlements and the seat of govern-
ment. It has an area of 206 square miles, and
is oblong in shape, its extreme measurement
from east to west being 28 miles and from
north to south 14 miles.
The name Singapore is said to be derived
from the words "singha," a lion, and "pura," a
city. In Malay history it is recorded that Sang
Nila Utama, supposed by Mahomedan his-
torians to have been a descendant of Alexander
the Great, settled on the island with a colony
of Malays from Palerabang, in Sumatra, and
founded the city of Singhapura in a.d. 1160,
changing the original name Tamasak to the
present-day title because he saw a singha, or
animal resembling a lion, near the mouth of
the river.
The settlement passed into the hands of the
British under a treaty with the Maharaja
of Johore in 1819. lit remained under the
control of the East India Company, by whom
it was administered as an integral part of India
until 1867, when in conjunction with Pinang
and Malacca it was raised to the dignity of a
Crown colony.
The island cannot boast of many hills.
Generally speaking its formation is level, and
the few geographical eminences that are to be
seen are not distinguished by their altitude.
Bukit Timah, the highest, is only some 500
feet above sea-level. The general constituent
of the island is sandstone, heavily impregnated
with ironstone, locally known as laterite, which
is extensively quarried for road-making pur-
poses. In the valleys a peaty substratum is
found, varying from 6 inches to 2 feet in depth,
generally lying on a bed of clay. The plain
upon which the town of Singapore stands is
composed chiefly of deep beds of white, bluish,
or reddish sand, averaging from 90 to 95 per
cent, of sihca. The rest is aluminous. Shells
and seaweed found in this soil show that at
one time it was covered by the sea.
On the sea-line of the island there are
extensive plantations of coconut-trees, and on
the uplands of the interior large areas are
covered with pineapples. The cutting down of
the jungle to make way for the pineapple
plantations has tended to reduce the rainfall —
to such an extent, indeed, that representations
have been made to the Government on the
subject.
P'or all this, however, Singapore has a very
humid and equable climate. The rainfall is
evenly distributed throughout the year and
averages 92697 inches. To this the island
monsoon. The north-east monsoon blows
from November till March, after which the
wind veers round to the south-west, and re-
mains in that quarter until September.
Commanding the narrow channel which
unites the Straits of Malacca and the China
Sea, Singapore, with its belt of countless little
islands, possesses a magnificent natural har-
bour, said to be capable of accommodating
the combined navies of the world. Until
SECTIONAL VIEW OF THE CITY.
owes its bright and luxuriant verdure and its
moderate temperature — so remarkable for a
place situated within 80 miles of the equator.
The thermometer seldom registers more than
82-3 1 degrees of heat or less than 79'55.
Thus it would appear that the mean tempera-
ture is lower by 9'go degrees than that of many
localities in the same latitude. Furious gales
are of rare occurrence. If exceptional heat
has led to the accumulation of moisture and
electricity, a squall sets in, accompanied by a
heavy shower. The direction from which these
squalls come is determined by the prevailing
recent years, the harbour was hardly ever
without the presence of some of his Britannic
Majesty's warships, but in this respect there
has been a great change since the recall of the
British battleships from Far Eastern waters at
the close of the Russo-Japanese war. Nowa-
days it is only occasionally that Singapore is
visited by a warship of the squadron ; doubtless
in future years, when the port has attained
to the full dignity of a naval base, under
Admiral Fisher's scheme of Imperial defence,
there will be a reappearance of British levia-
thans in these waters. In the meantime, the
600
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
only naval congregation is on the occasion of
the annual meeting of the Admirals who com-
mand the British squadrons in the Australian,
Pacific, and China seas. It is not very long
ago, by the way, that the absence of British
war vessels in Far Eastern ports and rivers,
where hitherto the white ensign was wont to
be an accustomed spectacle, was adversely criti-
cised in Imperial Parliament, and these criti-
cisms were cordially echoed in Singapore,
where Britishers recognise fully the importance
of maintaining national prestige, even at the
expense of a little ostentatious display.
The approaches to the harbour are laid with
volunteer corps, the oldest established section
being the artillery, to which is attached a
Maxim Company. Of more recent formation
is the volunteer infantry, one portion of which
consists of local Chinese and the other of
Eurasians. There are also a volunteer company
of engineers (Europeans) and a cadet corps
drawn from the schools.
It may be added that the first section of the
great harbour improvement scheme has been
commenced by the Government, who have also
had under consideration a plan for deepening
and improving Singapore river. When the
present works are completed the wharves will
harbour by the narrow channel from the west.
There are altogether four docks, with extensive
coal-sheds, stores, workshops, and a lengthy
wharf protected by a breakwater. About these
swarm men of different colours — white and
yellow, brown and black— like ants upon an
ant-hill. On the opposite side of the waterway
stand the Pulo Brani tin-smelting virorks, the
largest of their kind in the world.
With its busy life and shipping the harbour
presents an animated picture that fascinates the
beholder. There is a constant traffic amongst
the numerous small craft — sampans (rowing-
boats), tonkangs (lighters), launches, fishing-
mines and are commanded by heavily-armed
forts on the outlying islands of Blakang Mati
and Pulo Brani, manned by British Garrison
Artillery corps, the Hongkong-Singapore
Battalion Royal Artillery, fortress engineers,
and submarine miners. There is always a
British infantry regiment, too, stationed at
Singapore — just now it is the Queen's Own
(Royal West Kent) — besides an Indian regi-
ment (gSth Russell's Infantry), and sections of
other military corps, including the Royal
Artillery, Royal Engineers, .Army Service
Corps, Royal Army Medical Corps, Army
Ordnance Corps, and Army Pay Department.
In addition to the regular troops, there is a
WESTERN ENTRANCE TO THE HARBOUR.
extend from Johnston's Pier, beside the Post
Office, in a southerly direction for a mile, and
an inner breakwater will be constructed, by
which about 80 acres will be added to the
available anchorage of the port. At present,
many of the local steamers using the harbour
work their cargoes as they lie out in the roads,
but the big liners nearly all go alongside the
wharves of Tanjong Pagar Docks. These docks
constitute the largest industrial enterprise in the
colony, and were recently purchased by the
Government at a cost approaching three and
a half millions sterling.
An excellent view of the docks and their
shipping may be obtained when entering the
boats, junks, and dug-outs — which flit to and
fro between the shore and the fleet of sea-going
vessels lying in the roads. The most con-
gested part of the harbour is at the mouth of the
river, which is often so crowded with cargo-
boats carrying goods to the godowns that
collisions seem unavoidable. The boatmen,
however, are experts in the use of the yulo and
scull, which, with punting poles, are the form
of propulsion generally employed.
The town of Singapore stretches in crescent
shape for four miles or so along the south-
eastern shore of the island, and extends inland
for more than a mile. Even beyond this are
to be found the residential quarters of the well-
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602
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
TANJONG PAGAB ROAD
to-do European and Chinese. From the harbour
the town presents a very picturesque appear-
ance, with its long sweep of imposing water-
front buildings, dominated by the lighthouse
on Fort Canning's wooded slopes, the clock-
tower of the Victoria Memorial Hall, and the
spire of St. Andrew's Cathedral rising out of a
mass of foliage.
Disembarking at the Borneo Wharf, and
approaching the town by way of Keppel Road
and Anson Road, along which route the electric
tramway runs, the visitor passes through open
country for about a mile, and then through
native bazaars until he reaches Cecil Street,
where the important European houses of busi-
ness begin to make their appearance. Proceed-
ing thence along Collyer Quay, which is flanked
by the spacious godowns of shipping firms, he
comes to Johnston's Pier, and, turning sharply
to the left, enters Battery Road, which, with
RafHes Place, constitutes the chief commercial
centre of the town. Clustered within this
small compass are the banks and principal
European offices and shops. Retracing his
'■"^ '4
COLLYER QUAY.
steps to the waterside, the visitor notices the
substantial block of buildings occupied by the
Singapore Club and Chamber of Commerce,
the Post Office, and the Harbour Department.
Opposite these are the handsome premises of
the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, while in
the centre of the roadway is the fountain
erected by the Municipal Commissioners to
commemorate the late Mr. Tan Kim Seng's
munificent donation towards the cost of the
Singapore waterworks. Across the Cavenagh
Suspension Bridge, which spans the Singapore
river, are the Departmental offices of the Straits
Settlements Government, the Town Hall, the
Victoria Memorial Hall, in front of which
stand the bronze statue of an elephant, pre-
sented by the King of Siam on the occasion of
his visit to the town about ten years ago, and a
granite obelisk perpetuating the memory of the
Earl of Dalhousie, who, as Governor-General
of India, at one time directed the destinies of
Singapore. At the rear of these are the Supreme
Court, a massive building of the Doric order,
and the Government Printing Offices. Just
beyond lies the Esplanade, a green plain of
about 15 acres in extent, around which runs
a broad and well-kept carriage drive shaded
by a noble avenue of leafy trees. This is the
favourite place of resort for all classes in the
early evening, when the heat from the rays of
the fast declining sun is tempered by soft
zephyrs from the sea. At such a time the
Esplanade — for which the town is indebted
to Colonel Farquhar — is crowded with smart
equipages. The enclosure is used by the
Singapore Cricket Club and the Singapore
Recreation Club, both of which can boast large
and well-appointed pavilions of recent con-
struction. In the centre of the plain, facing the
sea, there is a large bronze figure of Sir Stam-
ford Raffles, "the father of Singapore." On
the landward side are seen Adis Buildings,
with the Hotel de I'Europe — a noble pile
harmonising with the adjacent public build-
ings— the Municipal Offices and St. Andrew's
Cathedral, a venerable-looking Gothic edifice
crowned with a graceful spire. Within the
Cathedral compound, which is tastefully laid
out, is a monument to the architect, Colonel
Ronald Macpherson, R.A. Further along are
Raffles Girls' School and Raffles Hotel— one of
the most noted hostelries in the East. Thence
onward the road — at this point known as
Beach Road — is flanked by native shops until
it reaches the Rochore river, where it turns
inland.
Parallel to this road which skirts the sea
runs the busiest thoroughfare of the city. This
is known on one bank of the river as South
Bridge Road and on the other as North
Bridge Road. Its whole length is traversed by
a tramway line. From it radiate streets where
native life may be seen in all its varied forms.
In this neighbourhood are situated the poHce
headquarters and the police courts, two of
the principal Mahomedan mosques, and the
Chinese and Malay theatres, which are an
unfailing source of amusement to the visitor.
At the rear of South Bridge Road and North
Bridge Road runs another main artery of
traffic, called at different points of its course
New Bridge Road, Hill Street, and Victoria
Street. From New Bridge Street entrance is
obtained to the grounds of the General
Hospital, a Government institution, near which
are also located the Lunatic Asylum and the
Isolation Hospital.
At right angles to all these thoroughfares
four main roads strike inland. The first skirts
the south bank of the Singapore river for a
mile and thence curves round in the direction
of Bukit Chermin and Passir Panjang. The
second. River Valley Road, runs along the
north side of the river to Mount Echo and
Tanghn, and recalls the quiet beauty of a
Devonshire lane. The third is named Stam-
ford Road from the Esplanade to B'ort Canning,
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
603
and thence onwards Orchard Road. In
Stamford Road stands Raffles Library and
Museum, containing thirty thousand volumes
and an interesting collection of birds, beasts,
fishes, and reptiles, specimens of native handi-
crafts, weapons, &c. Just beyond this point
Orchard Road is joined by another road from
the water-front. This is Bras-Basah Road, in
which are to be found the Convent of the Holy
Infant Jesus, the Roman Catholic Cathedral
of the Good Shepherd, a cruciform building
surmounted by a spire i6i feet in height, and
St. Joseph's Institution. Close at hand are the
Roman Catholic Churches of St. Joseph and of
St. Peter and St. Paul. The fourth main road
inland is Bukit Timah Road, which is 14 miles
long and crosses the island to Kranji, whence
the passage to the State of Johore on the
mainland is made by boat or steam ferry.
Three other roads traverse the island —
Thompson Road, branching off the Bukit
Timah Road about two miles from town and
reaching the Johore Strait at Selitar ; Gaylang
Road, which crosses the eastern part of the
island to Changi and is the main road to
Tanjong Katong ; and Serangoon Road,
which ends some seven miles out on the bank
of the Serangoon river. Coast roads to the
west and east, in continuation of some of those
already indicated, are in course of construction.
'In the town proper the principal streets are
broad, well maintained, and vs'ell lighted, but
there is a system of open drains that does not
make for sweetness. The suburbs are very
pretty with their well-kept, tree-lined roads,
along which are dotted fine bungalows sur-
rounded by verdant lawns and almost hidden
from view by luxuriant foliage. Amongst the
many handsome mansions gracing the Tanglin
neighbourhood is Government House, situated
in extensive park-Uke grounds and occupying
a commanding site. It is built in the Renais-
sance style of architecturcy with a square tower
rising from the centre. /
Probably at no other place in the world are
so many different nationalities represented as
at Singapore, where one hears a babel of
tongues, although Malay is the lingua franca,
and rubs shoulders with "all sorts and condi-
tions of men" — with opulent Chinese
Towkays in grey felt hat, nankeen jacket,
and capacious trousers ; Straits-born Babas
as proud as Lucifer ; easy-going Malays in
picturesque sarong and baju ; stately Sikhs
from the garrison ; lanky Bengalis ; ubiqui-
tous Jews in old-time gabardine ; exorbitant
Chetties with closely-shaven heads and muslin-
swathed limbs ; Arabs in long coat and fez ;
Tamil street labourers in turban and loin-
cloth of lurid hue ; Kling hawkers scantily
clad ; Chinese coolies and itinerant vendors
of food ; Javanese, Achinese, Sinhalese, and
a host of others — in fact, the kaleidoscopic
procession is one of almost endless variety.
The Chinese, however, constitute about two-
thirds of the population of a quarter of a
million. Though not confined to any one
district, the more lowly sons of the Celestial
, Empire are to be found most thickly congre-
■^ gated in the district known as China Town.
This is situated on the inland side of South
Bridge Road in the Smith Street district.
Here are to be seen all phases of Chinese
life and activity. The streets are lined with
shops, in which are exposed for sale a
heterogeneous array of commodities, and so
great is the throng of loungers, pedestrians,
street-hawkers, and rickshas that it is with
difficulty one makes one's way along. At
night-time the traffic is even more dense
than in the day, and the resultant din is
intensified by weird instrumental music and
by the shrill voices of singing-girls that issue
from the numerous brilliantly-lighted hostelries.
A curious combination of Orientalism'and
Occidentalism is to be observed on every Jside.
From the midst of tawdry-looking native shops
RAFFLES SQUARE.
rise modern European establishments of com-
manding appearance ; hand-drawn rickshas
and lumbering ox-waggons move side by side
with electric tramcars, swift automobiles,
and smart equipages ; and the free and un-
fettered native goes on his way regardless of
the conventionalities which are so strictly
observed by the European. East and \Vest
meet, and the old is fast giving way to the new,
but there is, nevertheless, a broad line of
demarcation between them.
The social side of life in Singapore is
ministered to by the Singapore Club, member-
ship of which is limited to the principals of
business houses ; the Teutonia Club, which, as
its name implies, is a German institution, and
possesses very fine premises ; the Tanglin
Club, a suburban club for professional men ;
the Catholic Club ; and the Young Men's
Christian Association. In addition to these
there are numerous athletic clubs, such as the
Cricket Club, the Recreation Club, the Swim-
ming Club, the Ladies' Lawn Tennis Club, and
the Turf Club. The Turf Club counts amongst
CAVENAGH BRIDGE.
604
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
RAFFLES MONUMENT AND ESPLANADE.
its members all the best known men of the
settlements. Races are held twice a year — in
the spring and in the autumn — and on {hese
occasions the whole of Singapore turns out to
witness the sport. There are three days'
racing, spread over a week, and the race-time
is observed as a general holiday. The race-
horses are all imported from Australia, from
which country also come most of the trainers
and jockeys. The club possess an excellent and
well-kept course, leased from the Government.
In the matter of "show places" Singapore is
somewhat deficient. Among the few that can
be mentioned the Botanical Gardens are the
best known. Tastefully laid out and possessing
many fine specimens of the flora of this and
other countries, they well repay a visit. When
the moon is full, a band sometimes plays in
the Gardens, which on such occasions are
thronged with Europeans and Eurasians en joy-
ing a stroll in the cool of the evening while
listening to the music. But the Reservoir
Grounds, lying off Thompson Road some four
or five miles out of town, appeal more irre-
sistibly to the Western eye, for their soft
and reposeful beauty resembles that of some
of the English lakes. Velvety lawns, studded
with well-kept beds of foliage plants and
shrubs, slope sharply upwards to the dam
which has been constructed at one end of the
reservoir. From this point of vantage, which
forms part of a spacious promenade, a splendid
view is obtained of a broad sheet of water that
glistens in the sunshine like a polished glass,
and stretches away into the hazy distance until
a bend in its course hides it from sight. Its
irregular banks are clothed to the water's edge
with dense masses of beautiful foliage, through
which run shady paths. One of the most
delightful drives in the island is that to the
Gap, which, as its name implies, is formed by
a cleft in the hills. It is situated on the south-
west coast of Singapore, about six miles from
the town. Proceeding some distance beyond
the Botanical Gardens, one comes to Buona
Vista Road, which winds gradually upwards,
through acres of undulating pineapple planta-
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BOAT QUAY.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
605
ttons, until it readies a break in a ridge of
hills, where a sharp turn to the left suddenly
brings the sea into full view. Countless little
islands lie scattered about the offing, and
picturesque Malay kolehs and Chinese junks
glide over the shimmering surface of the inter-
vening strait. At sunset, when the outlying
islands are silhouetted against a glowing back-
ground of gold, and the shadows begin to
steal over the silent waters of the deep, the
scene is one of exquisite and impressive beauty.
From the Gap the narrow road traverses the
brows of the hills for some distance, and then
gradually descends to Passir Pajang, where,
for a mile or two, occasional glimpses of the
sea are obtained between the groves of coconut
palms that fringe the shore. Another popular
place of resort is Tanjong Katong, which, with
its two hotels standing in the midst of a
coconut-grove and facing the sea, is an ideal
spot for a week-end rest.
Any description of Singapore such as has
been here essayed would be incomplete with-
out a reference to Johore, the capital of the
independent State of the same name. Although
situated in a foreign territory, Johore is only
one hour's journey away from Singapore by
rail and ferry, and is so much frequented by
Europeans from that settlement that it might
almost be likened to a suburb. The chief
attractions of Johore are its natural beauties,
the opportunities it offers for big-game shooting,
and its gambling shops, the last-mentioned of
which are a fruitful source of revenue to the
State.
wards the principle of popular representation
was given effect to by the passing of an Act to
establish a municipality ; and this concession
The town, which has an estimated population
of 235,000 inhabitants, is divided into the
following five wards : Tanjong Pagar (No. i).
THE MUNICIPALITY.
From a few years after the establishment
of Singapore as a British settlement in 1819,
municipal matters were administered by the
magistrates, whose decisions were subject to
the approval of the Governor. Later on a
Municipal Committee was constituted. In
1854 a strong protest was made to the Govern-
^lj,!._«5l|!llJL
VICTORIA MEMORIAL HALL AND OBELISK.
was extended under the first Municipal Ordin-
ance in 1887. From that time onwards there
has been no change in the constitution of the
municipal body — five of whose members, in-
STAMPORD ROAD.
ment against the non-representative character
of this body, the members of which were all
nominated by the Governor. Two years after-
eluding the President, are nominated by the
Governor, while five are elected by the rate-
payers.
Central (No. 2), Tanglin (No. 3), Rochore (No.
4), and Kallang (No. 5), each of which returns
one member. Every candidate must be a
British subject, over twenty-five years of age,
able to speak and write English, and resident
within the municipality, and he must either
have paid rates for the half-year in which the
election takes place to the amount of 20 dollars
or upwards as the owner of property within the
municipahty or be the occupier of a house within
the same area of the annual rateable value of
not less than 480 dollars. In order to vote a
resident must be over twenty-one years of age,
and must either have paid rates for the half-
year in which the election takes place to the
amount of 6 dollars or upwards in respect
of property of which he is the owner, situated
in the ward for which he votes, or be the
occupier of a house of the annual rateable
value of not less than 150 dollars, or be the
occupier of part of such a house and pay
a monthly rental of not less than 20
dollars.
One-third (or as near as may be) of the
Commission retire by rotation annually, and
the elections take place in December. On
the voters' list there are nearly five thou-
sand persons, but so little interest is taken
in the elections that a contest is a thing un-
known. In cases where an election fails
because the requisite number of people cannot
be induced to go to the poll, the vacancy is
filled by the Governor, who generally appoints
the gentleman who has been nominated, if
there has been a nomination. The reason
for the apathy of the voters seems to be that
any Budget proposals made by the Com-
missioners are subject to the Governor's veto
— an arrangement which has the effect of
converting the Commission into merely an
advisory and subsidiary administrative body.
Ordinary meetings are held fortnightly.
There are also meetings from time to time of
the Finance and General Purposes Committee,
Health and Disposal of Sewage Committee,
2 C *
606
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
TANJONG KATONG.
Burial Grounds Committee, and Assessment
Appeals Committee.
The Commissioners levy rates and taxes for
general municipal purposes. The consoHdated
rate for 1907 was 12 per cent, on the annual
value of all property within the municipality,
with an additional rate of 3 per cent, in respect
of water supply.
In 1906 the assessments on houses and land
amounted to 1,071,784 dollars ; taxes on
carriages, carts, horses, mules, dogs, motors,
&c., to 172,647 dollars ; licences for offensive
trades to 27,560 dollars ; miscellaneous fees
(including 50,809 dollars received for use of the
slaughter-houses) to 74,591 dollars ; rents for
markets to 233,230 dollars ; and vi^ater charges
to 435,060 dollars. The revenue from the sale
of gas was 232,366 dollars (showing a profit
for the year of 81,040 dollars), and from the
sale of electric current 8,307 dollars.
The chief items of expenditure were :—
Personal emoluments, 358,303.13 ; other
charges, 113,583.71 ; annually recurrent ex-
penditure, 563,602.04 ; disbursements recover-
BUKIT TIMAH BOAD.
able, 164,866.88 ; special services, 641,405.57 ;
loan charges 210,609.86 ; miscellaneous ser-
vices, 202,004.76— total, 2,254,375.95 dollars.
On loan works the expenditure was as
follows :— New reservoir, 217,495.28 ; Kallang
tunnel works, 59,627.56 ; new water mams,
55,497.05 ; salt water supply for street- watering,
942.03 ; bridge over Singapore river 1,820.66 ;
fire stations, 0.24 ; quarantine camp, 296.39 ; new
markets and extensions, 1,7,98-17 I Pearl's Hill
reservoir, 26,748.07; Bidadari cemetery,
35,468.45 ; reforming town drains, 8,643.60 ;
Stamford canal, 14,792.20 ; electric power
installation, 87,844.03 ; raising dam, 3.561.57 I
new cinerators, 25,564.08 ; Mahomedan
cemetery, 45,922.35 ; Tanjong Katong roads,
25,884.23 ; and Cantonment Road, 15,809.16—
in all, 627,715.12 dollars.
The work of the municipality is spread over
seven departments, viz., the Engineer's, Health
Officer's, Gas, Fire Brigade, Hackney Carriage
and Ricksha, Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,
and Suppression of Rabies Departments. The
most important of these is the Engineer's
Department, which regularly employs some
three thousand workmen and has charge of
roads and streets ; piers, canals, and bridges ;
stores and workshops ; buildings, public
grounds, conservancy, water supply, and
electricity. The estimate of expenditure in
1906 for the Engineer's Department out of
revenue was 1,990,122 dollars, including loan
works, of which those now ip hand represent
nearly 10,000,000 dollars.
The more important works now in progress
or about to be begun include a new reservoir,
to hold 1,000,000,000 gallons ; new filter beds,
five acres in extent, to filter the present supply ;
new filter beds, six acres in extent, to deal with
future requirements ; a clear water tank, to
hold 3,000,000 gallons ; seven miles of pipes,
30 inches diameter ; a new cemetery, of 45
acres ; an infectious diseases hospital, with a
site 100 acres ; a new bridge over the mouth of
Singapore river, 200 feet span, 75 feet wide ; a
new fire-station, to cost 70,000 dollars ; a new
market, on screw piles over the sea, 100,000
dollars ; market extension in Orchard Road,
25,000 dollars ; alteration to store and work-
shops, 20,000 dollars ; new incinerators for
burning town refuse, 100,000 dollars ; ferro-
concrete bridge, 90 feet long, 35,000 dollars ;
salt-water installation for street watering and
drain flushing, 150,000 dollars ; and a new
Mahomedan cemetery.
The staff of the Health Department consists
of three medical officers and thirteen sanitary
inspectors, with their complement of subordi-
nates. The inspection of dairies and milkshops,
abattoirs, and preserved fruit factories comes
within the purview of this department, which
is also responsible for the sanitation of the place.
Some idea of the growth and extent of the
Health Office's activities may be gathered from
the fact that during 1906 16,239 notices relating
to the making of drains, closing of wells, clean-
ing of houses, repairing of floors, &c., were
dealt with, as compared with 5,422 in 1897.
The vital statistics prepared by the Health
Department, show that the average birth-rate
for the last ten years in Singapore was 18-53
per 1,000 of the inhabitants, the lowest being
15.70 in i8g6 and the highest 22-36 in 1904. In
igo6 the birth-rate was 20-38 per 1,000. The
European birth-rate in the same year was 28-26.
The average death-rate for the last ten years
was 43-86 per 1,000, the lowest being 36-14 in
1898, and the highest 48-66 in 1896. In 1906
the general death-rate was 37-93, the European
rate being 14-97. The chief causes of death
were phthisis, beri-beri, and malarial fever.
There was also a very large number of deaths
from intestinal diseases. Small-pox, cholera,
and enteric fever were the chief infectious
diseases, the two first-named at times almost
reaching epidemic proportions, while the case
incidence of enteric fever, though constant, has
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
607
never attained a higli figure. Bubonic plague
made its appearance in igoo, and since ttien 73
cases liave occurred, the largest number in any
■one year being 20 in 1904.
A well-equipped bacteriological laboratory
is attached to the Municipal Health Office, and
a lot of good work has been done by it,
especially in the diagnosis of malarial and
typhoid fevers.
There are two slaughter-houses where all
animals are examined before being killed, and
all the meat is stamped before it leaves the
abattoir. The only other supply of meat
allowed to be sold is that of the Cold Storage
Company. The meat supply is plentiful and free
from disease, and, although possibly not so
palatable as that procured in cold countries,
is as nutritious. The milk compares well with
that obtained in cold climates, but the filthy
habits of the dairymen and milk-sellers do not
make it a safe food. In 1906 there were 77
convictions for adulteration, the total number
of samples analysed being 400.
There are 193 registered public and private
burial grounds within the municipal limits.
Of this number only one is used for the inter-
ment of Christians. It is situated in Bukit
Timah Road, and is 19 acres in extent. Another
site of 45 acres on the Bidadari estate in
Serangoon Road was purchased in 1904 as a
Christian cemetery, but this is not yet open.
The waterworks were originally established
:':4«L--'^-.
GOVERNMENT HOUSE.
of a new reservoir, pipe line, filter beds, and
incidental work. The whole of the catchment
area (about 5,000 acres) contributing to the
proposed new reservoir at Kallang was pur-
GBNERAL HOSPITAL.
by Government with a small impounding reser-
voir near the fourth mile-stone on Thompson
Road, whence water was conveyed to the
pumping-station by a brick conduit and then
raised by pumps of 3,000,000 gallons capacity
a day (in duplicate) to the reservoir at Mount
Emily. These pumps are now out of date, and
are never used. In 1876 the waterworks were
handed over to the municipality, and soon
afterwards steps were taken to introduce iron
pipes from the reservoir to the pumping-station,
to construct filter-beds and a clear-water tank,
build a new reservoir dam, increase the storage
capacity, and install new pumps and boilers (in
duplicate) capable of pumping 4,000,000 gallons
in twenty-four hours. All these works were
completed by Mr. MacRitchie by the year 1894.
Between 1896 and 1901 additional filters were
constructed by Mr. Tomlinson, and the capacity
of the pumps was increased to about 4,500,000
gallons in twenty-four hours. A new service
reservoir on Pearl's Hill was commenced in
1900 and finished in 1904, with a capacity of
6,000,000 gallons. In 1902 a scheme was pro-
posed by Mr. R. Pearce, the present engineer,
for the extension of the water supply to pro-
vide more than double the existing require-
ments at an expenditure of over 8,000,000
dollars. This scheme is now in progress,
contracts to the amount of 1,500,000 dollars
having been entered into for the construction
chased at a cost of about 600,000 dollars. In
1904 new pumps and boilers with a capacity
of 5,000,000 gallons a day were erected
During 1896 the consumption of water was
about 3j million gallons per day, whereas at
the present . time it amounts to 6J million
gallons a day ; that is to say, it has nearly
doubled in eleven years. The water supply
is regarded as safe, but owing to the presence
of a quantity of suspended matter, the colour
of the water is not good. Numerous analyses
are made to insure that the purity is main-
tained. The charges made for water by meter
per 1,000 gallons are as under :
Dollars.
To shipping over wharves i-50*
For prime movers ... ... ... i.oo*
To water boats ... ... ... i.oo'
For manufacturing purposes ... 0.80*
For trades —
To Dispensaries
Dhobies
Barbers 1 ,
Cattle sheds and stables r ••■ °-5°t
Livery stables
Recreation grounds, &c.-
Premises without gardens ... o.3of
■ .. with „ \
,, and/or stables I ,
Private stables notattached r — °-4°T
to dwelling-houses )
* Plus meter rent,
t No meter rent.
MOTOR MEET AT "TTEBSADL," THE SINGAPORE RESIDENCE OP
H.H. THE SULTAN OF JOHORE.
608
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
The gaswoiks were purchased by the
municipality from a private company in
November, 1901, the price paid being
435.761.10 dollars, which was remitted to
London at the bank rate of is. lo^d. per
dollar. The money was raised by means of a
5 per cent. loan. The price of gas since 1906
has been 3.50 dollars per 1,000 cubic feet to
consumers of less than 50,000 cubic feet ; 3
dollars per 1,000 cubic feet to consumers of
50,000 feet and less than 100,000 feet ; and 2.50
dollars per i,ooo cubic feet to consumers of
100,000 feet and upwards. In the first two
cases S per cent, discount is allowed when the
payments are made within a month. The
works are situated in Kallang Road. They
15 per cent, for prospective profits. In the
meantime the company has to pay to the
municipality 5 per cent, of the net profits
annually — a contribution which will be trebled
if the Commissioners should extend the term
of the lease for a further seven years. The
Commissioners have the right of access to
the company's books and records and the
power to inspect all cars, machinery,
wires, &c.
The supply of electricity for light and power
was undertaken by the municipality early in
1906, the energy being obtained from the
Tramway Company's generating station in
McKenzie Road, about a mile and a half from
the municipal electric sub-station; which is
and the number of arc lamps for street hght-
ing purposes nine, the latter being 10 amperes
open type. Since then the number of lamp
connections has been increasing very rapidly.
There are five markets belonging to the
municipality, and they are a fruitful source of
revenue, the largest being farmed out at a rental
of 8,500 dollars a month, and the others at pro-
portionate rentals. They are situated at Teluk
Ayer, Rochore, Clyde Terrace, Orchard Road,
and Ellenborough. A sixth market is in course
of construction at Passir Panjang. .
The Fire Brigade is undergoing reorganisa-
tion at the hands of its Superintendent, Mr.
Montague W. Pett, who came out from England
to take charge about the beginning of 1905, and
THE FIRE BRIGADE.
were originally erected in 1864, but since then
they have been almost entirely remodelled.
There are now \three gas-holders — two with a
capacity of 60,000 cubic feet and one with a
capacity of 38,000 feet — and in a very short
time there will be a fourth with a capacity of
250,000 cubic feet. The consumption of gas
has increased very considerably since the
municipality took over the concern, the num-
ber of private consumers having doubled, and
being now 800. There are 2,000 lamps with
incandescent burners for public lighting and
80 miles of mains.
The tramways are worked by a private
company under the " leasing system." The
Connnissioners have the option of purchasing
the undertaking at the expiration of thirty-five
years at a valuation, to which will be added
situated in the centre of the town. The current
is transmitted on the two-wire system at about
460 volts pressure. From the sub-station the
supply becomes a three-wire one, with the centre
wire earthed, the pressure between each of the
two outer wires and the centre being 230 volts.
The type of disti"ibuting cables in use is
Callender's three core and three single jute
vulcanised bitumen-covered cables, laid solid
in earthenware gutters. The cost of energy
to the Commissioners is 12J cents per unit for
lighting, with a discount of 25 per cent, for
motive power. The charge to consumers is
25 cents per unit for lighting purposes, fans,
&c., with a discount of 25 per cent, for cur-
rent for power. In December, 1906, the equiva-
lent number of eight candle-power lamps
connected with the mains was about 4,000,
under his management it promises very soon to
be brought up to a high standard of efficiency,
both as regards equipment and personnel.
There are three fire-stations at which firemen
are quartered, these being in Cross Street, Hill
Street, and Beach Road. A new central fire-
station is in course of construction in Hill Street,
and it is proposed to build another new station
in the Kampong Glam district and do away
with the Beach Road station. On Mr. Pett's
arrival in Singapore he found that the brigade
had undergone little improvement or extension
for a period of about twenty years, and was
unfit to cope with a serious fire if one should
occur. There were four steam fire-engines,
two of which were accounted too heavy and
unwieldy for rapid handling under the horse-
haulage system, while the others were of small
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRmSH MALAYA
609
pumping capacity and old-fashioned. Among
the recommendations for improving the brigade
made by Mr. Pett to the municipahty was the
purchase of a " Merryweather " 400-gallon
motor steam fire-engine, which has now been
working for some time with excellent results.
A second engine of the same type was due at
the time of writing ; and for equipping the new
fire-stations up-to-date time-saving appliances
are to be procured, including a petrol-driven
motor combination tender and fire-escape. The
establishment of a street fire-alarm system and
the provision of a fire-float for the harbour
are two other important items in the reor-
ganisation scheme, as is also the increase of
the brigade staff — European, Chinese, and
Malay.
In 1906 there were only nine calls on the
brigade, a decrease of twenty on the previous
year. The total loss by fire within municipal
limits amounted to 52,855 dollars, a reduction of
209,919 dollars as compared with 1905. There
were five cases of incendiarism in the year, but
this crime received a sharp check by a Chinese
spirit-shop keeper being sentenced to seven
years' penal servitude at the assizes for this
offence. In the first half of 1907 the number
of fires,^ and the damage done by them, has
been abnormally small. So marked, indeed,
has been the improvement caused by the
brigade's increased efficiency that the Muni-
cipal Commissioners have discontinued the
insurance of their buildings and property
with the insurance companies, and have in-
augurated a Municipal Fire Insurance Fimd
on their own account.
From the beginning of 1906 the regulation
and licensing of dangerous trades was trans-
ferred from the Health Department to the Fire
Brigade Department. During the twelvemonth
1,369 licences were issued, an increase of
26, the fees received amounting to 17,529
dollars. There were 76 prosecutions for
offences against the regulations, and in 68
cases the offenders were convicted and
mulcted in fines amounting in the aggregate
to 1,505 dollars.
The Hackney Carriage and Jinricksha De-
partment deals with the issuing of licences,
the inspection of vehicles, &c. During igo5
20,870 ricksha licences were issued, an in-
crease of 1,329 upon the total for the preceding
year. A licence runs for four months. The
number of rickshas plying on the streets on
June 17, 1907, was 7,469, of whicli 998 were
first class (rubber tyres) and the remainder
second class (iron tyres). The prices at which
rickshas are let out by the owners to the coolies
vary in different localities, but the usual rates
per diem are : First class, 50 to 60 cents ; and
second class, 15 to 32 cents. The day coolies
must return their vehicles by 2 p.m. and the
night men before 6 a.m., otherwise they have
to pay double hire to the owners. There are
865 names appearing on the register as owners
of rickshas, but of that number the majority
are merely brokers, the rickshas being regis-
tered in their names for the convenience of
the real owners, who pay for this service.
Under the present Registrar, Mr. W. E.
Hooper, the system of registration of rickshas
and ricksha-owners has been put on a very
satisfactory working basis. The name, address,
and photograph of each owner is entered in
the register, and he is held responsible for the
good behaviour of the coolies to whom he
hires out his rickshas. Of these coolies there
are over 20,000 employed in the trade. If any
offence is reported against a ricksha-puller,
the number of the vehicle is looked up and the
owner discovered, and the latter is forthwith
obliged to produce the offending coolie or
suffer the detention or seizure of his rickshas.
The same thing applies to owners of dilapi-
dated rickshas, or owners who allow their
rickshas to ply for hire after the licences have
lapsed, a fine of i dollar being inflicted for
every day that a ricksha continues to nm after
the licence has expired.
Until a few years ago all ricksha offences
than 5,000 cases were disposed of last year in
his court. At the police court the magistrates
dealt with 164 cases. The fines inflicted
THE "WATERWORKS.
were dealt with by the magistrates, but the
cases occurred in such numbers that the work
of the police courts became congested, and in
amounted to 4,480" dollars as against 7,893
dollars in 1905. The gross revenuefrom
licences during the year was 142,956 dollars.
VIEW AT THE BACK OF THE POLICE COURT.
1903 the Registrar was invested with magis-
terial powers. Some idea of the extent of his
work may be gathered from the fact that more
Twenty-four cases were tried by the Acting
Registrar against hackney-carriage owners
and drivers, and they resulted in 16 convictions.
610
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
" Bilking " is reported as continuing to give
much trouble. No fewer than 6,367 complaints
of this were made, and in 2,635 cases fares
were recovered, but in the remaining instances
animals could be destroyed without expense to
them and unnecessary suffering avoided.
All dogs have to be registered in the Suppres-
sion of Rabies Department, which maintains a
" BEOADPIBLDS."
(Messrs?. Paterson, Simons & Co.'s old residential property at Tanglin.)
the passengers could not be traced and the
drivers or pullers lost their fares. A force of
about 60 peons is employed to prevent
breaches of the regulations. The ricksha
peons assist the police in dealing with street
offences, but have their own special duties,
such as impounding rickshas when they are
found broken or dilapidated on the streets, or
carrying forbidden articles ; when the puller
misbehaves himself, is diseased, or unfit to
act as puller ; and when licences have expired.
Since January of 1902 the work which up to
that time was performed by the Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has been
taken over by the municipal authority. In the
first year after the change was made the
number of prosecutions rose from 613 to
1,028, and the fines increased from 4,077
dollars to 8,190 dollars. In igo6 there was a
credit surplus of 6,472 dollars left over after
paying all expenses. The total number of
animals admitted to the infirmary was 1,272.
Fees were charged to the amount of 2,939
dollars, while the expenses for maintenance
amounted to 2,370 dollars. The department
instituted 1,132 prosecutions, and fines were
inflicted amounting to 5,696 dollars. One person
was committed to prison, 1,070 offenders were
fined, and 61 were cautioned and discharged.
Besides the above cases, 406 animals were
examined and their owners cautioned. Twenty-
seven worn-out,- diseased, or injured animals
were destroyed after being certified as incur-
able. The ambulances were used 154 times
and the knacker's cart 29 times. The bulk of
the offences were committed on bullocks. The
Superintendent points out that the abandoning
of diseased or injured animals to a lingering
death continues to be very common, and he
suggests that if the authorities cannot see their
way to make such inhuman conduct an
offence, it should be compulsory for owners to
give information to the department, so that the
regular staff to patrol the town and suburbs in
the early morning and shoot unlicensed dogs.
NOMINATED.
The President. — The biography of Mr.
E. G. Broadrick, President of the Commission,
Messrs. Caldbeck, McGregor & Co., in the
Commercial Section.
Mr. A. J. Watkins is a partner in the firm
of Messrs. Swann & Maclaren, architects, and
a sketch of his career appears in the Social and
Professional Section.
Mr. .\. W. Bailey is the Protector of
Chinese in Singapore, and particulars of his
career are given elsewhere.
Mr. Qraliam Paterson, one of the Singa-
pore managing partners of Messrs. Paterson,
Simons & Co., sits on the Municipal Commis-
sion, in the absence of Mr. J. W. B. Maclaren,
as one of the nominees of the Governor. He
was born in London, and after receiving a
commercial training with Messrs. Paterson,
Simons & Co., in London, he came to Singa-
pore on behalf of the firm in 1891, and was
admitted a partner in 1899. He is the Vice-
Chairman of the Singapore Chamber of Com-
merce, a Justice of the Peace, and a Visiting
Justice. He is also the local chairman of (he
Union Insurance Company of Canton. In the
sporting and social life of Singapore he takes a
prominent part. He is a member of the com-
mittee of the Singapore Sporting Club and has
gained several successes with his horses in the
Straits. He resides at " Broadfields," which
has been occupied by successive senior'partners
in his firm for over seventy years. Mr. Paterson
married, in August, igpi, at St. Anselm's,
Berkeley Square, Lady Rowena Grace Marion
Selina, fourth daughter of Francis, fourteenth
Earl of Huntingdon, aiid theyhaveonedaughter
Kathleen Susan, who is five years of age.
ELECTED.
Dr. Thomas Murray^ Robertson was
born in Singapore in i860, and' graduated,
with honours, M.B. and CM.' at Edinburgh
University in 1883 and M. D. in 1887. - He was
afterwards house-surgeon at-Darlirigtoh'and at
Durham County hospitals.- In 1889 he returned
to Singapore and commericed private practice.
He was nominated by the Governor ; as a
Municipal Commissioner in 1903, and was
elected to the same body as representative
of the Tanjong Pagar Ward in 1905.- He is
a Justice of the Peace, a Commissioner of
Lunacy, a member of the British Medical
MUNICIPAL WATER CART.
appears in the section devoted to the Military
and Volunteers.
Mr. K. A. Stevens's career is referred to
in the letterpress dealing with the firm of
Association (home and local), at present
Lecturer on Materia Medica in the Straits
Settlements and Federated Malay States School
of Medicine, Examiner in Midwifery, &c. Dr.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
fill
MuiTay-Kobertson is a member of the Singa-
pore Club, the Straits Automobile Club, &c.
His address is " Balado," Singapore.
Mr. Rowland Allen is a leading legal
practitioner in Singapore. He was born in
Leek, Staffs, in 1868, and graduated B.A. and
LL.B. at London University in 1889. Enter-
ing the Inner Temple (Inner Temple Equity
Scholar, 1892), he was called to the Bar, and
practised at 7, New Square, Lincoln's Inn, for
several years. He came to Singapore in 1895
to join Messrs. Joaquim Bros., and after the
death of Mr. J. P. Joaquim he took over their
practice as advocates and solicitors at Singa-
pore and Malacca, and has since continued it
made in the letterpress dealing with the firm
of Messrs. Coghlan la. Co., auctioneers.
Mr. Ching Keng Lee is a son of Mr. Ching
Chai Hoon, well known in Malacca as a rice
merchant, owner of vessels trading between
Malacca, Assahan, and Singapore, and head
of the Society of Hock Kian Huay Kuan. Mr.
Ching Keng Lee was born in Malacca in 1859,
and was educated at the Free School there
and at Raffles Institution, Singapore. At the
age of seventeen years he went to Saigon to
make his way in the world. His first appoint-
ment was one as compradore in the rice mills.
Later he went to the Banque de I'lndo-Chine,
and at the age of twenty-one years he returned
ing on a produce business under the style of
Kew Ho & Son, Chop Guantong. When he
attained to years of discretion he began to take
a keen interest in public affairs. This cul-
minated in 1906 in his being elected a
Municipal Commissioner for the Central Ward
of the city of Singapore for the term 1907-9.
He is an honorary member of the Singapore
Volunteer Corps, a member of the Straits
Chinese British Association, the Chinese
Volunteer Club, and the Straits Chinese
Recreation Club. Of the tennis section of the
last-named club he has been captain for the
past two years, and he has held the tennis
championship for the last three years. Mr.
SINGAPORE MUNICIPAL COMMISSIONERS.
A J. Watkixs. Rowland Allen. A, W. Bailey. H. L. Coghlax.
Dr. T. .Murray- Robertsox. E. G. Broadkick (President). K. A. Stevens.
CHixii Kexg Lee. Graham Patersox. Oxg Tek l™.
under the name of Allen and Gledhill. Mr.
Allen is a notary public and a rrjember of the
Singapore Municipal Commission, having been
elected for the Tanglin Ward. He is joint
editor of the "Straits Settlements Law Re-
ports," and hon. secretary and treasurer of
the Straits Settlements Association. He is also
a member of the Sports Club, London, and of
the leading Singapore clubs ; is a P.M. of the
Masonic Lodge St. George, Singapore, and a
Lieutenant of the Singapore Volunteer Infan-
try. Mr. Allen married in 1900 Maud, daughter
of the late Rev. Hugh Bacon, Rector of
Baxterley and Mirevale, Warwickshire, and
granddaughter of the late Right Hon. Sir
James Bacon, Vice-Chancellor.
Mr. H. L. Coghlan.— Mention of Mr. H.L.
Coghlan, who represents the Kallang Ward, is
to Singapore and was engaged first by the
Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation
Company, and then by Renter's Telegram
Company. In 1887 he received an interest in
the firm of Hoon Keat & Co., of which concern
he is to-day the senior partner. Since Septem-
ber, 1904, he has represented Rochore, Ward
No. 4, on the Municipal Council.
Mr. Ong Tek Lim is the only surviving
son of the late Mr. Ong Kew Ho, who was
born in Malacca of Chinese parentage, and
who was a well-known figure in both European
and Chinese commercial circles. Mr. Ong
Tek Lim himself was born in Singapore and
educated at the Anglo-Chinese School. After
the death of his father in 1889 he joined an
elder brother in business, and subsequently
became sole partner. He is at present carry-
Tek Lim is a keen all-round sportsman. At
one time he used to go out regularly after big
game, and was also an enthusiastic cyclist.
His present recreations are boating, swimming,
tennis, chess, and biUiards. His private address
is 20, High Street, Singapore.
OFFICIALS.
The Secretary. — Mr. John Polglase, Secre-
tary to the Municipal Commissioners and
Assessor, was born on January 3, 1854, and
educated privately. He was appointed Assis-
tant Municipal Secretary in 1882, and three
years later was also entrusted with the duties
of paymaster. In 1901 he acted as Municipal
Secretary, and was confirmed in that appoint-
ment in the following year. In 1906 he acted
temporarily as Deputy President of the Muni-
612
TWENTIETH CEXTURY IMPIIESSIOXS OF BRITISH MALAYA
cipal Commissioners. He is a menibei- of the
Singapore Club. His residence is " Tokarne,"
Tanglin Hill, Singapore.
Mr. J. F. Benjafield, Financial Assistant
and Secretary to the municipality of Singapore,
is a son of Mr. John Benjafield, farmer, of Hants,
and was born in November, 1861. He came
out to Singapore to a commercial house, which
he left in 1890 to take up his present position.
In 1888 he joined the Singapore Volunteer
Artillery, and is now Captain of the Maxim
Company. From igoi till 1903 he was pay-
master of the local volunteers. He is president
of the athletic section of the Young Men's
Christian Association, and takes a deep in-
terest in the affairs of the American Metho-
dist Church, of which he is a trustee, as
well as being superintendent of the Sunday
School.
Mr. H. P. Kinghorn, Municipal Assess-
ment Officer, went out to China to join the"
Chinese revenue service in 1898, but left in
1900 to take part in the war in South Africa.
He fought with Methuen's Mounted Infantry,
and was present at the engagements on the
1901. From 1880 to 1891 he was engaged in
the construction of drainage and water works,
bridges, and tramways in Lancashire, Worces-
tershire, Warwickshire, and Herefordshire —
notably the Xelson Waterworks, L:incashire,
the Birmingham Cable and Electric Tramways,
the Barrow-in-Furness Railways, the Kidder-
minster Waterworks and Sewerage Works,
and the Hereford Sewerage Works. Mr.
Pierce also prepared the schemes for the
water supply of Pretoria and for the sewer-
age of Capetown, Woodstock, W'ynberg,
Rondebosch, and Kimberley. In 1891 he
received from General Sir Andrew Clarke the
appointment of Municipal Engineer of Pinang,
and held that position until 1901, when he
came to Singapore in a similar capacity.
During his residence in the Straits Settle-
ments Mr. Pierce has designed and con-
structed roads, bridges, sea-walls, reservoirs,
drains, abattoirs, sewerage systems, jetties.
&c. He is a member of the Institute of Civil
Engineers and of the Incorporated Association
of Municipal and County Engineers, of the
British Association of Waterworks Engineers,
AFTERNOON IN THE SINGAPORE GARDENS.
Tugela heights and Laing's Nek and at the
relief of Ladysmith, receiving the medal with
five clasps at the close of the campaign.
Returning to China after a holiday in Eng-
land, he came to Singapore in 1903 as Chief
Clerk to the municipality, and was appointed
to his present position in the following year.
He is a member of the Maxim Company of
the local volunteers. Master of the Zetland
Lodge of Freemasons in the East, and a
member of the Y.M.C.A.
Mr. Robert Pierce, M.Inst.C.E., has been
the Municipal Engineer of Singapore since
and of the Society of Engineers. He is forty-
four years of age.
Mr. H. Qostwyck, Assistant Municipal
Engineer, is an associate member of the
Institute of Civil Engineers, and a member
of the Broad Society of London and of the
Cricket Club, Singapore.
Mr. S. Q. Williams, the Resident Engi-
neer at the new Waterworks, was born in
London, and, after attending F"insbury Tech-
nical Institute, served as an assistant to Mr.
Joseph Francis, engineer of the New River
Company. He was appointed an assistant in
the Municipal Engineer's Department at Singa-
pore in 1904. His present appointment dates
from 1907.
Mr. D. M. Martia, Assistant Engineer
and Surveyor, was born and educated at Singa-
pore, and is one of the oldest servants of the
municipalitv.
Mr. J. H. Mackail, the Municipal Elec-
trical Engineer, was educated at the Royal
High School and the Heriot Watt College,
Edinburgh, and at the City and Guilds of
London Technical Institute, Finsbury. He
served a five years' apprenticeship with the
late Messrs. King, Brown & Co., electrical and
mechanical engineers, of Edinburgh, spend-
ing three years in the shops and two in the
drawing-office. He was next for various
periods with Messrs. Laing, Wharton & Down,
J. H. MACKAIL.
Messrs. Johnson & Phillips, and the Electrical
Installation Company (Westminster). He be-
came the managing partner of Messrs. J. H.
Mackail & Co., electrical engineers, and after-
wards, for over four years, was with the
Dundee Corporation as chief assistant at their
Electric Lighting and Tramway Power Station.
His next appointment was with the Charing
Cross and Strand Electric Supply Corporation,
Ltd., and from there he took up his present
position in September, 1904. He is an asso-
ciate member of the Institution of Electrical
Engineers and an associate member of the
Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
Mr. E. 'SV. P. Fulcher, Assistant Muni-
cipal Electrical Engineer, received his training
with Messrs. Bellis & Morcam, of Liverpool,
and subsequently served with the Charing Cross
and Strand Electric Lighting Company, Ltd.,
and with Messrs. Geipel & Lange, electrical
engineers, of London. After being assistant
to the Glasgow Municipal Electrical Engineer,
he came to Singapore to take up his present
work. He is twenty-three years of age.
Mr. J. P. Hallaway, the Engineer in
charge of the Gasworks, is a native of
Carlisle, where, on completing his education,
he received his professional training. He ob-
tained his present appointment five years ago,
when he was assistant engineer at the gas-
works in Colombo. He is at present on leave
in England.
Mr. A. M. Tliompson, the Assistant
Engineer, is in charge of the Gasworks
during the absence of the engineer. Mr.
Thompson was trained in the Municipal Gas
Department of Leeds, in which city he was
born and educated. He has occupied the posi-
tion of Assistant Gas Engineer at Singapore
for over five years.
Mr. W. H. Ferguson. — Born on August
10, 1868, at Calcutta, Mr. W. H. Ferguson,
Chief Architectural .Assistant in the munici-
pality, was educated at La Martiniere College,
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
613
India, and at King's and University Colleges,
London. Afterwards he was articled with
Messrs. Shiner & Ward, archiltcts, London
and Hastings, with whom he stayed three
years, gaining during that time several diplo-
mas. Subsequently he served with several
well-known architects both in London and
the provinces. In 1906 he was appointed
Chief Building Inspector, Singapore, and his
present position dates from IQ07.
Dr. H. R. C. Middleton.— The Senior
Medical Officer of the Singapore municipality
is Dr. H. R, C. Middleton, who, in addition to
being a Master of .\rts. Doctor of Medicine,
and Master of Surgery, holds the Diploma of
Public Health. He came to Singapore in i8go,
and acted for some time as chairman of the
Municipal Commission. He was formerly vice-
president of the M.ilaya Branch of the British
Medical Association. He has always taken a
keen interest in the local volunteers, of which
he is now a surgeon-major.
Dr. J. A. R. Qlennie, who acts as Health
Officer in the absence of Dr. Middleton, is also
the Deputy Coroner. His biography will be
found elsewhere.
Mr. T. A. Mayhew, the Chief Sanitary
Inspector, was born in 1869 in Southwark,
and received his education at Harrow School.
He first came to Singapore as a sergeant-major
in the Royal Arlillery in 1890, and upon
the completion of his service in the army
in 1897 he was appointed to his present
position.
Mr. W. E. Hooper, Magistrate, and Regis-
trar of the Hackney Carriage and Jinricksha
Department under the municipality of Singa-
pore, was born in 1858, and educated at the
Abbey School, Beckenham, Kent. He arrived
in Singapore in 1881, was appointed Acting-
Consul for Norway and Sweden in 1884, and in
the following year was made a Justice of the
Peace and Visiting Justice. In 1890 Sir Cecil
Clementi Smith, the then Governor, appointed
Mr. Hooper a member of the Labour Commis-
■W. B. HOOPER.
sion, for his services on which he received a
letter of thanks. In this year also he was
elected to represent Tanglin Ward on the
Municipal Commission. In 1892 he joined the
service of the municipality as Registrar of the
Hackney Carriage and Jinricksha Department,
and in 1901 acted as Census Officer for the
town district of Singapore. A year later he
was appointed, by the Governor, a member of
the committee to inquire into and report upon
the detective branch of the Singapore police
force, and received a letter of thanks for his
services. Full police-court powers were con-
ferred upon him in 1903. Mr. Hooper is also
Superintendent of the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals Department of the municipality. To
his other duties, those of Deputy Acting-
Coroner were added in 1905. Mr. Hooper is
a prominent Mason, and was Master of Lodge
St. George, 1152, in 1887-88.
Mr. S. P. joaquim, Deputy Registrar of
the Hackney Carriage and Jinricksha Depart-
ment, was born in Singapore in 1867, and
educated at Saffron Walden Grammar School
in Essex. Returning to Singapore, he joined
the service of the municipality in 1895 and was
appointed to llie post he now holds.
agents, and others interested in the trade of
Singapore. Mr. A. L. Johnson presided over
the gathering, which was held in the Reading
Room, and it was unanimously resolved to
form an association for the purpose of watch-
ing over the commercial interests of Singapore,
and that all merchants, agents, shipowners,
and others interested in the trade of the place
should be eligible as members. A provisional
committee, consisting of Messrs. Edward Bou-
stead, Thomas McMicking, Ale.xander Guthrie,
NEW TANI TOOK SENG HOSPITAL.
SINGAPORE CHAMBER OF COM-
MERCE.
In a Crown colony where there is no system
of representative government a Chamber of
Commerce is of great importance, for it is the
only body which can, with any semblance of
authority, voice the feelings of the commercial
community on questions that from time to time
come before the Government for consideration.
This fact has always been recognised by the
Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements,
which has generally sought the advice of the
Chambers of Commerce within the area of its
jurisdiction before arriving at any decision on
important issues affecting the commerce of the
colony. At the present time the Chambers of
Commerce, both at Singapore and at Pinang,
are granted representation on the Council.
It was on February 8, 1838, that the Chamber
had its genesis at a meeting of merchants,
Ellis James Oilman, and William Renshaw
George, drew up the set of regulations by
which the new association was to be governed,
and these were approved on February 20th.
Mr. Johnson was elected the first president, and
the committee was composed of Messrs. T.
McMicking, R. C. Healey, E. J. Oilman, Syed
Abubakar, Kim Guan, I. Zechariah, E. Bou-
stead, J. Balestier, Gwan Chuan, and A.
Guthrie. One of the first acts of the com-
mittee was to send to England a petition pro-
testing against the infringement by the Dutch of
the treaty of 1824 by prohibiting the introduc-
tion of British manufactured goods into Java.
Unfortunately, some of the early records of
the Chamber are not available. Passing on
to the year 1859, we find that the Chamber
presented a petition to Parliament " praying
that the Straits Settlements be disjoined
from the Government of Continental India
and placed directly under the Secretary of
614 TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
state for India, with a Legislative Council."
When, a few years later, the question
of the transference of the settlement from
the India to the Colonial Office was being
considered, the Chamber, in 1865, passed
the following resolution : "That, considering
that the delay and uncertainty attendant upon
the settlement of the transfer question is acting
injuriously upon the interests of Singapore,
the Chamber prays that the Government be
moved to decide the question at once, and,
should there exist any difficulty with respect to
the transfer, the Chamber submits that the
Straits Settlements be formed into a, separate
Indian Presidency under a Governor, who
to labour on estates in Malaya. They stated
that Moh Choon, head of the Shee Hok
Society, used to send out sampans to the
emigrant vessels, ostensibly to protect the
cooUes, but in reality to " sell " them for Deli,
Lingi, and other such places. By "selling"
them was meant that brokers offered to engage
supplies of coolies, and did so through the
society. The engagements were on three or
six years' agreements, at wages ranging from
4 dollars to 6 dollars a month. Six months'
wages in advance were paid to the inter-
mediaries, who gave perhaps a quarter of
the money to the coolie and pocketed the
balance. The coolies were invariably engaged
and Attorney-General of the colony, it was
resolved to send a petition against the measure
to the Governor after it had been circularised
among the mercantile community for sig-
nature.
In 1876 a number of Chinese traders sent to
the Chamber a copy of a petition which had
been submitted to the Governor complaining
of various piratical attacks upon Chinese junks,
and requesting that a British man-of-war should
cruise off the coast of the Malay Peninsula,
Siam, and Cochin China to prevent recur-
rences of these attacks.
It was probably largely due to the initiative
of the Chamber in the same year that the
PROMINENT BUSINESS MEN OF SINGAPORE.
I. J. D. SAUN'DEKS. z. F. Pollock. 3. G. A. Derrick. 4. M. E. Plumpton. 5. F. Hilton. 6. J. W. van der St.adt. 7. F. W. Barker.
Hon. Mr. T. S. Baker. 9. C. McArthur. 10. E. Schulze. u. H. R. Llewellyn. 12. J. G. MacTaggart. 13. W. E. Fin.vie. 14. E. Schudel.
13. A. EwsLiE Benzie. 16. E. Bramall. 17. VV. Ewald. 18. P. Cunlifi-e. 19. H. Dyson Holland. 20. L. Hemext.
shall be H.M.'s Commissioner and Superin-
tendent of Trade in these waters, with a local
Legislative Council, and the privilege of corre-
sponding direct with the Secretary of State for
India."
Ever since the actual transfer of the Straits
Settlements to the Colonial Office in 1867, the
Singapore Chamber of Commerce has been
allowed to nominate one unofficial member of
the Legislative Council.
In 1874 a discussion arose on the Chinese
Immigration Bill, then under consideration by
the Government, and the Hon. H. O. Whampoa,
Tan King Ching, and Tan Seng Poh, the lead-
ing Chinese residents at that day, attended a
special meeting of the Chamber and gave
evidence as to the practice of kidnapping
Chinese coolies in China and bringing them
under the delusion that they were going to
Johore, Riau, or some other place close by,
and some of them had been known to commit
suicide on discovering the deception that had
been practised upon them. Each of the wit-
nesses was distinctly of opinion that the
Chinese immigrants should be allowed to
come in as they pleased without restriction,
but that the coolie ships should be visited by
a superior police-officer, an immigration agent,
to prevent any imposition. The deputation
urged that the only legislation required was
to protect the immigrants who were to be
shipped to Deli and such foreign parts from
any misrepresentation. The Bill before the
Legislative Council was held to be useless, and
at a subsequent meeting of the Chamber,
which was attended by the Colonial Secretary
Import and Export Registration Office was
separated from the Marine Department and
placed under the Colonial Secretary.
By this time the Chamber of Commerce
represented nineteen of the largest European
firms in Singapore. In 1874 the annual report
showed a revenue of 355 dollars and a credit
balance of 37 dollars. The subject of pro-
viding a new office for the Chamber was
raised in 1876, and in the following year the
committee were successful in obtaining from
Government a site for a new building on the
west side of the Post Office at a quit-rent of
150 dollars a year, and some 10,000 dollars
were subscribed to the building fund. The
commodious premises in which the Singapore
Club, the Exchange, and the Chamber of
Commerce are now housed were the out-
WALTER PALLISER.
1 AXii 2. Notable Sisoapore BurLDiNGB which were Erected by Mr. Palliser. 3. Scene at Kali.axg Tinstel Works.
4. Some Machinery at Kallang Tunnel Works.
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H o
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
617
come of this scheme. In 1879 the rentals to
be paid by the occupants of the new build-
ing were fixed as follow : Singapore Club,
175 dollars a month ; Exchange, 100 dollars a
month ; and Chamber of Commerce 25 dollars
a month.
The vexed question of the currency has
repeatedly engaged the attention of the Singa-
pore Chamber of Commerce. As far back as
1863 the Chamber addressed a petition to Par-
liament praying that a British dollar and its
subordinate parts, of the same weight and
intrinsic value as the Mexican dollar, might
he coined, and that a mint be established in
Singapore. In 1874 a resolution was passed
concurring with the Hongkong Chamber as
to the advisability of introducing a British
coined dollar for general circulation in the
Straits Settlements and in British China, and
in 1880 the opinion was expressed that the
issue of one dollar notes, duly safeguarded,
would be a convenience to the colony. Nine-
teen years elapsed, however, before this sug-
gestion was adopted. In 1893 the Secretary of
State requested the Governor to report what
remedial measures he advised for securing
greater fixity of exchange, and his Excellency
sought the views of the Chamber of Commerce
on the question. After due deliberation the
Chamber recommended the appointment of
A committee, comprising the financial officers
of the Government and representatives of the
Chamber and of the mercantile community, to
examine the question in all its bearings. This
suggestion was adopted by the Legislative
Council, and it was as a result of the findings
of this committee that the dollar was eventually
fixed in value.
The Chamber has consistently opposed the
proposed harbour improvement scheme, esti-
mated to cost twelve million dollars, on the
ground that the advantages expected to be
gained were not commensurate with the enor-
mous outlay entailed, which, it was feared,
would eventually lead to the creation of
Government harbour dues ; and it is in no
small measure due to the vigorous opposition
of the Chamber that previous attempts to
impose harbour dues have been frustrated,
and that Singapore has remained a free port,
save for opium and spirituous liquors.
The membership of the Chamber, which was
at first open to both European and native
members of the mercantile community, has
for many years been confined to representa-
tives of European firms. In 1895 thirty-five
houses were represented on the Chamber,
and at the present time the number is fifty-
five. On January I, 1907, the Chamber and
the Exchange (founded in 1859) were amalga-
mated, and their principal activities at the
present time are the publication of a daily
return of the imports and exports of the port
and of the arrivals and clearances of shipping,
and a weekly report on the state of the Singa-
pore market, with the prices ruling for the
commodities dealt in. The present chairman
is Mr. E. M. Janion, and the vice-chairman is
Mr. Graham Paterson. The committee is com-
posed of the Hon. T. S. Baker and Messrs. E.
Anderson, Hans Becker, M. E. Plumpton, L. S.
Lewis, P. Cunliffe, W. Ewald, W. Patchett,
and W. P. Waddell. Of past presidents men-
tion should especially be made of Mr. W. H.
Read, C.M.G., and Mr, W. H. Shelford, who
have played such important parts in the com-
mercial history of Singapore. Mr. Alex. A.
Gunn has been the secretary of the Chamber
since 1891.
THE CHINESE CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE.
Although only formed in the early months
of 1906, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce
can boast a membership of two thousand, and
funds amounting to upwards of 20,000 dollars.
In addition to protecting and promoting the
general interests of the members, who are
exclusively Chinese, the Chamber is prepared
to arbitrate in any disputes that may arise
between rival traders and between the dif-
ferent clans of Chinese. It was of consider-
able assistance in settling a quarrel between
Teau Chieu and Hokien coolies.
A committee of fifty members is selected
annually to conduct the business of the
Chamber. Ordinary meetings are held every
three months, and special meetings are called
by the secretary when necessary. A quorum
consists of fifteen members.
The photograph of the committee which we
reproduce is probably the first photograph of
such a representative body of Chinese gentle-
men that has appeared in a book.
The first president was Mr. Goh Siew Tin,
the first vice-president being Mr. Tan Hoong
Chiew. These two gentlemen were succeeded
in 1907 by Mr. Chao Choo Yung and Mr. Goh
Siew Tin respectively. The secretary resides
at the commodious premises of the Chamber
in Hill Street.
It was purchased for 186,000 dollars by the
Tanjong Pagar Dock' Company, Ltd., who ac-
quired it for the purpose of conveying goods
from their wharves to the town. Eventually
the service was stopped.
The present company, a London concern,
was registered in 1902 as the " Singapore
Electric Tramway, Ltd." Three years later,
in the month of July, a service of electric
cars was running, the current being supplied
by the overhead trolley system. The consulting
engineers were Messrs. Alfred Dickinson & Co.,
of Birmingham, and the contractors for the
power-station, track, and rolling-stock were
Messrs. Dick Kerr & Co., Ltd., of London
and Preston. A novel feature of the under-
taking is the welding of the rails by the Thermit
alumino-thermic system. The Singapore
tramways were the first in the East to adopt
this method of joining the rails, and the result
has proved highly satisfactory, giving a very
durable, smooth-running track. The total
route mileage over which the cars run is about
16 miles, and the total track mileage 25J miles.
It will thus be evident that there is a certain
GENERAL POST OFFICE.
Mr. Chan Teow Lam, who has been the
secretary of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce
since its formation in 1906, is a native of the
Swatow district of China. During his thirty
years' residence in Singapore he has built up
a large business in gambler and pepper. He
possesses a number of gardens in Johore, and
sells the products locally. His premises are at
5, Fisher Street. His father was engaged in the
tea trade in China, and Mr. Chan Teow Lam
has also interests in that business. He has
eight children — four daughters and four sons
(Chan Siow Kee, Chan Slow Kew, Chan Slow
Chee, and Chan Siow Choe) — all of whom are
being educated in English.
SINGAPORE ELECTRIC TRAMWAYS.
Although there has been a service of
tramcars in Singapore for the past twenty years,
it was not until 1905 that electricity was
employed as the motive power. Steam cars
were introduced on May 3, 1886, by ^ private
company, which for three years had a precarious
existence. In 1889 the company's liabilities to
creditors exceeded the available assets byi30,5oo
dollars, and on December 5th of the same year
the undertaking was offered for sale by public
auction at Messrs. Crane Brothers' sale-room.
amount of single line, with loops, totalling
approximately some five and a quarter miles.
This is met with in the outskirts of the town,
where the traffic is not considered heavy
enough to warrant a double track. The
generating station, as will be seen from the
sketch plan, is situated in McKenzie Road,
adjacent to the Rochore Canal, from which an
ample supply of water is obtained for con-
densing purposes. The building comprises the
actual power-station and boiler-house, car-shed,
and workshop, together with the usual offices,
including those of the general manager and
staff. The plant at present installed in the
station consists of two 500-k.w. traction
generators, with a large overload capacity, .of
Messrs. Dick Kerr & Co.'s manufacture, driven
by cross compound Corliss engines (by Messrs.
Yates and Thom, of Blackburn), the combined
sets running at go revolutions a minute.
In addition there is a 150-k.w. set, consisting
of a Dick Kerr generator coupled to a Willans
engine, and a So-k.w. motor-generator, both of
which are used for giving a bulk supply of
current under contract to the Municipal
Commissioners of Singapore, who supply
electricity for lighting purposes to private
consumers.
The main switchboard comprises the usual
1. Tramcar (Modern Design).
SINGAPORE ELECTHIC TEAM"nrAYS.
z. Tramcar (Open JJesign). 3. Power Station
4. A Goods Tram.
Car Sheds.
SINGAPORE ELECTRIC TRAMWAYS.
2. Boiler House. 3. J. H. Garratt (General Manager).
4. Power Station (Interior).
620
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
generator and feeder panels, and also lighting
panels for the municipal supply. There are,
altogether, six outgoing traction feeders for
different parts of the system, and the usual
complement of negative return feeders. The
switchboard is equipped with Board of Trade
testing apparatus, and the whole of the under-
taking is worked strictly in accordance with
the requirements of the Board of Trade,
modified where necessary to suit climatic
conditions. The switching arrangements are
such that any of the three steam sets can be
used either for traction or for municipal
requirements. The boiler installation consists
of eight Lancashire boilers, each 28 feet by
7 feet 6 inches, worked at a pressure of 160 lbs.
to the square inch. The boiler-house is fully
equipped with the usual complement of steam-
driven direct acting feed pumps and Green's
economisers. Each engine has a surface
32,000 immediately. The revised scale of fares
was based on a minimum of 3 cents per
section. The maximum length of a section
being 1-9 miles, the average charge per mile
worked out at 2'i8 cents.
A peculiar feature of the traffic is its dense-
ness through what is termed China Town —
along North Bridge and South Bridge Roads.
It is estimated that almost two-thirds of the
total number of passengers using the tramway
are carried on this section of the line, which
extends, at most, for two miles. The fact of the
tramway running into the country at Gaylang
and Serangoon should tend to encourage
building operations in these districts.
The board of directors sits in London, Sir
Frank A. Swettenham being the chairman.
The Singapore agents are Messrs. Guthrie &
Co., Ltd. The London offices are at 19, St.
Swithin's Lane, E.G.
first sees the cables— eight in number, and
each containing 204 pairs of wires— which
come in from the street and are carried to the
intermediate distributing-room on the floor
above. These conductors are insulated with
specially prepared paper, and their whole
efficiency depends upon the fact that the leaden
outer sleeve is hermetically tight. They are,
in fact, what is technically known as dry core
cables. In the event of any dampness getting
into the cables to the disturbance or interrup-
tion of the service, chemically dried air is
pumped through them and the fault thus
rectified.
On the first floor is the intermediate dis-
tributing board, where the underground cables
are connected with the cables going to the
switchboard. By means of a plug attached to
a movable wire, any subscriber can be con-
nected on to the test instrument, by means of
Singapore TRA.^^WAY5
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MAP SHOWING TEAM ROUTES.
condenser of the Worthington make placed
below the engine-room floor, in which also are
accommodated all steam and exhaust ranges.
The result of this arrangement is that the power-
station, as will be seen from the illustration,
presents a particularly clear and business-like
appearance.
Attached to the power-station is the car-
shed, measuring 2 1 2 feet by 138 feet, and capable
of housing some 100 cars. At present there
are only 50 passenger-cars, but this number
will shortly have to be increased to meet the
demands of the traffic. An unusual and, as
yet, undeveloped feature of the undertaking
is the arrangement made for the handling and
transport of goods. The rolHng-stock for this
purpose consists of open and closed goods
wagons, hauled by 'motor wagons with four-
motor equipment.
At the commencement the Tramways Com-
pany had a very serious competitor to face in
the well-appointed rickshas, and it was scarcely
realised that fares would have to be as low
as those charged by the ricksha coolies, or even
lower, if the traffic was to be diverted. But
after the cars had been running seven months
the fares were reduced very considerably, with
the result that the average number of pas-
sengers carried daily increased from 11,360 to
ORIENTAL TELEPHONE AND
ELECTRIC COMPANY, LTD.
The telephone system in Singapore is
entirely controlled by. the Oriental Telephone
and Electric Company, Ltd., who have been
established in the colony since 1882. In that
year there were 38 subscribers ; now "there
are over 900, and the number goes on steadily
increasing from year to year. This year (1907)
has seen the completion of the company's
handsome new premises in Hill Street, to
which has now been removed all the business
formerly carried on in the old exchange in
Robinson Road. On the ground floor are
the accumulators, dynamos and motor-gene-
rators for working the service — all in duplicate.
The whole exchange at present is worked
from one large central battery consisting of
ten accumulators, having a capacity of 135
ampere-hours. While one set is in operation,
the duplicate set is being charged. In the
power-room is the power board, from which
all the circuits are manipulated. The motor-
generators have each a capacity of 1-35 kilo-
watts. There are also duplicate ringing
generators,, which supply the current enabling
the operator to ring up subscribers without
having to turn a handle. It is here that one
which it is possible to locate and discover the
nature of any fault occurring on any sub-
scriber's line.
At the back of the test frame are lightning
protectors for preventing disturbance of the
apparatus by atmospheric electricity or by
accidental contact with a tramway or electric
light wire.
On the second floor is the switch-room,
where all the work of connecting lines is done
by girl operators. The service is controlled
through a multiple switchboard, which has
more than 84,000 soldered electrical con-
nections and some 8,000 others made by
means of screws, the failure of any one of
which might affect the working of subscribers'
lines. The switchboard is of the most
modern and up-to-date type. The smallest
turn of the handle at the subscriber's end of the
wire operates on the exchange apparatus a
small tongue of metal, which, moving a
fractional part of an inch, completes a circuit
and illuminates it tiny electric lamp, known as
the visual indicator, m front of the operator.
This lamp remains alight until a plug is inserted
to take the call. At the same time a pilot lamp
is lighted in view of the clerk in charge, and if
this remains alight for too long a period the
clerk knows that either the operator is dilatory
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
621
or the work on that particular section is excep-
tionally heavy. On the multiple switchboard,
too, it is possible to transfer some of the work
to other operators — an arrangement that was
impracticable under the old system. When
subscribers are connected a further ring lights
another lamp and gives a clearing signal.
Under the new system metallic circuits are
used, thus insuring greater privacy of con-
versation to those using the telephone, together
with many technical advantages. Hitherto, in
the case of wires running parallel for any great
distance, induction made it possible to overhear
what was being said over another line, although
the wires were not touching each other. The
employment of metallic circuits removes this
objectionable feature. In the telephone house
there is at present switchboard accommoda-
tion for 5,000 subscribers, and complete fittings
for the reception of 1,200 lines, which are
capable of being increased to the full capacity
of the switchboards at any time. The Tele-
phone Company's undertaking is under the
management of Mr. J. Sibbons, who has been
the suggestion of Sir Andrew Clarke, the then
Governor, the double institution was called
Raffles Library and Museum.
The old Library was originally housed in the
Raffles Institution, but in September, 1862, it
was removed to the Town Hall, where it
occupied two rooms on the ground floor.
When, in 1874, the Museum was added to it,
the available space soon proved insufficient,
and so in December, 1876, the Library and
Museum were taken back to the Raffles Institu-
tion and housed in the first and second floors
of the new wing. There they remained until
1887.
The present Library and Museum has a com-
manding position at the junction of Stamford
Road and Orchard Road, at the foot of Fort
Canning. It consists of two parallel halves.
The front building, surmounted by a handsome
dome, was opened in 1887, but was soon found
to be too small for its double purpose, especially
as up to 1898 it contained the Curator's quarters
as well. The building at the rear was com-
menced in 1904, finished towards the end of
The Library is well catalogued. The chief
catalogue, comprising not less than 636 pages,
closes with the year igoo, but it is brought up
to date by means of annual and regular monthly
supplements.
In the early part of 1907 there were about
320 subscribers to the Library, for the privilege
of using which fees of twelve, eight, and four
dollars are charged in the first, second, and
third classes respectively.
There is a spacious reading-room to the right
of the entrance-hall, used chiefly by non-sub-
scribers. The walls of this room are adorned
with portraits of former Governors and princi-
pal residents of the colony, with pictures and
plans of old Singapore, and with a large photo-
graph of the monument to Sir Stamford Raffles
in Westminster Abbey.
The Museum collections embrace zoology,
botany, geology, ethnology, and numismatics,
and are almost entirely restricted to the
Malayan region.
The zoological section is contained in the
upper -floor of the new building. Beginning at
RAFFLES MUSEUM, SINGAPORE.
some twenty-three years in their service in
various parts of the East, including about
twelve years spent at Singapore.
RAFFLES LIBRARY AND MUSEUM.
By R. Hanitsch, Ph.D.,
Curator and Librarian.
The Raffles Library and Museum, Singapore,
although a comparatively recent institution, is
directly descended from a proprietary library
founded as long ago as 1844. When, in 1874,
the Government decided to establish a museum
for the collection of objects of natural history
and to combine a public library with it, the old
" Singapore Library " was taken over, and on
1906, and opened to the public on the Chinese
New Year Day, February 13, 1907.
The Library comprises about 30,000 volumes,
and, whilst of a general character, is particu-
larly strong in literature dealing with the
Malay Archipelago. Special mention should be
made of two sections — the Logan and the Rost
collections — to be found in the entrance-hall.
The first-named was collected by the late Mr.
J. R. Logan, of Pinang, the well-known editor
of the Journal of the Indian Arcliipclago, and
was acquired in 1880, The other one was
purchased in 1897 from the executors of the
late Dr. Reinhold Rost, Librarian of the India
Office in London. The two collections are of
a special Malayan character.
the west wing we see several cases containing
the monkeys, conspicuous amongst them some
fine groups of orang-utan and proboscis
monkeys — the latter reminding one of pictures
in Puncli — and nearly forty species of other
monkeys — siamang and gibbons, macaques,
langurs, and lemurs. The big game of the
peninsula is well represented by the seladang,
stuffed and skeletonised, and about twenty-five
heads of it adorning the walls ; many specimens
of deer, rhinoceros, tapir, and wild boar. But,
unfortunately, there are only two young and
diminutive specimens of the elephant. The
beasts of prey are represented by a fine tiger
and black panther, both gifts from the Sultan
of Johore, by a spotted leopard, a clouded
INTERIOR VIEWS OF THE SINGAPORE MUSEUM.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
623
leopard, other smaller cats, and a group of the
harmless-looking Malayan bears. Amongst
other mammals are the flying fox and other
bats, shrews, squirrels, and other rodents, scaly
ant-eater, and the aquatic mammals, such as
dugongs, dolphins, and porpoises. A striking
exhibit is the skull of the humpbacked whale
which was stranded about twenty-five years
ago near Malacca. The animal measured
42 feet.
The birds fill eight large cases. Most of
them have recently been remounted, and show
their plumage to the best advantage. We can
only mention the hawks, the pheasants (with
two specially fine Argus pheasants), the birds
of paradise, the hornbills, and a case of
Christmas Island birds. Amongst the reptiles
the most remarkable object is a crocodile,
ISJ feet in length, from the Serangoon river,
Singapore. There is a large collection of
snakes in spirit ; there are two specimens of
the python, each about 22 feet in length, one
stuffed and the other skeletonised ; and some
excellent models of snakes, especially one of
the deadly hamadryad. The lizards, turtles,
tortoises, and amphibians are well represented.
There are also fishes, large and small, stuffed
and in spirit — amongst them the " sea devil,"
a kind of huge ray, measuring I2 feet across.
Butterflies and moths fill thirty-two cases.
There are also some cases of wonderful beetles,
wasps and bees, cicadas and lantern flies,, grass-
hoppers, and stick and leaf insects. Finally,
there are also some fearsome scorpions and
spiders.
The marine section comprises crabs and
lobsters, with the uncanny robber crab from
Christmas Island ; shells of all sorts, sea
urchins, starfishes, sea lilies and feather stars,
sponges, and several cases of beautiful corals —
most of them dredged or collected at low tide
from the immediate neighbourhood of Singa-
pore, from Keppel Harbour, and from Blakang
Mali.
The botanical section is only small. It con-
sists of models of local fruit and vegetables,
made of paraffin wax and painted in natural
colours. Samples of local timber and of other
vegetable products, such as oils and fibres, will
shortly be added to this section.
The geological and mineralogical collection
chiefly contains what is most of Tocal interest —
numerous samples of tin ore from various mines
of the Malay Peninsula, and a huge block of
tin ore weighing half a ton, which in the year
1894 was presented by the Chinese of Kuala
Lumpor to H.E, Sir Charles Mitchell, Governor
of the Straits Settlements at the time, and by
him handed over to the Museum. The com-
mercial value of this block was some years ago
estimated at £"]<:>. ■ Its present value would be
considerably more. This section also contains,
some of the first few fossils discovered in
Singapore, from Mount Guthrie, Tanjong Pagar.
They are principally marine bivalves, probably
of middle Jurassic age.
The Ethnological Gallery is on the upper
floor of the old building. It contains a fine
display of gruesome-looking Malayan, Javanese,
and Dyak spears, swords, and krisses, some
plain, some silver-mounted ; Dyak ornaments,
shields, and war dresses, amongst the latter a
curious but apparently very serviceable one
njade of bark cloth and fish scales ; models of
native houses and native craft, filling nearly a
whole room ; beautifully made spears, clubs,
and paddles from New Guinea and neighbour-
ing islands ; a case illustrating worship and
witchcraft, with specimens of the " kapal
hantu " or " boat of the spirits," which is
said to have the remarkable property of con-
veying sickness away from an infected locality
when launched with due ceremony ; a case, of
musical instruments, if the noise produced by
native fiddles, flutes, gongs, and drums may be
called music ; a case of costly sarongs and
other cloth, with models of looms illustrating
their manufacture. There are shelves upon
shelves of mats and baskets, cleverly made of
grass, rattan, and palm (pandanus) leaves. One
case holds baskets from Malacca, finished and
in various states of manufacture, with tools and
photographs, presented by Mrs. Bland, who
greatly fostered that industry in Malacca ; also
samples of Malacca lace, presented by the
same lady. In the centre of one case showing
pottery is a huge earthenware jar from Ban-
jermassin, Borneo, of the kind used there for
human burial. Two other cases show valuable
silver and brass ware, whilst a number of
bronze swivel guns, from Brunei, stand in
various corners of the gallery. One of these
guns is quaintly ornamented with raised figures
of snakes, frogs, crocodiles, birds, and other
other places. Practically unique is a collection
of Portuguese tin coins, which were discovered
in 1900 during excavations at the mouth of the
Malacca river, collected together by the Hon.
W. Egerton, the then Resident Councillor of
Malacca, and by him handed over to the Raffles
Museum. Additional coins were found a few
years later, and presented to the Museum by
the Hon. R. N. Bland.
The oldest of these tin coins date from the
time when the Portuguese, under Albuquerque,
took possession of Malacca in 1511, i.e., from
the reign of King Emmanuel (1495-1521).
Later coins are from the reigns of John III.
(1521-1557) and Sebastian (1557-1578). There
is no doubt that these coins are ttie oldest
archaeological record of the colony. A de-
%
\i
^^
^^
LEONARD "WRAY, I.S.O.
(Director of Museums, Federated Malay States.)
DR. R. HANITSCH. P. W. KNOCKER.
(Curator, Raffles Library and Museum, (Curator, Perak State Museum,
Singapore.)
animals. Two cases hold a large series of
Buddhist images from Laos, Siam, whilst three
other cases are set apart for the ethnology
of the Bismarck Archipelago, of Timor Laut,
and of Pagi Island respectively. Part of the
walls of the gallery are covered with the
curious figures of the Javanese " Wayang
Kulit " or " Shadow Play." But probably the
most gorgeous exhibit in this section is a state
mattress, with bolsters and pillows of silk,
richly embroidered with gold and silver, as
used by Malay Sultans at their weddings.
The numismatic collection contains gold,
silver, copper, and tin coins from the Straits
Settlements, Johore, Pahang, Kelantan, Treng-
ganu, Siam, Sumatra, theBritish East India Com-
pany, the Dutch East India Company, Java, Ban-
jermassin, Sarawak, British North Borneo, and
Taiping.)
tailed description of them is given in the
Journal of the Straits Branch, Royal Asiatic
Society, Nos. 39 and 44.
Mr. Karl Richard Hanitsch, Ph.D.,
Curator and Librarian of Raffles Library and
Museum, Singapore, was born at Grossenstein,
Saxe .\ltenburg, Germany, on December 22,
i860, and received his education first at the
Gymnasium in Eisenberg, and, later, at the
University of Jena, where he studied for four
years, principally under Professor Ernst
Haeckel. In 18871^16 was appointed Demon-
strator of Zoology at University College,
Liverpool — a position which he held until he
became Curator and Librarian of Raffles Library
and Museum in 1895. During his term of
office in Singapore Dr. Hanitsch has succeeded
in transforming a neglected and confused mass
624
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
of objects into a well-kept and orderly collec-
tion, which is now a credit to the colony.
SINGAPORE CLUB.
The premier club in the settlement is the
Singapore Club, which was established in
overlooking the harbour. The membership,
which is limited to Tuan Besars (or princi-
pals), numbers Sg8, of whom 183 are town
members, 87 country members, and 328 absent
members. The club is managed by a com-
mittee of nine, consisting of Messrs. W. C.
SINGAPORE CLUB AND CHAMBBB OP COMMBECE.
TBUTONIA CLUB.
1861. Originally this club occupied premises
in Cecil Street that are now used as offices by
Messrs. Behn, Meyer & Co., but in 1880 the
institution was removed to Exchange Buildings,
Michell (chairman), A. D. Allan, G. A. Derrick,
F. M. Elliot, F. Hilton, A. S. Leresche, G. C.
Murray, Graham Paterson, and J. D. Saun-
ders, with Mr. Geo. B. Morris, secretary.
TEUTONIA CLUB.
" The purpose of this club is to further social
intercourse among Germans resident here [in
Singapore] by means of regular musical even-
ings." These are the opening hnes of the
articles of association of the Teutonia Club,
which was first formed on August 3, 1855.
Lovers of song, such as the Herren Otto
Puttfarcken, Adolf Emil Schmidt, Rheiner,
Kuestermann, Kufecke, Strokarkk, Cramer,
Zapp, Franck, Remie, Reis, Friedrichs and
Haeseler met in the early fifties once a week
under the direction of Mr. Laville for the
purpose of exercising themselves in national
songs, which have done so much to bring the
German population of Singapore together.
The movement soon became very popular, even
among those who were not musically inclined,
and, as a consequence, it was decided in
February, 1856, to form the nucleus of a
proper German Club. This club was started in
the following June with twenty-one members,
under the presidency of Herr Otto Puttfarcken,
and the headquarters were provided with good
German standard newspapers and were kept
open in the evenings. On reference to the
early minutes of the club we find that the
place was closed at 11 o'clock p.m., that no
hazard games of any kind were allowed, and
that only cognac, claret, and sherry were
permitted to be dispensed to thirsty members.
In the course of years the club has grown
very considerably, but the fundamental regula-
tion that only Germans or German-speaking
people could become members has been faith-
fully adhered to.
The little house in North Bridge Road in
which the club first met soon became inade-
quate, and Blanche House, Mount Elizabeth,
was obtained from Mrs. Hewitson at a monthly
rental of 37 dollars. As the colony developed
and the number of German residents grew, the
club increased in importance, and in the year
1862 the members made their home in what
is now so well known as the old club. This
remained the headquarters for thirty-seven
years, during which the twenty-fifth and
thirtieth anniversaries of the club's formation
were there celebrated with great festivity and
merrymaking. The concerts given by the
club became a recognised institution in Singa-
pore, and materially benefited many local
charities, including the Tan Tock Seng Hos-
pital.
The club has always made a point of
being on the best terras with English society
in Singapore, and each new Governor has
invariably been invited to take part in a special
festival arranged in his honour. When Prince
Heinrich of Prussia passed through Singapore
in 1898, en route for China, the club accorded
him a real German welcome. Members of
English clubs in Singapore have always found
a welcome home with the Teutonians when-
ever they were rebuilding or changing their
premises.
In 1899 the membership bad grown to over
a hundred, and it was found that extensive
repairs were necessary to the old building, but,
in view of the heavy cost which these would
entail, and taking into consideration the pro-
bable future requirements, it was decided to
erect a new building at a cost of 20,000 dollars,
subscribed by past and present Germans
resident in the colony. The outcome of this
is seen in the present handsome building,
erected by Messrs. Swann and Maclaren, which
puts in the shade any similar social institution
in Singapore. In the friendliest manner the
Tanglin Club gave the Teutonians a home whilst
the new building was under construction, and
their hospitality has always been gratefully re-
membered by the members of the Teutonia.
On September 21, 1900, the new club was
opened by Sir James Alexander Swettenham,
then Acting Governor of the colony, and on
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
626
that occasion the elite of Singapore, irrespec-
tive of nationality, was present. The large hall
was transformed into an amphitheatre contain-
ing restaurants, merry-go-rounds, side-shows,
shooting-galleries, &c. ; the reading-room was
converted into a ballroom, and hospitality
was dispensed with a lavish hand.
As either presidents or vice-presidents,
Herren Sohst, Hube, Dr. de Vos, Winkel-
mann, Freiherr von Roessing and Schwemer
will always be remembered. At the present
day the destinies of the club, which now
counts some 140 members, are secure in the
hands of Mr. Hans Becker, head of Messrs.
Behn, Meyer & Co., Ltd.
TANGLIN CLUB.
The Tanglin Club was founded shortly after
the German Club in 1868 as a suburban social
institute to meet the wants of Britishers
residing in the Tanglin district. Formerly it
contained reading, smoking, and billiard
rooms, but these have now been discontinued
in consequence of the growing popularity of
rival institutions in the town. The club bun-
galow in Steven Road is used principally for
monthly dances and occasional concerts. The
ballroom has for years had the reputation of
having the best dancing floor in Singapore.
In the grounds are four bowling alleys, which
are freely used by members. The membership
numbers about two hundred, and the club,
which owns the bungalow and grounds form-
ing its headquarters, is carried on by members'
subscriptions alone. Some years ago a scheme
was projected for rebuilding the club premises
as a residential club, but nothing came of it.
FREEMASONRY.
Freemasonry had its birth in Singapore in
1845. In that year the Lodge Zetland (now
Lodge Zetland-in-the-East) was founded, the
first meeting-place being in North Bridge Road.
In 1856 a Masonic Hall was opened on the
Esplanade at the corner of Coleman Street, on
ground which now belongs to the municipality.
Two years later the Lodge Fidelity was started,
and in 1867 it was united with Lodge Zetland.
In the same year Lodge St. George was granted
its warrant, and in 1871 the building on the
Esplanade was vacated in favour of premises
in Beach Road. Subsequently the Lodge had
its habitation in Hill Street, until, in 1879, the
Masonic Hall in Coleman Street was conse-
crated. This has served as the meeting-place
of all the Masonic lodges and bodies ever
since. From time to time the building has
been enlarged and improved, and it is now a
handsome structure both outside and inside.
Nevertheless the available accommodation is
not sufficient for all the requirements of the
craft, and within a few years a larger building
will have to be provided. The property is
owned by the lodges, particularly Lodge Zet-
land and Lodge St. George, and is vested in a
board of trustees, consisting of the R.W.D.G.M.,
the W.M., and S.W. of Lodge Zetland and of
Lodge St. George, the First Principal of Dal-
housie Royal Arch Chapter, the President of
the District Board of General Purposes, and
the President of the Board of Benevolence.
The craft can boast of having enrolled among
its members the names of many men who have
taken a prominent part in the conduct of the
colony, including Admiral Sir Harry Keppel,
Sir Charles Warren, Sir Charles Mitchell, Mr.
W. H. Read, C.M.G., and Colonel S. Dunlop.
There are close upon two hundred Freemasons
in Singapore, and the principal officers of the
craft in 1907 were : Rt. Wor. Bro. W. J.
Napier, D.G.M. ; Wor. Bro. F. M. Elliott,
D.D.G.M. ; Wor. Bro. J. A. R. Glennie,
D.S.G.W. ; Wor. Bro. J. Ward, D.J.G.W. ;
Wor. Bro. A. W. Bean, U.G. Treasurer ; Wor,
Bro. E. F. H. Edlin, Pres. D.B. of G.P. ; Wor.
Bro. H. P. Kinghorn, D.G. Registrar ; and
Wor. Bro. F. A. Rickard, D.G. Secretary.
SOCIAL AND PROFES=
SIGNAL.
EUROPEAN.
Mr. F. W. Barker.— Although it is true
that most Europeans who come out East return
to their native land after some few years, there
are others who become so attached to life in
the Orient that they settle down permanently.
A case in point is furnished by Mr. F. W.
account in 1902. He was one of the few who
early recognised the possibilities of rubber
cuUivation, and he founded the iirst company
for this purpose— the Singapore and Johore
Rubber Company, Ltd., of which he is now a
director. He is also chairman of the Sandy-
croft, Ledbury, Sione, and Jementah Rubber
Companies, and of the tin mining firm, Kana-
boi, Ltd. Mr. Barker has taken great interest
in the social life of Singapore. In his early
days he was a keen cricketer, and he was one
A GROUP OF SINGAPORE PROFESSIONAL MEN.
I. J. AITKEN (Barrisler-at-Law). 2. E. C. Ellis (Advocate). 3. SONG Ong Siang, M.A., LL.M. (Barrister-at-Law).
4. F. W. GOONKTILLEKE, M.R.C.S., L.R C.P. Lond. 5. S. WeRTHEIM, M.D., L.R.C.S. & L.R.C.P. Edin.
6. S. C. Yin, M.B. Toronto, M.R.C.S. Eng., L.R.C.P. Lond. 7. WEE THEAM TEW (Barrister-at-Law).
Barker, head of the firm of Messrs. F. W.
Barker & Co., accountants and auditors, who
has now resided in Singapore for over twenty-
two years. Born in London in 1861, he was
educated in Edinburgh, and commenced his
business career with Messrs. T. G. Hill & Co.,
of Manchester. Upon their recommendation
he came out , to Singapore in 1885 to join
Messrs. Gilfillan & Co., and in the service
of that firm he spent fourteen years. Fore-
seeing the developments that were likely to
follow on the opening up of the Federated
Malay States, he started business on his own
of the first members of the Singapore Volun-
teer Artillery. For many years he served on
the committee of the Tanglin Club, and from
time to time he has rendered valuable service
in connection with amateur theatricals.
Mr.-Hans Becker.— The suburbs of Singa-
pore furnish many examples of beautiful bun-
galows, and " Spring Grove " is among the
most charming of these. As one enters the
gate an extensive garden greets the eye, rich
in various kinds of tropical verdure. Here on
Wednesday afternoons large numbers of the
German community meet together without
2 D
Mrs. Hans Becker.
The Stables.
Drawing Doom.
"SPRING GROVE."
Dining Room.
EXTERIOR.
Verandah.
Hans Becker.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MAI>AYA
627
ceremony at the invitation of the genial host
and hostess, Mr. and .Mrs. Hans Becker, and
the scene is one of life and colour. Some
engage in tennis, while others chat together
across the tea-table at the head of the lawn,
which is fringed with palms, shrubs, bushes.
Company, the P. & O. Steam Navigation Com-
pany, the Oriental Electric and Telephone
Company, and Messrs. Whiteaway, Laidlaw &
Co. The principal partner is Mr. J. Waddell
Boyd Maclaren, who, was born in Edin-
burgh in 1863, and educated at the Collegiate
AN AFTERNOON AT "SPRING GROVE."
is a member of the Sports Club (London) and
of all local clubs.
Mr. Regent Alfred John Bidwell,
another partner, was admitted in 1899, after
having served the firm for four years. He was
born in l86g, and received his professional
training with Messrs. Lockyer, Son, & Cox,
of London. During this'time he became a
member of the Architectural Association, and
was placed on the honours list of this institu-
tion for design. Subsequently he went as
assistant to Messrs. Crikmay & Son, of
London, Weymouth, Salisbury, and Llan-
drindod, and left this firm to become chief
assistant to Mr. \V. H. Woodroffe, of London.
Mr. Bidwell's ne.xt appointment was that of
assistant to the superintending architect of the
London County Council. On retiring from
that position he was appointed by the late Sir
Chas. Gregory to the Public Works Department
of Selangor, where, under Mr. C. E. Spooner,
C.M.G., he designed the Kuala Lumpor public
buildings and other works. In 1895 he left
Selangor to join the firm in which he is now a
partner, and for whom he has designed most of
the buildings erected under their supervision.
Five years ago he was elected a fellow of the
Surveyors' Institute.
Mr. S. Tomlinson. — One of the best-
known professional men of Singapore is Mr.
Sam Tomlinson, a member of the firm of
Messrs. Tomlinson & Lermit, civil engi-
neers, architects and surveyors. Born at
East Morton, in Yorkshire, in 1859, he was
educated at Morton National School, Keighle5'
Trade School, and the Normal School of
Science, South Kensington. At the examina-
tions of the City and Guilds of London he won
the surveying medal, and came out first in
mine surveying in the year 1882. He also
became an associate of the Society of Arts
of Oxford University. His general and techni-
cal education being finished, he was articled
for five years with Mr. Charles Gott, M.Inst.CE.,
plants, and flowers. In the background is a
typical Eastern bungalow, solidly built for
coolness and comfort, which was bought by
Messrs. Behn, Meyer & Co., Ltd., in 1894, and
has been the residence of the senior partners
of the firm ever since. It contains a handsome
saloon, spacious dining, drawing, and billiard
rooms, is lighted throughout by incandescent
gas, and is furnished with taste. The weekly
reunions, at which the employes of Messrs.
Behn, Meyer &-Co., Ltd., can meet Mr. Becker,
the managing director of the firm, and his wife
on terms of friendship, are very popular, and it
may justly be said of Mr. Becker that during his
nineteen years' residence in Singapore he has
done much to cement in bonds of friendship
the members of the German community. A
native of Hannover, with a commercial train-
ing received in Bremen, he came to Singapore
to join Messrs. Behn, Meyer & Co. in 1888.
Eight years later, namely on January i, 1906,
he became the first managing director of that
important concern. He married in 190S
Maggie, only daughter of Surgeon-General
Wilckens, of his Imperial German Majesty's
land forces, of Hannover.
Messrs. Swann & Maclaren. — Singapore
abounds in monuments of the skill of Messrs.
Swann & Maclaren, the well-known architects
and civil engineers, who have been established
in the colony since 1885. They are the de-
signers of some of the finest ornamental
buildings both in Singapore and the Federated
Malay States. Among the former are the
Hongkong and Shanghai Bank buildings, the
Chartered Bank buildings, Raffles, Adelphi,
and Europe Hotels, the pavilion of the Singa-
pore Cricket Club, Ihe Electric Power Station,
and the business premises of Messrs. Syme &
Co., Messrs. Eraser & Neave, Ltd., the Eastern
Extension Australasian and China Telegraph
School there. He was trained as a civil
engineer under Messrs. Carfrae & Belfrage,
of Edinburgh, and after the completion of
his articles he served for some time with
Mr. John Strain, M.Inst.CE., of Glas-
gow. He next took up the appointment of
assistant engineer on an extension of the
Caledonian Railway. Subsequently he was
one of the constructing engineers on the
Calaiias and Marsis Railway, and formed one
of a commission appointed to report on the
Naples Waterworks Scheme. Coming to
Singapore in 1887, he joined the firm of which
he is now the head. He is a member of the
Institute of Civil Engineers, of the Thatched
House and Sports Clubs (London), and of all
local clubs. He is a Justice of the Peace and
served as a Municipal Commissioner for some
years. Mr. Maclaren resides at " Hartfell,"
Tanglin.
Mr. Alexander James William Watkins,
M.Inst.CE., another partner, is a native
of Monmouthshire, and was born in 1864.
He was educated in Edinburgh, and was pro-
fessionally trained in the same firm as Mr.
Maclaren, after which he was appointed
resident engineer of the Lanark and Ayrshire
Railway. In 1887 he came to the Federated
Malay States, where he was Chief Engineer
for the construction of the Selangor and Negri
Sambilan State Railways. This position he
resigned in 1902 to become a partner in the
firm of Messrs. Swann & Maclaren. Mr. Wat-
kins is a member of the Singapore Municipal
Commission and a Justice of the Peace tor the
island of Singapore. In company with his
partner he was retained by the Tanjong Pagar
Dock Company as an expert in the recent arbi-
tration proceedings. He is a director of
Messrs. Howarth Erskine, Ltd., and of the
Singapore and Johore Rubber Company, and
S. TOMLINSON.
at Bradford, and his first appointment was that
of assistant engineer at the Bradford Corpora-
tion Waterworks under Mr. (now Sir) Alexander
Binnie. He first came out East in 1886, when
he was appointed deputy water engineer at
628
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Bombay Waterworks. After spending ten
years in that important Indian city, he came to
Singapore as Municipal Engineer, and during
his tenure of office he prepared the plans for
the extension of the water supply to the
Tanglin and Keppel Harbour districts, the
reservoir at Pearl's Hill, and the improvement
of the Stamford Canal. He also designed the
new headquarters of the Jinricksha Department,
the private residence of Mr. Adis, and, in con-
junction with Messrs. Swann & Maclaren, the
magnificent building occupied by the Grand
Hotel de I'Europe. Mr. Tomlinson took a
prominent part in the proceedings for the
acquisition by the municipality of the gas-
works, and of the site and buildings now used
as municipal offices! (the old Hotel de
I'Europe), and in the lengthy and important
arbitration for the acquisition by the Govern-
Mr. Alfred William Lermit, of Messrs.
Tomlinson & Lermit, was born at Colchester
in 1850. After being trained as a land-agent
and surveyor he commenced practice on his
own account in London in 1871, and during the
next ten years built up a good connection. In
1882 he qualified as a fellow of the Surveyors'
Institute. He came out to Singapore in the
following year, and practised in partnership
with Messrs. Crane Bros., and others, for some
time. Mr. Lermit has carried out surveys for
the Government in Province Wellesley, in the
island of Singapore, and in Johore. He was
also instrumental in furnishing plans for the
Adelphi Hotel, for the Singapore offices of the
Borneo Company and of Messrs. Katz Bros.,
Ltd. For the past few years he has been in
partnership with Mr. Tomhnson.
Mr. George d' Almeida.— The architectural
civil engineer, architect, and surveyor under
the style of Almeida & Co., of 7A, Change
Alley. Mr. d'Almeida owns some valuable
country residences at Tanjong Katong, Cave-
nagh Road, and Cuppage Road, and other pro-
perties in town. He resides at No. 16, Cuppage
Road.
Mr. N. N. Adis. — "Nil desperandum " is
evidently the motto of Mr. Nissim Nissim
Adis, proprietor of the Hotel de I'Europe and
head of the firm of Adis & Co., stockbrokers,
whose career reads like that of an American
commercial magnate. The son of Mr. Nissim
Adis, a Calcutta merchant, the subject of this
sketch was born at Howrah on May 17, 1857,
and received his education at St. Thomas's
School, Howrah, after which he was articled
to Messrs. Templeton & Carapiet, attorneys-at-
law and notaries public, of Calcutta. But the
EESIDENCE OF G. D'ALMEIDA.
2. The late Sir JosI d'Almeida (grandfather of G. d'Almeida). 3. The late Joaquim d'Almeida (father of G. d'Almeida).
4. G. d'Almeida.
ment of the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company's
undertaking, of lands for railway construction
. and water supply-purposes, and of land in Johore
for the construction of the State railway
through that territory. He was also called in
as an expert to advise upon the water supplies
of Pinang and several other places. Mr.
Tomlinson is a member of the Institution of
Civil Engineers, a fellow-of the Royal Meteoro-
logical Society, and a member of the American
Society of Civil Engineers. During his
eleven years' residence in Singapore he has
prominently identified himself with local affairs,
and is at the present time a Justice of the
Peace, a member of the Singapore Club, an
elder and session clerk of the Presbyterian
Church, an honorary vice-president of the
Singapore Y.M.C.A., and a member of the
local advisory committee of the British and
Foreign Bible Society.
skill of Mr. George d'Almeida, C.E., M.S.E.,
B.Sc, is seen in the premises of Messrs.
Howarth Erskine & Co., in Battery Road, in
several godowns in Robinson Road and Cecil
Street, and in country residences in Tanglin,
Tanjong Katong, and other places. Mr. d'Al-
meida is the son of Mr. Joaquim d'Almeida,
who was a well-known Singapore merchant.
Consul for Spain, Portugal, Siam, and Brazil,
and a grandson of the famous Sir Jose d'Al-
meida, Bart. He was born in Singapore in
1871, and won the Government scholarship and
several special prizes at Raffles Institute in 1887.
He entered the Public Works Department of
the Straits Settlements in 1888, and was sta-
tioned at Malacca for several years. In 1892
he joined the Tomoh Gold Mining Company,
Ltd., at Kelantan, as engineer-surveyor. In
the following year he returned to Singa-
pore and commenced private practice as a
staid profession of the law did not appeal to
his tastes, and he abandoned it at the end of
two years in order to commence businessas an
exchange and stockbroker on his own account.
This was in 1876, when Mr. Adis was only
nineteen years of age. He had to struggle hard
for some time, and even when success had
crowned his efforts there came a crisis in
Calcutta through which the young stockbroker
lost no I6ss than Rs. 300,000 in twelve
months. Nothing daunted, Mr. Adis kept his
head above water, and in 1888 went to
Hongkong, where he started a similar business.
The history of his Calcutta operations was
repeated here, the initial success being followed
by a crash, and although Mr. Adis made a
great deal of money in Hongkong, he lost
most of it before he came to Singapore in
June, 1893. Upon arrival in the latter colony
he again commenced business as a stockbroker.
i ,
ADIS LODGE.
(Residence of Mr. N. X, Adis.)
2. Front Verandah. 3- Balcony.
4. Drawing Room.
2 D ■
/ X
/ ,
^\
I. Billiard Room.
ADIS LODGE.
Dining Room. 3. Bedroom.
^msmsmeesmui
4. Boudoir.
J
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OP BRITISH MALAYA 631
and he has never looked back from that day to
this. He is the sole proprietor of the Hotel de
I'Europe, and has built a palatial residence for
himself at a cost of close upon 300,000 dollars.
He has amassed his great wealth principally
by the purchase of properties which have
appreciated in value, in some cases as much as
300 per cent. Mr. Adis married Miss Leah
Judah, daughter of Mr. A. N. E. Judah, mer-
chant, of Calcutta, and granddaughter of
Mr. E. R. Belilios, C.M.G., of Hongkong, on
December 22, 1895. Mr. and Mrs. Adis reside
at Adis Lodge, Adis Road, which is, without
doubt, one of the most magnificent mansions
east of Suez. The house, which was completed
in the early part of 1907, is situated on Mount
Sofia, and commands an unrivalled view of
Singapore harbour and its surroundings. It is
constructed mainly of steel and concrete, which
make for strength, durability, and immunity
from fire. Everything that modern skill can de-
vise has been done to insure coolness. An airy
verandah encircles the building on the ground
floor, which embraces a large and homely
dining-room, a well-appointed billiard-room,
and two large bedrooms. The first floor con-
tains a spacious front verandah, breakfast-room,
a beautiful drawing-room, and six bedrooms.
Every bedroom has a bath and dressing-room
adjoining it, fitted with hot and cold water
and lined with white glazed bricks, and they
are all fitted with Bostvvick collapsible gates,
such as are used on elevators, and these give
a maximum amount of fresh air whilst securing
absolute safety from the nocturnal raids of
would-be burglars. The ground floor is paved
with black and while mosaic marble, and the
first floor with MaUins' tiles in fancy patterns.
Uralite, panelled in various designs, is used
mainly for the ceilings, but in the drawing-
room stelconite is employed. The water
supply is from a specially constructed tower,
as the house is on the same level as the
reservoir from which the town supply is run.
The general colour scheme throughout the
house is pale green with white and gold
ceilings, and the furnishing, which is both
luxurious and comfortable, is in excellent
taste. The architects were Messrs. Tomlinson
& Lermit ; the constructional steel-work was
supplied by Messrs. Riley Hargreaves, Ltd.,
the ornamental ironwork by Messrs. Howarth
Erskine, Ltd., the uralite and stelconite by
Messrs. Huttenbach, and the tiles by Messrs.
MaUins.
Dr. D. Young. — Dr. David Young, who is
practising in Singapore, is the son of Mr. A. J.
Young, of Edinburgh. He was born at Elgin,
and was educated at Edinburgh University
and at Newcastle. He is an M.D. of Edin-
burgh, and holds the Diploma of Public Health
from Durham University. After occupying
resident positions on the staff of the Edinburgh
Infirmary, the Newcastle Sick Children's
Hospital, and the Barnwood Asylum, he came
to Singapore to work with Dr. Murray
Robertson.
Dr. A. B. Simpson was born in January,
187O, in Aberdeenshire, and received his edu-
cation at Aberdeen University, where he
graduated M.B. in 1899. In ttie following
year he came to Singapore and commenced
practice. He is a member of the Singapore
and all other local clubs.
Dr. Sigmund Wertheim, M.D, L.R.C.S.,
L.R.C.P. Edin., was born on August 6,
1879, in Hesse, Germany. He was educated
in his native country, and graduated M.D.
1902. After acting as assistant in several
hospitals in Germany, he went to Scotland
and obtained the diplomas of L.R.C.P. Edin.
and L.R.C.S. Glasg. in 1905. Subsequently
he commenced private practice in Singapore.
He is a member of the Teutonia Club and
of the Cricket Club.
Mr. Frederic d'Almeida is a son of the
late Mr. Antonio d'Almeida, who was a
general merchant of Singapore and an ex-
perienced traveller, and grandson of the well-
known Sir Jose d'Almeida. Born in Singapore
in l86i, he was educated at the Christian
Brothers' School, and after serving an appren-
ticeship with a European firm opened his own
business, trading in cigars and tobacco with the
Philippine Islands, in specie with Manilla. T(j-
day he is a partner in the large house of G.
president of the principal Chinese temple in
Malacca and leader of the Chinese community
in Singapore and Malacca. Upon his death m
1863 his son, Tan Beng Swee, succeeded him
as liead of the firm, both at Singapore and
Malacca, and for seventeen years was presi-
dent of the Malacca temple, leader and
principal headman of the community at Singa-
pore and Malacca, and a Justice of the Peace
RESIDENCE OF P. D'ALMEIDA.
Urrutia, of Manilla, which practically has the
monopoly of the hemp trade of the East Philip-
pines. Mr. d'Almeida has travelled all over the
East and has an extensive knowledge of men and
affairs. He married, in 1891, Grace, daughter
of Mr. Francisco Evaristo Pereira, of Singa-
pore, barrister-at-law of Gray's Inn, and
resides at g, Lloyd Road, which was built
under his supervision. He intends to retire
from business shortly.
ORIENTAL.
The Hon. Mr. Tan Jiak Kim, J.P.—
A scion of an old and respected Chinese family,
this gentleman is one of the best known figures
in the business and social world of Singapore.
His grandfather, the late Mr. Tan Kim Seng, was
anative of the Straits Settlements and the founder
of the important business house of Kim Seng
& Co. In his day he was highly respected by
the whole community, and his advice on
Chinese questions was frequently sought by
the Government. He was a public benefactor
on a large scale, and numerous are the
gifts which bear his name and serve to keep
his memory green. He constructed the Kim
Seng bridge, which is the only bridge over
the Malacca river ; he built and endowed the
Chinese Free School in Amoy Street, Singa-
pore ; he gave to the public the thoroughfare
leading from River Valley Road to Have-
lock Road and known as Kim Seng Road ;
and he contributed a large sum of money
towards the Singapore Waterworks scheme.
In recognition of his public spirit the Muni-
cipal Commissioners of Singapore erected
the beautiful fountain bearing his name oppo-
site to the General Post Office. He was
for the colony. He presented the clock tower
at Malacca to the Government, founded
and endowed the Kim Seng Chinese Free
School in Malacca, and founded three wards
in the Tan Tock Seng Hospital, on the com-
mittee of which institution he had a seat. At
his death in 1884 his third brother. Tang Beng
Gum, became head of the house. His son is
Mr. "Tan Jiak Kim, who is now leader of the
local Chinese community. He was born at
Singapore in 1858, and after being educated
privately, entered the firm of Kim Seng cS: Co.
as apprentice at the age of eighteen. He went
through the \arious grades, and, on the death
of his father, was taken into partnership by
his uncle, iNIr. Tan Beng Gum. In 1887 he
was elected a Municipal Commissioner, but
resigned office after six years' service. In 1890
he was appointed a member of the Legislative
Council for three years, and in April, 1903, he
was elected to the Council for a further term
in place of Dr. Lim Boon Keng. He joined the
board of the Society for the Protection of
Women and Girls, and was appointed Hokien
representative on the Chinese Advisory Board
when that body was created. He is a member
of the management committee of the Tan Tock
Seng Hospital, and was formerly a trustee of
Raffles Institution. He was in China during
the Chino-Japanese War in 1894, and in England
in 1901. On the occasion of the visit of the
Duke and Duchess of Connaught to Singapore
he was presented to their Royal Highnesses.
His eldest son, Mr. Tan Soo Bin, who is now
his principal assistant, was educated at Raffles
School. His eldest daughter married Mr. Ong
Hood Hin, son of Mr. Ong Tian Soon, one of
the leading rice merchants of Singapore. Air.
Tan Jiak Kim was the prime mover in procuring
PANGLIMA PEANG BUNGALOW.
I. The Hon. Mr. Tan Jiak Kim.
THE HON. ME. TAN JIAK KIM AND FAMILY.
2. Tan Soo Bin. 3. The l.ite Tan Kra Seng. 4. Miss Tan Soo Bin.
5. The late Tan Beng Swee.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF liRITISH MAI.AYA
633
Tan Keong Saik, J.P,
Low Kim Pong.
Tan Swee Plow. Koh Seck Tiax.
Chan Kim Boon. Wee Leaxg Tan.
Tan Bin Cheng.
Yaw Hi Ting.
Lee Choon Guan.
Lee Cheng Yan.
TcHAN Chun Fook.
the establishment of the Straits Settlements
and Federated Malay States Government Medi-
cal School. Not only did he subscribe a large
sum of money himself, but he also stirred up
the Chinese cqmmunity generally to give the
project their generous support. He has served
on several important Government Commis-
sions and is a Justice of the Peace. The firm
of Kim Seng & Co., as already stated, com-
menced business in 1842 at Boat Quay as
general merchants, with a branch at Malacca,
but the only business they do now is that of
financiers. The present partners are Mr. Tan
Jiak Kim and Mr. Tan Jiak Chuan. The firm
owns large properties, consisting of lands,
plantations, and houses.
Dr. Lim Boon Keng:. — " A gentleman who
has an extraordinary appreciation of Western
mode, of thought, and a remarkable gift for
writing good English " was a Press opinion of
Dr. Lim Boon Keng, a well-known medical
practitioner in Singapore, a former member of
the Legislative Council, and a gentleman who
has gained distinction, too, as an author. He
is the second son of the late Lim Tian Yan, a
Singapore merchant, and was born in Singa-
pore. He attended Raffles Institution, but he
received his first instruction in English at the
Cross Street Government School. At the age
of eighteen he won a Queen's Scholarship, and
entered the famous school of medicine of the
University of Edinburgh, where during five
years' study he took the degrees M.B., CM.
Returning to Singapore, he commenced prac-
tice and quickly made a reputation as a skilful
and attentive physician. In course of time he
was appointed a member of the Legislative
Council, and during the eight or nine years
that he retained his seat he was responsible
for many measures for the welfare of the
Straits Chinese. Upon his resignation he was
thanked for his services by the British Secretary
of State for the Colonies. Since that time he
has devoted his attention to reform and to
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DR. LIM BOON KBNG, M.B., CM. BDIN.
educational matters. He is the author of
several books and papers, and is a clever
lecturer. He is a follower of Confucianism,
and lectures on the teaching of K'ung Fu Tzu.
He has a seat on the Municipal Commission,
the Chinese Advisory Board, and the Po Leung
Kuk ; is president of the Straits Chinese British
Association and the Chinese Philomathic
Society (founded by him) ; is a colour-sergeant
in the Volunteer Corps, co-editor of the
Straits Chinese Magazine, vice-president of the
Straits branch of the British Medical Associa-
tion and the Royal Asiatic Society, a fellow of
the Royal Medical Societj' of Edinburgh,
corresponding member of the Medical Society
of Ghent, and member of the Medical Society
of Kyoto. When the Straits and Federated
Malay States Government Medical School was
founded, he was chosen Lecturer on Materia
Medica and Therapeutics, and was elected by
his brother medical practitioners as a member
of council of the Government Medical School.
He married the elder daughter of Mr. Wong
Xai Siang, of Foochow, an accomplished lady
of English education, who died in 1905. He
has four sons.
Mr. Song Ong Siang is a member of the
Bar of the Straits Settlements, practising at
Singapore. He is the second surviving son of
the late Mr. Song Hoot Kiam, who was one of
three Chinese pupils of the late Dr. James
Legge, the first Professor of Chinese at O.xford
University, and was educated later at the
Duchess of Gordon's School at Huntly, Aber-
deenshire, and had the honour of being
presented to her late Majesty Queen Victoria
by Lord Morpeth. Mr. Song Ong Siang was
born in Singapore on June 14, 1871, and was
educated at Raffles Institution, where he held
the Guthrie Scholarship from 1ISS3 to 1888.
In the latter year he went to England as the
first Queen's Scholar of that year. In 1886
and ib87 he also obtained the first place, in
the examination for the Queen's Scholarship
founded in 1885 by Sir Cecil Clementi Smith,
2 D '•"■'
634
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIOXS OF BRITISH MALAYA
then Governor of the Straits Settlements, but
was disqualified on the ground of youth.
Whilst an undergraduate at Downing College,
Cambridge, he competed for the Whewell
Scholarship in International Law, and was
honourably mentioned. He entered the Middle
Temple, London, in 1889, and was called to
the Bar in 1893. As a law student he won the
first prize of one hundred guineas awarded by
the Middle Temple for Constitutional Law and
International Law (June, 1889), and a student-
ship of one hundred guineas in Jurisprudence
and Roman Law awarded by the Inns of
Court (June, 1890). In 1893 he took the degrees
of B.A. and LL.B. at Cambridge. Returning
fession, and, enrolling himself as a student at
Lincoln's Inn, he was called to the Bar in 1897.
Returning from London to the East, he was
appointed secretary to the Prince of Su, the
military governor of Peking, but after occupy-
ing that position for a short i'lme he came back
to Singapore and commenced practice as a
barrister. He has now attained an honourable
position in the profession and built up an
extensive practice.
The late Seah Eu Chin.— An old and
respected family, members of which have
resided in the Straits Settlements for close
upon a century, is that of Mr. Seah Eu Chin,
a gentleman who, by his business acumen and
'BBNDEMBER," SEAH LIANG SBAH'S SINGAPORE RESIDENCE.
to the Straits, he entered into partnership with
Mr. James Aitken, another ex-Queen's Scholar.
Mr. Song is vice-president of the Singapore
Chinese Girls' School, founded in 1899 by a
small band of young Straits Chinese interested
in the education of their women-folk ; vice-
president of the Chinese Philomathic Society,
president of the Straits Chinese Recreation
Club on Hong Lim Green, president of the
Chinese Christian Association, founded in 1889 ;
hon. sec. of the Straits Chinese British Associa-
tion, founded in igoo, and an elder of the
Prinsep Street Church (Presbyterian) for Straits
Chinese. He is a Second Lieutenant in No. 2
Company, Singapore Volunteer Infantry, and
is the holder of the championship cup (1906) of
the above company. He is interested in the
encouragement of Western music amongst the
Chinese, and was runner-up in the 1906 tennis
tournament of the Straits Chinese Recreation
Club.
Mr. Wee Theam Tew, one of the leading
Chinese legal practitioners of Singapore, comes
of a family who have resided in the Straits
Settlements for three generations. His grand-
father, Mr. Wee Theam Soo, came from China
as a literary graduate, and, together with Dr.
Lim Boon Keng's father and Mr. Cheng Hong
Lim's father, to whom reference is made on
another page, acquired the first opium farm in
the colony. Mr. Wee Theam Tew was edu-
cated locally, after which he entered a com-
mercial house in Singapore and rapidly rose
from the position of clerk to that of manager.
He was, however, attracted to the legal pro-
energy, made for himself and for those who
have followed after him a good position in the
local commercial world. He was born in 1805,
and lived in the village of Guek-Po in the
interior of Swatow, within the sub-prefecture of
Theng-Hai. His father was Mr. SeahKeng Liat,
secretary to the Yamen of the P'O Leng sub-
prefecture. At the age of twenty Mr. Seah Eu
Chin set out in search of fortune. He worked
his passage to Singapore as a clerk in a Chinese
junk, and the owners,- recognising his ability,
recommended him to a firm in Singapore, with
whom he remained for about five years. He
was scarcely twenty-five years of age when he
established himself in Singapore as a commis-
sion agent, supplying the junks with their
requirements, and taking from them produce
which they brought from other parts. He was
successful, and he invested his profits in landed
property. In 1835 he commenced the cultiva-
tion of gambler and pepper, and this business
also flourished. In 1840 he became a member
of the Chamber of Commerce. He was twice
married, on each occasion to a daughter of the
Captain China of Perak. By the second union
he had four sons and three daughters. The
eldest was the late Mr. Seah Cho Seah, J.P., a
gentleman well known for his kindness of
heart and liberality. He died in 1885, leaving
a widow and numerous children. Seah Eng
Kiat and Seah Eng Kun are his sons. The
second son of Mr. Eu Chin is Mr. Seah Liang
Seah, who is referred to elsewhere. The other
sons are Messrs. Seah Song Seah, the chief
partner of the opium and spirit farm, and Mr.
Seah Peck Seah. Of the daughters two died
many years ago. The third, Sin Seah, married
Mr. Tan Chek Thoo, the well-known High
Street merchant. Mr. Eu Chin was a naturalised
British subject and a Justice of the Peace,
being one of the first Chinese to receive this
distinction. He retired from active business in
1864, when he was sixty years of age. His
remaining years he spent in the cultivation of
Chinese literature.
Messrs. Whampoa. — Many of the Chinese
residents of Singapore can look back with
pride on the positions which their fore-
fathers held in the colony in the early days,
but none have more justification to do so than
have the descendants of the late Hon. Mr.
Hoo Ah Kay Whampoa, C.M.G. This gentle-
man was one of the pioneers of the colony,
and had honours bestowed on him such as
have fallen to the lot of no other Chinaman
in the settlements. A native of Canton, he
arrived in Singapore about the year 1840 and
commenced bu^siness as a general merchant
and contractor. The business prospered, and
Mr. Whampoa rapidly acquired a position as
one of the leading business men of his day.
He took a deep interest in public affairs, and
in recognition of his many services to the
Government he was in 1869 appointed a mem-
ber of the Legislative Council, and a few years
later an Extraordinary Member of the Execu-
tive Council — a position which had not pre-
viously been held by a Chinaman. In 1876
Mr. Whampoa was created C.M.G. by her
late Majesty Queen Victoria. He held simul-
taneously the positions of Consul at Singapore
for Russia, China, and Japan. In April, 1873,
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THE LATE HOO AH KAY "WHAMPOA,
C.M.G., M.L.C.
he was knighted as a member of the Imperial
Order of Francis Joseph of Austria. Ever
since 1842 Messrs. Whampoa & Co. have
been contractors to the British Navy. The
deceased gentleman had three sons, Mr. Hoo
Ah Yip Whampoa (who was educated in
Scotland and managed the business for a short
time previous to his death, which took place
soon after his return), and Messrs. Hoo Keng
Choong and Hoo Keng Tuck, who at present
conduct the business. The firm's office is at
55, Club Street, and, in addition to being general
TWENTIETH CENTURY rMPHESSlONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
636
merchants, they are importers of the highest
class of Chinese curios and China wares, For
one recently-acquired specimen they refused
12,000 dollars, and subsequently disposed of it
at a much higher figure.
Mr. Tan Bin Cheng is the oldest represen-
tative in Singapore of the famous Tan family,
biographies and photographs of the leading
members of which appear in this volume. Five
generations have been brought up in the Straits
Settlements, and the wealth accumulated by
them has passed to the present generation.
The subject of this sketch is the only son of
the late Mr. Tan Swee Lira, who was Vice-
Consul for Siam, and a grandson of Mr. Tan
Tock Sen, founder of the Singapore hospital
bearing his name. Mr. Tan Ban Cheng is also
related to Mr. Tan Chay Yan, the famous
Malacca millionaire. He owns much landed
property and several important blocks of build-
ings in the colony. For some years past he
has lived in retirement from business life at
57, Hill Street. He has a thorough knowledge
of English.
Mr. Lim Kwee Eng, J. P.— One of the
promoters of the Chinese Chamber of Com-
merce at Singapore was Mr. Lim Kwee Eng,
who is still a prominent member. The son of
Mr. Lim Boon Heng, a respectable merchant
of Amoy, he received his education and
business training in his native place. Migrating
to Singapore in 1876, he became a partner in
the opium and spirit farm. Inheriting a con-
siderable fortune, he also went into business as
a pineapple preserver under the " chop " of
Choo Lam & Co., but during the last few years
he has lived in retirement. Nevertheless he
has taken a great interest in public affairs, and
he is generally respected.^ He has a family of
three sons and six daughters, The eldest son,
Mr. Lim Choo Puan, who died a few years
ago, was, like the whole of the family, well
educated in English, and showed great ability,
Mr. Lim Choo Kiat, the second son, has just
concluded his education. He studied at a
college in Foochow and Amoy, and has
travelled extensively in China and the Malay
known to foreigners as Mr. Thio Tiauw Siat.
A native of Canton, he left China about forty
years ago for the Dutch colonies, where he
amassed a large fortune as a merchant. Later
on he came to Singapore, and in 1886 was
appointed Chinese Consul-General. The
pore, and is the gambling and opium farmer
in several of the neighbouring Dutch islands.
His affairs in the Straits generally have for the
past twelve years been managed from the office
at s. Beach Koad by Mr. Chong Yit Nam, a
gentleman of recognised business ability,
CHANG CHIN HSUN (CHINESE IMPERIAL HIGH COMMISSIONER) AND HIS
ATTORNEY, CHONG YIT NAM (CHONG CHEB NON).
MRS. LIM BOON HENG.
(Mother of Lim Kwee Eng.)
States. He will shortly take over the manage-
ment of his father's property in Singapore. It
is interesting to note that the mother of the
subject of this sketch, now eighty-six years of
age, is still vigorous, Mr. Lim Kwee Eng is a
son-m-law of the late Mr. Cheang Hong Lim,
one of Singapore's merchant millionaires, re-
ferred to elsewhere in this volume.
Mr. Chang Chin Hsun.— A gentleman of
whom the Chinese community of Singapore is
justly proud is Mr. Chang Chin Hsun, better
onerous duties of this responsible position he
fulfilled for five years, and in return for his
services was created a Mandarin of the Empire.
Two years ago he was appointed a member of
an Imperial Commission to study commercial
affairs in foreign countries on behalf of the
Chinese Board of Commerce. Upon his return
he was several times received in audience by
the Emperor and Dowager-Empress of China,
and great satisfaction was expressed by their
Majesties at his able reports. He is held in
high favour by the Court at Peking. Mr. Thio
Tiauw Siat now devotes a good deal of his time
to duties in his native country, where he is a
High Commissioner for railways and com-
merce. He has extensive interests in Singa-
who IS well known in the local commercial
circles and holds his Excellency's power of
attorney for the colony.
Mr. Seah Song Seah.— The gambler and
pepper trade of the Straits Settlements has
always been controlled principally by Chinese
business men, and the development of the
industry owes much to their enterprise and
ability. Prominent among these " wise men
from the East" is Mr. Seah Song Seah of
Singapore. The third son of the late Mr. Seah
Eu Chin, he was born at Singapore in 1857
and received his education at St. Joseph's
Institution. He owns much landed property
in Singapore and large plantations of gambler
and pepper in Johore, the produce of which he
636
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
sells locally. He takes a deep interest in public
affairs generally, and particularly in those
coming within the scope of the Straits Settle-
ments branch of the koyal Asiatic Society, of
which he has been a member for many years.
He is also an old member of the Singapore
the late Mr, Tchan Yow Chuen, the father of the
subject of this sketch, furnish very interesting
reading. In his young days Mr, Tchan Yow
Chuen was a good sportsman and often went
on hunting expeditions. He was the first
Straits-born Chinaman who ever penetrated far
business. This position Mr. Tchan Chun Fook
relinquished in 1906 after forty years' capable
and faithful service with the firm of Whampoa
& Co., in order to start business on his own
account. He is very popular in Singapore, and
is well known as an unfailing friend of the poor
EIVBR VALLEY ROAD RESIDENCE.
SEAH SONG SEAH.
COUNTRY HOUSE, THOMPSON BOAD.
Sporting Club and an honorary member of the
Singapore Volunteer Infantry. Mr, Seah Song
Seah is married and has four sons — Seah Eng
Koon, Seah Eng Yong, Seah Eng Siang, and
Seah Eng Hock — as well as several daughters.
Lee Cheng Van & Co.— The head of this
firm of financiers is Mr. Lee Cheng Yan, a
native of Malacca, who personally retired from
active business some time ago, but still lives in
Singapore. Mr. Lee Cheng Yan is a well-
known man, being on the committee of the
Tan Tock Seng Hospital, the .\nglo-Chinese
Free School, and the Chinese Advisory Board,
besides being a member of the Po Lung Kuk.
He founded and endowed the Hong Joo Chinese
Free School in Serangoon Road, which is
attended by over seventy scholars. His son,
Mr, Lee Choon Guan, who is the managing
director of the business, was born in Singapore
in 1868, and has assisted his father for the past
twenty-three years. For five years he repre-
sented the Central Ward No, 2 on the Municipal
Council, He is also on the committee of the
Chinese Recreation Club, and is president of
the Weekly Entertainment Club, The firm,
which trade under the name and style of Chop
Chin Joo, are merchants, and have their premises
at 10, Malacca Street, The directors are also
on the boards of several important companies,
the best known of which are the local board
of the South British Fire and Marine Insurance
Company and the Straits Steamship Company.
Mr. Tchan Chun Fook. — The adventures of
into the Malay Peninsula, In the thick forests
of the interior he and his party encountered
tribes of savages, all of whom were stark naked
and lived by hunting and fishing. They would
supply unlimited quantities of pisangs (bananas)
for a mere handful of tobacco, and Mr, Tchan
Yow Chuen, therefore, always took with him
tobacco, brass rings, beads, and cutlery, to
exchange with the natives for medicinal roots,
herbs, &c, Mr. Tchan Yow Chuen was a
remarkably clever scholar and linguist, and
spoke English, French, Siamese, Portuguese,
Malay, and Burmese, as well as the five dialects
of Chinese (Cantonese, Hokien,Teochew, Kheh-'
and Hylam), His versatility also displayed
itself in the direction of music, for he was a
first-class Malay singer in his day. Unfortun-
ately, he met with an untimely end by con-
tracting an illness in the jungle, Mr, Tchan
Yow Chuen was the son of Mr, Tchan Faat,
who emigrated from his native province of
Kwang Tung to Pinang in the early thirties
and built up an extensive flour-milling business.
His water-driven mill at Ayer Etam was a
novelty which attracted large numbers of
visitors. Mr. Tchan Chun Fook was born at
Pinang, and came to reside with his uncle,
Mr. Hoo Ah Kay Whampoa, at Singapore when
he was ten years of age. He received his
education at Raffles Institution, After the
much-lamented death of his uncle, he and his
cousin, Mr. Hoo Ah Yip Whampoa, were ap-
pointed managers of the deceased gentleman's
and needj'. He was appointed a member of
the Po Leung Kuk in 1885, and of the Chinese
Advisory Board in 1890 by Governor Sir Cecil
Clementi Smith, G.C.M.G. He is a firm
believer in spiritualism, and devotes much of
his time to studying the spirit world.
Mr. Cheang Jim Chuan is one of Singa-
pore's millionaires, and is widely known and
respected, especially by the Chinese community.
He is the representative of one of the colony's
best Chinese families, the members of which
have been prominent residents of the Straits
Settlements for several generations. Mr.
Cheang Jim Chuan is the son of the late Mr.
Cheang Hong Lim, who, until his death in
1893, was the recognised leader of the Hokien
community of Singapore. In many directions
the deceased gentleman actively identified him-
self with the public life of the place. He was
a member of the committee of the Po Leung
Kuk for several years, was a Justice of the
Peace, and was on the committees of several
other bodies. He was a generous subscriber
to all kinds of charities and contributed 3,000
dollars towards the building of a new
convent at Singapore. He was also well
known in the neighbouring French colony,
and at the instance of Bishop Gasnier he
received a medal from the French Government.
Among his charitable donations may be num-
bered the erection of the railings round the
park on which the Chinese Recreation Club
stands, and a temple and market in Havelock
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
637
CHEANG JIM CHUAN.
YBO BE NEO.
THE LATE CHEANG HONG LIM.
Road. The park and market both bear his
name. He was also the largest subscriber
towards the fund for providing Maxim guns for
the Singapore Volunteer Artillery, and received
the warm thanks of the Governor for his
generosity in this direction. During his life-
time Mr. Cheang Hong Lim acquired great
wealth and owned some of the most valuable
business sites in the colony. His property was
divided at his death among the surviving mem-
bers of his family, consisting of eleven sons and
three daughters. Mr. Cheang Jim Chuan, who
derives the bulk of his revenue from landed
estate (one office building alone yielding liim
1,250 dollars a month), resides, with his wife
and family of two sons and two daughters, at
10, Mahomed Sultan Road.
Mr. Choo Ang Chee, only son of Mr.
Choo Eng Choon by his first wife, is a well-
known landed proprietor of Singapore, residing
at No. 4, Beach Road. He was educated in the
neighbouring French colony of Saigon, where
the greater part of his property is situated. He
is married and has one son and one daughter.
Mr. Chan Kim Boon. — The influence of
the fortune-teller in the East is illustrated by
the life-history of Mr. Chan Kim Boon, the
book-keeper and cashier at Messrs. Donaldson
& Burkinshaw's place of business. Born in
Pinang in 1831, he was educated at the Free
School there, afterwards attending the Foochow
Naval School in China. In 1867 he became an
assistant tutor in mathematics, and from 1867
to 1871 he studied military tactics, but declined
to become an officer of the army owing to his
weak constitution. Amongst his pupils at this
time were the late Admiral Yin, Commander
of the South Squadron of the Canton Province ;
the present Admiral Sah, the Rear Admirals
Liu and Lin, the present commanders and
captains of the Yangtse Valley gunboats, and
the late Sir Chichen Lo Feng Luh, formerly
Chinese Ambassador in London, whose elder
daughter was married in Singapore about four
years ago to the son of the Hon. Mr. Tan Jiak
was twenty-five years of age, and this predic-
tion was largely responsible for Mr. Chan's
renunciation of naval and military work and
CHOO ANG CHBB.
THE LATE CHOO ENG CHOON.
Kim, M.L.C. In his young days Mr. Chan
Kim Boon interviewed a fortune-teller, who
assured him that he would only live until he
study. In January, 1872, he left Foochow and
returned to Pinang on a visit to his widowed
mother, and in March of the same year, a
638
TWENTIETH CENTURA IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
month before the Dutch-Achin War, he
joined the Singapore firm o£ Aitken & Rodylc
(subsequently Aitken & Co., and now Donald-
son & Burkinshaw, advocates and solicitors) as
book-keeper and cashier. Mr. Chan Kim Boon
is a son of the late Mr. Chan Yong Chuan, a
trader, of Padang, Sumatra, &c. He has now
lived about thirty years beyond the span
allotted by the fortune-teller, and has done
some excellent work, including the translation
of several Chinese stories into Romanised
Malay. He is married, and has four sons, two
daughters, and six grandchildren. He is a
member of the Lee Cheng Yan Club, where
once a week Chinese history and subjects of
general interest are discussed, and is an able
debater in the Chinese language.
Mr. Chong Soo Leong comes of an old
attained the ripe old age of eighty-four, resides
at the family home in China.
Messrs. Chin Jong Kwong and Chin
Jong Chong.— The brothers Chin Jong
Kwong and Chin Jong Chong belong to one of
the oldest Chinese families in the Straits Settle-
ments. Their grandfather, Chin Lan Chin,
came here some seventy years ago from China,
and was a successful merchant, carrying on
business with Borneo. After his death their
father, Chin Ah Pat, came to reside in Singa-
pore, and entered business as an agent. A
few years later he seized an opportunity of
opening business for himself as a merchant, and
met with considerable success. Chin Ah Pat
was a very charitable man, and took an active
interest in public affairs. In recognition of
this, he was in 1902 appointed by the Govern-
Anti-Opium Society. He has also associated
himself with the foundation of the Yin Sin
public school for poor boys.
Mr. Low Kim Pong.. — Architect of his
own fortunes, Mr. Low Kim Pong, sole pro-
prietor of the business carried on under the
chop of Ban San at 86, Market Street, now has
the reputation of being one of Singapore's
millionaires. He came to the colony from
Amoy in 1858, and started business as a
general merchant. Each year saw the firm's
influence extend. A Chinese dispensary,
which was subsequently added to the business,
has ever since been the source of a large
revenue. Mr. Low Kim Pong, who is in his
seventieth year, is also a private banker, and a
large portion of his business is now managed
by his son, Mr. Lau Khay Tong. Outside
CHONG SOO LBONG.
SHE SEE.
SONS OF CHONG SOO LEONG.
CHIN JONG CHONG. CHIN JONG KO"WNG.
CHIN AH PAT.
Chinese family who have been well-known
residents of the Straits Settlements ever since
the Chinese first settled in the Malacca district.
His great-grandfather, Chong Lok Chun, first
went to Malacca, but, finding better opportuni-
ties in the Dutch colonies, engaged in business
as a merchant at Muntok. He was followed
by Mr. Chong Soo Leong's grandfather and
father, Messrs. Chong Loon Sen and Chong
Slew Ngan. The latter was born in China, but
came to Singapore at an early age and built up
a flourishing business as a general merchant.
To this Mr. Chong Soo Leong has succeeded,
and he has had good connections with Batavia,
Samarang, Sourabaya, and Timor firms. He
was the founder of the Mandarin School "Jin
Sin," of which he is still a trustee. He has two
sons, Chong Fok Lin and Chong Choon Lin,
who are being educated in English and
Chinese. His mother. She See, who has
ment to the Chinese Advisory Board, and
became president of the Yin Fob Guildhall.
In the following year he was appointed to the
committee of the Po Leung Kuk, and rendered
great assistance to the late Mr, Hare, then
Protector of Chinese. Previous to his death in
1897 he became a naturalised British subject,
and he was for many years one of the most
respected Chinese residents in the colony. He
only left a small property, having given away
large sums of money during his lifetime.
His sons have established a good business for
themselves as merchants. The elder, Mi-.
Chin Jong Kwong, inherits his father's interest
in pubhc affairs. Together with the Imperial
High Commissioner, Tiauw Siat, he was one of
the founders of the Chinese Chamber of Com-
merce, and, in conjunction with the Chinese
Consul-General and other gentlemen, took a
prominent part in the establishment of the
business matters, the subject of this sketch is
one of the recognised leaders of the Hokien
community, and is very popular both with
Europeans and Chinese. He is a member of
the Chinese Advisory Board and of the Po
Leung Kuk, and is one of the largest property
owners in the colony. He is also a committee
member of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce,
in whose work he takes a great interest, and is
also a Visiting Justice to St. John's Island. A
great lover of art, he was some years ago
elected a member of the Royal Art Society,
London.
Mr. Ong Tiang Soon is a son of Mr. Ong
Ewe Hai, who was headman of the Chinese
community in Sarawak, North Borneo, and
carried on business as a rice merchant in
Singapore. Mr. Ong Tiang Soon, who was
born in 1855, took over his father's business.
He now trades as a rice and general produce
1. DRAWING ROOM. 2. MBS. ONG EWE HAI. 3. ELDEST SON OP ONG TIANG SOON.
4. ONG TIANG SOON. 5. THE LATE ONG EWE HAI. 6. ONG TIANG SOON AND FAMILY. 7. " BONNY GRASS.'
640
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
merchant and steamship agent under the style
of Soon Whatt and Soon Chiang at North Boat
Quay. The firm are agents for the Sarawak
and Singapore Steamship Company, owners of
the steamers Raja of Sarawak and Kuching.
The firm's plantations in Sarawak are so large
that the produce from them taxes to the utter-
most the capacity of the two steamers, which
are of 903 and 892 tons respectively. Rice is
sent to Borneo, and pepper, gambler, rubber,
sago-flour, and rattans make up the return
cargo. Mr. Ong Tiang Soon has a very attrac-
tive place of residence,. " Bonny Grass," No.
100, River Valley Road. He has several sons,
two of whom were educated at Raffles Institu-
tion. Mr. Ong Leng Hoon married the
daughter of Mr. Chia Ann Liew, and Mr. Ong
Hood Hin's wife is the eldest daughter of the
Hon. Tan Jiak Kim.
Dr. Wong Wan On was born in Hong-
kong in 1876. He was educated in the Hong-
kong Diocesan School, and subsequently
practised as a dentist in that island for three
years. He then attended the Medical College,
and, becoming a licentiate in 1900, he entered
the service of the Straits Settlements Govern-
ment as Registering Medical Officer, a position
which he has held ever since.- He is very
DB. WONG "WAN ON.
popular with his countrymen in the colony,
and is esteemed by all with whom he comes
into contact.
Mr. Look Yan Kit has for many years
been recognised as one of the leading Chinese
dentists in Singapore, and his surgery at 28,
North Canal Road, owned and built by him at
a cost of over 35,000 dollars, is fitted with the
latest instruments and appliances from London.
Mr. Look Yan Kit was born at Canton fifty-nine
years ago, and after having studied his pro-
fession in Japan and at Hongkong, he com-
menced practice in Singapore. His care and
skill quickly enabled him to acquire a big con-
nection, and fifteen years ago he moved to his
present address. He was a personal friend of
the late Sultan of Johore, and at the present
time he numbers among his patients several
of the native Rajas of Malaya and the
Chinese Consul-General of Singapore. Mr.
Look Yan Kit owns no fewer than fifty-one
houses in the best parts of Singapore, and from
these he derives a revenue of several thousand
dollars a month. He has three sons and two
daughters, who are being educated in English,
and he himself is a naturalised British subject.
His father, Mr. Look Peng Hoo, was a Man-
darin of the fifth grade, and died in Canton
about ten years ago, and his mother, who is
eighty-nine years of age, still enjoys good
health and is resident in Canton.
Mr. Yau Tat Shin.— One of the most
successful business men in the Straits Settle-
ments is Mr. Yau Tat Shin, who has built up a
considerable fortune and is as well known for
his ■ generosity as for his commercial under-
takings. He is one of the largest tin mine
owners in Ipoh, and is now working a most
profitable property at Ampang. Several schools
owe their origin to Mr. Yau Tat Shin's gene-
rosity, and some years ago he added a ward to
the Ipoh Government Hospital. During the
South African War he contributed the hand-
some sum of 10,000 dollars to the Patriotic
Fund. He performs numerous acts of kindness
and charity quietly, and many of his fellow-
countrymen owe thanks to him for assistance.
Mr. Yau Tat Shin resides in Ipoh, but has also
business houses in Singapore and Negri
Sambilan. The Singapore house receives
regular weekly shipments of about a thousand
slabs of tin from his Seramban and Ipoh
smelting works for sale in the town. Messrs.
Ten Koon Yoong and Lim Sin Tat are his
attorneys and the managers of his interests
in Singapore, the office being No. 89, Cecil
Street. These gentlemen are the local
managers of the Hang On Marine Insurance
Company, of which there is a branch office
in Market Street, and of which Mr. Yau Tat
Shin is a director. Mr. Yau Tat Shin has
taken a great interest in the education question
in China, and it was through his liberal aid
that the reformed school movement was com-
menced in the province of Kah Yin Chiw,
China. His children are being educated in
English by a private tutor. In China, he holds
the rank of Mandarin of the second (red)
button and is much esteemed by his country-
men. Mr. Yau Tat Shin's interests in Ipoh are
referred to in another part of this work.
Mr. Wee Leong "Tan, head of the firm of
Messrs. Kim Hock Hoe & Co., is one of the
many enterprising Chinese who have been
attached to the British and Dutch possessions
in Malaya by the prospects of sharing in their
commercial prosperity.. Born in China in the
vicinity of Amoy, he went early in life to
Bengkalis, on the east coast of Sumatra, where
he soon became the opium farmer for that
part of the Dutch possessions under the
chop of Kim Hock Lee. He has received
numerous honours from the Dutch Govern-
ment., In 1872 he was appointed Captain
China, and in 1900 received an Imperial
Order and gold medal from Queen Wil-
helmina. In 190:, after twenty-nine years'
service as an honorary officer of the Dutch
Government, he retired with the rank of
titular major. During these years his busi-
ness had thrived, and he had obtained
extensive interests all over the district. His
first connection with Singapore dates from
1893, when he founded the firm of Kim
Hock Hoe & Co., general shipowners and
commission agents, at 53-57. Market Street.
The other partners in the concern are his
two sons, Messrs. Wee Ann Kee and Wee
Kim Cheng, the latter of whom acts as
manager. Mr. Wee Leong Tan has seven
sons, three of whom hold office as honorary
captains and lieutenants on the east coast of
Sumatra.
Dr. S. Iwatsubo. — Among the sciences in
whicti the Japanese have attained to a high
DR. S. IWATSUBO.
state of proficiency is dental surgery. One of
the foremost practitioners in Singapore is Dr.
S. Iwatsubo, although, at the time of writing,
he has only been in practice in the town for
about twelve months. Previously he was at
Hongkong. His consulting-rooms at I,
Raffles Place are fitted up with the latest
appliances.
Mr. Tan Keong Saik, J. P.— As one
of the most enlightened and public-spirited
Chinese residents, Mr. Tan Keong Saik is
well known throughout Singapore and the
neighbouring States. His ancestors were the
pioneers of several local industries, and made
their fortunes by hard work and business
aptitude. His father, Mr. Tan Choon Sean,
and uncle, Mr. Tan Choon Bock, were at one
time with Messrs. Kim Seng & Co., founders
of the present Straits Steamship Company.
The two brothers were amongst the earliest
to engage in local inter-port shipping and in
planting. They soon met with success in the
cultivation of tapioca, their brand, T.C.S.,
eventually becoming well known throughout
the settlements. Mr. Tan Keong Saik was
born in 1850, and, after being educated in a
Pinang school, served in various capacities
with both European and Chinese firms in
Singapore. He has at all times displayed
great interest in public affairs, and in 1887
he was elected to the Singapore Municipal
Commission. On his retirement he was
appointed a Justice of the Peace. He was one
of the first members of the Chinese Advisory
Board and the Po Leung Kuk. During
Governor Smith's term of oflice Mr. Tan
LOOK YAN KIT.
DENTAL ESTABLISHMENT.
THIAM SHE (MES. LOOK YAN KIT).
DENTAL PARLOUR.
YAU TAT SHIN.
THE OFFICE, CECIL STREET.
LIM SIN TAT.
642
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Keong Saik took an active part in ttie discus-
sion of several serious questions affecting the
Ctiinese, notably that relating to the suppres-
sion of dangerous Chinese secret societies.
He took especial interest in the education
question and rendered Dr. Oldham (now
Bishop Oldham) considerable support in the
establishment of the Anglo-Chinese schools,
which are doing such excellent work at the
present time. Mr. Tan was the first Chinese
gentleman to introduce the teaching of English
into his home by having his children privately
educated in the language. He is a director of
the Straits Steamship Company and resides in
Mandalay Road.
Mr. Yow Hi Ting. — The distinction of
having been the first Chinese auctioneer in the
Straits Settlements belongs to Mr. Yow Hi
Ting, a brother of Mr. Yow Ngan Pan, whose
biography is given on another page. These
two gentlemen are recognised leaders of the
Cantonese community of Singapore, and both
have retired from active business life. Though
not, strictly speaking, a native of the Kwang
Tung Province, Mr. Yow Hi Ting comes of a
family who, holding various high positions and
official appointments under the Chinese Govern-
ment, have been connected with Canton for
several generations and have come to be looked
upon as Cantonese. He was brought up in the
Kwang Tung Province, and received his
education at Queen's College, Hongkong,
brother, he takes a prominent part in local
affairs. He resides at 43-13, Upper Cross Street.
His only son, Yow Yang Yuen, is receiving an
English education.
Dr. Frederick William Goonetilleke,
of Singapore, is the .son of Mr. William
Goonetilleke, Proctor of the Supreme Court
of Ceylon, and proprietor of the well-known
newspaper the Orientalist. Born at Kandy in
1872, he was educated at Trinity College,
Kandy, and at the Royal and Wesley Colleges,
Colombo, obtaining the mathematical prize in
1888. After a five years' course at the Ceylon
Medical College he obtained the diploma of
L.M. & S. (C.M.C.), and became acting second
physician at Colombo General Hospital.
Afterwards he was Judicial Medical Officer of
Colombo and district, and Medical Officer of
Nuwara Eliya. He also held appointments at
Ratnapura, Kurunegala, and Kandy. In 1900
he came to Singapore, and was in private
practice here for the next two years. At the
end of that time he went to England as surgeon
on the s.s. Rolichy, and, entering London
University, obtained' the diplomas of M.R.C.S.
and L.R.C.P. For a time he was house-
surgeon to Professor A. B. Carless at King's
College Hospital, and medical officer to the
London Medical Mission. Afterwards he
was medical ofiicer to the hop-pickers of
Kent and lecturer on anatomy and physio-
logy at the Ladies' Medical College. He also
INDUSTRIAL.
EUROPEAN.
PEASBB & NBAVE, LTD.
" The Schweppes of the East " is a title fre-
quently given tothis well-known Singapore firm,
whose name is a household word throughout
the Straits Settlements, and both the quality
of their products and the volume of their trade
thoroughly justify this title. It was in 1882
that Mr. John Eraser and Mr. D. C. Neave laid
the foundation of the present huge concern,
which has consistently paid big dividends to
its lucky shareholders since it became a limited
company in 1889. The pioneers commenced
operations in a very small way in Battery Road,
and since then they have occupied five different
buildings. Their present commodious premises
cover 39,000 square feet, and the company is
now erecting another building on a further
30,000 square feet for storage, godowns, and
motor garage, and for the printing depart-
ment, of which mention is made separately.
In the manufacture of all their mineral
waters Messrs. Eraser & Neave follow the
most up-to-date methods. Their machinery is
of the most modern description and insures
uniform aeration. It was installed by Mr. A.
Morrison, who, after wide experience of the
trade in London and Edinburgh, joined the
SINGAPORE PREMISES OF FEASEB & NBAVE, LTD., SHOWING AERATED WATER FACTORY AND
PRINTING WORKS.
which has turned out many brilliant scholars.
Since coming to Singapore many years ago,
Mr. Yow Hi Ting has engaged in a variety of
businesses, and being a gentleman of reformed
ideas, he has introduced many new methods
into Chinese business in the colony. Like his
did special work at the Rotunda Hospital,
Dublin, before returning to Singapore in 1906
to take up the practice which he now carries
on at 599, North Bridge Road. Dr. Goonetil-
leke is a member of the British .Medical
Association.
firm in 1885, and has superintended the whole
of the plant ever since. All the water used is
retained in large slate tanks, and the piping
is of block tin. This reduces to a minimum
the chances of impurity. As a final precaution
the water is passed through three large charcoal
FRASER & NEAVE, LTD.
Exterior and Interior of their Aerated Water Factory, Kuala Lumpor, and Interior and Exterior of their Pixang Factory,
644
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH JMAI.AYA
filters, and this and a secret process insure
absolute purity. Messrs. Fraser & Neave's
great speciality is soda-water, the output of
which has been increased ten-fold since the
firm started. In the manufacture of this they
have now adopted liquid carbonic acid gas
tin is exported after being smelted in the com-
pany's works at Singapore and Pinang. The
managing director is Mr. C. McArthur, of
Glasgow, who has had twenty years' experience
in the East. He took up his present position
in igoo, and holds many public positions in
and Medan (Sumatra). All descriptions of work
from small jobs to large contracts are done by
the firm. The foundry has four cupolas having
a capacity up to 15 tons, blowing engine and
steam cranes, drying stores, &c. In the smiths'
shop there are four steam-hammers of various
INTERIOR OF THE SINGAPORE AERATED WATER FACTORY OF FRASER & NEAVE, LTD.
(carbon dioxide), and no longer use bicarbonate
of soda or sulphuric acid, the result being a
product uniform in the quantities of the com-
ponent salts. These mineral waters are con-
sumed from Port Darwin to Fremantle and
all through the Federated Malay States. Large
quantities are exported to Siam, Saigon, and
Borneo. The mail steamers of the P. & O.
Company, the Messageries M'aritimes, and the
Norddeutscher Lloyd all stock these waters,
as also do the principal hotels and clubs in
Singapore and the Straits -generally.
Factories have now been commenced at
Kuala Lumpor and Pinang. The firm employ
140 hands, and use six two-ton motor lorries,
one four-ton motor lorry, and one steam four-ton
wagon for delivery purposes. The machinery
is driven by a Crossley oil engine of 40 b.h.p.
THE STRAITS TRADING COMPANY,
LTD.
One of the largest firms engaged in the
important tin trade of the Straits Settlements is
the Straits Trading Company, Ltd. Started in
1886 as a small private venture by Messrs. James
Sword, of Glasgow, and Hermann Miihlinghaus
of Wiesbaden, it was formed into a limited
company in the following year. The authorised
capital was 3,000,000 dollars (about ;£3S3,ooo)
of which 2,500,000 dollars (about ;f3oo,ooo) has
been subscribed. Tin ore is purchased through-
out the Federated Malay States, and in Australia,
China, and the Dutch islands, and the resultant
Singapore. He is on the committee of the
Chamber of Commerce, is chairman of the
Justices of the Peace, member of the Tanjong
Pagar Dock Board, and a director of the Straits
Steamship Company. He is also a member of
the Turf Club and of most of the sporting
associations and societies in Singapore. Mr.
W. W. Cook manages the concern when Mr.
McArthur is absent in Europe.
BILEY, HARGREAVES & CO., LTD.
It is difficult to realise that a large business
such as that carried on by this company had a
small beginning. Yet this was the case, for
when, in 1865, Mr. Riley and Mr. Hargreaves
laid the foundations they commenced in a com-
paratively small way. Their original premises
were at the Borneo Wharf, but as they extended
their operations it became necessary to obtain
more accommodation, and hence they removed
from place to place as time went on, till to-day
their premises cover altogether an area of seven
acres. In i8gg the concern was registered as a
limited liability company, and the business done
by the firm now is that of civil, mechanical and
electrical engineers, boilermakers, iron and
brass-founders, .bridge and ship builders, and
general contra'Gtors. The offices and engineer-
ing works are in Read Street, the shipyard at
Tanjong Rboo, and the town store in Battery
Road. The firm also have a branch in Ipoh,
Perak, and are represented in the native States
at Seremban, Kuala Lumpor, Bangkok (Siam),
dimensions. In the machine-shop are lathes,
planing, drilling, shaping, and slotting
machines, and it gives some idea of the work
turned out when we say there are thirty lathes
in constant use. In the other departments are
the usual machines necessary for executing the
best possible work. In the boiler-shop there is
a travelling crane of 25 tons capacity. A
speciality of the firm is the making of hydraulic
pipes, a plant having been installed for this par-
ticular purpose. Messrs. Riley, Hargreaves &
Co. own two wharves and two slips, the latter
taking 160 feet and 100 feet respectively. They
have built a great number of steamers, and
amongst their clients are the Straits, Federated
Malay States, American and Dutch Govern-
ments. Shallow draught vessels are a speci-
ality. The company employ from 600 to 1,000
hands, and provide houses for their workmen.
Many of the Singapore and other bridges have
been built by them. They are also entirely
responsible for the erection of the well-known
new Fort CanningLighthouse. All the different
departments of the business are underthe super-
vision of experienced Europeans.
HOWARTH EBSKINB. LTD.
Messrs. Howarth Erskine, Ltd., are one of the
best known engineering £rms in the East.
They are specialists in the design, construc-
tion, and erection- of iron, steel, and com-
posite buildings, lattice, plate, girder, and sus-
pension bridges, wharves, steel, cast-iron or
ENGINEERING WORKS OP RILEY, HARGREAVES & CO., LTD., EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR, SHIPBUILDING YARDS,
AND GOVERNMENT STEAM YACHT " SEA MEW," BUILT BY THE FIRM.
HOWAETH ERSKINE & CO., LTD.
I. Screw Pile \Vhak\'es at Rangoon.
Steel Frame Godown at Hongkong. "•'■ 4. Reservoir, Singapore. 5. Steel Pile Wharf at Hongkong.
6. Steel Water Tower, Bangkok.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
647
ferro - concrete water - towers, light - houses,
pontoons, mooring and marking buoys, and
every description of ornamental, cast, and
wrouglit ironworlc. Tliey are contractors to
many Eastern Governments and municipalities
for the construction of waterworks, sea reclama-
tion, railways, roads, dredging, and mining
plants. Among the large undertakings which
they have completed may be mentioned the
Thompson Road Waterworks, Singapore ; the
Ampang Waterworks, Selangor ; the locomo-
tive boiler-shops and carriage-sheds of the
Federated Malay States Railways at Kuala
Lumpor, and the steel work of the Victoria
Memorial Hall, Singapore. They have supphed
complete electrical equipments, including
generating machinery, to Tyersall Palace
and Woodneuk, for the Sultan of Johore ; to
the Teutonia Club, Singapore ; to two palaces
in 1890. The capital is three miUions. The
operations of the company embrace the whole
of the Far East from Calcutta to Shanghai, and
the success which has been achieved is largely
due to a system of co-operation under which
the employes of the firm hold no less than
one-third of the total stock. The directors are
Messrs. A. Gentle (chairman), F. Pollock,
J. W. B. Maclaren, G.A. Derrick, W. E. Finnie,
Jas. Murchie, and A. Emslie Benzie (director
and secretary). The London office of the
company is at 3, Lloyd's Avenue, E.C.
SINGAPORE OIL MILLS.
Singapore's trade is principally that of a
distributing centre, but there are one or two
important manufactures, such as that carried
on at the Singapore Oil Mills in Havelock and
by steamer and native sailing vessels from the
Moluccas, Borneo, Java, and the Straits coast
generally, up the river to the door of the
factory. There it is put through huge machines
which grind, crush, and press It by hydraulic
power. The icopra is conveyed from one
machine to another by means of elevators,
and the oil is collected in huge tanks under-
neath. It is then filtered and refined by
machinery of the latest French patent type,
and packed in tins, drums, or barrels according
to its destination and the purpose for which
it is to be used. It is not generally known at
home to what an extent coconut oil is used for
the preparation of food in the East, nor what a
wholesome ingredient it is. The residue of the
copra is manufactured into oilcakes, known as
poonac and used for cattle-feeding purposes,
and the trade mark of the firm — a five-pointed
HOWARTH ERSKINE & CO., LTD.
(General View of Works at Singapore.)
for the Sultan of Perak ; to the Raffles, Europe,
and Adelphi Hotels, Singapore, and to the
Paknam forts for the Siamese Government.
There are contracts at present in hand for the
New Port Trust wharf, a municipal market, and
a church, at Rangoon ; bridges in the Malay
States ; a new wharf for the P. & O. Company at
Singapore ; filter-beds for the Singapore Munici-
pality ; a hospital for the Straits Settlements
Government ; wharves and warehouses in
Hongkong and Canton ; bridges in Shanghai,
and a royal palace and several bridges in
Siam. Every department of work is under
European supervision. The company have
branches at Rangoon, Pinang, Ipoh, Kuala
Lumpor, Bangkok, Hongkong, Canton, and
Shanghai. The business was started some
thirty years ago under the style of Howarth
& Erskine, and its large development led to
its conversion into a limited liability company
Mackenzie Roads. This old-established concern
was started in 1882. Seven years later Mr.
Hermann Miihlinghaus, who at that time was
managing director of the well-known Straits
Trading Company, foresaw the possibilities in
the rising coconut industry and started the
Bintang Oil Mills. In 1899 he bought up Ihe
Singapore Oil Mills and united the two, and
under his direction the concern has prospered
wonderfully. When he retired in 1901 to take
up his residence at Wiesbaden, Germany, he
left behind him a well-ordered and profitable
establishment.
The combined works stand on the Singapore
river bank, and are very extensive, the build-
ings covering about ten acres. They are fitted
up with the latest oil machinery, capable of
making between thirty and forty tons of oil a
day. The principal feature is the manufacture
of coconut oil, for which the copra is brought
star with M in the middle — which is stamped
on every cake of poonac, on every drum, tin,
and barrel sent out from the works, is well
known in the trade all over the world. The
firm has at its premises its own cooperage, tin
works (capable of turning out 3,000 tins a day),
and engineers' shop. The machinery is driven
by some of the finest engines in the East.
The whole factory is lighted by electricity
generated on the premises.
Another branch of the business is the manu-
facture of vegetable tallow from the illipe nut,
a product which goes principally to Liverpool
for the manufacture of candles and wax vestas.
The company secured a medal and diploma at
the Calcutta International Exhibition in 1883-84,
and they received no fewer than three first
prizes, one special award, and one second prize
for their oil and cakes at the Singapore Agri-
cultural Exhibition in 1906.
!s<)K*i:3-s^ ;>?jj!i/i-^^
William Gutcher (Chief Engineer).
SINGAPORE OIL MILLS.
2. Bird's eye View.
3, Havelock Road view.
I. BiNTANG House.
SINGAPOEE OIL MILLS.
2. The Godowns. 3, View prom the River Front.'
4 Copra Trolley.
2 E
650
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Mr. Friedrich Miihlinghaus, nephew of the
founder of the mills, is the present manager.
He is a native of Vienna, but received his com-
mercial training in Colombo, Ceylon. For
some time he was with Messrs. Adamson,
Gilfillan & Co., of Singapore, and his connec-
tion with his uncle's concern dates from 1904.
The engineer in charge is Mr. William
Gutcher, who came out from home in 1882
with the first machinery installe'd, super-
intended its erection, and has supervised the
whole of the machinery of the mills ever since.
He is a native of Campbeltown, Argyleshire, and
served his apprenticeship in Aberdeen as an
engineer with Messrs. Blakey Bros. He is an
associate member of the Institute of Mechanical
Engineers and a member of the Society of
Chemical Industries (London). He was the
first man to bring out machinery to work oil to
any extent in the Straits Settlements, and it is
worthy of note that a large proportion of the
boilers, engines, and machines in the factory
are of English manufacture.
Mr. Miihlinghaus's principal assistant is Mr.
W. Loebell.
SINSAPORB COLD STORAGE COMPANY,
LTD.
In common with many other tropical
countries, Singapore and the neighbouring
States are dependent upon outside sources for
much of their food supply. Hence, in 1903, when
the Singapore Cold Storage Company, Ltd.,
was incorporatedi'it was immediately recognised
that a long-felt want was about to be filled.
The storage works adjoin the Borneo Wharf,
and have a capacity equal to 400 tons of frozen
meat. The thawing-but room provides for a
daily delivery of about 5J tons of meat for local
consumption. The refrigerator consists of a
" Linde " machine capable of containing 600
tons of meat. Refrigeration is effected by the
mechanical circulation of pure dry cold air.
This air is passed by means of a fan over a
battery of coils in which ammonia gas is being
expanded. In its passage it meets with a con-
tinual shower of cold brine of high density,
which immediately absorbs all moisture and
impurities, and cools the air down to the desired
temperature. The air is then delivered into one
end of the rooms and drawn out at the other.
As the cycle is continuous a beautifully fresh
and pure atmosphere is insured at all times.
The buildings are all constructed in such a
manner as to allow of easy extension at any time.
The company stores and distributes frozen beef,
mutton, lamb, pork, veal, poultry, butter, and
fruit. Supplies of these are obtained from the
Queensland Meat Export and Agency Company,
Ltd., of Brisbane. At present they are brought
to Singapore every two months by the s.s;
Guthrie, but arrangements are now being made
for more steamer space and more frequent
shipments. The steamer discharges at the
Borneo Wharf into railway trucks, which are
conveyed thence direct to the company's
godown. The bulk of the trade done is with
shipping, all the principal ocean lines being
supplied, as well as many local lines. The
company also has the contract for the supply of
beef and mutton to the troops and to H.M.'s
ships of war in Singapore. Consignments are
shipped to the native States twice a week: The
imports for the year ending March, 1906, were ;
Beef, 345 tons ; mutton, 141 tons ; lamb,
40 tons ; veal, 32 tons ; pork, 15 tons ; butter,
55 tons ; frozen sundries (poultry, &c.), 188
tons ; total, 816 tons. Mr. H. W. H. Stevens is
the managing director and Mr. George A.
Derrick the secretary.
THE CENTRAL ENGINE WORKS.
Although the Chinese business men of Singa-
pore are principally distributors of produce,
they nevertheless own many large industrial
concerns, and among the most important of
these is the Central Engine Works. The pro-
prietor is Mr. Lim Ho Puah, senior partner of
the wealthy local shipping firm, Messrs. Wee
Bin & Co.j and the works were originally
intended to be the repairing shop for the Wee
Bin line of steamers. Within the last few
years, however, considerable alterations have
been made to enable heavier work to be dealt
with. Besides regularly executing repairs for
large steamers other than those owned by
Messrs. Wee Bin & Co., the Central Engine
Works have successfully carried out important
renovations aboard several of the battleships
and cruisers which from time to time call at
Singapore, including H.M.S. Argonaut, the
Japanese cruiser Kasuga, and the Russian
battleship Tsarevitch. The building of small
steamers has also been utidertaken recently,
and launch engines from the works are acknow-
ledged to be among the most satisfactory
engines running in Singapore. Mention should
be made among the works undertaken by the
Central Engine Works of the erection of the
Ho Hong rice and oil mill, the largest rice mill
in Singapore, and of the four principal saw-
mills in the colony. The world-famed Arrol-
Johnston and Rover motor-cars are extensively
imported by the firm. In seven months eleven
12-15 h .p. Arrol-Johnston side-entrance tonneau
cars have been disposed of — two to the Singa-
pore Municipality — and at the present time
Messrs. Fraser & Neavehave given an order for
a 24-30 h.p. Arrol-Johnston lorry, capable of
carrying a load of four tons at an average speed
of ten miles an hour. The Central Engine
Works make a point of turning out work which
will stand the test of time. Some idea of the
extent of their operations may be gathered from
the fact that the proprietors hold the agencies
for Arrol-Johnston motor-cars, lorries, buses,
and launches, Rover motor-cars, Gardner oil
engines and high-speed vertical marine engines,
Mersey suction gas producers, Briggs's bitu-
minous enamels and solutions, Brunton's
flexible steel wire ropes. Walker's " Lion "
packings, Macdonald's pipe-bending machines,
Ross's boiler preservative, woodite packings,
and Parker's paints and engine oils. The
manager is Mr. J. A. Hamilton, A.M.I. Mech.E.,
who joined Messrs. Wee Bin & Co.'s steamers
in 1898. After obtaining a first-class Board of
Trade certificate in 1900, he was appointed
assistant manager, and was promoted to his
present position in 1905.
ORIENTAL.
LEONG MAN SAU.
The import and export of timber of all kinds
forms an important industry in the settlements,
and gives employment to a large number of
men. One of the pioneers of the industry
was the late Mr. Leong Fong Cheong, whose
son, Mr. Leong Man Sau, now carries on the
mills. Since he became the managing partner
Mr. Leong Man Sau has extended the business
on all sides, and now charters sailing vessels
and steamships for the transport of the wood.
He is a native of Canton and a naturalised
British subject, who came to Singapore at the
age of twelve. He was educated at St.
Andrew's Mission School and Raffles Insti-
tution. He has been appointed on the Chinese
Advisory Board, is on the Board of the Po "
Leung Kuk, and a visitor to the St. John's
Island quarantine station. He is secretary of
the Kwong Wai Sui Society, which was formed
in 1906 and is a Cantonese institution estab-
lished, on the advice of Mr. W. D. Barnes,
Secretary for Chinese Affairs, Straits Settle-
ments and Federated Malay States, for the
purpose of controlling and managing all
the temples, schools, and buiial- grounds
belonging to the Kwong Chau Province (Can-
tonese), Wai Chau Province (Haka), and Sui
Hing Province (Cantonese), and for carrying
out religious functions, &c. Mr. Leong Man
Sau is a leading member of the Cantonese
community, an enlightened gentleman hold-
ing progressive views, modest and retiring in
disposition, and held in high esteem by all
who know him.
J. M. OSMAN.
For nearly fifteen years Mr. J. M. Osman
held the monopoly of exporting timber from the
Straits Settlements. His chief place of busi-
ness is in the Outer Fort, Bombay. He founded
the Singapore branch twenty years ago, and
now thousands of tons of seriah and poonah
wood, cut into planks, logs and stock sizes,
are shipped every year to Mauritius, Bombay,
Aden, Bassora, and the Persian Gulf. The
H. P. KAKA.
local manager is Mr. Heerji Pestonji Kaka,
who was born in Poona in 1870 and edu-
cated in the Bombay Proprietary School. For
two years he was with a Parsee firm of Con-
tinental importers in Calcutta, and, after
holding a similar position in Bombay, he
came to Singapore in 1898 as manager for
Mr. Osman. He takes a great interest in the
education of the members of the Chinese
community, and has been the means of starting
Chinese newspapers for the ' masses in the
Straits Settlements. Mr. Kaka is a sound
English scholar, and is very well known in
Singapore.
SINGAPORE STEAM SAW-MILLS.
There are few industries in which the
Chinese in the Straits Settlements can be said
to be slow in adopting modern methods and
machinery, and the timber trade is not one of
them. At the Singapore Steam Saw-mills,
which are the largest in the colony, the most
modern steam saws are used. The mills are
situated in Kallang Road, Singapore, on the
shores of the Kallang river. They were estab-
lished some ten or more years ago by the
Straits Development Company, but, after run-
ning for some time, they were found to be
unprofitable, and were disposed of by public
auction. The purchaser was Mr. Choa Giang
Thye, the present proprietor, and he acquired
the property, which originally cost 200,000
dollars, for 46,100 dollars. Mr. Giang Thye
has now run the mills for seven years entirely
with Chinese labour, and excellent and profit-
able business has been done. There are on
the premises 28 saw-benches capable of turn-
ing out 48 tons of sawn timber a day of
ten working hours. The rough wood is
imported from Java and elsewhere, and the
finished article is exported to Bangkok, Shang-
J. Interior of Engine Room.
SINGAPORE COLD STORAGE COMPANY, LTD.
2. Exterior of Premises. 3. The Engines. 4. S.S. " Guthrie" unloading Frozen Cargo.
662
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
hai, Saigon, Bombay, Calcutta, Mauritius, and
many ottier ports. The premises cover in all
an area of about four acres, and give employ-
ment, when in full swing, to 260 coolies.
Recently a new mill, in which there are six
HO HONG OIL AND RICE MILLS.
The Ho Hong Oil and Rice Mills were
established in 1904 by Mr. Lira Peng Siang,
fourth son of Mr. Lim Ho Puah, of the shipping
is driven by means of two high-speed engines
of 80 h.p. and 25 h.p. respectively. The
capacity of the mill is 100 tons of cleaned
rice every twenty-four hours. Two qualities
are milled— No. i quality, purchased chiefly
SINGAPOEE STEAM SAW-MILLS.
saw-benches of the latest pattern, has been
added. The machinery is driven by a Tangye's
patent engine. The manager of the works is
Mr. Chua Sin Ghee.
Mr. Choa Ciang Thye.— Mr. Choa Giang
Thye, one of the most prominent Chinese re-
sidents of Singapore, is the second son of the
late Mr. Choa Chuan Ghoick, J.P., who was
for forty years one of the leading Chinese
merchants of Rangoon. Born in Malacca,
which is also his fathers native place, in
1863, he came to Singapore in 1877, and was
privately educated in English, which he speaks
fluently. When about twenty years of age
he entered business, and some six years ago
acquired the Singapore Steam Saw-mills. Mr.
Choa Giang Thye has always taken a keen
interest in public affairs and has given freely
of his services to the community. In 1897 he
was nominated to the Municipal Commission
by Governor Mitchell for two years, and was
reinstated on two subsequent occasions for
terms of three years each. At the expiration
of eight years' service, however, he was com-
pelled to resign owing to the pressure of
private business, but he has since served on
the Chinese Advisory Board and on the
Board of the Po Leung Kuk (Chinese Women
and Girls' Protection Society). He is looked
upon as one of the leaders of the Chinese
community and as a man of sound judgment
and integrity. Last year he organised a syndi-
cate which was successful in obtaining from
the Government the opium and spirit mono-
poly, which provides the colony with one of
its largest sources of revenue.
firm of Wee Bin & Co., Singapore. These
mills are situated in North Bridge Road, on
the banks of the Kallang river, and cover an
area of fully three acres. The buildings are
of two storeys, substantially constructed, well
ventilated, and lighted throughout with elec-
tricity. A special feature is a complete service
of water-pipes and fittings for coping with an
outbreak of fire. The mill is working day and
night at full pressure to cope with the Orders
for export and for local trade. The plant is
capable of turning out 130 tons of oil and
70 tons of oil-cake a week. Coconut-oil is
the principal oil produced, and there are two
qualities of this; Large quantities are exported
to Europe and America in barrels, which, when
full, weigh from 5 to 20 cwt. each. For local
trade the oil is put up in tins of two sizes,
weighing respectively 20 and 37J lbs. All
the tins are made on the premises by means
of special plant, and a staff of coopers is kept
for making and repairing barrels for the ex-
port trade. The driving power for the mill is
obtained from a 250-h.p. tandem surface con-
densing engine. The machinery throughout
embodies all the latest improvements. It was
erected under the supervision of an expe-
rienced engineer from England (Mr. G.
Frankland), who remains at the mill as
manager. There are about seventy-five
employes in the mill. The oilcake produced
by these mills is the well-known " Elephant
and Palm Tree " brand.
It is claimed for the rice mill that it is one of
the largest, if not the largest, in Singapore.
Up-to-date machinery is fitted throughout, and
by the Chinese community ; and No. 2 quality
(which is immersed in water, steamed, and
dried before milling), bought principally by
the Klings. The paddy is conveyed from the
Malayan islands, Sumatra, &c., in native tong-
kangs, which discharge at the mill wharf.
The rice-mill was erected by the Central
Engine Works, Singapore, Mr. J. A. Hamil-
ton, A.M.I. M.E., being the designer and super-
visor. Fifty hands are employed in the rice
mill.
Mr. Lim Peng Siang was born in 1872 and
educated at St. Joseph's Institute, Singapore.
He served as assistant manager in the firm
of Wee Bin & Co. until he established the
Ho Hong mills. He is well known in the
social life of Singapore, being a committee
member of the Chamber of Commerce, a
member of the Chinese Recreation Club, an
official visitor to the St. John's Island Quaran-
tine Station, and a member of the Weekly
Entertainment Club. His principal office is
No. 61, Kling Street, where he carries on
business also as a general merchant under
the style of Chop Ho Guan.
THE CHOP CHIN GIAP PINEAPPLE
PRESERVING WORKS.
The pineapple is a valuable source of revenue
to Singapore. The island is admirably suited
for the growth of this delicious fruit, which is
brought in from the country, tinned, and then
exported to all parts of the world. Canning
operations are conducted, on a very large scale
at the Chop Chin Giap factory in Seran-
I. Three ArrolJohnston Cars.
CENTRAL ENGINE WORKS.
. Show Exhibit. 3. JiIotor Launch " lanadron^"
(See p. 650.)
4. Arrol-Johnston Car.
2E'
HO HONG OIL AND EICB MILLS.
I. General View of Mills from Canal. ■ 2. Lm Ho Puah.- 3. hm Pexg Siang,
(See p. 652.)
4. Rice Boiling and Drying Grounds.
I Oilcake Store.
HO HONG OIL AND BICE MILLS.
Rice Store. 3. Oil-tin making Machinery. 4. Cooperage.
(See p. 652.)
5. Interior of Rice Mills.
SEAH ENG KBONG'S PINEAPPLE FACTORY.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
657
goon Road, the proprietor of which is Mr.
Seah Eng Kcong, son of Mr. Seah Liang
Seah, one of the leading Chinese residents of
Singapore. He is Straits born, and finished
his education at Raffles Institution. He joined
the founder of the business when eighteen
years of age, and in 1901, when his father
retired, he took over the control of the works.
These, when in full operation, give employ-
ment to over two hundred and fifty men. The
plant is capable of an output of forty thousand
cases of tinned pineapples a week. The fac-
tory stands in the midst of the proprietor's
grounds, which cover some eighty or ninety
acres. The firm have several other planta-
tions in Singapore, and grow practically
all the pineapples required for the fac-
tory. Some sixty men are pretty constantly
engaged in cutting up the fruit before it
goes to the preserving-room, where it is put
in syrup, steamed, and tinned. The firm ex-
port largely to all parts of the Far East, and
their " Tiger " brand has acquired a high repu-
tation for purity and excellence. In Australia,
New Zealand, Great Britain, and Germany the
best known brand is the " Defiance." The
factory at Singapore is compact and com-
plete. There are large store-rooms and a
tinsmith's shop and a carpenter's shop, where
all the tins and cases are made. Recently
rubber has been planted on some of the
firm's estates, and the trees are making good
progress. 'The accompanying illustrations
serve to show the magnitude of the firm's
operations.
HIN CHOON & CO.
The late Mr. Tan Tye, a native of Amoy,
China, came to Singapore in the early sixties
and commenced business as a timber merchant
and pineapple packer in River Valley Road. At
his death his two sons. Tan Lian Boh and Tan
Lian Chye, took over the business. They re-
linquished the timber trade and removed to
Waterloo Street, afterwards — in 1906 — taking
commodious premises in Sumbawa Road. At
first the pineapples were grown by Mr. Tan
Tye, but now the lands have been leased to
planters and cultivators, who send their pro-
duce to the factory on their own account. As
many as sixty thousand pineapples a day are
received at the factory, where they are care-
fully cleaned, cut into sections or left whole,
and then soldered up in cans. The rapidity
with which tin after tin is filled, closed up, and
boiled is astonishing. The water for boiling is
heated in large pans by means of steam-pipes
from the boilers. The greatest cleanliness is
observed throughout the process of preserving
the fruit. The cans are manufactured on the
premises from tin plates purchased locally.
Boxes, also, for packing the tins in are made
on the premises from seriah wood. The
fruit is sold locally, and exported direct to
London, America, Shanghai, and Hongkong.
The " H. C." and " Istana " brands are amongst
the best known. The annual output of the fac-
tory is, roughly, about sixty thousand cases, con-
taining in all some three million pineapples.
The senior managing partner of the firm, Mr.
Tan Lian Boh, is a member of the Straits
Chinese British Subjects' Association, and is
president of the Teong Ho Koh Association
Club — a kind of mutual provident association
for the support of the widows and families of
deceased members.
TAN TWA HEB & CO.
An old established fruit preserving business is
that of Messrs. Tan Twa Hee & Co., who trade
under the style of Tek Wat. Their brand of
tinned pineapples is known in the United King-
dom, the United States, Hongkong, China,
Australia and India. Messrs. Tan Twa Hee &
Co. obtain their fruit from Tanjong Pinggi
and Pulau Batam, and employ several hundred
men in their works. Messrs. Tan Ban Hau &
Co., general importers, are amalgamated with
the firm. Mr. Tan Ban Hau, the principal, is
a native of Singapore and was educated at
Raffles Institution.
ME. J. D'A. PBREIEA.
The gardens and orchids of Mr. J. D'A.
Pereira are famous throughout the near and
far East, and the proprietor's name is well
known to fanciers of choice exotics in London
and the principal European towns. Mr.
J. D'A. PBRBIBA.
Pereira collects orchids and other rare plants,
and can claim to have discovered several new
specimens and to have rediscovered specimens
which were lost. Among the latest of his
achievements in this direction is the redis-
covery at Bhutan, India, of the lost orchid,
Rediscovered Cyfripedium Farrirmnun, and
in Borneo of the famous Vanda Dearei, and the
discovery of a new palm, Licaula Orbicularis.
For research purposes Mr. Pereira has made
extensive excursions into the interior of Borneo,
the Celebes, the Philippines, Lower Burma,
New Guinea, Timor, Java, Sumatra, and many
other places, and his work has been recog-
nised at its true worth by scientific circles
in Europe. For services rendered to the. late
King of Denmark he was awarded a gold
medal and diploma, and he holds the appoint-
ments of horticulturist to the King of Siam, the
Sultan of Johore, and the Sultan of Linggi.
He has supplied orchids to the Mikado, and
has been favoured with the patronage of
several European monarchs. He is now
devoting his attention to rubber seeds, in the
collection and packing of which he is a recog-
nised expert. During the present season alone
he has placed about three million seeds.
HO ANN KEE.
Among the most extensive timber mills to be
found in and around Singapore are those
founded in 1893 by Mr. Ho Ann Kee, a native
of Singapore, who was educated locally and
was at one time employed in the saw-mills of
Messrs. Koo Tye. When he died in 1904 his
brother-in-law, Mr. Tan Choon Chiew, took
over the management -of the mills. This
gentleman had held the positions of inter-
preter in the office of the Inspector-General
of Police and cashier and interpreter in the
Hackney Carriage Department of the muni-
cipality, as well as various posts in mercantile
houses. The mills, which cover some seven
acres of ground, extend along the Kallang
river bank. Timber is obtained in Teping
Pinggi, on the east coast of Sumatra, and con-
veyed in barges to the firm's wharves. The
principal woods dealt with are seriah (Straits
cedar) and poonah. The leading European
and native business houses and building con-
tractors of Singapore are supplied on long-
standing contracts, and formerly a large export
trade in uncut woods was done with Shanghai
and Hongkong. Work is carried out under
the personal supervision of the manager, who
is assisted by three inspectors and a large
office staff. As much as twenty tons of cut
wood are dealt with each day.
Mr. Tan Choon Chiew is a member of the
Chinese Company of the Singapore Volunteer
Infantry, of the Straits Chinese British Asso-
ciation, and of the Straits Social Club.
CHOO THONG HEE.
The recent revelations with regard to tinned
food from Chicago made people hesitate to eat
even tinned fruit. But if the process of pre-
serving and packing fruit were inspected in
such an establishment as that of Lian Soon &
Co., confidence would speedily be restored.
The Chop Lian Soon & Co. was established in
Singapore some thirty years ago, though
formerly it was known under the name of Tan
Lian Swee & Co. The premises of the firm are
at No. 603, North Bridge Road. In 1901 Mr.
Choo Thong Hee, a native of China who had
gained considerable experience of the business
as manager for Messrs. Faber & Co., entered
into partnership with Mr. Tan Lian Swee, but
he is now the sole proprietor of Lian Soon &
Co. The pineapples are bought from cultivators
in the island of Singapore, and are packed in
tins of from one to three pounds each. The tins
and seriah wood boxes in which they are placed
for shipment are made on the premises. The
pineapples are sold to local firms and exported
to Hongkong, Shanghai, Amoy, Bangkok,
Japan, India, Ceylon, Europe, and the United
States. The firm also preserve mangosteens,
jack fruit, ginger, papaya, guava, &c., and make
crystallised ginger and pineapple. Mr. Choo
Thong Hee is a member of the Straits Chinese
Association and of the Chinese Chamber of
Commerce.
HOHO BISCUIT FACTORY.
It would come as a surprise to the uniniti-
ated to be told how quickly Chinese business
men in Singapore have adopted what is best
in Western methods. Few more striking
examples of this enterprise could be found in
the Straits Settlements than is provided by the
Hobo Biscuit Factory, which was established
on November 17, 1898, by a limited company,
promoted by Mr. Go Boon Kwan. At the
works in Chin Swee Road the latest English
steam machinery is used and the highest
quality of biscuits is manufactured from flour
imported direct from Adelaide. The firm
supply the local trade and export largely to
Pinang, the Federated Malay States, and Java.
A speciality is made of ships' biscuits. At the
Hanoi E.xhibition in 1902 the .firm obtained a
diploma and bronze medal for their biscuits.
Since 1906 they have traded also as merchants
and commission agents. Their principal im-
ports are rice and sugar from Java, and their
chief exports consist of local produce and
native medicines. The head office is in South
Canal Road. In 1900 Mr. Go Ing Sin, who
is on the Committee of the Chinese Chamber
of Commerce, became managing director, with
Mr. Lee Pek Gum as director. The first issue
of capital was 150,000 dollars in 20b shares
of 750 dollars each.
HIN CHOON & CO.
, Tan Lian Boh.
2. The Late Tan Tye.
(See p. 6S7-)
3. The Premises.
HIN CHOON & CO.
I. Interior of Factory. 2 Unloadikg Pjnes.
(See p., 557.)
CHOO THONG HEB, CHOP LIAN SOON & CO., FORMBELY TAN LIAN SWEE & CO.
i. The Caxxing Floor. ^. The Pineapple Factory ix North Bridge Road. 3. The Fixes Ready for the M.4rket.
(See p. 657.)
TAN TWA HEB & CO.'S PINEAPPLE CANNING FACTORY.
(See p; 657.)
Tan Choon Chievv (Manager).
HO ANN KEE, CHOP SIM MOH.
i. The Mills from the Kallaxg River. 3. The Late Ho Ann Kee (Founder of the Firm).
(See p. 657.)
4. Mrs. Ho Ann Kee (Proprietress).
I. The Engines.
HO A.NN KEE, CHOP SIM MOH.
3. THE MILLS FROM KALLANG ROAD.
(See p. 657.)
3. The Steam Saws.
664
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
STRAITS INDUSTRIAL SYNDICATE.
The principle of killing two birds with one
stone is seen in operation at the works of the
Straits Industrial Syndicate, Kallang Road,
Singapore, where Messrs. A. Westerhout and
Chee Swee Cheng carry on business as
timber merchants and ice manufacturers. Mr.
Westerhout, a native of Malacca, was educated
and trained for business in Singapore, and
having run an engineering business of his
own in Malacca and Singapore, embarked in
1905 upon his present enterprise, which has
since been turned into a limited liability
company. A large amount of trade is done
in the saw-mills. Timber is imported from the
east coast of Sumatra, where the syndicate has
extensive property, worked under a concession
from the Government. The logs are conveyed
to Singapore by means of barges, unshipped
in the bay, and floated along the river to the
wharves at the mill. The woods chiefly dealt
in are seriah (commonly called Straits cedar),
poonah, a hard and ant-proof wood, camphor
wood, and changai, which comes from
Pahang in the native States. The firm holds
contracts with the municipality and Govern-
ment and. exports cut timber to the Federated
Malay States, Borneo, &c. The mills are
driven by a S5-h.p. Tangy's engine, the fuel
used being the sawdust from the mills. The
output of sawn timber reaches some 25 tons
a day.
The ice works manufacture about six tons
of ice a day for local consumption, and at the
time of writing a new factory is being erected,
which, it is expected, will turn out as much
as 20 tons a day. The buildings and yards
cover over five acres of ground, and over a
hundred hands are regularly employed. The
town office is at No. 9, Cecil Street. The
superintendent engineer is Mr. W. Webster,
A.M.I.M.E.
THE BATAM BRICKWORKS.
That truth is sometimes stranger than fiction
is again attested by the life-story of Raja Alie,
who was Crown Prince (Kelana) of Riau
during the reign of his father, Yang-di-Pertuan
Raja Mohamed Easop, and relinquished the
honour in favour of a commercial career. He
is now sole proprietor of the Batam Biiclcworks,
which, though situated on the Dutch island
of Batam, two hours' sail from Singapore, may
properly be included in the industrial concerns
of the colony because all the business is
transacted from the head office. No. 10,
Raffles Quay, Singapore. The Batam Brick-
works have been established for many years,
but the founder was unable to make the busi-
ness a success, and, after passing through many
vicissitudes, the undertaking was purchased
by Raja Alie, the present owner, in 1896.
At that time the plant was capable of an output
of 30,000 bricks a day, but with the new
machinery that has now been installed to meet
the growing demand for Batam bricks, exactly
double this quantity will be turned out. The
bricks, which are machine-made, have been
supplied to the Government, the municipality,
and the Railway Department in Singapore and
the Federated Malay States for several years and
have given every satisfaction. They received
awards at the Pinang Agricultural Show in
1901 and at the Hanoi Exposition of 1902-3.
Raja Alie also does a large trade in copra with
the Nathunas Islands. To such dimensions
has this business grown that Raja Alie recently
acquired the steamer Karang to convey the
copra between the Nathunas Islands and
Singapore. The vessel carries about three
thousand bags at each shipment and is con-
stantly engaged. The superintendent of the
brickworks, where 20D men are permanently
employed, is Tunku Sembob. Mr. S. S. Al
Hady is the attorney and manager of the
concerns at the head office in Singapore. He
is a British subject and Is a clever business
man. Raja Alie is the father of a large family,
and has sent his sons to Egypt to be educated.
THE PERSEVERANCE ESTATE.
The Perseverance Estate — situated at the
commencement of the Changie Road, about
three miles out of Singapore, and within a
hundred j'ards of the Gaylang tramway ter-
minus— is the seat of one of the oldest industries
in the colony. It is upwards of 1,000 acres in
extent and belongs to Messrs. Alsagoff & Co.,
by whom it is let on lease. From the citronella
and lemon grasses with which it is planted,
citronella and lemon grass oil are made. The
factory, which is conveniently placed near
the roadside, contains sixteen stills — eight for
citronella oil and eight for patchouli oil.
Should occasion require it, all the stills could
be used for the manufacture of citronella oil, of
which they are capable of producing a
hundred and forty-four bottles a day. Pint
bottles are used for local purposes and quart
bottles for export. In Europe and America
the oils are employed in the manufacture of
soap, scent, &c. After being carefully corked,
labelled, and capsuled, the bottles are packed
in substantial cases filled with tightly rammed
dry sawdust, to reduce the risk of breakage to
a minimum. Patchouli grass is not grown on
the estate, as the soil is not of a suitable
nature. Citronella oil' is an invaluable cure
for rheumatism and has antiseptic properties.
A few drops rubbed over the e^jposed parts of
the body is an excellent preventive against
the attacks of mosquitoes. The products of
the Perseverance Estate have a high reputation
and were awarded medals at the Nagpore
Exhibition in 1863 and 1865. The estate is
managed by Mr. D. R. Cowan.
COMMERCIAL.
EUROPEAN.
PATERSON, SIMONS & CO.
The wonderful expansion that has taken
place in British territorial possessions in the
East during the last century is reflected in the
prosperity of many colonial houses of business.
Prominent amongst these is the firm of Messrs.
Paterson, Simons & Co., the foundation of
whose present-day success was laid by two
well-known pioneers in the commercial history
of the Straits Settlements, Messrs. William
Wemys-Ker and Thomas Samuel Rawson.
These gentlemen commenced an import and
export trade both in Singapore and London as
early as 1828. Their assistants, then just be-
ginning the ascent of the ladder of success,
were Messrs. William Paterson and Henry
Minchin Simpns, who proved such valuable
acquisitions that in 1853 they were admitted to
partnership. Six years later, on April 30, 1859,
the style and title of the firm became Messrs.
Paterson, Simons & Co. The early sixties saw
Messrs. Thomas Shelford and W. G. Gulland
enter the firm, and in later years both these
gentlemen became members of the Legislative
Council of the colony, and the former was
made a Companion of the Order of St. Michael
and St. George. The end of the last century
and the opening of the present proved sad
ones for the personnel of the firm. In 1898, at
the ripe age of seventy-five years, Mr. William
Paterson, who, besides his connection with the
house bearing his name, had been for twenty
years the London chairman of the Chartered
Bank of India, Australia, and China and a
director of the Thames and Mersey Insurance
Company, Ltd., died at Eastbourne, and very
shortly afterwards he was followed to the grave
by his elder surviving son, Cosmo Gordon
Paterson. In 1900 and 1901 the deaths took
place of Messrs. T. Shelford and H. Minchin
Simons, and these were followed in 1905 and
1906 by Messrs. C. C. Stringer and W. G.
Gulland, who had both been very prominent
and popular members of society during their
residence in the East, the destinies of the house
being left in the hands of Messrs. H. Melvill
Symons, the senior partner in London (a
director of the Alliance Insurance Company,
Ltd.), and W. H. Shelford, Graham Paterson,
and Duncan P. McDougall, the present Singa-
pore partners. In February, 1907, the well-
known firm of William McKerrow & Co. was
amalgamated with Messrs. Paterson, Simons &
Co., and Mr. McKerrow became a partner in
the business in London. Besides the London
office at lo-ii. Lime-street, E.G., the firm have
an important branch at Pinan?, and they have
never once halted in the career of success on
which they started eighty years ago. It is
impossible for us to give more than an outline
of the scope of the firm's transactions. It is a
notable fact that they were pioneers in the
exportation of gutta-percha, the first consign-
ment ever sent from Singapore reaching
London through their instrumentality.- Local
produce of every kind is collected in the firm's
huge godowns, and the Federated Malay
States, Borneo, and the Dutch possessions in
the archipelago are all called upon to contri-
bute gutta, rubber, gambler, copra, tapioca,
sago-flour, pineapples, hides, skins, &c., which
afterwards find their way to all parts of the
world, the biggest customers being the United
Kingdom, America, Australia, and Canada.
Thousands of tons of tin raised from the rich
mines of Malaya are forwarded to the United
Kingdom and Continental ports by the firm
every year. Among imports, cotton and rough
goods occupy the principal position, but almost
every conceivable kind of manufactured article
is included in the list. Numerous influential
concerns are solely represented at Singapore
by Messrs. Paterson, Simons & Co., among
them being the following shipping firms : The
Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Apcar, Ben, Wattack and
Mogul Lines, the New York and Oriental
Steamship Company, the Northern Pacific
Steamship Company, the South African Line
of coolie transports, the Great Northern
Steamship Company, the Boston Steamship
Company, and the Chesapeake and Ohio Steam-
ship Company. Messrs. Paterson, Simons &
Co. , too, are also representatives of the Johore
and Sarawak Governments, and of the Alliance,
Guardian, Alliance Marine and General, the
London and Provincial Marine, the Globe
Marine, the Dutch Marine, and the Scottish
Insurance Companies. In industrial enter-
prises their chief agencies are for the Duff
Development Company (with which is now
incorporated the Kelantan Gold Dredging Com-
pany), the East Indian Coal Company, and the
United Asbestos Oriental Agency. The head
offices are in Prince Street, facing CoUyer
Quay, and their extensive godowns are in
Havelock Road and Reid Street. Some four-
teen European assistants, twenty-eight clerks
of other nationalities, and hosts of coolies are
employed by the firm. A biographical sketch
of Mr. Graham Paterson, one of the Singapore
partners, appears in the Municipal section of
this work. Mr. Duncan P. McDougall, the
other local partner, is a native of Huntingdon-
shire, and was educated at St. John's School,
Leatherhead. He came to Singapore in the
same year as Mr. Graham Paterson (1891), and
was admitted a partner in 1903. He is a mem-
ber of all local clubs, and is on the committee
of the Sporting Club. He plays tennis and golf,
is a keen horseman, and resides at " Hafton,"
Tanglin, Singapore.
HUTTENBACH BROS. & CO.
Singapore has a large import and export
trade, and a high place is occupied among the
many firms engaged in it by Messrs. Hutten-
General View.
The Offices.
THE BATAM BRICKWOBKS.
Interior.
Xew Brick Engine, .
STRAITS INDTJSTEIAIi SYNDICATE.
I. Interior of Saw-mills.
2. Timber Yard and Factory. 3. Kallang Road Saw-mills and Ice Factory (Front River View).
(See p. 664.)
PERSEVERANCE ESTATE.
The Factory for the Manufacture of Cjtroxella, Lemox, and Patchouli Oils. grass Fields.
The Distillery.
(See p 664.)
Bottling Oil.
PATERSON, SIMONS & CO.
GODOWN AT KAMPONG MALACCA.
(See p. 664.)
3 Interior of Offices.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
669
bach Bros. & Co., whose head office is at 4, Fen-
church Avenue, London, E.C. Founded as an
import business in 1883 by Mr. L. Huttenbach
at Singapore and Pinang, the scope of the firm
was gradually extended, until to-day goods of
every description are requisitioned from all parts
of the world, piece goods being obtained from the
United Kingdom, rough goods from Germany,
and coal from Newcastle in Australia. Hard-
ware, oil and steam engines, pumps for mining,
and hauling gear are supplied, and a speciality
is made of electric lighting and power installa-
tions, for which estimates, plans, and speci-
fications are prepared. Local produce of
almost every description is forwarded to
Europe and America. The chief exports are
rattans, gutta-percha, rubber, and copal ; but
pepper, gambier, tapioca, sago, and flour are
also largely dealt in. The general operations
of the house are on an extensive scale. The
firm is one of the few which have a direct
export trade with South Africa. Messrs.
Huttenbach Bros. & Co. have five godowns
at the Robertson and Collyer Quays. Amongst
the many agencies which they represent the
most important are those of Andrew Weir &
Co., of Glasgow, the Prince line and the
American Orient line, which carry both
cargo and passengers. The managing partner
of the firm is Mr. W. Ewald, a native of
Germany, who has been in Singapore since
1889. He is a committee member of the
Chamber of Commerce.
D. BEANDT & CO.
Rubber is one of the principal items in the
export trade of Messrs. D. Brandt & Co. — a
firm that was founded some thirty years ago
by Mr. D. Brandt, a native of Hanau. For
many years he was Austrian Consul in Singa-
pore, and in recognition of his services in this
capacity he received the honour of knighthood
from the Emperor of Austria. He retired from
active work in 1903, and the business was
taken over by the present proprietors, Messrs.
E. Schmid, of Paris, and T. and G. Schudel.
The local offices and godowns of the company
are at No. 5, Boat Quay ; the Paris offices are at
No. 90, Rue d'Hauteville, and the firm have
agents in Hamburg, London, and New York.
Brandt & Co. were one of the pioneer firms in
the export of gutta, and have made a speciality
of this branch of their trade. Other articles
which they export are gum copal, gum dammar,
gum benzoin, and all drugs, rattans, gambier,
pepper, sago, tapioca, mother-of-pearl shells,
tortoiseshells, skins, hides, horns, isinglass,
and practically every article produced in or
shipped from the colony. Mr. G. Schudel is
the resident partner. He is a native of Schaff-
hausen, in Switzerland, and came East in 1894,
after having received an extensive training in
his own country and in Paris. He is well
known in commercial circles in Singapore and
is a member of the Teutonia, Sporting and
Swiss Rifle Clubs.
HOOGLANDT & CO.
One of the oldest firms carrying on business
in Singapore is that of Messrs. Hooglandt & Co.,
who commenced operations in the colony in
i860. They conduct an extensive agency
business, representing several banks, insur-
ance companies, and business houses, chief
amongst which are the Royal Dutch Oil Com-
pany and the Asiatic Petroleum Company,
Ltd. Mr. W. H. Diethelm, of Zurich, is the
senior partner. The firm are represented in
Amsterdam by Mr. G. A. Kesting (one of the
partners), and Mr. J. Van Lohuizen manages
the business in Singapore. A large staff, in-
cluding ten Europeans, is employed. In the
same building are Messrs. Diethelm & Co.,
Ltd., a branch of -Messrs. Diethelm & Co.,
S.A. Zurich, of which Mr. W. H. Diethelm is
the chairman. This firm took over in April,
igo6, the business carried on by Messrs.
Cadonau & Co. as importers of general piece
goods and the import department of, Messrs.
Hooglandt & Co. They import piece and
fancy goods from Great Britain and the Con-
tinent of Europe generally, and from America,
his partner, and in 1829 Mr. Alexander Guthrie
was joined in the business by his nephew, Mr.
James Guthrie, whose term of partnership
commenced in 1837. Mr. Alexander Guthrie
left the colony in 1847 for home, and died
somewhere about 1865. Mr. James Guthrie
PEBMISES OP HOOGLANDT & CO. AND DIETHELM & CO., LTD.
and do a very large wholesale business through-
out Singapore and the Malay Stales. There
are branches at Saigon and Bangkok.
GUTHRIE & CO., LTD.
It was as far back as 1819 when Mr.
Alexander Guthrie arrived in Singapore from
the Cape of Good Hope and established himself
as a merchant on his own account. A period
followed during which Captain Harrington,
who had been connected with Malacca, was
returned to England in the very late fifties, but
was still in the firm until 1875, when his interest
ceased. He died in 1900. In 1851 Mr. Thomas
Scott entered the firm, in 1856 became a
partner, and for many years previous to his
death in 1902 was the head of the firm. The
principal to-day is Mr. John Anderson, whose
connection with the business dates from
January, 1876.
The head office is at Singapore, and there
are branches in London, Fremantle, W.A.,
and Pinang. As regards the nature of the
fe-;-
SmGkPOn.PENMl<E.TReHANTl,Er
TED * WOIWWOBK SUPPUEP »»
' Up from the Docks."
GUTHRIE & CO., LTD.
Show Exhibit.
Show Exhibit (Interior).
Unloading Expanded Metal.
GUTHBIE & CO., LTD
New Offices.
Havelock Road Godowns,
Swii'-r Motor-car.
H.AVELOCK Road Godowns (Exterior).
672
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
firm's business, without going into details it
can be described as tliat of wtiolesale mer-
chants, exporting and importing articles of any
and every nature to and from all parts of the
world ; commission agents ; shipping, estate,
and property agents ; agents for bankers,
States, &c. The firm is now one of the most
prominent and important in the colony.
BEHN, MEYEB & CO., LTD.
The average Englishman travelling East for
the first time is struck by the important part
played by German enterprise in the commer-
cial life of British possessions, and the story of
the foundation and growth of some of. the
large German concerns forms an interesting
feature of the history of the colonies. Up to
the year 1840 German commerce was almost a
negligible quantity in the East, and, if a few
establishment to make a bid for a share of the
growing trade in the East in a large and
thoroughly well initiated manner. Starting
with the hire of a small godown, for which
they paid a rent of forty or fifty dollars, they
worked steadily to learn the needs of the
Chinese population, and as early as February,
1841, were able to charter a small English brig
and load it with tea, China-root, camphor,
gutta, sago, and pepper. Upon its arrival in
Hamburg an astonishing profit was made on
this first trial consignment of goods from
Singapore. The partners then made a trip
to Hongkong, whefe at that time not a single
European building was in existence, and this
trip proving extremely profitable, on their
return to Singapore they bought a small
Chinese house in Market Street, which they
stocked principally with glass and ironware.
In 1844 IVfr. Meyer undertook a journey to
Singapore in 1848 and became a partner in the
firm two years later. In 1857 the business had
grown to such an extent that it was thought
advisable to establish a European house, and
for this purpose Mr. A. O. Meyer returned to
Hamburg and the local firm was managed by
THE PREMISES OF BEHN, MEYER & CO., LTD.
solitary business men here and there be ex-
cepted, nothing had been done to establish
houses on a permanent basis. In the part of
the world of which this volume treats it fell to
the lot of two enterprising citizens of Ham-
burg, Messrs. Th. August Behn and Valentin
Lorenz Meyer, to found the firm of Behn,
Meyer & Co. as the first German commercial
Shanghai and the coast of China generally.
There he again met with success in disposing
of his cargo of Western goods, and loaded up
for the return with Chinese tea, of which they
were early exporters to Europe. Mr. August
Behn remained in the firm until 1856, and then
retired to Hamburg, and a brother of Mr. V. L.
Meyer, Mr. Arnold Otto Meyer, arrived in
HANS BECKER.
(Managing Director.)
the younger men. The business at that time
consisted of the export of all kinds of local
produce to Hamburg and Bremen houses. Not
alone from Singapore, but also from China and
Manilla, tea, sugar, coffee, and different kinds
of wood were sent to Europe. Singapore itself
soon became too small for the operations of the
firm, and they turned their attention to Burma
and established a flourishing trade in rice — first
at Akyab and later at Rangoon and Moulmein.
Singapore becoming the centre of all European
trade in the East, Behn, Meyer & Co. did a
great deal in finding cargo for German and
other vessels, and sent one of their men, a Mr.
Thies, to represent them at Bangkok and open
up Siamese trade. From Western Australia
they imported horses, sheep, and sandal-wood ;
they sent shiploads of pilgrims to Mecca, and
when the Californian goldfields started they
sent there portable wooden houses and colonial
produce of every description.
The business, after a hard struggle, came
safely through the commercial crisis of 1857,
when prices were low and one firm after
another toppled over, and since that time has
never looked backwards. When steamships
replaced sailing-vessels the company's business
increased by leaps and bounds. Between 1849
and 1899 no fewer than twelve partners entered
and left the firm at various periods. In the
early eighties Behn, Meyer & Co. were one of
the first firms to charter steamers for the con-
veyance of colonial produce to England and
the Continent of Europe, and in 1886 they
r-eceived the agency of the Norddeutscher-
Lloyd. This was followed four years later by
the German-Australian Steamship Company's
agency, and that of the Hamburg-America line
shortly afterwards. In 1899 the European firm
of A. O. Meyer bought from Mr. Alfred Holt,
of Liverpool, the whole of the fleet of the East
Indian Ocean Steamship Company, consisting
of eleven steamers which were engaged in
regular traffic between Singapore, Bangkok,
Borneo, &c., and these were taken over by the
Norddeutscher-Lloyd in the following year
'4:
w^^.
Manager's Room.
BBHN, MEYER 65 CO., LTD.^'OFPICES.
^. Coal Dispaetmen't. 3. Import Office.
4. Home and Transport Department.
2 F
674
TVVENTIETPI CENTURY IIMPRESSIONS OF HRITISH MA LAVA
together with the fleet ut the Scottish Oriental
Steamship Company, and Messrs. Behn, Meyer
and Co. undertook the administration and
general agency of those now well-known
coasting services. But the export of Eastern
produce has been, and still is, the main portion
of the firm's transactions, and some idea of the
magnitude of these may be gathered when it is
stated that the firm's Singapore and Pinang
shipping agents, of Xos. 8 and 8a, Rallies Quay.
The equipment for the Decauville Portable
Railway forms an important branch of the
business. Messrs. Dupire & Co. are agents for
various rubber plantations and tin mines in the
Federated States, and control some fifty thou-
sand acres of land planted with rubber in Johore.
They also hold the sole agency in the Straits
Settlements, Federated States, Java, the Xether-
the mosi important commercial undertakings
in the colony. Mr. James Miller and Mr. T. E.
Earle sub^equentl\• became partners in the
firm. The first-named gentleman is still a
managing director in London, but Mr. Earle
has retired. From the first the principal
feature of the business has been the e.xporta-
tion of local produce and the importation of
European manufactures. The exports include
mssm
Dli DlOX IjOCTOX t*t Co. SIOTOk-C.AR.
C. DUPIBB & CO.
MorOR li.VGIXE.
concerns export every year 25,000 tons of tin
alone, while copra, pepper, gambler, tapioca,
sago, rattans, gutta-percha, copals, mother-of-
pearl, skins, &c., are exported to the extent of
40,000 tons per annum. The import depart-
ment brings into the East practically every-
thing that is manufactured in Western coun-
tries, and it would require much space to
specify all" the commodities in which Behn,
Meyer & Co. deal. The firm employ sixty
Europeans and between four and five hundred
natives, and have branches at Pinang, Manilla,
Cebu, Iloilo, Zamboanga, and Sandakan. On
January i, igof), the concern ua-; made into
a limited liability company, and Mr. Hans
Becker became the first managing director.
Mr. Becker is a native of Hanover, and was
educated in that place. His commercial train-
ing was received at Bremen, and in 1888 he
joined Messrs. Behn, -Meyer & Co. at Singa-
pore. He is a member of the committee of
the Singapore Chamber of Commerce and
president of the German Club.
C. DUPIRE & CO.
The supplying of mining machinery and
appliances is a speciality with Messrs. C.
Dnpire & Co., importers, exporters, and tran-
lands Indies, and Siam for the well-known
De Dion motor-car. The Singapore branch
was established in 1897 by Mr. Louis Dupire,
whose partner is Mr. C. Dupire. The head
office is in Roubaix, France.
ADAMSON, GILPILLAN & CO.
If any proof were needed of the success
with which Scotsmen meet in the " British
Dominions over the seas "it would be furnished
by the story of Messrs. .Adamson, Gilfillan &
Co.'s foundation. The names of Mr. Samuel
Gilfillan and Mr. William Adamson first appear
in the commercial records of Singapore in
1854, when they entered the service of Messr^.
McEwan & Co., from whom eventually sprang
the Borneo Company-. Branches at Hongkong,
Shanghai, and Bangkok were opened for the
firm by Messrs. Adamson & Gilfillan, who in
1863 became joint managers of the Borneo
Company's operations. Shortly afterwards,
realising the big future that the commerce of
Singapore had before it, these two gentlemen,
in conjunction with Mr. H. W. Wood, who had
also been a clerk in the employment of Messrs.
McEwan & Co., commenced business on their
own account as merchants. From small begin-
nings this venture has developed into one of
tin, gambier, pepper, tapioca, copra, spices,
and sago-flour, which are shipped principally
to the United Kingdom, the Continent of
Europe, and the United States of America.
Manchester and other piece goods and mis-
cellaneous rough goods are the staple imports.
The firm holds numerous important shipping
and insurance agencies, including tho-e of the
Pacific Mail Steamship Companv, the Occi-
dental and Oriental Steamship Company, the
American Asiatic Steamship Company, the
Rickmer Line, the New Zealand Fire In-
surance Company, the Yangtze Insurance Com-
pany, and the China Fire Insurance Companv.
Messrs. Adamson, Gilfillan & Co. alio represent
the Sungei Ujong (Malay Peninsula) Railway
Company, and an important section of their
transactions consists in the supply of the
latest machinery to the tin mines of the
Federated Malay States, Borneo, and
the Dutch Indies, from the well-known
engineers, Messrs. Fraser & Chalmers, Ltd.
The firm own extensive produce godowns
up the river and capacious warehouses for the
storage of goods. In October, 1904, the firm
was incorporated as a limited liability com-
pany, and at the prcseiit time Messrs. S.
Gilfillan, W. Adamson, C.JI.G., H. W. Wood,
and James Miller are directors at the head
TeIE Ol'FICES.
ADAMSON, GILPILLAN & CO., LTD.
GODOU-.VS (IXIEKIOMJ. THE GODOWXS H.4VEL0CK ROAD.
676
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
office in London, Mr. Adamson and Mr. Miller
acting as managing directors, while Mr. W. S.
Coutts is the London manager and Mr. M. E.
Plumpton, who has been with the firm at
Singapore for fifteen 5'ears, is the Singapore
manager. In their day, Mr. Adamson, Mr.
Gilfillan, and Mr. Earle have all played a
prominent part in the public and social life
of Singapore. Mr. Adamson was for many
years chairman of the Straits Settlements
Association, and since his retirement to London
in the early nineties he has always tuken a
lively interest in promoting the welfare of the
colony. He has been a director of the P. & O.
Company for many years, and was chosen to
serve on the Commission appointed by the
Colonial Office to inquire into the Straits
currency. In the early days, when Singapore
was famed for its amateur theatricals, Mr.
Adamson gained a reputation as a light
comedian. He was a member of the Muni-
cipal Council for many years and did good
work in that capacity, and he was decorated
C.M.G. for his many public services. Mr.
Gilfillan was one of the original promoters and
founders of the now famous Tanjong Pagar
Dock Company, which first made its appear-
ance in 1S63, and Mr. Earle was for some
years a member of the Legislative Council and
did a great deal of public work.
H. SCHAEFEB & CO.
A great variety of goods is to be_ seen at
Messrs. Schaefer & Co.'s premises in Prince
ment was opened in 1905 by Mr. H. Schaefer.
Piece goods from the United Kingdom, Europe,
and America are extensively dealt in, but rough
goods, cotton goods, wines, spirits, preserves,
hardware, and, in fact, evex"ything from the
West which is required in the East, may also
be numbei"ed amongst the firm's imports.
Messrs. Schaefer & Co. hold the sole agency
in the Malay Peninsula and Dutch Indies for
the Panhard and Levasseur motor-cars. They
are agents also for Rachal's Piano Company, of
Hamburg, for Hoeg's ship's-bottom paints,
and for " Old Taylor " whiskies. Their go-
downs are situated on Raffles Quay.
Mr. Schaefer is a native of Witten, West-
phalia. He gained his experience in important
houses in Stettin, Hamburg, and Hanover, and
was at one time employed in the famous works
of Krupp in Essen. In 1890 he came out East
and joined the firm of Puttfarcken & Co., in
which he became a partner after twelve
years' service. In conjunction with that house
he opened business on his own account in
1905. Associated with him as directors are
such well-known gentlemen as General
Combarieu (chairman), the Baron de Courcel,
Mr. M. Mauselin, and Mr. H. Combarieu.
Mr. Schaefer is a member of the Sporting
and Cricket Clubs, and of the Masonic Lodge
St. George.
MESSES. EAUTBNBEEG, SCHMIDT & CO.
One of the leading firms, of importers jand
exporters in Singapore is Messrs. Rautenberg,
Mr. Henry Charles Rautenberg and Mr.
Frederick George Schmidt, of Hamburg, did
not long enjov the privilege of working to-
gether, for on April 17, 1851— two years after
they joined forces — Mr. Rautenberg, the
senior partner, and Mr. Hurtlaus, junior assis-
tant with Messrs. Behn, Meyer & Co., went
out in a small boat and were drowned in a
squall about two miles off Singapore. The
surviving partner, Mr. Schmidt, was joined in
1858 by Mr. Gustav Cramer and Mr. Adolf
Emit Schmidt. They were followed by Mr.
Franz Kustermann in 1863, and by Mr. Conrad
Sturzenegger in 1865. The imports of the firm
comprise everything imaginable from rough,
soft, and piece goods to provisions, and every
kind of local produce is exported to Europe
and America. Messrs. Rautenberg, Schmidt &
Co. represent the Austrian Lloyd Steam Navi-
gation Company, of Trieste, do a fair business
in chartering, and act as agents for the Bremen
and Antwerp underwriters and for a number
of insurance and mercantile companies in the
United Kingdom, Europe, and America. The
present partners are Mr. Robert Stui'zenegger,
at Singapore ; Mr. Martin Suhl, at Pinang ;
Mr. Rutger Klunder, at Hamburg ; and Mr.
Conrad Sturzenegger, at Schaffhausen.
MESSES. BAELOW & CO.
A leading place in the importation of
Manchester cotton goods, so extensively used
for clothing by almost every section of the
community, is occupied by Messrs. Barlow
PANHARD CAR.
INTERIOR OP H. SCHAEFER & CO.'S PREMISES.
Street, Singapore. The head office is No. 19,
Rue Richer, Paris, where busmess is carried on
in conjunction with the Indian & Eastern French
Trading Company, with whom Messrs. Schaefer
& Co. are amalgamated. The local establish-
Schmidt & Co. This firm also embraces the
houses of Messrs. Schmidt, Kustermann & Co.,
Pinang, and Messrs. Schmidt and Kustermann,
Hamburg, as well as an establishment at
Schaffhausen m Switzerland. The founders,
& Co., a branch from Messrs. Thomas Barlow
& Bro., of Manchester and London. Their
busmess connection with Singapore dates back
over thn-ty years, but for a number of years
they traded through agents here, and it was
~;^^)E»«y-.
RAUTBNBEEG, SCHMIDT & CO.'S OFFICES, INTERIOR, MERBAN ROAD GODOWN, AND INTERIOR SHOWING
RATTAN PICKING,
2 F *''
BARLOW & CO.'S PBBMISBS AND MANCHESTER HOUSE GODOWNS.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
679
not until January, 1891, that they opened a
branch of their own in the colony. In addition
to their extensive trade in cotton goods, they
import hardware, metals,and sundries, generally
known as rough goods. For many years they
have been connected with the planting industry
of the Malay Peninsula, and at the present time
they are the agents for some sixteen rubber
companies, which include some of the largest
planting concerns of Malaya. Among these are
the Highlands and Lowlands Company, the
Sungei Rengam and Sungei Way Company,
the Bukit Rajah Company, and the Consoli-
dated Malay Company. Messrs. Barlow & Co.
are the local representatives of the Native
Planters' Association, and also hold the agencies
for the CompaniaTransatlantica line of steamers,
the Imperial Insurance Office, the Union Marine
Insurance Company, and the National Bank of
China.
Mr. Edward Bramall, who represents
Messrs. Barlow & Co. on the Singapore
Chamber of Commerce, received his business
training at the Manchester office of that well-
known firm of cotton goods merchants. He
came out to the Singapore branch about fifteen
years ago, and in the early part of 1905 was
appointed manager in succession to Mr. J. M.
AUinson, who was for many years a well-
known figure in social and commercial circles ,
in the colony, and was a member of the
Legislative Council. Mr. Bramall is a member
of the Straits Association and of the principal
clubs. His chief recreation is golf.
CALDBECK, MACGBEGOR & CO.
In so hot and trying a climate as that of
Singapore a refreshing drink is as much appre-
ciated, perhaps, as anything else, and amongst
those who do not adhere to teetotal principles
the " Stengah " whisky-soda is a favourite
beverage. Hence the importance of a firm
which imports really good wine and spirits is
at once evident. Such a firm is that of Cald-
beck, Macgregor & Co., whose head office is in
Rangoon Street, Crutched Friars, London (with
branches at Glasgow, Hongkong, Shanghai,
Tientsin, and Pinang, and agencies through-
out the Federated Malay States, Siam, Java,
Borneo, China, and the Philippine Islands).
This is the only firm of wine and spirit mer-
chants in the Far East which trades solely as
such. They hold numerous agencies for the
best wine and champagne firms of France and
the Continent. Amongst their local customers
are his Excellency the Governor, the chief
Government officials and clubs, the Army and
Navy messes, planters, hotels, and principal
residents of the Federated Malay States. They
also appear largely in the wholesale liquor
trade of the colony. At Finlayson Green the
firm has commodious cellars and stores (filled
with the choicest wines from Europe) which
serve as a distributing centre to their agents in
the surrounding colonies and countries. Mr,
Kenneth A. Stevens, the local managing
partner, is a native of Devonshire, and landed
in Singapore in 1876, coming out as an electri-
cian on the staff of the Eastern Extension
Australasia and China Telegraph Company.
After serving for fourteen years with them he
joined his present firm. He has travelled ex-
tensively over practically all parts of the world,
is one of the Governor's nominees on the
Municipal Council, a Justice of the Peace, a
member of all the leading clubs in Singapore,
and a keen motorist, being, in this latter con-
nection, the originator of, and prime mover in,
the Automobile Club of the Straits.
KELLY & WALSH, LTD.
During the last twenty-five years the local
branch of this prominent European firm in
Singapore has advanced by leaps and bounds.
It is more than half a century ago since Messrs.
Kelly & Walsh established themselves in China
and Japan. They carry on business as book-
sellers, stationers, printers, publishers, litho-
graphers, bookbinders, account-book makers,
die engravers, newsagents, tobacconists, &c.
Many standard works on the Chinese, Japanese,
and Malayan languages, as well as other works
of general interest, have issued from their press.
on under the same name as the branch at
Singapore. It is some thirty years since Mr.
J. Brinkmann founded the Singapore business
at 12, Collyer Quay. Having its origin in the
cotton and worsted centres of Lancashire and
Yorkshire, it is only natural that the firm
should make a speciality of the piece goods
for the manufacture of which Manchester and
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CALDBECK, MACGREGOB & CO.'S PREMISES.
The company's premises are in Raffies Place
and Orchard Road. Mr. W. J. Mayson is the
manager.
BRINKMANN & CO.
No better illustration of the wide scope of
the operations of the large European firms in
Singapore could be found than that furnished
by Messrs. Brinkmann & Co. This firm have
a head office at Manchester and a branch office
at Bradford, conducted under the style of
Messrs. Hiltermann Bros., an agency in' Ham-
burg styled Messrs. Mecklenburg & Co., and
an office in London, at 7, Mincing Lane, carried
Bradford are so famous. But their operations
extend far beyond this. They import ironware,
rough goods, and other sundries from the
United Kingdom and the Continent of Europe,
and export gambler, peppers, rattans, canes,
pearl sago, rubber, gutta, copra, sago-flour,
tapioca, hides, and other local produce to all
parts of the world. A large trade is done with
the Chinese population in the island, who in
turn supply the Federated Malav States and
the neighbouring Dutch possessions. Besides
the commodious building in which the Singa-
pore offices are located on Collyer Quay, the
firm have four large godowns at Kampong
Malacca and one in Anson Road. The
Exterior.
BBINKMANN & CO.'S ESTABLISHMENT.
GODOWN AT KAMPONG MALACCA. THE OFFICE, SINGAPORE.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA 681
manager, at Singapore is Mr. Percy Cunliffe,
a native of Manchester, who is on the com- ,
mittee of the local Chamber of Commerce.
Messrs. Brinlcmann & Co. employ at Singapore
ten European assistants, some thirty native
and Chinese clerks, and a host of other natives.
Among the important agencies held by them
are the Sun Insurance OfBce, the Liverpool
and London and Globe Insurance Company,
and the Thames and Mersey Marine Insurance
Company, Ltd.
THE AUSTRALIAN STORES.
In tropical climates more difficulty is usually
experienced in obtaining good food than is the
case in the temperate zone. In Singapore,
however, there are some first-class stores, and
not the least important of these is the local
branch of the Australian Stores of Messrs.
Thompson, Thomas & Co., which was estab-
lished in 1902. The business was commenced
in a small way in Cecil Street by Mr. G. Shall-
crass, who came over from Australia with con-
signments of fresh fruit. Being encouraged
by a rapid sale, he opened a small office, and,
later, started a retail store with a godown in
Robinson Road. As at the Colombo branch.
residents of Singapore and the adjacent islands,
planters in the l-'ederated Malay States, and
residents of Borneo, Java, and Sumatra. The
local branch is under the charge of Mr. N.
Thomas, who is a native of South Australia.
He received his business training in Australia,
India, and Ceylon, coming to Singapore in
1906. Mr. C. H. Mason is the principal
assistant.
SAUNDBES Sc CO.
The three partners in this firm — Messrs. J. D.
Saunders, A. E. Mulholland, and J. G. Mac-
taggar-t — carry on an extensive business as
exchange and share brokers in Singapore.
Mr. Saunders, who established the business in
1892, is a native of Surrey, in which county
he was born in 1865. Having been educated
privately, he commenced his business career in
the Old Oriental Bank, removing to Hong-
kong in 1886 when the bank failed. He
remained in Hongkong a year, went to
Shanghai for two years, and subsequently
entered the service of the New Oriental Bank
in Singapore. He remained until this bank
failed in 1891, and then returned home for a
year. Coming again to Singapore in 1892, he
founded the present business. He is a member
member of the Sports Club, London, and of
most of the local clubs.
Mr. J. G. Mactaggart was born at Blackheath
and educated at the Charterhouse. He enfered
the firm of Boustead & Co., and in 1898 joined
Latham & Co. as a partner. In 1902 he severed
his connection with Latham & Co. and was
admitted a partner in the firm of Saunders &
Co. He, also, is a member of the Sports Club,
London, and of various local clubs.
L. HEBMBNT.
Mr. L. Herment is a general broker and
commission agent who commenced business
on his own account in Singapore in 1905. He
was born in Bordeaux in 1869, and at the age
of seven was taken to Java, wnere he remained
at school until he had reached his eighteenth
year, when he returned to France to complete
his education. He was employed by a Bor-
deaux firm for two years, after which he again
went to Java and served there for three years
in a bank. In 1897 he came to Singapore as
an assistant in an import and export office,
was, later, manager, and, as previously stated,
commenced business on his own account in
1905.
INTERIOR OF THE AUSTRALIAN STORES.
business increased by leaps and bounds, until
in 1905 the firm was compelled to move into
their present commodious premises in Stam-
ford Road, views of which accompany this
sketch. In addition to the supply of manu-
factured Australian produce, which the firm
receive from the head office in Melbourne, all
the requirements of a first-class grocery and
provision trade are directly imported from
Europe, America, India, &c. Amongst the
firm's numerous customers are the principal
of the Singapore Club, the Sporting Club, and
other local clubs, and the Sports Club, London.
Mr. A. E. Mulholland was born in 1878 in
Singapore, where his father was the manager
of the Borneo Company, Ltd. He was edu-
cated privately in England, and returned to
Singapore in 1S99 in the service of the Borneo
Company, Ltd. He remained with this com-
pany for' four years in Singapore and Sarawak.
Ib 1903 he joined the firm of Saunders & Co.,
and was made a partner in 1906. He is a
JOHN LITTLE & CO., LTD.
Plans have recently been approved for the
reconstruction of the large block of buildings in
Raffles Place occupied by Messrs. John Little
& Co., Ltd., whose name is known to every
European who has visited Singapore. The
area to be built over is nearly an acre in
extent, and the floor-space should amount to
about 100,000 square feet. A very light and free
Renaissance style, -based on a study of Spanish
2 F *"
682
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
and Flemish work, has been followed for the
front of the building. The aim of the designers
has been to give the maximum amount of
floor-space with a minimum of wall and
column area, and with this in view the modern
system of steel-frame construction has been
adopted. It was laid down by the occupiers
that light and ventilation were to be the first
considerations, and though, perhaps, this has
take this course by his elder brother, Dr. Little,
who had practised in Singapore for many
years and was one of the first unofficial
members of the Legislative Council. For the
first eight years the style of the firm was
Little, Cursetjee & Co., and their premises
were situated where the present godown
stands. The auctioneering part of the business
was not long continued, the energies of the
tracts executed include the complete furnishing
, of the Hotel de I'Europe and the Adelphi
Hotel i renewal and part refurnishing of
Government House on the occasion of the visit
of T.R.H. the Prince and Princess of Wales ;
the complete furnishing of the Johore Hotel,
the Hotel van Wijk, various residences of the
Sultan of Johore, and two palaces for the Sultan
ofPerak. Heavy and household ironmongery,
PLAN OP NEW PREMISES IN COURSE OP CONSTRUCTION POR JOHN -LITTLE & CO., LTD.
entailed the loss of some valuable space,
greater comfort has been secured to. the
customers and assistants. The building is to
have three storeys and a very large show-front.
The ground floor will consist of one large
showroom in front, with packing and despatch
rooms at the back, and may be said to be
walled with plate-glass and ventilators. From
this will rise an elaborate staircase to the upper
floors, with passenger and goods lifts, and the
general lay-out of the floor is one that should
make shopping a matter of ease and the dis-
play of goods as nearly as possible the best
that could be got under the circumstances.
This floor will be lighted and ventilated by a
large well in the centre. The upper floors are
to be very similar, the top being carried higher
in the centre and lighted by an elaborate
ventilating roof. The architects are Messrs.
Swann & Maclaren.
Messrs. John Little & Co.'s business has
been established in Singapore for over half a
century. To be precise, it was in 1845 that
Mr. John Martin Little, the second of three
brothers, all of whom were closely associated
with the commercial and social life of Singa-
pore, came out East, and, in conjunction with
Mr. Cursetjee PYamjee, took over the busi-
ness of general storekeeper and auctioneer
from Mr. Francis S. Martin. He was led to
founders being" concentrated on the extension
of the general storekeeping department.
Giant strides were made, but in 1853 the
partnership of Little & Cursetjee was dissolved,
and Mr. Matthew Little, the youngest of the
three brothers, joined his brother and the style
of the firm was altered to that of John Little &
Co. Steady development followed, and the
business is now one of the foremost retail
establishments in the East. Its magnitude
may be gauged by the numerous departments
into which it is subdivided. In the wine
and spirit department the firm hold the sole
agency for such well-known brands as Pom-
mery & Greno, St. Marceaux, and Pol Roger
champagne ; Dienhard's hocks and moselles ;
Meyniac & Co.'s clarets and burgundies ; " Big
Tree" Cahfornian wines ; T. Mosley & Co.'s
ports and sherries ; Burke's stout and ales ;
Andrew Usher & Co.'s, John Dewar & Sons',
Daniel Crawford's, and John Walker's
whiskies. In provisions a speciality is made of
tinned foods, which, by reason of frequent
shipments and quick sale, they are able to
supply in the best condition. An important
recent development has been the opening of
a well-stocked furniture department. At the
company's factory in Tanglin about a hundred
and fifty cabinet makers, carvers, and polishers
are regularly employed. Some of the large con-
crockery, &c., are adjuncts of the furnishing
department. There is a watch and clock
department under the control of an experienced
watchmaker, and the firm has for many years
been sole agents for J. W. Benson, Ltd.,
whose watches have stood the test of 150 years.
Other departments are athletic outfitting, book
and stationery, arms and ammunition, gentle-
men's outfitting, tailoring, ladies' outfitting,
curio and saddlery, each of which has a complete
and attractive stock. Indeed, it would be very
hard to name a single want that the firm does
not supply. A considerable proportion of the
business done is carried on with outports, and
from -Rangoon to Australia, from Achin to the
Philippines, and from Java to Saigon every
mail brings its quota of orders. All the depart-
ments are controlled by trained European
assistants, and the firm keeps in touch with its
scattered clientele by means of compendious
catalogues. In the course of the company's
long existence there have necessarily been
many changes in the personnel of the manage-
ment. Mr. John Little, the founder, retired
from Singapore in the early sixties, but con-
tinued as senior partner in London until his
death in 1894 ; and Mr. Matthew Little went
home and joined the London office in 1877 ^"d
continued there until his death in 1902. On
his retirement from Singapore, Mr. Alex. M.
•^
*-
PREMISES OF JOHN LITTLE & CO., LTD., IN 1854 AND AT SUBSEQUENT DATES.
684
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Martin succeeded to the management and held
that position until he left for London in 1886,
when Mr. S. R. Carr became senior partner at
Singapore. It was during this gentleman's
management that the firm was converted into
a limited liability company, an alteration made
solely for the convenience of the transmission
of interests in the firm. In the same year
(1894) Mr. Carr joined the London directorate,
and was succeeded as managing director at
Singapore by Mr. W. Hutton, who was
followed in 1903 by Mr. E. Scott Russell. The
present directorate is as follows : Messrs.
S. R. Carr (managing director), Mr. W. Hutton,
Mr. E. Scott Russell, London ; and Messrs. R.
Little, C. W. Banks, R. Scoular, Singapore.
Mr. W. Blunn is the secretary at Singapore.
BOBINSON & CO.
The cases in which one man has commenced
business in a small way and developed it into
foundations, and to-day the business embraces
departments for drapery, hosiery, haberdashery,
complete house furnishing, motors and cycles,
photographic apparatus, and sport requisites.
Messrs. Robinson are sole agents for the arms
and ammunition of Messrs. Kj-nochs, of Bir-
mingham. Their well-stocked showrooms have
recently been enlarged. Mr. S. R. Robinson
and Mr. A. W. Bean, the present partners, both
reside in Singapore, and the company's head-
quarters are in Raffles Square.
McALISTER & CO.
The rubber industry is a rapidly growing
one in the Malay Peninsula. A large number
of estates are under cultivation, and new tracts
of land are continually being cleared. This, of
course, gives a fillip to local trade. Planters
want tools and other requisites, and these they
purchase from neighbouring towns. A firm
that makes a speciality of catering for this
ROBINSON & CO.S PREMISES.
an emporium are much more numerous in the
colonies than they are in the Mother Countrj'.
Singapore offers many illustrations of this.
Take, for example, the business of Messrs.
Robinson & Co., which has grown in halt a
century from small beginnings to one of the
leading establishments in the settlements. It
was in 1858 that Mr. Philip Robinson, the
founder of the firm, commenced to lay the
class of business is Messrs. McAlister & Co., of
Gresham House, Battery Road, Singapore, who
were awarded a first prize for rubber planting
tools at the 1906 exhibition. Though primarily
shipping and general agents, they have a
number of other departments, and are in a
position to supply carriages, niotor-cars, fire-
arms, machinery, ships' requirements, Austra-
lian produce, and engineers' furnishings, as
well as all kinds of implements used on rubber
estates. A large business is done in heavy
mining machinery. The company deal exten-
sively in produce, and have representatives in
Australia, Antwerp, and various other parts of
the world. They are agents for shipping,
insurance, cycle, machinery, coal, rubber, tin
mining, motor, gas-engine, cement, oil, fodder,
wine, spirit, and other companies. Messrs.
McAlister & Co. are closely allied with
Mcllwraith, McEacharn & Co., Prop., Ltd.,
of London and Australia, who act as their
London agents and are represented on the
local board by Sir Malcolm McEacharn and
Mr. Andrew Mcllwraith, of London. The
business was established in 1857, and was con-
verted into a limited liability company in 1903.
The company's premises — Gresham House,
Battery Road — are amongst the most imposing
of the mercantile buildings in Singapore. The
company have a godown by the riverside, and
employ about a hundred hands in Singapore.
They have branches at Pinang, Ipoh, Kuala
Lumpor, and Tonghka. The directors of the
company are Sir Malcolm D. McEacharn, Mr.
Andrew Mcllwi-aith, Mr. A. D. Allan, and
Mr. G. Derrick. Mr. Allan is chairman of the
board and managing director. He came to
Singapore from Australia, where he had been
in charge of the various houses of Mcllwraith,
McEacharn & Co., Prop., Ltd.
J. TEAVERS & SON, LTD.
This well-known firm of merchants carry
on an extensive general import and export
business at D'Almeida Street. An important
feature of their operations is a pineapple-
canning business, which is the only concern
of the kind owned by a European firm in the
colony.
KATZ BEOS., LTD.
" There is a tide in (he affairs of men," says
Shakespeare, " which taken at the flood leads
on to fortune," and if proof were needed of the
truth of this assertion, it would be afforded by
the history of Messrs. Katz Bros., Ltd. The
inception of the firm dates from 1864, when
Hermann Katz, a naturalised Englishman, then
a young man of slender means, fresh from
Europe, together with Mr. Hieber, took over
Messrs. Kaltenbach, Engler & Co.'s retail
business and carried it on under the style of
Hieber, Katz & Co. This partnership was
dissolved in 1865, when Mr. Hermann Katz
was joined by his brother and Ihe firm started
business under the present style. The two
brothers displayed great energy and ability,
and as a reward their business grew rapidly.
From being solely shopkeepers they became
also wholesale and commission agents and
built up a general import business. In 1872
war broke out between the Achinese and the
Dutch, and Messrs. Katz Bros., seizing their
opportunity, promptly secured the contract for
supplying the Dutch army with the whole of
their commissariat requirements for three years.
The volume of business vs/hich this contract
brought necessitated, in addition to the existing
means of transport, the purchase and charter
of four large vessels for the firm's local require-
ments. This huge undertaking was success-
fully accomplished, and in 1878 Mr. A. Katz
retired, leaving his brother sole partner. The
business continued to thrive, and the firm
began to export produce to Europe and else-
where. Among other deals they " cornered "
the supply of local pepper. A branch house
was opened in Pinang in 1888, and several ice
manufactories were started in Singapore about
the same time. To-day the firm control the
whole production of ice in the port and have
the agency for one of the largest oil refineries
in Asia. In i8g6 Mr. Katz found that, with
advancing years, the burden of so big a busi-
ness was too heavy for him to bear, and he
McALISTBE & CO.'S SINGAPORE PREMISES, STAFF, AND KUALA LUMPOR PREMISES.
LTD.
The Offices.
The Electrical Department.
(See p. 684.)
G. A. Bush.
H. Adamson.
The Show Rooms.
J. TBAVEBS & SON, LTD.
H.4VKLOCK Road Godowns.
(See p. 684.)
Cotton Goods Department.
1. The Stores and Offices.
KATZ BROS., LTD.
-. S.4LES Room.
(See p. 684.)
3. Ice Works
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
689
turned the concern into a limited company
witti a capital of 1,000,000 dollars. Mr. Katz
is the chairman of the board. The company
has continued to prosper, its stock has been
The manager, Mr. R. T. Christopher, a native
of Lincolnshire, is a member of the Pharma-
ceutical Society of Great Britain, Medalist of
Muter's College, and secretary of the local
North Bridge Road. This is open from 8 a.m.
to 10 p.m. In the evening it is under the
charge of Mr. Lu Si li, who was the first
Chinese chemist to qualify in the colony.
MAYNABD & CO., LTD.
Tins XOKTH Bridge Ro.id Bra\'ch Dispensary, with view of the Interior.
an absolutely safe investment, and the divi-
dends have been regular and uniform. There
are European branches at London and Frank-
furt-on-Main.
MAYNARD & CO., LTD.
One of the most flourishing concerns of its
kind in the colony is that trading under the
name of Maynard & Co., Ltd., wholesale and
retail chemists and druggists, at 14, Battery
Road, and 598, North Bridge Road. The
business was started many years ago by Mr.
Maynard, on whose retirement it was turned
into a limited liability company. It was
formed again in igoo. The present directors
are Dr. P. Fowlie (chairman), Mr. E. F. H.
Edlin and Mr. J. G. Mactaggart. Mr. Alex
Gentle is the secretary and R. T. Christopher
the manager. Two qualified English chemists
and two qualified Chinese chemists are em-
ployed, besides a numerous staff of Chinese and
Malays. The firm import direct from Europe
and America. They carry a comprehensive
stock of drugs, chemicals, patent medicines,
surgical instruments, toilet and sanitary re-
quisites, chemical apparatus and spectacles.
They do a large business with the estates and
mines in the Federated States, and supply
drugs and surgical dressings to several hos-
pitals. Their business connections extend to
Borneo, Java, Johore, Saigon, the Cocos
Islands, and several of the Dutch possessions.
They hold also a contract for the supply of
drugs and dressings to the municipality. The
usual dividend paid by the company is 20 per cent.
Pharmaceutical Association. Mr. F. W. Davies
(assistant) is a native of South Wales, a member
of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain,
H. A. CADER.
and late student of the Pharmaceutical Depart-
ment of Victoria University, Manchester. About
eighteen months ago a branch was opened in
WHITEAWAY, LAIDLAW & CO.
European residents in Asia owe a debt of
gratitude to such pioneer concerns as Messrs.
Whiteaway, Laidlaw & Co., who have branches
in almost every Eastern city. Their Singa-
pore branch was established in November,
1900, in D'Almeida Street, Finlayson Green, and
when those premises were taken over by
another firm the business was removed to its
present imposing quarters at the corner of
Hill Street and Stamford Road. This magnifi-
cent building, which is one of the show places
of Singapore, was specially built to suit the
firm's requirements, and covers no less than
18,000 square feet. Messrs. Whiteaway, Laid-
law & Co. are so well known that it would be
superfluous to describe in detail the character
of the huge volume of business which they
transact. Suffice it to say that in Singapore,
as elsewhere, they have made a name for
themselves as the leading drapers of the place,
and a glance at the accompanying illustration,
showing their spacious showroom, will best
give an idea of the variety and immensity of
the business. Only high-class European trade
is done, and the firm's clientele is composed
principally of resident and touring Europeans
and the better class Malays and Chinese. In
addition to being drapers and general out-
fitters, the firm has boot and shoe and crockery
departments, and deals in every kind of house-
hold necessary. The manager at Singapore
is Mr. F. MacDougall, who has had wide
experience both of Western and Eastern trade
at Edinburgh, London, Melbourne, Calcutta,
WHITBAWAY, LAIDLAW & OO.'S ESTABLISHMENT.
1. The Premises. 2. the Showroom.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
691
and Bombay. The staff at Singapore numbers
fifty-five assistants, European and Chinese, and
extra assistance is obtained fi-om time to time
as required.
THE PHARMACY.
It is of particular importance in a tropical
climate that there should be opportunities for
purchasing medicines and drugs of the highest
quality. To supply such a want there was
established in Singapore, six years ago, the
Pharmacy, opposite the General Post Office,
and by keeping only the purest materials this
institution has maintained a high reputation
and has received the support of the medical
men of the city. In 1903 the Pharmacy was
removed to its present handsome premises in
the Chartered Bank building. Battery Road. A
wholesale and retail business as dispensing
chemists, druggists, and opticians is carried on
under the direction of a fully qualified British
chemist, assisted by a native staff. The
chemicals are imported principally from
Europe and America, and in addition to supply-
ing the local trade, an export business is done
with Borneo, the Federated Malay States, and
neighbouring islands.
Mr. G. Whyte Crawford is a native of
Ross-shire, Scotland, and was educated at the
Glasgow School of Pharmacy. He obtained
his diploma as a member of the Pharmaceutical
Society of Great Britain on October 7, igoi.
After having served with various large
chemists and druggists in Glasgow he
journeyed East in 1902, and since 1906 has
been manager of that well-known establish-
ment in Battery Road, the Pharmacy.
MESSRS. KUHN & KOMOR.
It -would be difficult to find any store which
would more readily " loosen the purse-strings "
of even the most careful than one containing •
m
/S
#
OIIB3
#
THE PHARMACY OF DR. GOONETILLEKE, NORTH BRIDGE ROAD.
THE PHARMACY.
KUHN & KOMOB'S PREMISES AND SHOWEOOMS.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
693
an array of Japanese fine art goods ; and of the
hundreds of such stores scattered throughout
the East, few can surpass the branches of
Messrs. Kuhn & Komor. For forty years this
firm has maintained a high reputation for the
quality of its stock. It was in 1867 that Mr.
M. Kuhn, a Hungarian, opened the business in
Hongkong. Later on, as the trade increased,
Messrs. A. Kuhn and S. Komor took over the
business and established branches at Shanghai,
Yokohama, Kobe, Singapore and Calcutta.
Quite recently they opened a large wholesale
and retail establishment in Yokohama. They
employ a number of the best craftsmen for
the manufacture of silver and gold lacquer,
Satsuma and cloisonne ware, carved furniture,
bronzes, &c., for the supply of their retail shops.
Messrs. Kuhn & Komor first commenced
business in Singapore at RafHes Place in 1902,
but they subsequently closed the branch owing
to the unsuitability of the premises. Their
present handsome and commodious shop in
Adis Buildings was opened in 1907, under the
management of Mr. S. Donnenberg, who has
charge of the business in India and the Malay
Peninsula.
POWELL, & CO.
" Going, going, gone ! " cries the auctioneer
as his hammer falls and some article changes
hands because at that stage there is no further
advance. Some business firms go in a corre-
spondingly rapid manner — there is no advance
for them. With others it is quite the reverse ;
they mount higher year by year. Such a firm
is that of Powell & Co., which has been in
existence now for more than forty years. It
was established in 1863 by Mr. H. T. Powell,
who was at the time secretary of the Singapore
Exchange. The firm now carry on business in
Singapore, Johore, and the native States as
real estate auctioneers and valuers, suppliers of
billiard tables, &c. During the past twenty-
five years they have also conducted land sales
t
H. L. COGHLAN & CO.'S PEBMISBS.
%
^
x
t
PO"WBLL & CO.'S OFFICES.
J. T. Lloyd (Proprietor).
on behalf of the Colonial Government and
sales of unserviceable stores on behalf of the
War Office, Singapore Municipality, Public
Works Department, and the police. They
arrange mortgages, make valuations, collect
rents, and are agents for the Lancashire Insur-
ance Company and three firms of piano-makers.
Mr. H. T. Powell, who was for some time
auditor to the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company,
retired from the business in 1878, being suc-
ceeded by Mr. J. T. Lloyd and Mr. C. Dunlop
as partners, the latter retiring eighteen years
later and leaving Mr. Lloyd as sole partner.
Mr. Lloyd has resided in the Far East for
nearly thirty-seven years and is amongst the
oldest Europeans in Singapore, having come
out in 1870. He was born in 1850 and edu-
cated at St. Michael's, Chatham, Kent. He is
a member of the Singapore, Sporting, Tanglin,
Cricket, and Catholic Clubs. In his younger
days he was an ardent volunteer, and a few
years ago became attached to the Maxim
detachment of the Singapore Volunteer Artil-
lery, and he is now on the reserve. He has
written for the local journals, amongst his con-
tributions being "Where Fortunes were Made"
and "William Geoffrey's Profit," &c., which
were appreciated by the reading public of the
colony.
H. L. COGHLAN & CO.
No one is better able to feel the pulse of
trade and finance, or to know the value of
property better in a place like Singapore than
an old established firm of auctioneers, surveyors
and estate agents such as Messrs. H. L. Coghlan
& Co., of 5, Rafifes Place, who have one of the
most extensive connections in the Straits. The
business was founded by Mr. Henry Lake
Coghlan, a gentleman of Irish parentage, who
was born at Cowes in the Isle of Wight in
1870, and has been in Singapore lor nearly
694
TNVEKTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIOKS OF BRITISH MALAYA
twenty years. Mr. Coghlan did good work
during ttie great arbitration case for the expro-
priation of the TanjongPagar Doclc Company,
when he acted as land expert and valuer on
behalf of the Colonial Government, and for his
services in this capacity he was specially com-
mended by those in charge of the case for the
Government. Again, in 1906, when fixity of
exchange became law in the colony, Mr.
Coghlan personally carried out a revaluation,
on the new exchange basis, of several million
dollars' worth of real estate held in trust by
various corporations in Singapore. Since 1905
Mr. Coghlan, who has always taken a keen
interest in all matters affecting the public
welfare, has represented the Kallang Ward in
the Municipal Council. He joined the Singa-
pore Volunteer Artillery on its formation, and
received his company in 1905. He is a director
of the Singapore Y.M.C.A., an elder of the
Presbyterian Church, and Past Master of the Zet-
land in the East and No. 508, D.G.R., Masonic
Lodges. He is also a director of several local
branch establishment at the corner of North
Bridge Road and Bras Basah Road. Both dis-
pensaries import direct from the United
Kingdom, the U.S.A., and Germany, keep a
large assortment of drugs and sanitaryrequisites,
and make up prescriptions of all kinds. They
trade largely with estates in the native States
and surrounding islands, are contractors to
various important shipping lines, and supply
both the trade and general public. In attend-
ance are Dr. E. de Vos, M.D., and Dr. C.
Werner, M.D., and three qualified European
apothecaries.
WEILL & ZERNBB.
A wealth of gems and jewellery is to be
seen at the shop of Messrs. Weill & Zerner in
Stamford Road. Diamonds are imported in loose
packages and as set gems from the celebrated
mines in Kimberleyi South Africa, and many
valuable stones which adorn the Rajas of the
East and the royal family of Siara. have come
e.'cperience. Much of the firm's busmess is
transacted by four European representatives,
who travel between India and China and are
always prepared to accept orders for special
designs to be manufactured at the Singapore
premises or sent to London or Paris for
execution. The showroom of the firm at 19,
Stamford Road contains stock worth many
thousands of pounds. The firm was. established
in the year. 1903 by Mr. M. Zerner and Mr.
Alfred Montor. Mr. Zerner received his
education and business training locally, and
was for six years in the Civil Service. During
the past eighteen years his interest has lain in
its present sphere.
CHINA MUTUAL- LIFE INSURANCE
COMPANY, LTD.
Whilst in China some few years ago Mr. J. A.
Wattle, a Canadian, conceived the idea of
establishing a local life insurance company,
and the result was the foundation of the China
MEDIC.4L Hall, Battery Ro.ad.
MEDICAL HALL.
2. Medical GJ'Tice, Corner of North Bridge and Bras Basah Ro,\ns.
companies and the promoter of a number of
rubber estates in the Federated Malay States.
His residence is at "Buiwood," Tanglin.
THE MEDICAL HALL.
One of the most flourishing businesses of its
kind is the Medical Hall, founded as far back
as 1882 as a firm of dispensing chemists, at the
well-known corner opposite the General Post
Office. The founders were Dr. Koehn and
Mr. Wiespaur, but after passing through various
hands the business was eventually taken, over
by Mr. K. Struve and Dr. E. de Vos,
who are sole proprietors to-day. There is a
through this firm from Brazil and Borneo.
Pearls are obtained from Ceylon, the Moluccas,
the Philippines and China ; rubies and sapph-
ires from Burma and Siam, and emeralds
from India, whilst agreatquantity of jewellery is
purchased from England and France. Watches
and chronometers of every description are
offered for sale, and a particularly heavy trade
is done in the Rosskopf patent watch. A large
wholesale business is done with the trade.
Mr. Chas. Weill, the senior partner, is resident
in Paris and has had twenty years' experience
of the jewellery trade in the East, whilst Mr.
Zerner and Mr. Alfred Montor, the partners in
Singapore, have had an almost equally long
Mutual Life Insurance Company, Ltd., in 1898.
At the end of the first year's working the
reserve fund amounted to 10,970.05 dollars, the
assets to 86,470.58 dollars, and the insurances
in force to 796,288.89 dollars. To-day the total
insurance in force amounts to over 30,000,000
dollars and the total security to policy-holders
over 5,000,000 dollars (a dollar being, roughly,
2s.). A branch was opened in Singapore in
1899, and its business now runs into many
thousands of dollars yearly and extends over
the whole of the settlements, Johore, Borneo,
the Netherlands Indies (Java and Sumatra), the
Celebes, the Moluccas, Timor, Siam", the Fede-
rated Malay States, and the Siamese native
I. CA5IILLE Weill.
WEILL & ZBRNBR.
M. Zerxer, 3. Charles Weill.
s. G. Blouh.
WEILL & ZBRNBR S SHOWROOM.
CHINA MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY.
The Singapore Office, with View of the Interior.
J.4.MES Alexander Wattie.
(Managing Director and Founder of the Company.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
697
states. The company have also written a
large amount of European business and are
extending their operations to Ceylon, India,
and Egypt. Policies are issued— subject to
medical referee— at the Singapore office, where
also payments are made on claims, surrenders,
loan values, and matured policies. The
actuarial and official staff of this office and
all representatives are British. Mr. Stanley
Knocker is the local manager.
ATKINSON & FORBES.
In the early part of 1907 was established
in Singapore the firm of Messrs. Atkinson
& Forbes, who took over the older firm of
Messrs. Lindsay & Atkinson. Their principal
business is the sale of the " Ohver " typewriter,
which has proved so popular amongst business
and professional men in America and Europe.
The new No. 5 and No. 6 machines, which
have recently been put on the market, represent
the last word at present in typewriters, and
several new neat labour-saving devices have
been added, which give the "Oliver" a still
further increased value over all other machines.
Mr. Henry Atkinson, the senior partner, is an
engineer of over twenty-one years' experience,
and has been at the head of his English
business for nearly nine years. He served the
major portion of his apprenticeship with the
well-known engineering firm of John Penn
& Son, Ltd., of Greenwich, and was elected to
the Institution of Mechanical Engineers at the
age limit. About three years ago he entered
into partnership with Mr. James A. Lindsay,
who had spent some time in Singapore, and
who was convinced of the excellent oppor-
tunities there were of running a successful
engineering business, and this was carried on
writer Company in London just ten years ago
there were only four men on the staff there, while
at the present time over two hundred hands
are employed in Great Britain. The firm also
represent the Sturtevant Engineering Com-
pany, Ltd., the Crosby Steam Gauge and Valve
Company, and Messrs. B. R. Rowland & Co.,
Ltd.
THE BRITISH DISPENSARY.
This well-known establishment was founded
in 1896 by Dr. Galloway at No. 12, Battery Road
as a wholesale and retail dispensing chemist's
and druggist's business, with an optical depart-
ment. Since the beginning of this year the head-
quarters of the firm have been moved to No. 4,
Battery Road, erected at a cost of 107,000
dollars. These well-equipped premises are fitted
throughout with electric light and fans, and
contain rooms for the storage of drugs.
H. , ATKINSON.
THE OLIVER TYPEWRITER.
R. H. FORBES.
The "Oliver" possesses very real improve-
ments upon older forms of typewriter, and
an extensive sale has been the well-deserved
result. Among the special advantages of the
machine are these : that every letter appears in
plain sight immediately it is printed ; there is no
necessity to lift the carriage, nor are there any
constructional parts to peer over ; the unique
construction of the typebar, which, binding the
type on both sides and with a broad base
bearing, gives perfect and permanent align-
ment. 'The principal aim in the manufacture of
the machine has been to construct it as simply as
possible, avoiding with the utmost care the use
of both complicated and superfluous mechanism.
As a result of these efforts the "Oliver" pos-
sesses only one-third the number of parts
usually to be found on a standard typewriter,
but it will perform all the functions of any
other machine and a great many additional ones.
until the ill-health of Mr. Lindsay unfortunately
rendered a dissolution of the partnership
necessary. The highly successful results of
the business, however, induced Mr. Atkinson
to continue it, and having found a business
man of exceptional ability in Mr. Forbes, he
entered into partnership with him early in
1907 under the present name.
Mr. R. H. Forbes, the other partner in the
firm, was born in Dublin in 1872 and educated
at Wesley College in that city. Before joining
the Oliver Typewriter Company in London
he served under several prominent firms of
engineers, including Messrs. Maguire & Gat-
chell, Ltd., the Grappler Pneumatic Tyre Com-
pany, Ltd, (as. secretary), also Sir Maurice
Dockrell(of Thomas Doekrell Sons & Co.,
Ltd.), and Messrs. Alf. Goslett & Co., Ltd.,
London.
When Mr. Forbes joined the Oliver Type-
chemicals, and sanitary appliances of all descrip-
tions ; consulting rooms where Drs. Galloway,
More, and Leitch are in daily attendance, &c.'
All drugs are imported direct from the United
Kingdom, and the firm ranks undoubtedly
amongst the premier opticians in the colony,
having a huge stock of spectacles and glasses
of all descriptions and making a feature of eye-
testing. They export largely to Java, Johore,
the native States, Siam, and Sarawak. They
also have a contract with the Prisons Depart-
ment for the supply of disinfectants. The
manager, Mr. David Turner, is a member of
the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.
THE BORNEO COMPANY, LTD.
The Borneo Company, Ltd., was formed in
1856, and took over the old established business
m Smgapore of Messrs. Morgan, McEwan &
2 G
I. Mackenzie Road Godowns,
THE BORNEO COMPANY, LTD.
2. AlBxakdea Brick Works. 3. Nobel's Explosives Store at Blakang Mati.
THE SINGAPORE OFFICES OF THE BORNEO COMPANY, LTD.
THE BRITISH DISPENSARY.
(See p. (xfj.)
700
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Co. Since then they have done one of the
leading export, import, and agency businesses
in Singapore, and in Siam, Java, and Borneo,
where they are also established.
JAMES MOTION & CO.
Fifty years ago, when the trade of Singapore
was in its infancy, there were only. two or
often saw on the island saraburs, wild pigs,
tigers, porcupines, plandoh, and kejangs
(barking deer). He is as keen as ever on his
favourite pastime.
EAVENS"WAY & CO.
One has no need to dream of "dwelling in
marble halls " in Singapore, for all the big
the S ingapore Carriage Works in Orchard Road,
This undertaking was carried on until 1904,
when William Lambert, eldest son of the late
R. Lambert, who had been managing the
business for close upon twenty years, opened
the now well-known premises behind the old
premises in the same road. He received an
excellent training for the business, for, after
being educated at various Government col-
JAMES MOTION & CO.'S PREMISES, EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR.
three watchmakers in the town, and there was
naturally ample scope for Mr. Motion, who at
that time started in business as watchmaker,
jeweller, and nautical instrument maker.
Upon his death in 1893 Mr. Lawson took over
the business, and he was succeeded four years
later by Mr. Maw, the present proprietor.
This gentleman hails fra' Scotland, and before
joining Messrs. Motion he was for fifteen years
with Messrs. John Little & Co., Ltd. The original
building occupied by the firm was pulled down
and re-erected in 1880, in Flint Street, opposite
the Post Office. The firm are makers of
chronometers, clocks, and watches, and all
kinds of nautical instruments, as well as being
jewellers. Mr. Maw is a certificated compass
adjuster, and is recognised by the Board of
Trade. Consequently compass-adjusting forms
a special feature of the firm's business. They
are also agents for Lord Kelvin and Heath's
nautical instruments. A large and valuable
stock is always kept on hand. Mr. Maw is a
noted sportsman. He was the first European
to shoot tigers in Singapore by driving them
out of the jungle into the open and shooting
them on foot. Seven of these beasts of prey
have fallen to his gun. Years ago the island
of Singapore was a big-game hunter's paradise,
and, as recently as ten years ago, Mr. Maw
hotels and many of the European houses have
dining halls paved with white marble. The
reason is, of course, that marble is very plentiful
in the Malay States, from which it is largely
exported. Foremost among the firms engaged
in this trade are Messrs. Ravensway & Co.,
whose Singapore branch, 187, Orchard Road,
was established in 1881. They keep a large
stock of monuments, tombstones, and marble
work of every description. A staif of between
forty and fifty masons is employed, and orders
are executed with despatch. The marble used
comes from Ipoh, in Perak, from quarries
which were taken over about three years ago
from a limited liability company by Mr. Ravens-
way. The marble quarried there is of the best
quality, and of different colours — white, black,
pink, black and white, blue arid black, &c. —
and it is cut, polished, and moulded by steam-
driven machinery of the latest type. A staff of
over- two hundred and fifty is employed at the
quarry, the products of which are exported to
Singapore, Pinang, Sumatra, Java, India, and
other parts of the East.
W. LAMBERT.
As long ago as 1862 Messrs. Lambert Bros.,
realising the public need of some facility for
getting about the town of Singapore, established
leges in Berlin and at Professor Dr. Schoen-
staedt's Academy, he passed through several
famous " houses " in Berlin until 1889. He
then returned to Singapore and entered his
father's works. The business of the firm is
now done on a much larger scale than hereto-
fore. Carriages of all descriptions are built —
landaus, phaetons, carts, &c. — and in every
case the best English steel springs, imported
from Birmingham by the firm, are used. A
number of horses and carriages are kept on
the premises ready to supply the wants of the
public at the shortest notice. Horses are sold
on commission. There is a shoeing depart-
ment, and a department for the sale of horse-
food, the latter consisting of Indian crushed
paddy, and grain, chaff, hay, oats, and bran
from Australia and other places. The drivers
em.ployed by the firm are men of experience
who know every part of the town. Vehicles
of various descriptions are exported to the
native States, Pinang, Sumatra, China, &c.
Mr. Lambert is making a bold bid for the
patronage of the colonial public.
B. S. NATHAN.
Mr. E. S. Nathan, senior partner of the firm
of Nathan & Son, share and exchange brokers,
of 13, Change Alley, was born in 1884 in
RAVENSWAT & CO.
I Marble Ready foe Dressing,
Ii'OH Marble Works,'
W. LAMBERT, CARRIAGE BUILDER AND LIVERY STABLES. NEW PREMISES IN COURSE OF ERECTION.
2 G *
?02
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Singapore. After being educated at Chelten-
ham College he returned to Singapore to assist
his father, who was then head of the firm.
Later he was made a partner, and now controls
the business, which was started in 1882.
LEVY HBRMANOS.
Almost everyone who travels East for the
first time is tempted to purchase articles of
Oriental jewellery, either for personal use or for
presents, by reason of their comparative cheap-
ness.. In every Eastern port, therefore, there
are firms who make special arrangements to
supply these goods, and Messrs. Levy Her-
manos are prominent among them. The head
office of the firm is in Paris, where it was
management of Messrs. F. Dreyfus and B.
Engelke. They deal in jewellery and all
descriptions of gold and silver ware, both of
European and Eaotern manufacture. They
also make jewellery to order, and import every
kind of precious stone from Europe, India,
and Ceylon . They are agents for the well-known
Omega watch, the Aspirator Company (vacuum
cleaner), and the International Talking Machine
Company, and they have on show fresh novelties
by almost every mail. In addition to a large
resident and travelling European clientele they
do an extensive business with Rajas of the
native States, and they keep their own staff of
workmen, including specially trained watch-
makers. At Singapore, special features are
musical instruments of all descriptions and
LEVY HEEMANOSS PREMISES.
founded thirty-five years ago. So great has
been its growth that it now embraces most
of the countries of the Far East, having branches
at Manilla, Iloilo (Philippines), Hongkong,
Shanghai, Tientsin, Port Arthur, Kharbin,
Bombay, and Singapore. The Singapore branch
was opened in 1904, and is under the
ornamental statuary, and in addition they
represent the makers of the' Renault Freres and
Brasier motor-car, Ste. Trefie a Quatre Feuilles,
which twice won the Gordon-Bennett Cup
(1904-5) as well as the reliability trials in India
last year. The authorised capital of the firm is
ten million francs.
C. F. F. WBARNE & CO.
The excellent roads that have been con-
structed in the Malay Peninsula and the primi-
tive means of locomotion which still prevail in
many parts of the Federated States combine to
offer a large scope for such an enterprise as
that upon which Messrs. C. F. F. and T. J. B.
\\'earne embarked, when in 1906 they opened
a large motor engineering works in Orchard
Road, Singapore. Mr. C. F. F. Wearne received
his engineering training first at the Keppel
Harbour Works, Singapore, then at sea, and
later in Australia. His brother is also a prac-
tical engineer of large experience afloat and on
shore and holds an extra first-class Board of
Trade certificate, which he obtained at Liver-
pool. The firm supply every requisite and do
every kind of work connected with the motor
industry. In their garage, which measures
nearly 200 feet by 100 feet, there is storage
room for twenty-iive cars. Messrs. Wearne &
Co. are sole agents in Singapore for the Star,
Frick, Oldsmobile, and Reo cars, trolleys, &c.
Motor cars and wagonettes may be hired at
short notice, with careful and experienced
drivers. Quite recently the firm have started
a regular service of motor-buses from Tanglin
to Raffles Place. Cars are being sold to the
principal local residents — notably to the Chinese
— and to people resident in Borneo. A supply
of petrol for motors is always kept in stock.
H. P. DYSON HOLLAND.
The opportunities which a colony like Singa-
pore offers in the way of business promotion
are exemplified in the career of Mr. H. P. Dyson
Holland, who, at twenty-five years of age, occu-
pies the responsible position of manager and
secretary of the Oriental Company', Ltd., which
has the monopoly of the hoarding-advertisement
business in both the Straits Settlements and
the Federated Malay States. Born in London
on November S, 1882, Mr. Dyson Holland was
educated at Bedford Modern School, after
which he acted as assistant to the Town Clerk
of Bedford for two years. Coming to Singapore
in order to improve his position, he soon ob-
tained an appointment as secretary to Mr.
L. D. Tandy, general manager of the Singapore
Tramways, when the tramways were first
opened. He had only occupied that position
for two years when his present post was
offered to him. The Oriental Company, Ltd.,
have the exclusive right of advertising on all
the trams, railway stations, and hoardings in
Singapore and the principal tovims of the
Federated States. Their agents at Pinang,
Messrs. Cunningham, Clark & Co., have a
similar monopoly there. The chairman of
the company is Mr. H. J. M. Ellis, of Messrs.
Ellis & Co., American manufacturers' agents.
G. E. LAMBEET & CO.
Many of the best photographs reproduced in
this volume are the work of Messrs. G. R.
Lambert & Co., the leading photographic
artists of Singapore. Their business was
started in 1875 by Mr. G. R. Lambert, of
Dresden, Germany, and until recently it was
the only European establishment of its kind in
the colony. They have the distinction of
being photographers by .special appointment
to his Majesty the King of Siam and to his
Highness the Sultan of Johore. In 1885 the
concern was transferred to Mr. A. Koch, who
conducted it with great success until 1905,
when he retired to Europe. Since that date
Mr. H. T. Jensen, of the famous firm of
Reutlingers, Paris, has managed the concern
with conspicuous ability. The scope of Messrs.
Lambert's operations includes carbonisation
processes, notably that for the production of
photographs in natural colours by purely
chemical and mechanical means. Messrs.
seas?'
I. Exterior.
C. P. F. WEARNE & CO.'S ESTABLISHMENT.
2. C, F. F. Wearxe. 3 •' FRici; " Motor Bus. 4. Mr. Wearxe. Ju.v
5. IXTERIOR.
G. R. LAMBERT & CO.— H. T. JENSEN, MANAGER.
TWENTIETH CENTURY BIPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
70^
Lambert have maintained a high reputation
for artistic portraiture, and of landscapes they
have one of the finest collections in the East,
comprising about three thousand subjects
relating to Siam, Singapore, Borneo, Malaya,
and China. An extensive trade is done in
picture postcards, the turnover being about a
quarter of a million cards a year. A large
stock of apparatus for amateurs is always kept
on hand. Messrs. Lambert & Co.'s head office
is at Gresham House, Battery Road, and they
have branch studios in Orchard Road and at
Kuala Lumpor.
C. A. BIBEIBO & CO.
Civility to customers and reasonable prices
are foundations upon which the success of
many businesses has been built, among them
that of Messrs. C. A. Ribeiro & Co., of Singa-
pore. Although established only about sixteen
years ago, they are now in the front rank of
Singapore stationers, printers, and bookbinders.
The firm commenced business in Malacca Street
solely as philatelists, and in this line they speedily
acquired a high reputation among stamp col-
lectors. At the end of five years they entered
into the general stationery and rubber stamp
business, and soon afterwards moved into more
extensive premises in Battery Road. There,
at the request of numbers of their constituents,
stationery departments. The last-named is
replete with every description of stationery,
and it is now proposed to purchase new
printing plant.
ORIENTAL.
TAN JOO TIAM.
Seven years ago the Gambler and Pepper
Society was formed to promote and protect the
important gambler and pepper trade between
Johore and Singapore, and ever since that
time Mr. Tan Joo Tiam has been the president
of the society. For thirty years he has been
one of the leading gambler and pepper planters
in Johore, and he personally manages the
business carried on at 20, Taichew Street,
Singapore, under the chop of Wah Heng,
■which has now been established for upwards
of half a century. He is also the proprietor of
a shop in Kling Street, and has numerous other
business interests. His estates in Johore pro-
duce 1,000 piculs of gambler a month and
about 3,000 piculs of pepper. Recently he has
acquired a new and valuable estate, known as
tlie Teck Wah Eng Kang, and has taken up the
planting of rubber. Mr. Tan Joo Tiam, who
came from China to the Straits thirty-five years
ago, has had the honour of being presented
with an Order by the Sultan of Johore. He
u
^!^
C. A. RIBEIRO & CO.'S ESTABLISHMENT.
they added printing and bookbinding depart-
ments, and these were attended by such success
that in 1901 it was found necessary to acquire
more plant. Two years later it became so
difficult to cope with the increasing work that
the stamp business was given up in order that
the firm might concentrate on the printing and
owns considerable property in his native
country, and has four sons and two daughters.
KHOO TECK SEANG.
In the extensive rice trade of Singapore the
Saigon product commands an important place,
and one of the largest firms dealing in it is that
of Heng Chun, at No. 17, Boat Quay. This
business was established about sixty years ago
by Mr. Khoo Cheng Tiong, father of Mr. Khoo
Teck Seang, the present managing partner of
the concern. Mr. Khoo Cheng Tiong had a
wide acquaintance in Singapore, where he was
'i:^'!™!g!W '.!."' I iW'l'.IWJRn
KHOO CHENG TIONG.
(Father of Khoo Teck Seang.)
for some time president of the Chinese
Charitable Hospital and the recognised head
of the Hokien community in the colony. His
son is one of the oldest and best known rice
merchants in the colony. The firm have large
mills at Saigon, and deal entirely in rice
from that port. Mr. Khoo Teck Seang's
elder brother entered the Chinese Government
service as a cadet, and has now retired with
the rank of a Total of the second degree. Mr.
Khoo Teck Seang was born in Singapore, but
does not speak English.
Mr. Koh Seek Tian.— When the Singapore
Tramways Company was formed, and an able
man with considerable capital behind him was
required as compradore, Mr. Koh Seek Tian
received the appointment on the recommenda-
tion of one of the leading Chinese residents in
the colony, and he has held it ever since with
conspicuous success. That the position is no
sinecure may be gathered from the fact that
the hundreds of Chinese employed by the
company are all under the control of Mr.
Koh Seek Tian. In the early days of the com-
pany's history, when the ricksha coolies dis-
played great antagonism to the new means of
locomotion, Mr. Koh Seek Tian had to be
provided for several weeks with special pro-
tection, owing to the numerous threats upon
his life and the coolies' avowed intention of
burning his house by way of vengeance. Mr.
Koh Seek Tian comes of a family who have
been settled in Malacca for six generations,
and he himself was born in that place, where
his father, Mr. Koh Seng Hoon, was a success-
ful merchant. He received his education at
Raffles Institute, Singapore, and speaks English
fluently. He is married and - has two sons,
both of whom are being educated in English.
ALSAGOFP & CO.
To the commercial development of Singa-
pore many Arab traders have made important
contributions. Among them are Messrs. Alsa-
goff & Co., whose business was established
about sixty years ago by Abdulrahman Alsagoff.
2 G **
O. Alsagoff.
ALSAGOFF & CO.
The Firm's Premises.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
707
When this gentleman first left Arabia he traded
between Malacca and Java in his own vessels.
His son Ahmed married Raja Sitti, the daughter
of Hadjee Fatima, Sultana of Gowa, in Celebes,
who carried on a large trade, owning many
vessels and prahus. It was not until she died
that the business was carried on under the
name of her son-in-law, Syed Ahmed, although
he had managed it during her lifetime. The
business developed largely, and Syed Ahmed
died in Singapore a very rich man. He was
succeeded by his son, Syed Mahomed, and the
present proprietor of the concern is Syed Omar
Alsagoff, nephew of Syed Mahomed and
grandson of Abdulrahman Alsagoff. It is im-
possible in the space at our disposal to do more
than give the bare outline of Messrs. Alsagoff's
extensive operations. They do a large business
in the export of every kind of local produce
and woods to Arabia and Europe, including
the products — rubber, sago, coconuts, coffee,
cocoa, and pineapples — of their own large
estate at Cocub, Johore. The Perseverance
Estate, the Straits Cycle and Motor Company,
and the Express Saw Mill Company — one of
the largest saw-mills in the East — are the pro-
perty of this firm, who also import spices
from Banda, Moluccas. As many as two
hundred men are ernployed at Cocub and
forty in "Singapore. The firm convey many
Mahomedan pilgrims every year to Mecca, and
it is noteworthy that Messrs. Alsagoff & Co.
are the owners of the Raffles Hotel buildings.
B. P. DE SILVA.
Few Eastern jewellers can honestly claim to
have received the patronage of royalty as often
as Mr. B. P. de Silva, of High Street, who
numbers amongst his patrons the Duke of
Connaught, the King of Siam, and the Sultan
of Johore. The business was established in
i860 by Mr. Silva's father. All kinds of
precious stones, jewellery of rare and unique
design, and silverware in various styles of
native workmanship are to be seen at this
shop. Mr. de Silva also does a considerable
B. P. DE SILVA.
mport and export trade, and with his large and
experienced staff is in a position to execute all
kinds of work connected with his business.
BBEAHIMBHOY PABANEY.
A representative firm of Bombay merchants
in Singapore is that of Messrs. Ebrahimbhoy
Pabaney, who carry on an extensive business
as commission agents at No. 5, Malacca Street.
The principal partner is Sir Currimbhoy
Ebrahim, and the other partners in the concern
are Messrs. Mahomedbhoy Currimbhoy Ebra-
him, Fazulbhoy Currimbhoy Ebrahim, and
Gulamhuseinbhoy Currimbhoy Ebrahim. The
founder of the firm began his commercial
career at the early age of sixteen in Bombay,
the firm's headquarters, and soon opened a
branch at Calcutta. The business was extended
A. G. HOOSEN & CO.
This business was established in 1889 by
Messrs. F, M. Poonawalla and A. Adamjee,
who are both natives of Surat, India, and
received their business training at Karachi and
X
KHA'W JOO CHOE.
WEE KAY POH. KHOO SIAN TAN.
(For biographies see " Opium " article.)
to Hongkong, where a branch has been
established now for over half a centurv, and a
marine trade was carried on with Arabia and
Zanzibar. One success led to others, with the
result that to-day there are branches at Kobe
(Japan) and Shanghai, in addition' to the places
previously mentioned. The Singapore branch
has been open four years. Sir Currimbhoy
Ebrahim's success has been so great that he is a
millionaire, and is one of the best-known of
Bombay's merchant princes. He is the owner
of several very large cotton mills, and holds a
prominent position in the Mahomedan com-
munity as vice-president of Anjuraan-i-Islam
and as a member of the Mahomedan Educa-
tional Conference. He is a Justice of the
Peace, and was recently knighted. His two
eldest sons are also Justices of the Peace, and
are members of the Bombay Municipal
Corporation. Sir Currimbhoy Ebrahim has
given liberally to numerous charitable institu-
tions, and made a donation of three lakhs of
rupees towards the establishment of the new
Museum at Bombay.
Hongkong. They are general importers,
dealing in piece goods, fancy goods, haber-
dashery, watches, &c., which are mostly
obtained from the United Kingdom, Germany,
France, and Italy. To India the firm export
all kinds of local produce. A staff of ten hands
is employed by them, and they have a branch
establishment at Surabaya, Java. Both the
partners are members of the Borah com-
munity.
G. OTOMTJNE & CO.
One of the oldest firms engaged in the
Japanese curio trade in Singapore is Messrs.
G. Otomune & Co., whose headquarters are at
Osaka, Japan, where they have been established
for nearly a century. It was about thirteen
years ago that Mr. T. Tahara was sent from
Japan to found a branch in Singapore. A
small beginning was made in the firm's present
premises in Raffles Place, and by the careful
selection of goods, courtesy, and attention to
details, the business developed steadily, and
Mr. Tahara, after seeing the branch firmly
708
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
established, was able to return to Japan at the
end of five years, and is now the manager of
Messrs. Otomune's headquarters. The busi-
ness at the present time is divided into two
departments, wholesale and retail, which are
stocked wi*h all descriptions of Japanese glass,
silver, copper, bronze, and porcelain ware and
lacquer goods. The firm's customers include
and the proprietor of the Singapore Cold Stor-
age retail depot. Mr. Yeo is married and has
a family of ten children, five sons and five
daughters, and his eldest son, Yeo Boon Guan,
looks after his father's many business interests.
Mr. Yeo Swee Hee is a member of the com-
mittee of the Straits Chinese British Associa-
tion, an honorary member of the Singapore
a humble way in Kling Street as an importer
of Indian goods of all descriptions and an
exporter of local produce. To-day operations
are conducted on a very large scale. Mr.
Essooffjee Ebramjee Angullia carried on the
business after his father in a godown in
Malacca Street, and he was succeeded by his
son, Mr. Mohamed Salleh Essooffjee Angullia,
T'WO VIEWS OF G. OTOMUNE & CO.'S ESTABLISHMENT.
large numbers of the passengers passing
through the port and the most prominent
residents of Singapore and the Federated
Malay States. The manager is Mr. K. Kaidzu,
who has held the position for about eight years.
He is a native of Osaka, and, after being
educated at the Osaka Higher Commercial
School, he entered Messrs. Otomune's service
at headquarters. He remained there for two
years and then came to Singapore.
YEO SWEE HBE.
Many Chinamen holding responsible posi-
tions with European firms in Singapore have
themselves extensive business interests, and in
some cases, like Mr. Yeo Swee Hee, the subject
of this sketch, they own considerable property.
Mr. Yeo Swee Hee is the son of the late Mr.
Yeo Kwan, and his ancestors came to the
colony close upon a century ago. He was born
in Singapore in 1861 and was educated at
Raffles Institution, after which he entered the
employment of Messrs. Huttenbach Bros.
& Co., whom he has faithfully served for
thirty-one years as general assistant, having
passed through the shipping, insurance, coal,
petroleum, and other departments, and thereby
gained wide business experience. He is a
property owner, a mining contractor, part
owner of a steamer, a director of the Singapore
Foundry, Ltd., a merchant and commission
agent carrying on business in Orchard Road,
Chinese Volunteer Corps, a member of the
Chinese Recreation Club, and a trustee of
several schools.
CHI HONG CHENG.
(For biography see " Opium " article.)
M. S. E. ANGULLIA & CO.
Seventy years have passed since Mr. Ebramje
Mohamed Salleh Angullia came to Singapore
from Siirat, India, and commenced business in
who, after occupying premises at Raffles Place
for some twenty-five years, removed to the
present fine offices, No. i, CoUyer Quay. His
son, Mr. Ahamad Mohamed Salleh Angullia,
is the present proprietor. The firm trade as
general merchants and commission and estate
agents. From India they import yarns of all
kinds, cotton, teas, curry stuffs, &c. ; from
Rangoon, Saigon, Bangkok, and other centres,
rice ; from China and Japan, native products ;
and from Europe and America, rough and soft
goods, hardware, &c. To India, Burma,
Egypt, Arabia, Syria, China, Japan, and the
Netherlands Indies the firm send tin, betel-
nuts, gambler, pepper, tapioca, rubber, copra,
gutta, and other products of the colony. 'The
stores and godowns of the firm in Robinson
Road, CoUyer Quay, Market Street, and
Malacca Street testify at all times to the large
trade done. There are branches of the
business in Bombay, Calcutta, Bangkok, Sama-
rang, and Kobe (Japan).
Mr. Ahamad Mohamed Salleh Angullia is
one of the most enlightened and up-to-date
Mahomedans of Singapore. He was born in
1873, and received his education at Raffles
Institution and the Anglo-Chinese School. He
entered his father's busiiless at an early age,
and has been a partner since 1897. On the
death of his father in 1904 he became sole pro-
prietor. He owns extensive plantations in
Sumatra and the ancestral properties in Singa-
pore and India. He is a member of the Arab
E. M. S. Angi.'LLia.
M. S. E. ANGULLIA & CO.
Business Premises.
The Kesidenxe.
A. M. S. ANGULLIA.
710
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Club and a trustee of the Moslem Trust Fund.
He resides at No. 240, Bencoolen Street.
LBONG CHEONG & CO.
A large proportion of the European residents
have their clothes made by Chinese firms, and
a considerable share of their patronage is
enjoyed by Messrs. Leong Cheong & Co., high-
class tailors, outfitters, haberdashers, &c., of
High Street. The business was established
six years ago by Mr. Lee Leong Kie, the sole
proprietor, who came from Canton, and he has
attained considerable success by reason of his
skill and reasonableness. The premises occupy
a corner position and cover 2,oco square feet.
Twenty hands are employed. Soft goods are
imported from England and silk from China.
Mr. Lee Leong Kie, before coming to Singa-
pore, was in business with his father at Hong-
kong and Canton, and all three businesses are
connected, although each is run on its own
merits. During Mr. Lee Leong Kie's absences
from Singapore his business is managed by his
brother, Mr. Lee Kok Peng.
MB. THAM HENG "WAN.
A well-known figure in the business com-
munity of Singapore is Mr. Tham Heng Wan,
a general merchant and importer and exporter
of flour, who trades under the " chop " of Hup
Hing at 6, Teluk Ayer Street. The house was
established by the present proprietor's father
about sixty-four years ago. Mr. Tham Heng Wan
is now the sole proprietor, and has personally
conducted the business for about twenty-three
years. His operations are very extensive, and
he deals direct with some of the largest houses
in Australia and America. During the last few
years the trade with the former country has
developed enormously. The firm owns a
bakery in Upper Circular Road, where bread
is made by the latest machinery. Mr. Tham
Heng Wan is a member of the Chinese Women
and Girls' Protection Society (Po Leung Kuk).
WEE KAY SIANG.
(For biography see " Opium " article.)
TAM AH POON.
One of the best-known merchants engaged
in the timber trade of Singapore is Mr. Tarn
Ah Poon. This gentleman came from China
to Singapore upwards of twenty years ago,
and has built up a large and flourishing busi-
ness. On the island of Nathunas he holds
tracts of jungle, 60 miles long and 30 miles
broad, from the Dutch Government, and
has a staff of some four hundred men con-
tinually at work preparing timber for the
market. The logs are shipped direct by
steamer to all parts of the Far East, the ports
taking the largest quantities being Bangkok,
Hongkong, Shanghai, and Peking.- Under
contract with the Chinese Government Mr.
Tam Ah Poon supplied the timber used in
rebuilding the Imperial Palace at Peking after
it had been destroyed in the Boxer rebellion.
The extensive character of his operations may
be gathered from the fact that the annual
export of timber from his holding in Nathunas
amounts to between fifty and sixty thousand
tons. Mr. Tam Ah Poon, who is a married
man with a family resident in Singapore, is
also interested in various other businesses, and
owns a good deal of property in his native city
in China.
ALKAFF & CO.
Probably the largest property owners in
Singapore are Messrs. Alkaff & Co., who have
the distinction of being assessed at a higher
figure than any other ratepayers, except the
Tanjong Pagar Dock Board. The business
was started in the early days of the colony by
Syed Shaik Bin Abdulrahman Alkaff, who,
during a thirty years' residence in Singapore,
accumulated great wealth. The present senior
partner is his nephew, Syed Abdulrahman Bin
Abdullah Alkaff. This gentleman, who has
resided in Singapore for about twenty years,
was born in Hadramaut, Yemen, Arabia, in 1867,
and since his residence in Singapore he has
LBONG CHEONG & CO.'S PREMISES.
^M
I. The Residence,
ALKAFP & CO.
2. S. A. Alkaff.
3. Office Staff,
712
TWEXTIETH CEXTURY IMPRESSIOXS OF BRITISH MALAYA
paid frequent visits to his native land. He is
married and lias six children, all sons. A
block of his property occupied by a large
shipping company and some of the principal
merchants of the colony is shown in the
accompanying illustration.
TAN KAH KBE.
An example of the prosperity which flows
from industry and thrift is furnished by Mr.
Tan Kah Kee, rice merchant, who trades
as Kiam Eik. A native of Amoy, he is a son
of Mr. Tan Kee Peck, who has retired from
business and now resides in China. After
completing his education Mr. Tan Kah Kee
entered his father's firm. Fifteen years later
been able to make excellent selections, and the
result lias been a steady increase in the amount
of business transacted. Messrs. Yamato stock
in great variety Satsuma, cloisonne, bronze,
silver, and lacquered ware, silks, Japanese
furniture, screens, pictures, and, in fact, every
description of curios and works of art for
which Japan has become famous. They are
the sole agents for the Tokio Seikosha watch
and clock factory, the products of which they
supply wholesale to the local trade, and for
Yamatoya's Japanese crepe shirts, for which
there is an ever-increasing demand. Expert
packers are employed who pack the most
delicate tea sets, glass, frail furniture, &c., so
perfectly that its safe arrival at any port in the
world can be guaranteed. Messrs. Yamato are
and Pahang-Kuantan opium, spirit, and pawn-
broking farms. He is the owner of consider-
able house and landed property, and has
varied business interests, trading in Chinese
merchandise (principally in silk), bedsteads,
rattans, furniture, &c. He also owns a bakery
and a brick factory, is a sauce manufacturer,
and has shares in numerous other undertakings.
He still takes an active part in the administra-
tion of his business affairs, in which he is
assisted by his son and manager, Mr. Loh
Chira.
LIM LOON HOCK.
Mr. Lim Loon Hock, who is the manager of
the firm of commission agents trading under
the style of Chop Seng Hong in Cecil Street,
YAMATO & CO.'S PREMISES.
he commenced business on his own account,
and he now conducts three pineapple preserv-
ing factories, the fruit for which comes from
his own plantation of 600 acres. He also owns
an estate of 400 acres planted with Para rubber
trees one year old. With Hongkong and
Shanghai, as well as locally, he does a large
trade in rice and sugar. He is a member of
the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and is
connected with the Toh Lam Chinese School
in Teluk Ayer Street.
YAMATO & CO.
Messrs. Yamato & Co., curio dealers, have
the distinction of being under the patronage of
T.R. H. the Duke and Duchess of Connaught.
At their spacious premises, 41, High Street, they
display a very fine collection of Japanese goods.
The proprietor is Mr. S. Nagano, who came to
the colony in 1897. Having had a wide ex-
perience in curios before leaving Japan, he has
contractors for the supply of furniture, &c., to
the Japanese \avy and the fleet of the Nippon
Yusen Kaisha.
LOH LUM,
Mr. Loh Lum's connection with Singapore
goes back over half a century, and he remem-
bers the place when it was a comparatively
unimportant settlement, and when thick jungle
and swamps were to be found where are now
busy thoroughfares with electric trams running
through them. Upon his first arrival in Singa-
pore Mr. Loh Luni commenced business as a
merchant. Later, he concerned himself in
the Singapore opium and spirit farms, and
afterwards in the opium and spirit farms in
Hongkong. He took considerable interest in
insurance companies, and was a director of the
Straits Marine and Fire Insurance Company
for a number of years. About twenty years
ago he was the largest shareholder in the local
was born in Singapore in 1883. After being
educated at Raffles Institution he went to the
firm of Seng Hong in 1900 as assistant, and
was promoted manager in igo6. His father
was the late Lim Knwee Seng, manager of the
Heng Hong nee mills. Mr. Lim Loon Hock is
a member of the Straits Chinese Recreation
Club, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and
the Straits Chinese British Association.
SIM KHENG HOO.
For many years past Mr. Sim Kheng Hoo
has been a conspicuous figure in the com-
mercial world of the Straits Settlements and
the Federated Malay States, and he is equally
well known in Siamese and Dutch territory.
His interests are large and varied, and his
judgment in business is highly valued by
his fellow countrymen. When the Chinese
Chamber of Commerce was founded the
business community of the colony paid him
J & 3- KicE Mills at Bangkok.
SIM KHENG HOO.
2. Sim Kheng Hoo. 4. Oil Mills at Pontianak.
5. Head Office, Koteah (Dutch Colony).
714
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPHESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
the high tribute of electing him first president
of that important body, but the many calls
upon his time precluded him from accepting
the honour. He carries on business under the
style of Chop Ban Seng Soon — a chop which
is known and respected wherever Chinese
traders are to be found in the East. It is in
Bangkok that Mr. Sim Kheng Hoo's interests
are mostly centred. There he is the proprietor
of two of the largest rice mills in the city, under
the chops of Ban Seng Chiang and Ban Seng
Chan. Hundreds of thousands of bags of rice
pass through the mills annually, the average
turnover being about thirty thousand bags a
month. The prepared grain is brought to
Singapore in steamers specially chartered for
the purpose, and is disposed of on the local
market. Mr. Sim Kheng Hoo is the son of
Mr. Sim Tai Seng, a prosperous Swatow
merchant, and is sixty-seven years old. He
has at all times taken an interest in public
affairs, and he is a member of the Chinese
and plundered trading vessels, and Mr. Ah
Heng's life was always in jeopardy when he
sailed in one of his junks along the west coast
of the peninsula. Fortunately, however, he
was on very friendly terms with one of the old
Rajas of Selangor, and this ruler presented
him with a Malay spear, a kris, and a golden
image. He had only to place these gifts in
a conspicuous position when Malay pirates
approached to indicate that he was under the
Raja's protection and his vessel was un-
molested. He died in Malacca at the early
age of thirty-two, leaving a son, who became
the father of Kim Yam, only six months old.
This gentleman, Mr. Wee Ah Hood, was born
in Circular Road, Singapore, in 1828, and began
life as an assistant in a cloth-dealer's shop in
Teluk Ayer Street. By means of diligence and
sagacity he was soon promoted manager, and
on his master's retirement he commenced busi-.
ness on his own account, dealing in Straits
produce of all kinds. He was very successful
Hong) and Khoon Lee & Co., and it is
noteworthy that his office is the shop in which
his father first commenced business on his own
account. He is closely identified with Chinese
public affairs, being a member of the Chinese
Advisory Board, of the committee of the Tan
Tock Seng Hospital, and of the Po Leung Kuk
Guild. He is also an inspecting visitor to the
St. John's Quarantine Station, and is on the
committees of the Chinese Chamber of Com-
merce and the Straits Chinese British Associa-
tion. The extensive business of Messrs. Kim
Yam & Co. and Khoon Lee & Co. is now
managed by Mr. Wee Hean Boon, Mr.. Wee
Kim Yam's son, who was born in November,
1877, in Hill Street, Singapore, and educated at
Raffles School.
KAME & CO.
Messrs. Kame & Co. have been establis'hed
in Singapore as Japanese merchants for twenty
KAME & CO.'S PREMISES.
Advisory Board. In his native country he
has the rank of Mandarin of the second order
(red button) and the Peacock's Feather. He
has three sons and one daughter, one of the
former of whom married a daughter of Mr.
Seali Liang Seah.
WEE KIM YAM.
Mr. Wee Kim Yam, the proprietor of the
Singapore firm of Kim Yam & Co., is the
grandson of a Teochew trader named Wee Ah
Heng, who hailed from the Haiyanghsien
district of Chaochaofu prefecture in the pro-
vince of Kuangtung, China, and went to reside
at Malacca about the year 1810. Mr. Ah Heng
owned several Chinese junks, and traded
between Selangor and Singapore. In those
early days Malay pirates frequently attacked
in his transactions and became one of the
biggest gambler and pepper merchants of his
time. He was highly respected by the Euro-
pean firms with whom he dealt, and from
several of them he received mementoes in the
shape of gold watches and silverware duly
inscribed. His death took place in 1875, .when
he was forty-eight years old, at . his residence
in HiU Street. "This house, which is one of the
four well-known typical Chinese mansions of
Singapore, is now occupied by the Chinese,
Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Wee Kim Yam,
the subject of this sketch, is the eldest of Mr.
Ah Hood's family of four sons and one daughter.
Born in 1855 in Upper Chinchew Street, Singa-
pore, he secured the opium and spirit
farms of Singapore and Johore in the years
1886-88, and is now the sole proprietor
of Messrs. Kim Yam & Co. (Chop Khoon
years. The proprietors came from Yokohama,
and they import high-class Japanese wares and
curios of every description from Yokohama
and Kobe, including Satsuma, silver, cloisonne,
bronze, and ivory ware, Japanese lacquer work,
bamboo goods, silks,. picture frames, kimonas,
&c. The firm has a fine large showroom,, as
will be seen from the accompanying illustration,
and another feature worthy of note is the trade
done in Japanese jinrickshas of differentdesigns.
OHOY TSZ YONG.
Some of the most successful Chinese business
men of Singapore are to be found among those
whose first arrival in the colony dates from the
seventies, when trade was at its height. One
who was attracted from home and has been
richly rewarded for his enterprise is Mr. Choy
BUSINESS MEN OF SINGAPORE.
I. PoEY Keng Seng. 2. Seet Tiaxg Liji. 3. Lim Loom Hock,
8. Lim Teik Siong. 9.-L10NG Man Sau. 10. Tan Kah Kee,
15. LoK Laji. 16, Ted Teow Peng, 17. Sze To Yee,
4. Teo Hod Lye. 3. Tham Heng Wan. 6. Yeo Swee Hee. 7. Tan Teck Cheng.
II. Tan Eng Wah 12. Koh Tong Chiax. 13. Che Tze Ching. 14. Wee Km Yaji.
18. Oh Swee Kiat. 19. Tam Kim Sang. 20. Tam Ah Poon.
716
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
^
^
e
^
CHOY TSZ YONG'S PREMISES.
Tsz Yong, proprietor of the well-known silk
shop carried on under the style of Seng Watt,
at No. 244, South Bridge Road. After being
educated in his native province of Kwang
Tung, he traded in Tientsin as Tiow Guan in
sugar, medicines, and sundries, which were
exported to Swatow. This venture proved
successful, and a few years later he commenced
business as a commission agent and sugar
merchant, for at that time Swatow was famous
for the manufacture of brown and white sugar.
He also established businesses in Shanghai
and Hankow, but in 1874, hearing of Singa-
pore's prosperity, he decided to emigrate to the
Straits Settlements. The management of his
interests in China he left with his brotlier, and
bringing to Singapore a large capital, he
opened shops in South Bridge Road and Upper
Circular Road as a silk merchant. Here he has
traded ever since in silks of all kinds, Japanese
china, earthenware, &c. The business has
prospered to such an extent that the present
turnover amounts to upwards of a million
dollars a year. Mr. Choy has extended the
scope of his operations by trading,, in partner-
ship with others, under the chop of Guan Watt,
as rice and sugar merchants. This concern
has a yearly turnover of about five million
dollars. In Siam Mr. Choy has four rice mills,
producing upwards of ten million dollars' worth
of rice annually, half of which is brought to
Singapore and the other half exported to Hong-
kong. Mr. Choy is now a prominent member
of the local Chinese community, and in recog-
nition of his interest in public affairs he was
appointed by the Government to the Chinese
Advisory Board in 1896, and on the occasion of
a royal visit to the colony a few years later
he was one of the gentlemen selected by the
Protector of Chinese to superintend the street
decorations of the Chinese community. He
acted in a similar capacity during the recent
visit of T.R.H. the Duke and Duchess of
Connaught, and in all public movements for
many years past he has been to the fore as the
head of the Tachew clan. Mr. Choy Tsz Yong
has always been ready to succour those in
distress. On the occasion of a rice famine in
the Swatow district some years ago he headed
a movement which resulted in thirty thousand
dollars' worth of rice being distributed among
the people in that district at cost price. He is
now president of the Chinese Chamber of
Commerce, and is president and one of the
founders of the Tuan Mong School, at which
150 Tachew boys annually receive free educa-
tion.
KIM HIN & CO.
One of the most important Chinese firms
engaged in the liquor trade is Messrs. Kim Hin
& Co., of 7, Kling Street, Singapore. The busi-
ness was established in 1893 by Mr. Lim Soon
Tee, uncle of Mr. Lim Teck Siong, the present
managing partner, and its chief transactions
are with the coast ports and the hinterland of
the Federated Malay States. Formerly Messrs.
Kim Hin & Co.'s warehouse was at No. 51,
Teluk Ayer Street, but the growth of their
trade necessitated removal to a larger ware-
house at 22 and 23, South Canal Road. The
firm represents many of the principal manu-
facturers of wines and spirits in Europe. Mr.
Lim Teck Siong has had charge of the business
for the last twelve years, during which it has
developed considerably. He is a Straits-born
British subject, and the sound English educa-
tion which he had received is of material
advantage to him in the conduct of his business.
CHOP YONG KW^A.
South Bridge Road is well worth a visit by
any one requiring gold or silver ware. Many
of the " houses " here are old established, and
amongst them is the chop Yong Kwa, which
was founded some thirty-eight years ago by Mr.
Tan Tai Hong, who was born in Singapore
and trained for the business. His father came
to the Straits from China, and was a very
successful man of business. The firm employs
about thirty skilled workmen, and though the
bulk of the work is in gold, silver work is also
turned out when required. The proprietor has
four sons, who are being educated in English
and Chinese schools.
^
^
P>
^
TAN TAI HONG'S PREMISES (CHOP YONG KWA).
The Proprietor.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
717
CHONG FEE & CO.
The patronage of such notabilities as H.E.
the Governor (Sir John Anderson), Sir W. C. F.
nership as Tiang Lim Bros. (Chop Kiramoh)
twenty-two years ago as merchants and com-
mission agents. They have estates in Negri
Sambilan and Malacca, where they grow
CHONG FEE & CO.'S PREMISES.
Robinson, G.C.M.G., Sir F. A. Weld, G.C.M.G.,
Sir C. C. Smith, G.C.M.G., and Sir F. A. Swet-
tenham, G.C.M.G., former Governors of the
Straits Settlements, is a recommendation which
can be claimed by Messrs. Chong Fee & Co.,
who have the further distinction of being the
oldest established tailors in the colony, the
commencement of their business dating from
i860.
Mr. Thong Siong Lim, the manager of the
concern, employs two assistants, two expert
cutters, two assistant cutters, and over a hun-
dred tailors, who are accommodated in a work-
room adjoining the shop. As will be seen
from- our illustration, the firm's premises are
prominently situated at the corner of the North
Bridge and Bras Basah Roads.
MESSRS. TIANG LIM BROS.
In charitable undertakings the wealthy
Chinamen of Malaya have ever been promi-
nent. One who was never reluctant to help a
needy fellow-countryman was Mr. Seet Cheow
Keong, father of Messrs. Seet Tiang Lim and
Seet Tiang Chuan, the proprietors of the well-
known firm whose name heads this sketch.
He gave liberally to deserving charities, and
many a man had cause to be thankful for his
help in time of affliction. Mr. Seet Cheovi'
Keong's father, Mr. Seet Boon Tiong, was one
of the early Chinese settlers in Singapore. He
commenced business for himself in 1825, and,
after twenty-three years' trading, retired to his
native place, Malacca, in 1848. A British sub-
ject, he was shortly afterwards honoured by
being appointed a Justice of the Peace. For
many years before he died at the ripe age of
eighty-one he was one of the best known
Chinese business men in the Straits. Mr. Seet
Boon Tiong was for many years an intimate
friend of Mr. A. L. Johnston (after whom John-
ston's Pier is named) and of Mr. James Fraser.
Both Messrs. Seet Tiang Lim and Seet Tiang
Chuan have' followed their father's example in
the matter of liberality. They went into part-
tapioca and Para rubber, and are interested
in gold-mining concessions at Galas, Ulu
Kelantan.
WEE TIONG HOCK.
In Singapore there are many firms trading
as timber merchants. Among the chief of
Tiong Hock, a son of the late Mr. Wee Liong
Pow, was born in Singapore on June 24, 1865,
and educated at Raffles School. He went to
sea as supercargo and remained for eighteen
years, being twelve years on the Ocean Steam-
ship Company's steamer Hydra and six years
with the Norddeutscher-Lloyd on the same
steamer, Hycra-Kedah. Subsequently he took
charge of the firm which his brother-in-law
and he founded about eighteen years ago.
Their business is not only local, but embraces
also Java, Hongkong, Shanghai, Borneo, &c.
They have a branch in Beach Road. Mr. Wee
Tiong Hock owns houses and land and a coco-
nut estate in .Tanah Merch Kichie.
HIP HING & CO.
Singapore's shops contain many agreeable
surprises for those who visit them. Often the
exterior is not very imposing or attractive, but
a valuable stock is kept inside and a flourishing
business is done. "This is the case with the
establishment carried on under the chop of
Hip Hing at 54, North Bridge Road by Mr.
Tarn Kim Sang, the proprietor. Since this
business was started eight years ago it has
gained a well-deserved reputation as high-class
jewellers, watchmakers, and gold and silver
smiths. As a proof of the excellence of the
goods produced, it may be mentioned that on
the occasion of the visit of the Duke and
Duchess of Connaught, the souvenir presented
to their Royal Highnesses by the Singapore
Municipal Commissioners was manufactured
by Messrs. Hip Hing & Co. Mr. Tam Kim
Sang is a native of Canton, but has resided
in Singapore for twenty-three years. He has
numerous other business interests, including a
share in a timber business in one of the neigh-
bouring Dutch colonies. His two sons, Tam
Wei and Tam Qui, are receiving an English
education at the Anglo-Chinese School in
Singapore.
YAP WHATT & CO.
To the late Mr. Cheong Choon Kim, founder
of the firm of Yap Whatt & Co., belongs the dis-
CHOP KIM ENG CHOON & CO.
(The premises of Wee Tiong Hoclc in Havelocl^ Koad.)
these is the business of Mr. \\^ee Tiong Hock
and his brother-in-law, Mr. Tan Tiong Lay,
who trade as Kim Eng Choon & Co. Mr. Wee
tinction of being the first Straits-born Chinese
to commence a commission import and export
trade in the colony. This vi'as fifteen years
718
TWEXTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
YAP WHATT & CO.'S PREMISES.
ago. Mr. Cheong Choon Kim died three years ageraent of the firm of Yap Whatt & Co. by
since, after having been to Shanghai to open a his brother, Mr. Cheong Choon Beng, who is
branch. He has been succeeded in the man- very popular with all travellers, and is ably
CHOP HANG SENG, GOLDSMITH.
LoY Kuan Foon (Proprietor).
assisted by his brother-in-law, Mr. Wee Tiong
Chai, and Mr. Cheong Chie Koon, son of the
late Mr. Cheong Choon Kim, who has recently
joined the firm. The operations of Messrs.
Yapp Whatt & Co. extend almost all over the
world, and are conducted mainly with the
Continents of Europe and America. Mr. Beng
and his deceased brother were known as being
among the most hardworking tradesmen in the
colony, and their success has been well merited.
CHOP HANG SENG.
The business carried on under this style is
known throughout the Straits Settlements as
one of the largest and most modern goldsmiths'
establishments in the colony. The firm's com-
modious premises at 36, New Bridge Road are
a hive of industry, for over seventy skilled
goldsmiths are employed from early morning
until late at night beating gold into leaf. It is
upwards of thirty years since the business was
established by Mr. Loy Kuan Foon, the sole
proprietor, and in that time branches have
been established at Kuala Lumpor, Hongkong,
Shanghai, and Canton. The Kuala Lumpor
branch has developed until now it is equal in
importance to the parent business at Singapore
and gives employment to a staff of close on a
hundred. The gold is mostly purchased in
Hongkong, through the firm's branch there,
and there is a great demand for the leaf. Mr.
Loy Kuan Foon is a native of Canton, and came
to Singapore thirty-six years ago. He has two
sons. The elder has been educated in English,
and the younger will shortly commence a
similar training.
YOW NGAN PAN.
The subject of this sketch, Mr. Yow Ngan
Pan, is an example of a successful Chinese
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
719
CHOP LOH KEE SENG.
Yow Ngan Pan Manager).
meixhant who has won respect by reason of
his honest and straightforward dealings. As a
merchant he is engaged in a very busy and
prosperous concern. He is the manager of the
firm of Loh Kee Seng, the well-lcnown im-
porters and exporters, which has been estab-
lished in Singapore for over sixty-five years.
Further testimony to his business and financial
ability is borne by the fact that he is the at-
torney of Towkay Loke Yew, the famous
mining millionaire of the native States, and is
a director of the Straits Steamship Company,
one of the most important coasting shipping
concerns in Singapore, and a director of the
Belat tin mines. He is well known for his
generous gifts and services to public institu-
tions. He is a member of the Chinese Ad-
visory Board, and of the committees of the
Po Leung Kuk and the Tan Tock Seng Hos-
pital, a visitor of the Reformatory and St.
John's Island (quarantine station), and one of
the promoters of the Medical School of the
Straits Settlements. Born and educated in
Singapore, he is a citizen who does credit to
the- place.
CHBH YEE WO.
A good, idea is afforded of what hives of
industry the native shops are by paying a visit
to the premises of Messrs. Cheh Yee Wo, gold
and silver smiths.- For twelve years this firm
has carried on business at No.. 217, South
Bridge Road, and the manager,. Mr.. Cheh
Yee Cheong; is an eminently practical man.
With a staff of about, twenty men constantly
employed, the firm have a large output of
highly finished articles.. The head office is
in Kuala Lumpor, and there is a branch at
Canton. Mr. Cheh Seng Tong,. father of. the
present proprietor, was the founder. Mr. Cheh
Yee Wo was born in the Straits Settlements
and takes a great interest in the affairs of the
colony. He is a member of the Chinese Read-
ing Room and of the Chinese Y.M.C.A.
SENG HENG & CO.
An old-established Chinese goldsmiths' shop
Road. Members of the family of the present
proprietor have carried on this business for up-
wards of fifty years, and twenty-five or thirty
expert workmen are now employed. The
proprietor is Mr. Yeo Khia Hee, who came
from China as a boy and took over the manage-
is that of Seng Heng, Nos. 13-14, South Bridge ment. He has now retired from active work,
CHOP CHBH YEE WO.
Cheh Yee Cheong (Manager)
720
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
CHOP SENG HENG.
Yeo Khia Yee (^ranager).
however, ,and the business is carried on by his
brother, Yeo Khia Yee, and his son, Yeo Ghee
Siew. Mr. Yeo Khia Hee has had conferred
upon him the Chinese title of Mandarin of the
fifth button, and is a member of the Chinese
Chamber of Commerce. He has . four sons,
three daughters, eleven grandsons, and five
granddaughters.
MESSES. KWONG YAN HIN.
An extensive business as growers and gene-
ral merchants is carried on under the above
name at i6 and 17, North Canal Road. The
proprietor is Mr. Lui Joon Sang, a Straits-bom
Chinaman. Only the best class of foreign
provisions is dealt in, and a large trade is done
in Australian and American flour. The firm
have three other establishments of the concern
in Singapore, the principal one being in North
Bridge Road, where hundreds of thousands of
lamp chimneys, for which the firm is noted,
are manufactured yearly. There are branches
also at Pinang (Chop How Heng Loong),
Bangkok (Chop Kwong Yun Hin), Hongkong
(Chop How Heng), Canton, and Sainam-pouth,
China. A very extensive trade is done by the
firm in English and American cigarettes ;- in-
deed, from this source alone the proprietor has
amassed a considerable fortune.
BAN SOON IjEONG.
Although no silk is produced in Singapore
or the surrounding districts, a large trade is
done in that commodity in the colony. The
principal silk shops of Singapore are in South
Bridge Road, and one of the best known is
that conducted at No. 242 by Mr. Goh Noi
Hong, under the chop of Ban Soon Leong.
Hearing of the success which his countrymen
were meeting with in the Straits, Mr. Goh Noi
Hong came to Singapore in 1877 to try his
fortune. The colony was then in a very pros-
perous condition, and from the first he met
with considerable success as a merchant,
exporting Singapore produce to Shanghai,
Canton, and Saigon. Casting around for a
new outlet for his capital, Mr. Goh Noi Hong
KWONG YAN HIN.
Lui Joon Saxg (Proprietor). Interior.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
721
found that every kind of business was repre-
sented in Singapore except the sill< trade, and,
reahsing the possibihties in this direction, he
opened his present sliop in 1887. He imported
the silk from Shanghai, Canton, and other
manufacturing centres, and found there was
a great demand for it. Branches of the busi-
ness were then established in China, and silk
of the best quality was purchased there for the
Singapore trade, which grew steadily year
after year. The shop is now patronised by
the leading Chinese residents and by the
European community. Only the best quality
of silk is kept, and with his facilities for pur-
chasing in China Mr. Goh Noi Hong can
execute any orders for special material at
reasonable prices and at short notice.
YONG LEE SENG & CO.
One of the pioneer Chinese firms who loom
large in the commercial life of Singapore is
that of Messrs. Yong Lee Seng & Co., 27, Kling
Street. It is now some twenty-three years
since the business was commenced in a small
way by Mr. Lim Choon Seng, who has since
had the satisfaction of seeing the concern
develop into one of the leading houses of its
kind in the colony. The firm are merchants
and general retail storekeepers, and both the
headquarters and the branch, 170-173, Orchard
Road, are capacious and well-stocked estab-
lishments. Being direct importers from Lon-
don and the Continent of Europe, thej' are
able to supply high-class goods at moderate
prices, and consequently they receive a large
share of the trade of European residents. All
the firm's assistants are Straits-born Chinese
who speak English fluently, and it is interest-
ing to note that they are, without exception,
Christians. Messrs. Yong Lee Seng & Co.
CHOP BAN SOON LEONG.
Goh Noi Hoxg (Proprietor).
have for some years held large Government
contracts, and have always given every satis-
faction. The contract for the supply of bread
alone to the military runs to some two thousand
pounds a day, and in order to cope with this
demand the firm have recently installed the
latest bread-making machinery. The latest of
Messrs. Yong Lee Seng's many enterprises is
TONG LEE SENG & CO.
Kling Street Prejiises.
Orchard-Boad Braxch.
2 H
?22
TW3EXTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OE BRItlSH MALAYA
the opening of a branch at Bangkok, where a
thriving trade is now being done.
CHEE BNG & SONS.
In Europe there is a surprising lack of
knowledge of the real requirements of white
men resident in the East, and consequently the
outfits which many new arrivals bring with
them are quite unsuited to the climate and have
frequently to be replaced by others. Fortunately
the expense of doing this is not very heavy, by
reason of the cheapness of native labour, and
a good proportion of the trade is given to native
outfitters, such as Chee Eng & Sons, who have
for nearly half a century conducted a high-class
tailoring business in the colony. During that
time they have had the patronage of many
high military and civil officials, who have
and the 95th Russell Infantry, as well as to
several companies of the Royal Engineers and
many high naval and military officers who have
been stationed at Singapore.
KOH & CO.
Philatelists in Singapore have exceptional
facilities for obtaining uncommon stamps.
Among the dealers are Messrs. Koh & Co.,
who carry on business at 90, Bras Basah
Road (Raffles Hotel Buildings), as booksellers,
stationers, drapers, &c. In addition to a large
variety of foreign stamps, they stock the latest
fiction, historical works, school text books, and
stationery of every description. Tourists, for
whom the firm largely caters, will find a good
selection of picture postcards, including the
famous Raphael Tuck series, and postcard
The premises are situated at the corner of
Raffles Place and Battery Road. The firm
import all their materials and drapery direct
from the United Kingdom, and they keep a
competent staff of cutters and tailors at 9, Hock
Lam Street, where they are prepared to under-
take the making of all kinds of clothing on the
shortest notice. They keep in stock a large
quantity of gentlemen's linen, underclothing,
&c., and ten assistants are employed in their
salerooms. There are seven partners in the
firm, with Mr. Ho Siak Ki as the manager.
SZE TO YEE.
The Chinese are adept carpenters, and there
are in Singapore not a few large firms run
both with Chinese capital and Chinese labour.
One of the best-known of these is Messrs.
IK
CHEE ENG & SONS' PREMISES.
KOH & CO.'S PREMISES.
testified to the satisfaction given by the firm.
The present proprietor and manager is Mr.
Chiang Choon Fatt, son of Mr. Chee Eng, who
founded the business in 1859, and he is a
Cantonese native of Hongkong. Sir William
Taylor, K.C.M.G., for some time Acting
Governor of the colony, writes that the firm
has always done good work for Government
House and given every satisfaction ; while
Captain Laurie, of the King's Own Regiment,
writes : " Chee Eng is the best Chinese tailor
I have come across in the East." The present
proprietor was educated in English at Raffles
Institution, obtained his knowledge of tailoring
at his father's shop, and was instructed in mili-
tary work by the master tailor of the R.G.A.
Messrs. Chee Eng & Sons have now held the
contract for volunteer uniforms for four years,
and have at different dates been tailors to the
25th, 26th, 49th, and 56th Companies of R.G.A. ,
albums. All local and home newspapers and
perfumery (imported from London, Pai'is, and
the best houses in the rest of Europe and in
America) may be obtained from the firm, who
also act as commission agents for the purchase
of Malay curios desired by tourists or residents.
The proprietor, Mr. Koh Hoon Teck, who
established the business in 1905, is a Singapore-
born Chinese.
-WAl SENG & CO.
The firm trading under the above name was
established in 189S by Ho Siak Ki, a native of
Canton, who was educated at Raffles Institu-
tion, Singapore, and trained for business
locally. He traded for some time in Ipoh,
Perak, but subsequently laid the foundations
of the present firm, which has tailoring, out-
fitting, hat, and general trading departments.
Kwong Yik Seng & Co., general carpenters
and house builders, 4, Connaught Road, which
has been established for twenty years. The
proprietor, Mr. Sze To Yee, employs no fewer
than a hundred and fifty skilled carpenters,
and, in addition to conducting his own busi-
ness, he holds the appointment of head car-
penter to Messrs. John Little, Ltd. He was
born in China, and came to Singapore some
twenty-five years ago, and he has carried out
several large contracts in the colony. He has
numerous financial interests in ttie colony, and
owns property in his native village.
CHIN HAUT HIN OIL TRABING
COMPANY.
One of the largest firms of oil merchants in
Singapore is the Chin Haut Hin Oil Trading
Company, which was established over ten years
Business Premises.
WAI SENG & CO.
Thoxg Sui Yoxg Ho Siak Ki
(otherwise known as Thoxg Yen) (Managing Partner).
CHIN HAUT HIN OIL TRADING COMPANY.
Premises in South Bridge Road.
Sim Ki.a Jax (Managing Partner).
724
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
YONG HOA SENG & CO.'S PREMISES.
ago. Mr. Seah Pek Seah is the senior partner,
and Mr. Sim Kia Jan the managing partner.
They distribute oil principally over the east coast
of Siam, the Federated Malay States and British
North Borneo. They are agents for the
Singapore Oil Mills, the Standard Oil Company,
the well-known Dragon brand of Sumatra oil,
which is famous throughout the East, and for
the Sperry Flour Company of California. In
addition to all this, the firm carries on business
as general merchants and commission agents.
Mr. Sim Kia Jan is Straits born and received
his education at Raffles Institution, Singapore,
and Mr. Seah Pek Seah is a member of one of
the most famous Chinese families in the Straits.
Besides his connection with the Oil Trading
Company, he carries on a banking business.
YONG HOA SENG.
A remarkable feature about the population
of Singapore is the immense preponderance
of the Chinese. Every kind of trade in the
colony is engaged in by them. Thus it comes
to pass that some of the largest stores of Singa-
pore are owned by Chinamen, and amongst
them Messrs. Yong Hoa Seng & Co. occupy
a prominent place. Their business at 28, Kling
Street was established in 1891 by the present
proprietor, Mr. Chia Kim Huat, who is- a native
of Swatow, and came to Singapore at an early
age. Commencing business in a very small
way, he made gradual but consistent progress
by means of his honesty and careful attention
to details, and now he has become an important
trader. The firm deal principally in groceries,
which they import direct from British and
Continental houses and supply mostly to
Europeans and Straits-born Chinese in Singa-
pore, the Federated Malay States, and Borneo.
A staff of twenty-one assistants is employed in
dealing with the volume of business transacted.
KWONG HING LOONG & CO.
A firm which occupies extensive premises in
High Street and carries on a large business is
that of Kwong Hing Loong & Co., at \os, 47,
48 and 49. The speciality here is the Canton
blackwood, for which the firm has long been
famous. It is from this shop that many well-
known Chinese gentlemen have furnished their
KWONG HING LOONG & CO.'S PREMISES.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA 725
JITTS & CO.'S PREMISES.
houses so beautifully with blackwood furni-
ture, inlaid with mother-of-pearl. High-class
jewellery, Japanese and Chinese silver-ware,
and all descriptions of watches and Japanese
curios are kept in stock. Matting and the best
rubber-tyred Japanese rickshas are also to be
obtained here. The firm employ about one
hundred skilled gold and silver smiths.
JITTS & CO.
Of recent years the demand for picture post-
cards has become universal, and new and
beautiful designs are constantly being brought
out to meet it. In Singapore all the latest
kinds may be obtained from Messrs. Jitts
& Co., who carry on business at No. 598,
North Bridge Road as printers, general pub-
lishers, lithographers, stationers, bookbinders,
account-book makers, machine rulers, rubber-
stamp manufacturers, and commission agents.
They make a speciality of their postcard de-
partment, and weekly obtain from home the
best picture cards of all descriptions. They do
a large amount of general printing, and employ
a staff of upwards of thirty compositors, thus
being able to execute speedily any work
entrusted to them. The partners in the firm,
which has been established twenty vears, are
Messrs. O. S. Jitts, O. Jitt Kwong, O. Gek Eng,
O. Mark, O. Jitt Sing, and O. Jitt Yedw. Mr.
O. S. Jitts acts as manager.
KIM CO.
Prominent amongst the booksellers in Singa-
pore are Messrs. Kim & Co., who carry on
business also as stationers, printers, book-
binders, newsagents, rubber-stamp makers,
and commission agents at Nos, i and 2, Ar-
menian Street, Singapore. Their premises are
situated at the corner of Armenian Street and
Stamford Road. The proprietors are three
Straits-born Chinese of experience. Their
business is growing so rapidly that they are
faced with the necessity of enlarging their
premises a second time, and the managing
partner has recently paid a visit to the native
States with a view to establishing branches in
them. The firm ahvays welcome an inspection
of their stock, which is both large and varied.
It comprises guides to professions, works re-
lating to China, Japan, &c. ; directories, dic-
tionaries, reference books, business books.
KIM & CO.'S PREMISES.
726
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
books on languages, including Esperanto,
&c. . The firm are agents for The World's
Chinese Students' Journal, Shanghai ; Singn-
fore Free Press, Straits Times, Eastern Daily
Mail, and Straits Eeho, Pinang, as well as for
many other newspapers and magazines and
periodicals. They have a good selection of
picture postcards on view. The telephone
number, of the firm is 1,031, and their
telegraphic address " Celerity," Singapore.
T. E. CHIN & CO.
Among the gi"eat variety of Oriental goods to
be found in Singapore shops, nothing is
more popular with the ladies than the farrious
Swatow drawn-thread work and embroidery,
which is made by Christian Chinese women in
the convents at Swatow. Notable among the
Road under the well-known style of Cheong
Soon, with branches at Pinang (Chop Cheong
Long), Canton, Kuala Lumpor, Ipoh, Deli,
Langat, and other Eastern centres. Mr. Yeong
Wai Heng, a relative of the proprietor, acts as
manager. The Singapore business was estab-
lished by the father of the present proprietor,
Mr. Yeong Sow Yin, thirty years ago. There
are twenty skilled workmen engaged at the
Singapore business, but the total number of the
firm's employees is nearly three hundred — all
of whom are Fo Gord goldsmiths. The work
turned out has a very high reputation.
TAN SAY LEE.
One of the staple trades of Singapore is that
done with Siam in rice, and the merchants
engaged in it are known as Siam traders. Of
19
m
K
T. E. CHIN & CO.
emporiums stocking this beautiful work is that
of Messrs. T. E. Chin & Co. at 82-3, Bras
Basah Road. This is an advantageous position
in Raffles Hotel Buildings, and has already
become a popular resort of tourists and
residents. The proprietor and manager is Mr.
Tan Eng Chin. Besides drawn-thread work
he keeps an excellent stock of Swatow pewter-
ware, stationery, and fancy goods, which is
replenished every fortnight, A speciality is
made of picture postcards, and foreign stamps
are kept in great variety. Mr Chin also carries
on business as a general printer, rubber-
stamp manufacturer, and commission agent.
CHEONG SOON & CO.
Close upon three hundred goldsmiths are
employed by Mr. Yeong Hang Shek, who
carries on business at No. 168, South Bridge
these Tan Say Lee is one of the best known.
For twenty-two years the firm, whose head
office is at 63, Khng Street, has done an exten-
sive trade with Siam in the staple food of the
poorer classes of Malays, Chinese, and Indians.
Mr. Tan Choo Inn is the largest shareholder in
the concern, and at Bangkok he is one of the
largest traders, and has, among other interests,
two rice mills. He is a native of Swatow, and,
like many other Chinese business men from
the South of China, he rapidly acquired an
important place in the local business world
on coming to the Straits, The Singapore
managing director is Mr. Loh Sin Khay, a
capable and popular man, who is a member
of the Chwoo Hoi Lim Club, admission to
which is restricted to prominent business men.
He is also a member of the Chinese Chamber
of Commerce and of the Siam Traders' Asso-
ciation. In addition to their Siam trade
Messrs. Tan Say Lee, who also have a branch
at Hongkong, are the sole proprietors of the
famous tea produced in Amoy and known as
Nghee Hiang throughout the Far East.
WING SANG & CO.
Only those who have seen for themselves
can realise what a large amount of skill and
ingenuity is displayed by Eastern peoples in
the manufacture of curios. In Singapore one
of the best-known firms of Chinese and
Japanese curio merchants is Messrs. Wing
Sang & Co., whose premises are at 59 and
60i High Street, where the business was
established twenty years ago. They deal in
all classes of Eastern curios, such as Satsuma
and cloisonne ware, Japanese silks, ivory ware,
lacquered ware, porcelain, tea sets, vases,
bronzes, &c. Chinese curios they import
from Hongkong, Shanghai, Canton, Swatow,
Fuchow, Amoy, and all the principal manu-
facturing centres of South China. Of these
goods they keep an attractive assortment, from
which visitors and residents can select presents
of all kinds and at all prices. The firm also
deal in Japanese rickshas and matting, and are
mercers and outfitters.
KOH BENG CHUA,
Mr. Koh Beng Chua is a well-known gentle-
man in Singapore, and a prominent member of
the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. He was
born in 1880 in Singapore, and educated at the
Eastern School. In 1900 he became a partner
in his father's firm, which deals in copra, paddy,
rice, kerosene, and coconut oil. The firm was
founded thirty years ago by Mr. Koh Tong
Chian, Mr. Koh Beng Chua's father. The
principal customers are local traders, though
goods are also shipped to Malacca and Muar.
Mr. Koh Beng Chua is married and has one
daughter. His four brothers, Messrs. Koh
BengWoon, Koh Beng Puan, Koh Beng Tong,
Koh Beng Liew, and his uncle, Koh Nine
Kiang (trustee of the firm) are all well-known_
HENG HIN & CO.
The noted wines of France, the popular
whisky of Scotland, and the well-known cigars
and tobacco of the Philippine Islands are
imported direct by Messrs. Heng Hin & Co.,
who carry on business at 12, Market Street,
Singapore. Established in 1856 by Mr. Lim
Soon Tee, the firm to-day hold a leading
position in local mercantile circles. Besides
doing a large trade in Singapore, they export to
the native States, Borneo, and the surrounding
islands. Their licensed warehouse is No. 51,
Teluk Ayer Street, where several thousands of
cases of spirits, free of duty, are almost always
in stock. They are agents for several world-
renowned brands of champagne and other
wines. They also import rattans, rubber,
gutta-percha, hides, betel-nuts, &c., which
they sell to local traders, and own a saw-mill
at No. 3, Syed Alwee Road.
ANN LOCK & CO.
An important business house carrying on an
import and export trade in Singapore is that of
Ann Lock & Co. It was founded by Messrs.
Chia Ann Lim and Chia Ann Lock, natives of
Singapore, who commenced business as mer-
chants and general importers in Battery Road.
When they died, Mr. Chia Ann Liew took over
the business, and later on he was succeeded by
Messrs. Chia Keng Chay and Chia Keng Chin,
who traded under the style of Ann Lock & Co.
Their businessis that of wine, spirit, and liquor
merchants, and they obtain much of their stock
direct from the United Kingdom and France.
They deal also in provisions, and make a
speciality of saddlery and harness, which they
import from Walsall. They have a large local
CHOP CHEONG SOON.
Ykong Wai Hexg (Manager),
CHOP TAN SAY LEB.
LOH Sin Khay (Managing Director).
WING SANG & CO.
How KlANG Choon (Proprietor).
728
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPHESSIONS OE BRITISH MALAYA
trade, cater for canteens, and supply liquors to
the neighbouring islands, &c. They have
about eighteen employees. Mr. Chia Keng
Chin, the managing partner, was educated at
Raffles Institution. He was one of the founders
and an ardent supporter of the Recreation Club,
and is a member of the Weekly Entertainment
Club.
TAN TECK CHENG.
One of the largest Chinese carriage-building
establishments in Singapore is Chop. Peng
Seng, 84 to 91, New Market Road. Born in
China, Tan Teck Cheng, the proprietor, came
to Singapore when he was twenty-one years of
age, and by dint of thirty-one years' careful
business management has built up a very
flourishing business. On an average some two
hundred carriages of various kinds are con-
structed in his works every year, a staff of eighty
workmen being employed. The materials from
which the vehicles are built are imported direct
from Europe, and all the work is done under
the personal supervision of Mr. Tan Teck
Cheng, who has had a wide experience of the
trade since boyhood. P'or many years he has
had the patronage of leading local residents,
and has gained a high reputation throughout
the Straits Settlements for the excellency of his
work. Another branch of the business is the
manufacture of ships' mattresses, pillows, and
cushions.
Mr. Tan Eng Wah is the compradore to
Messrs. D. Brandt & Co., Battery Road, and as
such has control of the Chinese and export
business of the firm. He was born at Singa-
pore and received his education at Raffles
Institution. Entering the employment of
Messrs. Brandt upon leaving school, he has
remained with them ever since, his trustworthi-
ness, energy, and ability winning for him steady
promotion to his present responsible position,
which he has held for seventeen years.
Through his hands all the export of jungle
produce and rubber passes, and he is well up
in his own particular line of business. Mr.
Tan Eng Wah is married, and his family
resides in Singapore.
Oon Chong Siew. — The responsible posi-
tion of compradore to Messrs. Guthrie & Co.,
which entails complete charge of their Chinese
department, is held by Mr. Oon Chong Siew, a
highly-respected member of the Chinese com-
munity of the colony. His connection with
Messrs. Guthrie extends over thirty years, and,
as he has a staff of more than a hundred under
his personal supervision, it may reasonably be
assumed that great abihty is required to manage
the large business which the company do with
Chinese and natives in the Straits Settlements
and Federated Malay States.
Mr. Oh Swee Kiat, the head storekeeper
for Messrs. Paterson, Simons & Co., has been
with that firm from his boyhood, and is now
Hearing the completion of half a century's
faithful service. The son of the late Mr. Oh
Quay Guan, of Malacca, he was born in Singa-
pore in 1844, and entered the firm of Paterson,
Simons & Co., which was then quite a small
concern, when he was fourteen years of age.
For many vears he has had charge of the
godowns and produce department. Through-
out his forty-nine years' service he has given
his employers every satisfaction, and he is held
in high esteem by the members of the firm.
He has two sons, Messrs. Oh Kee Chuan and
Oh Chuan Seng (who are both being educated
in English), and two daughters.
Mr. Lim Loon Hock, who is the manager
of the firm of commission agents trading under
the style of Chop Seng Hong, in Cecil Street,
was born in Singapore in 1883. After being
educated at Raffles Institution, he went as •
assistant to the firm of Seng Hong in 1900, and
six years later was appointed manager. His
father was the late Mr. Lim Kewee Seng,
manager of the Heng Hong Rice Mills. Mr.
Lim Loon Hock is a member of the Strait-i
Chinese Recreation Club, the Chinese Chamber
of Commerce, and the Straits Chinese British
Association.
Mr. Wee Kay Seek, the principal clerk to
Messrs. Alsagoff & Co., was born in Malacca,
where his ancestors were among the very
earliest settlers, and carried on business as
merchants. After being educated at Malacca
High School, Mr. Wee Kay Seek, who speaks
Enghsh fluently, came to Singapore in 1885,
and a few years later entered the service of
Messrs. Alsagoff.
PINANG.
PINANG has a subtle fascination that it is
difficult to define. It lacks the variety to
be found in Bangkok or Tokyo ; it has not the
same degree of Orientalism to be found in
Pekin or Canton ; and it does not present
the same deep contrasts as are to be met
with in Durban, where the rays from the arc
of an electric lamp may shine on to a path-
MUNICIPAL STAFF.
way through the jungle. Nor is it a modern
Pompeii, teeming with associations of the dis-
tant past ; while even those " places of in-
terest" so dear to the heart of the common
or garden guide-book manufacturer are re-
markably limited in number. And yet, withal,
its charms attract the "exile" from home as
easily as do the disadvantages of, say, Manila
repel.
Should the visitor arrive by steamer from
Europe or Singapore at an early hour in the
morning, before the Port Health Officer has
had time to come out in a neat little steam
launch to examine the passengers, he will find
but little in the vista before him to anticipate
anything out of the common — that is, if already
he has had on his voyage a surfeit of tropical
scenery. As his vessel takes up her place in
the channel separating the island of Pinang
from the Malay Peninsula, the capital, George-
town (called after George, Prince of Wales)
seems to be only a long, thin line surmounted
on the left by a range of hills gently sloping
upward, apparently almost from the water's
edge. Calm and tranquillity appear at that
moment to reign supreme, and the lines of
Goldsmith's " Deserted Village" are recalled
involuntarily.
Presently, however, a veritable little fleet of
sampans (or shoe-boats), steered by dusky
upright Tamil figures, come swiftly out from
the jetty as at some given word of command,
and swarm round the steamer on all sides.
The moment the last native passenger is
"ticked off" by the Port Health Officer the
sampans are crowded with a very mixed
" cargo " of Asiatics and luggage of endless
description. The visitor probably expects to
witness a series of accidents and collisions,
only to find that his fears are groundless, for
the swarthy Kling sampan-men are no novices
at their work, and, after depositing their
assorted freight at the nearest jetty or land-
a
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730
TWENTIETH CENTURY OirRESSlONS OF BRITISH JNIALAYA
ing-place, are back again within an inciedibly
short time for another " load."
Whilst he awaits the shipping agent's launch
or a diminution in the demand for sampans,
the visitor has time to look around him. He
other Oriental and European habitations, be-
sides a bird's-eye view of the village of
Butterworth and the tin-smelting woiks of
the Straits Trading Company. Any specu-
lations he may indulge in as to what lies
PINANG IN 1828.
is agreeably surprised to find that the harbour
is very capacious, and that its maritime trade,
judging by the flags of many nationalities, is
of an international character, both as regards
small coasting vessels and large ocean liners.
hidden from view in the hinterland beyond
are disturbed, however, by the arrival of a
steam-launch, which swiftly bears him on his
mission — not to "see Naples and die," but to
see Pinang, and live ever afterwards with only
i?. . W V?W1^S|
Mm
PINANG IN 1837.
A cursory glance over at the mainland — at
Province Wellesley (which is part of the
settlement of Pinang) — will unfold to him a
beautiful coast-line fringed with graceful palm-
trees, and dotted here and there with Malay or
the most pleasant memories of his visit, be it
long or brief.
The short run between the steamer and the
Victoria Jetty will in itself be a "voyage of dis-
covery." Pinang, taken as a unit, is no great
producing or consuming place ; its own e.\-
ports and its own imports are as a mere
drop in the bucket ; but it is a distributing
centre to and from the vast and rapidly
developing hinterland of the Federated Malay
States and Siamese Malaya, and to and from
the Dutch East Indies, while it further acts as
an intermediate feeder for Indian trade. Ample
evidence of the nature of Pinang's products (in-
cluding those of Province Wellesley) may be
seen from a cursory glance at the contents of
the innumerable tongkangs, or lighters, moored
alongside the merchant vessels, the principal
being tin, gambier, pepper, copra, gutta-
percha, gum copal, tapioca, and rubber.
Good as the trade of Pinang is, however,
it might easily have been very much larger
had there been greater facilities for carrying
on the trade of a transit port. Within the past
quarter of a century the trade of Pinang has
increased by over 400 per cent.
As the visitor approaches Victoria Pier — a
small covered-in jetty — he will see on his
right-hand side Swettenham Pier, named
after Sir Frank ■ Swettenham, the previous
Governor. This latter pier was opened in
1905, is 600 feet in length, and, it is said, has
taken "nearly twenty years of representa-
tion " to get constructed. Adjoining it are old
barn-like structures called goods-sheds, which
are leased out by the Government to landing
and, shipping agents. Close at hand, how-
ever, is a block of newly-built goods stores,
or godowns, which have a more modern
appearance.
Opposite the jetty sheds, as they are termed
locally,, a great block of buff -coloured Govern-
ment buildings sweeps from Weld Quay into
King Edward Place and Beach Street, and
thence round into Downing Street. They com-
prise the General Post Office, the Government
Telegraph Office, and the Government Tele-
phone Exchange ; the Governor's Office, for
the use of his Excellency when visiting
Pinang ; the Resident Councillor's Office, the
Audit Office, the Public Works Department,
the Land Office, the Marine Department, in-
cluding the Harbour Master's Office, and the
Office of the Solicitor-General.
Directly opposite the main entrance of the
post office in Downing Street is another buff-
coloured edifice, which is shared by the
Pinang Chamber of Commerce, the Pinang
Turf Club, and the Town Club.
Like Weld Quay, Downing Street is by no
means one of the finest streets in Pinang, not-
withstanding its rather high-sounding name,
reminiscent of its famous namesake in London.
But were the visitor to judge Pinang, or, to
be more particular, Georgetown, by its streets
alone, he would perhaps carry away with
him impressions far from favourable. Of
the fifty odd public roads and streets within
municipal limits there are few within the
business part of the town of any special
note, The majority are badly laid out, and,
strange to say, the greatest offender in this
respect is Beach Street, the very " hub "
of local trade and commerce. It stands at
right angles to Downing Street, and is long,
narrow, irregular, and ungainly — some parts,
especially in what is known as the Chinese
quarter, being extremely narrow — and alto-
gether ill-suited for the requirements of a
go-ahead business community. In years
gone by, before the present development of
Pinang was ever dreamt of. Beach Street, as
its name naturally implies, was not a street but
a sea-shore ; and as, by the evolution of Nature,
the sea receded and the land was reclaimed,
first one row of shops and houses and then
another arose in rapid succession, but without
any apparent idea of symmetry on the part of
the builders. The natural effect of this hap-
hazard arrangement is seen in the Beach Street
of the present day.
All the streets west of Beach Street follow a
TWENTIETH CENTURA IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
731
rectangular design, which renders the task of
finding one's way about the town simplicity
itself, and within those streets nearest to Beach-
street are to be found the best studies of
Oriental arts and industries. At night this
neighbourhood is badly lighted, for the electric
lighting system, which is a feature of other
portions of the town, has not yet been extended
to Beach Street, despite its commercial im-
portance. As the northern half is confined to
European shops and warehouses, there is not,
of course, the same need for electric light. At
the other end, the proverbial industry of the
Chinese is well emphasised ; for, long after his
European rival in business has not only gone
home for the day, but retired for the night as
well, the Chinaman has his shop brightly lit up
with great hanging lamps, and an army of
assistants, clerks, and coolies are hard at work.
And then there are Asiatics of other nation-
alities, who have, metaphorically speaking,
" pitched their tents " in Pinang in order to
gain a livelihood — the Indian money-changers,
whose stalls are to be seen on every pavement ;
the Chetty money-lenders, whose habitations
are to be found clustered together in a row in
Pinang Street and King Street ; the Sinhalese
silver-ware dealer and vendor of lace ; the
" Bombay merchant," who stocks everything
from curios to cottons ; and the Japanese,
whose special "lines" are curios, hair-dressing,
photography, or tattooing. All these and more
are to be met with in Pinang, which is nothing
if not cosmopolitan. Of the 131,917 persons
who made up the estimated population of
Pinang in 1906 (excluding Province Wellesley),
there were 1,056 Europeans ; 1,759 Eurasians ;
75,495 Chinese ; 33,525 Malays ; 18,162 Indians ;
and 1,920 of " other nationalities." The total
population within municipal limits was esti-
mated i n 1906 at 99,400.
A touch of picturesqueness is lent to the
streets at the busiest parts of the day by the
throngs of Orientals of all races, clad in gar-
ments peculiar to their respective countries.
The " nonias " or wives of the " towkays " are
usually resplendent in jewellery worn over a
neat-fitting garment of some bright hue that
envelops them from neck to foot ; but it is
seldom that they discard their own clumsy-
looking Chinese wooden shoes for those of
European pattern. The Malay females also
are fond of colour. They follow their men-
folk so far as the " sarong " is concerned, but
they wear a short cotton jacket, above which
they have a circular piece of cloth with which
they enshroud their heads and faces when they
appear in public.
House rent in Pinang is ridiculously high,
and the European may be considered fortunate
if he can get a fairly comfortable bungalow,
lacking many " modern conveniences," for
between 70 and 100 dollars per month. As the
Europeans, generally speaking, come to the
tropics to make money and not for the benefit
of their health, it naturally follows that their
houses are never extravagantly furnished.
Their " household gods " are mostly made of
rattan or cane, which is cheap, cool, and light.
Hitherto they have not enjoyed the advantage
of any special quarter of the town in which to
reside by themselves, so interwoven with their
houses are those of Eurasians and Asiatics,
Now, however, a European residential quarter
is springing up in the vicinity of the Sepoy
Lines — once upon a time the locale of a British
regiment's barracks. The finest sites and the
most palatial residences in Pinang are monopo-
lised by the wealthy Chinese, many of whom
also live in the heart of the business portion of
the town. The houses of these latter do not,
from an external point of view, betray the
affluence of their occupants; but inside they are
palaces on a miniature scale, with the most
costly furnishings and fittings, both of Oriental
and Occidental manufacture. Other Chinese,
again, in common with the majority of the
Malays and Tamils, live in mere hovels, in greatest mortality occurs in the hottest
huts built on piles, or huddled together in months — May, June, and July. Pinang, at the
cubicles of the filthiest possible nature. And same time, has never the same stifling, op-
it is a striking anomaly that some of the most pressive heat that is experienced in, say.
THE HOSPITAL.
wretched-looking habitations of the natives are Bangkok, the temperature rarely reachino
to be found alongside a huge Chinese club or 94°, while it is sometimes as low as 72°'
residence, or adjacent to a European bun- The average maximum is about 89- 5°, the
g^low. average minimum 74-2°, and the mean tem-
CHINA STREET.
Still, notwithstanding the poverty and
squalor of the large majority of its inhabitants,
the average annual death-rate of the Munici-
pality is no higher than 39-43 per mille. The
perature is about 80^0°. Then, besides the
continual cooling breeze from the sea, there is
an abundant rainfall, the average for the last
23 years being 125-43 inches. It will thus be
732
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
concluded that there are many worse places
east of Suez than Pinang for the European to
reside in.
Georgetown is fortunate in having a Munici-
pal Commission, of whose beneficent adminis-
tration there is ample evidence on every hand.
The streets are generally well kept ; the drain-
If the latter begins his "tour of inspection"
from Swettenham Wharf, the first objects to
attract his attention after passing the Govern-
ment buildings in King Edward Place (to
which reference has already been made) will
be the clock tower and Fort Cornwallis. The
clock tower was presented to the town in 1897
PINANG FROM THE HARBOUR.
age. though not perfect, is receiving greater
attention year by year ; there is an excellent,
though as yet limited, electric lighting system ;
there is an eleven-mile electric tramway, with
a service of eight cars at intervals of eleven
minutes ; and there is a good supply of potable
water from the waterfall at the Botanical
Gardens.
With regard to the topography there is
much to interest the resident and visitor alike.
by Mr. Chea Chen Eolc, J. P., one of Pinang's
Chinese millionaires, as a permanent memorial
of the late Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.
It is sixty feet in height — a foot for each of the
sixty years of her Majesty's reign up to 1897 —
and cost the donor some thirty-five thousand
dollars. Adjoining the clock tower is Fort
Cornwallis, surrounded by a moat. In the
early days of Pinang the Fort occupied a
prominent position in the affairs of the town,
although there appears to be no reliable data
as to when it was built or how much it
cost. In the official records relating to the
settlement the last document bearing the
signature of Capt. Francis Light, the founder
of Pinang, is dated Fort Cornwallis, January
25, 1794. When the military rule of Pinang
was superseded by a civil administration, and,
subsequently, when the British regiment was
withdrawn from the island, the Fort lost much
of its importance, and at the present day is used
only as a signal station for the shipping of the
port, as quarters for European and Sikh police,
and as a Drill Hall for the local volunteer corps.
The ancient landmark is shortly to disappear,
however, by order of the Straits Government,
to make more room near Swettenham Wharf
for the claims of commerce, and at the time of
•writing the Legislative Council have passed a
vote of 22,500 dollars for the purchase of a
vacant site in Northam-road on which to build
a new Drill Hall and Government quarters.
South of Fort Cornwallis — at the end of
Beach Street, properly speaking — are the
Police Offices, adjoining which, again, are
the Police Courts with a frontage to Light
Street. The Police Courts are three in
number, and both internally and externally
are but ill-suited for the needs of the place.
West of Fort Cornwallis is the Esplanade,
a comprehensive name which includes a large
ground on which football, cricket, lawn-tennis,
and bowls are played, and also the promenade
along the sea front. On the Fort side is the
pavilion of the Pinang Recreation Club, whose
membership mainly comprises Eurasians ; on
the opposite side is the pavilion of the Pinang
Cricket Club, on whose membership roll are
chiefly Europeans. At the south side of the
athletic ground is a bandstand, where a Filipino
band plays for an hour or so on Mondays, Wed-
nesdays, and Fridays, besides on special occa-
sions. The ordinary " band night " sees the
THE GOVERNMENT OFFICES.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
733
Esplanade thronged with rickshas and carriages,
while the southern portion of the recreation-
ground is for the nonce transformed into a
public park in which Europeans, Eurasians,
and Asiatics alike stroll to and fro listening
to the music. Seaward from I he Esplanade
a beautiful panoramic view is presented, a
clear blue sky, the sea dotted with fishing
craft and steamships and the hillocks and
tropical scenery on the mainland opposite
forming an ideal background.
At the north-west corner of the Esplanade
stand the Municipal Offices, an imposing
whitewashed edifice, which is one of the archi-
tectural beauties of the town. Further along,
nearer Light Street, is the Town Hall, which,
hke the Municipal Offices, is fitted with electric
light and electric fans. For many years it was
unkempt and antiquated, but it has recently
undergone considerable renovation and im-
proveinent, on which 10,000 dollars were
expended in igo5 and over 19,000 in igo6.
Passing the Town Hall and a grass-plot, in
the centre of which is a miniature fountain,
we re-enter Light Street, which, as the name
imphes, is called after the founder of f'inang.
Immediately to the right is Edinburgh House,
the domicile of a rich Chinaman, but so named
after H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh and Corn-
wall, who visited Pinang in igot and stayed
in this house. Opposite Edinburgh House
is Aurora House, also the residence of a
wealthy Chinaman ; its interior is sumptuously
furnished and is well worth visiting, if only
to see how closely the educated Chinese are
following Western ideas.
At the junction of Light Street and Pitt Street
is the new Supreme Court, which was opened
in 1904 on the site of its predecessor, which
had done duty since i8og, previous to which,
again, the Court was held in Fort Cornwallis.
The present edifice is a very handsome one,
with a statue of Justice gracefully occupying
the topmost niche of the main portico roof.
There are two divisions of the Court proper,
In the southern portion of the Supreme
Court building is the Pinang Library, which
receives an annual grant from the Government
and is e,xceptionally well equipped with books.
As the annual subscription is only five dollars,
the library may be considered one of the
THE MUNICIPAL OFFICES.
so that two judges can hear cases at the same
time, and between the two divisions is ihe bar
library and bar-room for the convenience of the
legal profession. A session of Assize is held
quarterly, when the presiding judge, wearing
a scarlet robe, is preceded by a native Court
official in uniform bearing a sword.
cheapest circulating libraries in the East, and
deserves greater popularity than it at present
obtains.
Within the Supreme Court ground is a statue
erected to the memory of the late Mr. Daniel
Logan, a local lawyer much rej-pected in his day.
He occupied at one time a seat on the Legisla-
THE MARKET.
THE MUNICIPAL ABATTOIRS.
ELTON BELL.
I Municipal Veterinary Surgeon.)
See p. 742.
THE PIG MARKET.
734
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
tive Council and acted as Attorney-General ;
his death occurred in 1897.
Curving round into Farquhar Street, we pass
the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus on the
trally situated, albeit lacking the advantage of
a sea-frontage. On the right-hand side is St.
George's Girls' School, managed by a com-
mittee of trustees belonging to St. George's
PINANG CEICKET CLUB.
At the Cricket Club Pavilion on the Occasion of the Annual Match,
Straits Settlements v. Federated Mal.iy States, August, 1907.
right — one of the oldest institutions in Pinang,
which has done and is doing much good work
for members of every sect and denomination.
To the left in Farquhar Street proper stand
the Free School and St. George's Church,
the place of worship of the members of the
Church of England. The Free School, which
has recently been enlarged, was founded in
1 8 16 for the education of children of all classes,
but is purely a boys' school. In early days the
Protestants of the town worshipped in a room
in Fort Cornwallis, but St. George's Church
was built in 1817-18. It is of Greek architec-
Church ; and next door, so to' speak, is the
Eastern and Oriental Hotel.
After negotiating a dangerous turning at the
west end of Farquhar Street, we enter Northam
Road, one of the prettiest roads in George-
tropical foliage on every side. The road itself
is well kept, and is beautifully shaded with
lovely overhanging trees. It makes a picture
worth seeing either during the day, when the
sea peeps into view between the bungalows on
the north side, or at night, when the electric
arc-lamps are lighted, their bright rays pene-
trating through the leaves of the trees on either
■■iide. The first building of note is the pagoda-
like residence of a wealthy Chinaman, which
is four storeys in height, from the topmost
balcony of which a splendid bird's-eye view
of the harbour and mainland is obtained. On
the right-hand side, some little distance along,
is the Pinang Club, a building of pink hue,
quite close to the sea-front, with a well-
groomed, spacious lawn and fine approaches
from the roadway. Next to the club are the
headquarters of the Eastern Extension, Aus-
tralasia, and China Telegraph Company, whose
office is kept open night and day for the
transmission of telegrams to all parts of the
world. We then come to the Presbyterian
Church, known as the " Scots Kirk," a peculiar-
looking whitewashed structure, with an un-
completed dome. At the end of Northam
Road is the Masonic Hall, in which are held
the meetings of Lodge Royal Prince of
Wales, No. 1,555, E.C., and Lodge Scotia,
No. 1,003, S.C. On the west side is a palatial
mansion built by a well-known Chinaman ; it
is surmounted by a green dome, and no
expense seems to have been spared in the
work of construction. Altogether it is a
decided acquisition to the landscape in that
vicinity. If the visitor turns into Pangkor
Road, he should turn again at the first cross
road — Burma Road — in which, at the junction
with Pangkor Road, is the Chinese Recrea-
tion Club, with spacious grounds finely laid
out for lawn-tennis, cricket, and football.
Proceeding in a westerly direction brings
him to the village of Pulau Tikus, which is
now really incorporated with Burma Road,
although at one time it was a distinct and
separate district, with associations all its own.
THE FORT.
ture, simple and unpretentious, and is now fitted
with electric hght and electric fans-.
Passing further up Farquhar Street, which
takes its name from a former Lieut.-Gover-
nor of the settlement, we come to the Roman
Catholic Church of the Assumption and then to
St. Xavier's Institution, the latter being a school
and boarding-house for boys, conducted by the
Christian Brothers. It is a magnificent edifice,
harmoniously tinted in various colours. Further
along, at the corner of Farquhar Street and
Leith Street, is the Engineers' Institute, with a
frontage to the latter street. At the opposite
corner is the International Hotel, which is cen-
PINANG AMATEUR DRAMATIC SOCIETY.
town, notwithstanding its proximity to the
business centre. It is the beginning of villadom
— fine, large residences enclosed in spacious
grounds (locally called "compounds"), with
Like Northam Road, the greater portion of
Burma Road is a pretty avenue, and when
the ansena trees on either side are in bloom,
they are most beautiful to behold. From the
SCENE IN THE BOTANICAL GARDENS.
THE GARDENS FROM THE HILL.
EIFLB RANGE EGAD.,
BALIK PULAU.
AYER ETAM VALLEY.
736
TWENTIETH CENTURY LMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MAI^AYA
top of Burma Road to the right along Bagan
Jermal Road the drive leads through some
very pretty scenery, which at certain points
recalls a country road in England — save, of
course, where there are palm-trees and other
tropical foliage. A good specimen of a Malay
village — Tanjong Tokong — is reached, with
attap-covered houses, built on wooden piles,
which stand in patches of slimy-looking mud
and water. As elsewhere round the island, the
view seaward is here very picturesque, en-
hanced as it is by Malay "kolehs" or fishing
boats along the water's edge, a row of fishing
stakes further out from the beach, a coasting
steamer passing in the distance, and the out-
portion of an enjoyable afternoon, and he will,
in all likelihood, defer further sight-seeing till
another day.
One of the beauty spots of Pinang is the
Botanical Gardens, situated about four and a
half miles from the Victoria Jetty. The best
route to take is along Light Street, Farqu-
har Street, and Northam Road, as far as
Larut Road, just before the "Scots Kirk" is
reached. After passing a police-station, with
a gong outside, suspended to a tree — which
forms a sort of landmark for the stranger —
the journey leads to the left along Anson
Road, into McAlister Road on the right, up
Barrack Road, past the Criminal Prison, then
with its magnificent open pavilion of rubble,
granite pavements, tile roof, massive granite
tablets bearing the names of 541 Chinese sub-
scribers and erected at a cost of 2,000 dollars,
its colossal statue of Mr. Lee Phee Eow (a
former resident of some note), and its spacious
cooking and dining rooms for the convenience
of the funeral guests. The grounds resemble
lovely gardens, but for the gravestones dotted
here and there in the hillocks.
Passing the Protestant cemetery in Western
Road, the route leads onward through a number
of coconut and fruit plantations into Waterfall
Road. On the left there is a magnificent Chetty
Temple, dedicated to the " God of Fire," which
THE VICTORIA MEMORIAL CLOCK TOWER.
line of Kedah hills furthermost of all. Then
the road suddenly curves inland, is steeper
than before, and brings into view a few bun-
galows, wilh the island of Pulau Tikus (not
to be confused with the village of Pulau Tikus
already mentioned) in the offing. We are
now at Tanjong Bungah ("Flowery Point"),
which is a popular holiday resort with the
residents of Georgetown. There are not
many bungalows, and the majority of those
which have been built are usually rented by
the day, week, or month. Here, too, are the
headquarters of the Pinang Swimming Club ;
and, if the drive be continued further along,
the village of Batu PVi-inghi is reached. But
the visitor will find that a drive to the Swim-
ming Club and back to town passes the greater
switches to the right once more into Hospital
Road, in which are situated the General Hos-
pital and the District or Pauper Hospital. We
have now arrived at Sepoy Lines, where are
situated the parade-ground and barracks of
the Malay States Guides (the Sikh Regiment).
To the right are Government House, and, just
beyond, the Racecourse and Golf Club ; and
to the left, in Western Road, is the Residency.
The drive along A\'estern Road leads past the
Roman Catholic and Protestant Cemeteries,
adjoining each other. Incidentally, it might
be mentioned that perhaps the best situated
and finest laid-out cemetery in Pinang is the
Chinese Cemetery at Batu Gantong, which may
also be reached from Western Road. It is a
revelation of what the Chinese can accomplish,
is thrown open to the general public at the
annual " Taipusum " festival. A few minutes
later we arrive at the Botanical Gardens,
situated in an amphitheatre of hills. They are
excellently laid out, with innumerable plots of
grass intersected by pathways, all of which are
invariably in good order. The trees, plants,
and flowers are neatly labelled with their re-
spective technical names, while the plant and
fern houses present a vision of tropical loveli-
ness that it would be hard to excel anywhere.
To the extreme left is a disused swimming
pond, where the youth of the town were once
wont to disport themselves. Xow it is in a
neglected condition — the only blot on the other-
wise fair landscape. A slight incline along a
broad pathway leads to the waterfall — by no
TWENTIETH CENTUHY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
737
r
THE AYER ETAM WATERFALL.
THE WATERFALL RESERVOIR.
manner of means a Niagara, but still pretty
to behold. Close at hand is the reservoir which
supplies Georgetown with its water.
Not far from the entrance to the Botanical
Gardens is the pathway most often used by
■ those who make the ascent to the Crag Hotel
and Government Hill. The journey is usually
made in chairs suspended from bamboo poles,
borne on the shoulders of Tamil coolies. The
beauty of the Malayan forest, with its dense
tropical foliage, has " to be seen to be believed."
■ Above all, the delicious coolness of the atmo-
sphere at the summit, and the splendid, com-
prehensive view afforded of the whole town,
the harbour, and the hills of Perak in the far
distance, enhance a delightful experience that
should not be missed.
To overtake all the places of interest the
visitor should allot a special afternoon in which
to visit the Chinese Temple at Ayer Etam, the
drive to which opens up some more pretty
country. Or, the journey may be made by
• electric tramway at a cost of only twenty cents.
Five miles across the Ayer Etam Hill lies the
village of Balik Pulau, in a world entirely of its
own. It can boast of its own waterworks, a
police-station, post and telegraph office, hospital,
district office and court-house, and a Roman
Catholic Mission Church. The highest point
on the road across the hill is called " Low's
Pass," or " Penera Bukit," from which a fine
view is obtainable, especially on a fine, clear
day.
Returning to town by way of Ayer Etam Road
again, the visitor passes the gaol at the corner
of Dato Kramat Road and then what is locally
known as Dato Kramat Gardens — a large piece
of vacant land now used as a football-ground,
at one end of which is an ancient-looking
statue of a member of the Brown family, who
were among the mercantile pioneers of Pinang.
Close at hand is Jelutong Road, leading to Green
Lane and Coombe Hill. A deviation from
Jelutong Road brings us to Sungei Pinang
(" river Pinang "), and Sungei Pinang Bridge,
adjoining which a 'little "factory suburb" is
fast springing up. There is already a large
rice mill, an ice factory, petroleum " godowns "
or stores, and the electric power-station and
are the municipal abattoirs, pig market, and
animal infirmary — all of them excellently super-
vised and kept scrupulously clean. Leaving
these monuments of municipal progress and
a<t«iMw.-jf«.>.a<;f .1
THE ESPLANADE.
tramway depot. A visit to Sungei Pinang will
afford a better insight into the commercial
development of Pinang than tomes of dry-as-
dust statistics. Continuing our wav along
Bridge Street, we pass Cecil Street, in which
enterprise, the south end of Beach Street is
entered, along which the "stranger within the
gates " makes his way to the jetty and his
steamer, deeply and most favourably impressed
by all he has seen and heard during his
738
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OP BRITISH MALAYA
tour of the capital of Pinang and its suburbs,
and ready to agree, in the words of Burns,
that—
" Here wealth still swells the golden tide,
As busy trade his labours plies :
There archil ecture's noble pride
Bids elegance and splendour rise."
PINANG MUNICIPALITY.
The earliest form of local government in
Pinang dales from 1827, when a Committee of
Assessors was appointed by the Government.
This system remained unchanged until the
colony was transferred from the Indian to the
Colonial Government, in 1867, and a Municipal
Commission was created, consisting of five
members, with the Lieutenant-Governor (and
later, the Resident Councillor) as President.
The whole of the island of Pinang, together
with Province Wellesley, was administered by
this authority, but in 1888 the municipal area
was limited to Georgetown only. The town's
water-supply, electric lighting and tramway
systems, abattoirs, and markets are all munici-
pal undertakings.
The Municipal Commission is composed of
during the year was 208,131 dollars more than
in the previous year, and amounted to 1,022,648
dollars, the increase being largely due to the
income yielded by the recently-acquired electric
light and power undertaking and by the tram-
ways. The expenditure amounted to 1,077,222
dollars. A municipal rate of 11 per cent, on
the rateable value was levied, with a water
rate (in addition to water charges) of i per
cent.
The expenditure from loans during the year
amounted to 214,695.54 dollars, and was made
up as follows : Tramways, capital account,
46,444.33 dollars ; Sungei Pinang bridges,
lii737-9i dollars ; electric light capital account,
43i936-39 dollars ; drainage improvements,
70,279.26 dollars, and purchase of land in water
catchment area, 42,297.65 dollars. The total
indebtedness of the Commissioners in respect
of loans on January i, 1907, was 1,850,000
dollars. Of this sum 223,692 dollars remained
unexpended.
Health Department.
The Health Department is responsible for
the supervision of the sanitation of the town,
the collection of market tolls, the compilation
of vital sfatistics, the licensing of dangerous
THE BEBIDBNCr.
six members. Three of these, including the
President, who has a casting vote, are nomin-
ated by the Governor, and as a rule two of them
either are, or have been, Civil Servants. The
remaining three members of the Commission
are elected by the ratepayers, and hold office
for three years. One member retires each
year.
Every candidate must be a British subject,
not younger than twenty-five years of age, who
can speak, read, and write the English lan-
guage ; and he must either have paid rates
for the preceding half-year to the amount of
20 dollars or upwards in respect of property of
which he is the owner, or be the occupier of a
house, or portion of a house, of an annual rate-
able value of 480 dollars.
To qualify as a voter a ratepayer must have
paid rates for six months amounting to six
dollars or upwards in respect of property of
which he is the owner, or be the occupier of a
house for which he pays a monthly rent of not
less than 20 dollars. There were 2,500 voters
on the register in 1905, but there are hundreds
of Chinese ratepayers who never go through
the necessary formalities to have their names
placed upon the register.
FiNAN'CE.
The rateable value of the municipality in
1906 was 2,500,000 dollars. The total revenue
and noxious trades, lodging-houses, &c. A
well-equipped laboratory for bacteriological
research and analytical purposes is conducted
by the Assistant Medical Officer, and has been
of great value in detecting food adultera-
tions, &c. The staff of the department con-
sists of a medical officer and an assistant
medical officer, ten sanitary inspectors, one
burial-grounds inspector, one market inspector,
two market overseers, two market cashiers, a
collector, and a number of clerks. A system
of open drains is in vogue in Pinang, and it
has been greatly extended within the past few
years. Nightsoil is removed in covered carts
and carried in tongkangs ten miles out to sea.
A more up-to-date method will shortly be
inaugurated. By this the sewage will be
pumped out to sea from a septic tank. The
initial outlay on the construction of the tank,
pumping station, and piping is estimated at
50,000 dollars.
The population of the municipal area at the
last census (1901) was 94,086. In 1906 it was
estimated at 100,429. The birth-rate during the
twelve months under review fell to I2'6 per
1,000. In 1905 it was I3'2, in 1904 137, and in
1903 I9'S. The difficulty of enforcing the
registration of births among the mixed popula-
tion of the town is so great that these figures
are probably lower than they otherwise would
be. As the same difficulty is not experienced in
the registration of deaths, the excess of deaths
over births no doubt appears slightly larger
than it really is. In 1906 the death-rate was
39-38 per thousand, as compared with 40'I3 in
1905, 40-59 in 1904, and 37-14 in 1903. This
high rate of mortality is principally due to
fevers (mostly malarial), phthisis, pneumonia,
and kindred respiratory diseases, diarrhoea,
dysentery, and beri-beri. Infantile mortality is
very heavy among the native populations, and
amounts in the aggregate to 383-87 per thou-
sand. Among the Chinese it reaches 549-81 per
thousand. The crowded and badly-ventilated
dwellings in the native quarters, combined
with the ignorance of the people, are mainly
responsible for this unsatisfactory state of
affairs.
Until a few years ago the collection of all the
tolls in the municipal markets was farmed out,
but, following the advice of the present medical
officer, the Commissioners decided that all
market charges, except fish tolls, should be
collected by the Health Department. The
system has worked satisfactorily, and in 1906
the revenue from the four large municipal
markets amounted to 28,882 dollars, while the
expenses of collection were only 8,882 dollars.
Veterinary Department.
The supervision of the abattoir, pig market,
and cattle infirmary is entrusted to the
Veterinary Department. The abattoir at
Sungei Pinang was erected four years ago at a
cost of 110,000 dollars, exclusive of the price of
the land. The grounds are laid out in gardens,
and the buildings are attractive in design. The
interior of the abattoir is fitted up on the most
approved lines, and is kept scrupulously clean.
All animals intended for human food must be
killed in this abattoir, where they are all care-
fully examined to insure that they are fit for
human consumption. During 1906 the number
of animals slaughtered was 82,456.
It is to be feared that much of the good
which is done by careful supervision inside the
abattoir is nullified by the condition of the
hovels in which the meat is exposed for sale.
The establishment of a meat market, or at any
rate the licensmg of places where meat may be
sold, will probably be the next step towards
safeguarding the public health. When the
municipal pig market was first opened in 1904
it nearly caused a riot among the Chinese.
The butchers resented what they regarded as
an intolerable interference with their business,
and ceased to import pigs for a time, with the
result that pork, which is the chief meat-food
of the Chinese, rose to famine prices. This
caused serious discontent among the poorer
classes, and the veterinary surgeon had to be
protected by policemen as he went about the
streets. Fortunately, at this time he heard that
pigs could be purchased in large quantities in a
certain quarter, but for cash down only. With-
out hesitation, the President of the Commission
gave him permission to take all the money out
of the safe in the municipal offices, and on the
same day he had some thousands of dollars
worth of pork exposed for sale in the new-
market. Further trouble was thus averted, and
the butchers have ever since used the market
without demur. During 1906, 70,353 pigs were
sold in the market, as against 61,289 '" ipoS-
The cattle infirmary was opened in 1906,
and 748 animals underwent treatment in it
during the year. Most of the cases were sent
to the infirmary by the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals Section of the Veterinary Department.
A hundred and sixty-four cases of cruelty to
animals were brought before the magistrates
and resulted in 162 convictions.
Engineer's Department.
The Municipal Engineer's Department
undertakes the construction, maintenance, and
cleansing of all roads within the municipal
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MAI.AYA
739
area, the erection of all municipal buildings
and other public works, the control of the
water supply, &c. The staff of the depart-
ment consists of the Municipal Engineer, chief
assistant, clerk of works, three draughtsmen,
surveyor, building inspector, three water in-
spectors, and a large subsidiary staff numbering
altogether with coolies 500 men. The sum
expended by the Department in 1906 was
512,284 dollars, which is equal to nearly one-
half the total expenditure of the municipality.
There are 50 miles of roads and streets in
Georgetown. The surface is macadam, made
from a grey granite found in the island.
The town's water supply is drawn from two
sources — ^Ayer Etam (black water) and the
waterfall — and is of excellent quality. No
elaborate system of filtration is employed, the
water being merely screened before passing
into the pipes. The supply is fairly uniform all
the year round, but occasionally in the dry
season the water is cut off during a part of the
day. This, however, is not so much due to the
inadequacy of the supply as to the lack of
storage capacity. In addition to the general
water-rate of i per cent, on the rateable value,
water charges are made to consumers as
follows : —
By tap : One tap, 9 dollars a year ; two taps,
21 dollars -, three taps, 36 dollars ; four taps,
54 dollars ; five taps, 84 dollars ; and six
taps, 120 dollars ; witli an extra 60 dollars a
year for each tap above six.
By measurement : For domestic purposes,
5 cents per 1,000 gallons ; for ordinary trade
purposes, 15 cents ; for mineral-water factories,
30 cents ; for combined ice and mineral-water
factories, 40 cents ; tor ice factories, 50 cents ;
and for shipping, 40 cents.
The total consumption of water during 1906
was 2,669,097,130 gallons. This works out at
an average of 7,312,595 gallons a day, or,
roughly, 73 gallons a head.
The most important public works carried out
by the Engineer's Department within recent
years include the Municipal Offices (erected at
a cost of 120,000 dollars), the Town Hall, the
abattoir, the pig market, and the electric-
power station, A bridge at Sungei Pinang,
which is to cost 80,000 dollars, and a septic
tank and pumping station for the new night-
soil removal system are both in course of
construction.
Electricity Department.
Georgetown is lighted both by oil and
electricity, but the more modern illuminant is
rapidly superseding the older. The question
of electric lighting was firbt brought before the
Commissioners in 1899, when it was proposed
that permission should be granted to a private
company to distribute electricity for lighting
and other purposes within municipal limits.
This idea was favourably entertained at first,
but eventually the present electrical engineer
was instructed to prepare a scheme for the
7j miles, of which less than 2j miles were laid
on the town roadways, the remainder being of
light railway construction on land reservations
at the sides of country roads or through
adjoining plantations. The company pluckily
continued their operations for many years, but
their system failed to provide the rapidity and
frequency of service necessary to compete
successfully with cheap ricksha transport.
MUNICIPAL TRAMWAYS.
establishment of a municipal electric supply.
This scheme was finally approved in August,
1901. The continuous current system was
adopted, with three-wire distribution for light-
ing and general purposes. The work of con-
struction was commenced in June, 1903, and in
the following July the supply was inaugurated.
The growth of the enterprise is shovi^n by the
appended table : — ■
Equivalents in 8 Can
Lamps.
lie-power
Public lighting...
Private supply ...
1904.
882
4.649
1905-
1,002
8,418
igo6.
1,234
11,236
Total ...
5,531
9,420
12,470
THE BLECTEIC POWER STATION.
At the end of 1906 nearly 30 miles of supply
mains had been laid. The total revenue for
the year was 71,484 dollars and the expendi-
ture 51,730 dollars. The capacity of the plant
is considerably in excess of the demands that
have so far been made upon it.
Tramways.
A tramway was first introduced into Pinang
some twenty years ago by the Kerr Stuart
Steam Tramways Co., under a concession
granted by the Government. It was in reality
a light railway rather than a tramway, a steam
locomotive being used to draw one or more
cars as freight wagons. The system com-
prised single metre-gauge lines of rails from
the jetty to Ayer Etam, with a branch from the
gaol to the Waterfall Gardens — in all about
The Waterfall Garden line was laid in the
least populous part of the town, and was
mainly used for the transport of stone from the
western quarries.
In 1898 the company sought to improve
their prospects by extending their line to
Pinang Road and Chulia Street, which are
densely populated thoroughfares. The author-
ities, however, considered that steam locomo-
tives would be dangerous in these streets, and
the company had recourse to horse-traction.
The service was very well patronised, but it
had to be discontinued after a few months,
owing to the high rate of mortality among the
horses. Subsequently the company went into
liquidation, and in 1900 the whole undertaking
was purchased by the Government, who leased
it to a local syndicate represented by Mr.
Robert Young, M.Inst.M.E., the former
engineer and manager.
In 1901 Mr. O. V. Thomas, then an officer in
the Public Works Department, whose electric
lighting proposals had recently been accepted
by the Municipal Commissioners, suggested
that the tramways should be electrified and
that the necessary current should be supplied
from the municipal generating station, then
about to be established. The Government
urged that the tramways should be taken
over by the Commissioners and worked elec-
trically as a municipal enterprise. A scheme
was approved by the Commissioners, but
changes which took place in the member-
ship of the Commission resulted in the
Government being informed that the Com-
missioners had decided not to take over the
tramways. Early in 1903, however, Mr. J. \V.
Hallifax, president of the Commission, who
had been one of the warmest supporters of the
scheme, reopened the subject, and as the result
of an interview which the Commissioners had
740
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
with the then Governor, Sir Frank Swettenham,
the municipality was enabled to acquire the
tramways free of cost. For the electrification
of the line the Government obtained from the
Federated Malay States Government a loan
of 400,000 dollars, repayable by annual instal-
ments of 20,000 dollars and bearing interest at
the rate of 4 per cent, per annum. The tram-
ways finally passed to the municipality on
April I, 1904, but they were still leased by
Mr. Robert Young, who continued to maintain
such service as was possible unlil the system
of electric traction was installed. The scheme
as finally adopted provided for the substitution
of a double line of heavy rails for the single
line from the jetty to the gaol and the improve-
ment and rearrangement of the line from the
gaol to Ayer Etam, with additional loops to
make greater frequency of service possible. It
was decided to exclude the waterfall section
from the scheme. The overhead trolley system
of transmission was adopted.
a continuous through service. In the latter
part of 1906 two wagons for the conveyance
of goods over the tramways were put on the
rails.
The fares decided upon were 3 cents a
stage, with limited first-class accommodation
at 5 cents. These work out at 2'i8 cents and
3'63 cents per mile respectively.
The number of passengers carried during
1906 was 1,457,357. The average receipts per
passenger were 3 '13 cents and the average cost
2-33 cents. Up to the end of 1906 the total
capital expenditure on the tramways was
356.054 dollars. The running expenses were
33,952 dollars and the receipts 45,832 dollars,
leaving a credit balance of 11,881 dollars, or
about 4 per cent, on the capital outlay. As
the whole length of line was not in full use
until near the end of the year, this result may
be regarded as very satisfactory. The total
receipts for 1907 are estimated at 50 per cent,
more than those for 1906.
of the town. It is also intended to develop
the goods-carrying trade by the provision of
loading-places.
The chief tramway officials are the Resident
Engineer and Manager, an assistant manager,
and a traffic superintendent. Most' of the
drivers are Malays and Klings. The con-
ductors and ticket inspectors are Chinese.
FIRE BRIGADE.
The Pinang Fire Brigade, though not, strictly
speaking, a municipal department, has for many
years been furnished with its equipment by
the Municipal Commissioners, who will shortly
accept entire responsibility for it. The' brigade
can boast the possession of three steam fire-
engines and one steam motor fire-engine, all
constructed by Messrs. Merryweather & Sons.
The largest of the steam fire-engines has a
pumping capacity of 1,100 gallons a minute,
and each of the others has a capacity of about
THE FIRE BEIGADE.
The first trial run over the town section was
made on December 21, 1905, and the public
service on this branch was commenced on
January i, 1906. The Ayer Etam section was
opened on August 1st. It was not, however,
until October that it was possible to maintain
There are at present 11 miles of tramways.
A ten-minutes' service is maintained on the
town section (jetty to gaol) and a twelve-
minutes' service on the Ayer Etam section.
Plans are being prepared for the extension of
the system to some of the more populous streets
300 gallons a minute. In addition to these
there are two manual engines and all the
usual appliances, including an escape ladder
by which the highest buildings in Pinang can
be reached. At'ipresent the apparatus is all
stored at the police headquarters, but the
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
741
municipality propose building proper quarters
for the men and their equipment after the
transfer.
HACKNEY CARRIAGE DEPART-
MENT.
There are about 5,000 public rickshas plying
for hire in Pinang, and these have to be registered
three times a year. The Department charged
with this duty issues licences also for horses
and ponies, private carriages, private rickshas,
motor-cars, bullock-carts, hand-carts, and public
gharries. For some reason or other there are
no rubber-tyred rickshas plying for public hire,
and Ihe number of public gharries (58) is in-
adequate to meet the demand in wet weather.
During 11506 the Registrar, in the exercise of
liis magisterial powers under the Jinricksha
Ordinance, disposed of 1,648 cases and investi-
gated 1,754 complaints of various kinds, of
which two-thirds were settled out of court.
The total revenue collected by the Department
was 59,689 dollars, as against 67,215 dollars in
1905, the decrease being accounted for by a
diminution of the number of rickshas due to
the competition of the tramways. The traffic
is regulated by a force of forty persons, who
have power of arrest.
TOWN BAND.
The municipality maintains a town band,
which plays on alternate evenings on the
esplanade. The cost of the band in 1906 was
12,781 dollars, 2,292 dollars of which was
recovered from engagements and subscriptions,
Mr. Frederick James Hallifax has been
President of the Pinang Municipal Commis-
sioners since September, 1906. The son of the
late Mr. B. Hallifax, an Indian tea planter, he
was born at Darjeeling on March 16, 1870, and
was educated at Blundell's School, Tiverton.
He entered the Straits Settlements Civil Service
as a cadet in 1893, and during the succeeding
four years acted as Third Magibtrate at Pinang,
District Officer at Nibong Tebal, Third Magis-
trate at Singapore, and District Officer at Alor
and the Dindings, he went to Malacca in 1903 as
Acting Collector of Land Revenue and Officer
in Charge of the Treasury, and in the following
year was nominated as a Municipal Commis-
sioner of Malacca. For the first nine months
drainage works, abattoirs, public buildings and
offices, and all that goes to make up Pinang as
it is to-day. From 1900 to 1906 Mr. Hallifax
was President of the municipality, and when
he left that office the revenue of Georgetown
P. J. HALLIFAX.
(President, Municipal Commissioners.)
Gajah. In 1897 he was appointed Superintendent
of Education at 'Pinang, and in the following
year District Officer at Bukit Mertajam. After
holding various acting appointments in Pinang
J. W. HALLIFAX.
of igo6 he acted as Collector of Land Revenue
at Pinang and as Senior District Officer in
Province Wellesley, and was seconded from
the service to become President of the Munici-
pal Commission in September of the same year.
Mr. Hallifax is a member of most of the Pinang
clubs, a keen supporter of the turf, and an
enthusiastic golfer.
Mr. James Wilson Hallifax. — Few men
in Pinang have had an experience of colonial
life such as has fallen to the lot of the subject
nf this slietch, under whose guidance practically
the whole development of Pinang has taken
place during the past twenty years. Mr.
Hallifax was born in London in 1856, and was
educated in Germany and Switzerland. He
entered a London commercial house at the
early age of seventeen, but failing health com-
pelled him, in 1875, to leave home for warmer
climes. For two years he travelled extensively
in Egypt, Palestine, and Asia Minor, and when
his health had been somewhat recuperated, he
returned to London, where he was for a short
time in the City Bank. Again the rigorous
climate of his native country drove him abroad,
and for two years he wandered about in
Australia, In 1879 he arrived in Pinang. He
joined the Perak Government Service, and in
his own person combined numerous offices,
being the only European official in an
enormous tract of country near Durian Seba-
tang. Malaria driving him out of that un-
healthy place, he returned to Pinang. After
being in Province Wellesley for a short time,
he joined the firm of Katz Brothers, and
became the head of the important department
supplying the commissariat for the Dutch
troops then operating in Achin. While the
island of Pinang and Province Wellesley were
still one municipality he undertook the office
of Secretary. At that time a few main drains
had been constructed, but there was no syste-
matic drainage of the town, lighting was by
means of oil lamps, and the total revenue of
the town, the island, and Province Wellesley
amounted to about 143,000 dollars. In 1888 the
present town limits of the municipality were
fixed, and under the regime of Mr. Hallifax
there were established electric light, tramways.
MRS. J. W. HALLIFAX.
alone had risen to about 1,300,000 dollars per
annum. That all this was accomplished at the
expense of extremely hard work and self-
sacrifice goes without saying ; and no man
was held in higher respect by the community
than their experienced faithful secretary and
genial president. No sooner had he relin-
quished the chair than the municipality again
requisitioned his services as a commis-
sioner. He is now engaged as a general agent
and auctioneer, and is chiefly interested in tin
and rubber industries in the Federated Malay
States and Siainese territories. To-day, a
picture of health, he is a living testimony to
the healthiness of the town which he has
been so largely instrumental in bringing to
its present state of prosperity. Mr. Hallifax
is a member of all local clubs,- a justice of
the peace, and one of the most popular men in
Pinang. In 1884 he married Florence, eldest
daughter of Mr. Jones, Assistant Treasurer at
Pinang. Of their foiu- children, the two sons
are now being educated in, England. Mr.
Hallifax's private residence is " Claremont,"
\ortham Road.
Mr. Lewis Hare Clayton was born in
October, 1872, and after graduating B,A, at
Cambridge, entered the Straits Setttements
Civil Service as a cadet in 1895. In the follow-
ing year he went to Amoy to study Chinese
(Hok-kien), and in 1897 he was successively
Acting Assistant Protector of Chinese at Singa-
pore and Acting Second Assistant Protector of
Chinese at Pinang. After serving for a short
time as Fourth Magistrate at Singapore, he was
sent on a special visit of inquiry to Christmas
Island in igoo, and again in igor. In May of
that year he was appointed District Officer at
Christmas Island, and in igo2 went as a Com-
missioner to visit the Cocos-Keeling Islands.
In September, igo4, he was nominated as a
Municipal Commissioner for Georgetown.
Except when on leave in 1906, he has been on
the Municipal Commission ever since, and in
addition he has been Acting Assistant Protector
of Chinese at Pinang, and Acting Superinten-
dent of Immigrants for the Federated Malay
States, stationed at Pinang, since November,
1906.
742
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Mr. Percival Vincent Locke, M.B.,
CM., is a son of Mr. Alfred Percival Locke, of
Madras and Pinang, and a grandson of Major
S. Locke, of the Indian Staff, His mother is a
Chinese lady of English education. He was
born in Pinang in 1869. His educational
career was marked by many successes. At the
Piriang Free School he won the Gottlieb
scholarship and medal, the Pinang Gazette
medal, and a Government scholarship. At
Raffles Institution, Singapore, in 1887, he took
a Queen's scholarship. In 1887 he joined
Edinburgh University, where he was awarded
a scholarship in anatomy and physiology, and
in 1892 graduated M.B., CM. For some time
he was prosector to Sir William Turner, and
assistant demonstrator to Professor Greenfield.
In 1893 he received the appointment of Deputy
Health Officer at Pinang, and subsequently
was promoted to be House Physician at Singa-
pore General Hospital. In 1894 Dr. Locke
left the Government service and commenced
private practice in Pinang. He is a member
of the Municipal Council (now serving his
second term of office), a member of the British
Medical Association, and a committee member
of the Pinang Association, and of the Pinang
Turf Club. One of the rioted owners of racing
stock in the country. Dr. Locke has possessed
such well-known performers as Alden, who
won the Governor's Cup in 1902 ; Flycatcher,
Surprise, Mayblossom, and Penelope. One of
his best horses at the present time is Chevalier,
by Amhurst out of Blonde, of whom great
things are expected. Dr. Locke is also a suc-
cessful stockbreeder, and has obtained some
excellent cross-breeds from Australian and
Sumalran blood. Our illustration (p. 573) shows
one of the best ponies ever produced from this
strain. Dr. Locke is a large landed proprietor.
He has a town residence at 15, Anson Road,
and a fine country seat at "View Forth,"
Tanjong Bungah.
Mr. Quah Beng; Kee. — A sketch of the
career of Mr. Quah Beng Kee, who has
been an elected member of the Pinang Muni-
cipal Commission since 1902, is given
elsewhere.
Mr. Lim Eu Toh.— A sketch of the
career of Mr. Lim Eu Toh, one of the three
elected members of the Municipal Commis-
sion, will be found elsewhere.
Mr. Louis Alban Coutier Biggs,
Secretary to the Pinang Municipal Commis-
sioners, is the son of the late Rev. L. C
Biggs, formerly Colonial Chaplain of Pinang.
He was born at Chickerell, near Weymouth,
in 1871, and received his education at
Blundell's School, Tiverton. After spending
three years in a London office he came to
Pinang in 1896, and was for a short time
secretary to Mr. Justice Law, and subse-
quently to Mr. Justice Hyndman Jones. In
1897 he was appointed Assistant Secretary to
the Municipality, and was promoted Secre-
tary in 1906. He is a member of the Pinang
Volunteers, of most local clubs, and of the
Choral Society.
Dr. George Williamson Paric, Muni-
cipal Health Officer, is the son of the late
Surgeon-Major George Park, of the Army
Medical Department. He was born in
Hampshire in 1868, and was educated at
Edinburgh High School and Edinburgh
University. He graduated M.B., CM. in
t893 and.B.Sc. in_i8g6. He practised privately
in Aberdeenshire for a short time, and
subsequentlJJihjSLd appointments in the Leith
PubKc Health- Hospital and the Middle Ward
Isolation ■ Hospital, Lanarkshire. He _ was ap-
pointed to his present position in 1898, and
during the nine years that he has had charge
of the Health Department the sanitation of
the town has been vastly extended and
improved.
Dr. Jolin Stuart Rose, Assistant Muni-
cipal Health Officer, was born in Morayshire
in 1876. He was educated at Crowdale
School, Fordyce Public School, and Aberdeen
University, and at the last-named institution
he igraduated M.B. and Ch.B., and obtained
the Diploma of Public Health. He was
resident surgeon for a time at Aberdeen
Royal Infirmary, was then in the Physiolo-
gical Laboratory of Aberdeen University, and
took up his present appointment at Pinang
in 1905.
Mr. W. S. Dunn.— The Acting Muni-
cipal Engineer is Mr. W. S. Dunn, son of
the late W. Dunn, of Tullybeagles, Perth-
shire. Born there in 1869, he was educated
at Perth Academy, and afterwards joined
Messrs. Young & Sons, civil engineers, of
Perth. Upon the completion of his articles he
was engaged on the construction of the first
section of the railway between Crieff and
Lochearnhead, and subsequently he was
with Messrs. Davison & Son, of Paisley, and
with Mr. J. W. Moncur, Borough Surveyor
of Paisley. He came to Pinang as Assistant
Municipal Engineer in 1898, and has several
times acted as Engineer. Among the works
which he has designed are the handsome pile of
buildings used as the Municipal Offices and
the Electrical Generating Station. Mr. Dunn
married a daughter of Mr. C. Bradbury, late
harbourmaster of Pinang, and is a member
of most of the local clubs.
Mr. O. V. Tliomas. — The chief engineer
of the Pinang Municipal Electric Supply
Department and manager of the tramways
system is Mr. Orlo Venning Thomas, who
was born on August 24, 1868. He entered the
Straits Settlements Civil Service as Assistant
Superintendent of Works at Pinang. It
was due to his suggestion that the Electric
Supply Department and the tramway were
inaugurated by the municipal commissioners,
and he prepared the original schemes for both
these undertakings. During the construction
Mr. Thomas was the resident engineer for the
consulting engineers, Messrs. Preece & Cardew,
of Westminster, and he was appointed Chief of
the Electric Supply and Tramways Department
as soon as the concerns were ready for running.
Mr. Thomas is a member of the Institute of
Electrical Engineers, an associate member of
the Institute of Civil Engineers, and a fellow
of the Physical Society of London. He belongs
to most of the local clubs, and is a member of
the committee of management of the Pinang
Library.
Mr. Elton Bell was born in Devonshire in
1871, and educated privately. He studied at
the Royal Veterinary College, Camden Town,
London, from which institution he obtained
in 1895 the diploma M.R.C.V.S. Upon coming
to Singapore in 1896, he was first veterinary
surgeon to Abrams's Horse Repository and
then to the Sultan of Johore. In 1902 he went
to Pinang as Superintendent of Abattoirs, and
five years later became veterinary surgeon to
the municipality. Mr. Bell is a member of the
Institute of Public Health, London, president
of the local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals, veterinary surgeon to the Turf
Club, and a member of all of the local clubs.
PINANG CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
The Pinang Chamber of Commerce, though
a much younger institution than the Singapore
Chamber, has had a useful existence extending
over twenty-two years. It was formed at a
general meeting of business men held on June
18, 1885, with the object of " protecting the
general interests of the trade of the settlement,
collecting and classifying mercantile informa-
tion, establishing a court of arbitration to adjust
commercial differences, and communicating
with public authorities on all subjects affecting
the common good."
The importance of the Chamber as a repre-
sentative body was soon appreciated by the
Government, for, within two years of its forma-
tion, it was asked to nominate an unofficial
member of the Legislative Council, and since
that time the only Pinang unofficial member
has always been a nominee of the Chamber of
Commerce. One of the first matters to engage
the attention of the newly-formed body was
the necessity of opening up Perak by railway,
and in 1887 a deputation urged this scheme
upon the Governor. It was not, however,
until 1897 that the construction of the Perak
Railway was commenced.
It is naturally of great importance to Pinang
commercially that there should be an adequate
supply of labour for the estates in Province
Wellesley. In 1891, therefore, the Chamber
appointed a sub-committee to act in co-opera-
tion with the Pinang and Province Wellesley
Planters' Association to secure a better supply
of Indian and Chinese labour for the estates.
The currency question engaged the Cham-
ber's attention in 1893, and from that date until
the value of the dollar was fixed in 1906 the
subject was a source of perennial discussion.
From the beginning the Pinang Chamber acted
in co-operation with the Singapore Chamber,
whose attitude is outlined in the Singapore
section of this volume.
In 1897 a protest against the decision of the
War Office to withdraw the European troops
then stationed in Pinang and substitute police
for them was cabled to Downing Street by the
Chamber on the ground that the settlement
would be protected inadequately. This pro-
test, however, produced no effect.
In 1904 an address of welcome was presented
by the Chamber to his Excellency Sir John
Anderson, K.C.M.G., as he passed through
Pinang on the way to take up his duties as
Governor of the Colony. Commercial exami-
nations for scholars of Pinang schools were
inaugurated in the same year, and these tests
have been highly appreciated by business
houses in search of clerks.
In 1906 the Chamber was requested by the
Pinang Association to approve of their address
to the Government praying for the restitution
of the office and powers of a Lieutenant-
Governor for Pinang. The committee of the
Chamber replied that they were quite in
sympathy with the proposals, but felt that the
question was not one which directly affected
commerce, and that it was, therefore, outside
their province.
The Chamber has been of great value to the
commercial community of Pinang in dealing
with routine details affecting the different
trades. Under this heading may be placed the
fixing of rates of commission, the publication
of regular market reports and tabular informa-
tion of the trade of the port, the regulation of
freight and storage charges, and the settlement
of commercial disputes.
Like most similar bodies, the Chamber has
had its days of adversity. The membership
has not varied very greatly. It was 20 when
the Chamber was founded in IS85, and it now
stands at 34. In 1890 there was a credit
balance of 660 dollars, but ten years later this
had become a debit balance of 508 dollars. At
the end of 1906, however, there was a credit
balance of no less than 3,474 dollars.
The management is vested in a committee
of seven, consisting, at the time of writing, of
Messrs. C. Guinness (chairman), W. H. Mac-
gregor (vice-chairman), F. O. Hallifax, John
Mitchell, D. W. Gilmour, Otto Schule, and
A. Hood Begg. Mr. D. A. M. Brown, of whom
a biographical sketch appears on another
page, is the energetic secretary.
PINANG CHINESE CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE.
Among prominfent mercantile houses of
Pinang there are many conducted by Chinese
who follow closely and successfully the
PINANG CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
I. H. Hilton. 2. J. E. Berkhuijsen. 3. A. Hood Begg. 4. F. O. Hallifax. 5. c. A. Law, 6. J. W, Hallifax. 7 I m Anthony 8 R Young
9. A. Dennys. 10. A. Bowers-Smith. ii. D. W. Gilmour. 12. Hon. Me. A. R. Adams. 13. T. B, Peterkin. 14. A. K Buttery is t Mitchell '
16. W. H. MacGregor (Vice-chairman). 17. Cecil Guinness (Cliairman). r8. D. A. M. Brown (Secretary). 19. w. S. Goldie. 20 A Zfitlin 21 A G Faber
22. F. N. C. GoRi. 23. E. \V. Presgrave. 24. J. Strooeach. 23. A. Tobler. 26. J. Hug. 27. A. Stuhlman. 28. H. Pickenpaci! ■ • •
30. C. BOLIUS. 31. M. SUHL. 32. O. JALASS. 33. H. COOKK. 34. J. PiCKENPACK,
29. O. SCHULE.
744
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
methods of Western competitors. As might
be expected, the proprietors of these estab-
lishments have been quiclc to recognise the
value and importance of an organisation for the
protection of their common interests. In June,
1903, they founded the Pinang Chinese Chamber
of Commerce and Agriculture. This institu-
D. A. M. Brown, who, except for a short
period, has been the secretary since the
formation of the club.
PINANG LIBRARY.
Twelve thousand selected volumes are on the
shelves of the Pinang Library in the Supreme
THE COMMITTEE OF THE CHINESE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
to endow the institution to the extent of
l,Soo dollars a year, and the library was
removed to a room in the Town Hall. With
this grant there was the stipulation that two
officers of the Government should be members
of the committee of management, and that a
free reading-room should be open to the public.
For nineteen years the grant remained un-
changed, but in 1899 it was increased to
2,000 dollars. Six years later the library was
removed to the Supreme Court building. That
this institution is being conducted on sound
financial lines is testified by the fact that its
toigjUncome in igo6, including 3,021 dollars
brought forward from the previous year, was
7,344 dollars, compared with an expenditure of
5,443 dollars. -
The present committee of management
consists of the Hon. Mr. R. N. Bland, Resi-
dent Councillor (president) ; the Rev. F. W.
Haines, Dr. T. C. Avetoom, Dr. F, M. T. Skae,
Mr. J. A. Shearwood, Mr. H. Welham, Mr.
R. H. Pinhorn, and Mr. - W. A. Bicknell
(librarian). The Library had a membership
of 271 in 1907. The subscription is S dollars
per annum for books and 10 dollars 'per
annum for books and magazines.
PINANG CLUB.
Social life in Pinang is centred in the institu-
tion known as the Pinang Club, which was
established in 1868, with Mr. Walter Scott,
then a member of the Legislative Council, as
the president, and Mr. F. C. Bishop as hon.
secretary.
The club premises, of which several illustra-
tions are shown, are pleasantly situated on the
sea-front, and have been lately acquired by the
club at a cost of ;^io,5oo sterling. Passing
through the spacious- entrance-hall, with the
committee and secretary's rooms on either
side, the large reading and general room
opens to view. On the left is the billiard-
tion has a membership representing about a
hundred firms, and is open to Chinese mer-
chants, traders, agents, and others interested
in the commerce and agriculture of the settle-
ment. The object of its promoters is not only
the protection of common trade interests, but
also the collection and classification of mer-
cantile information and the establishment of
a court of arbitration to adjust commercial
differences. The offices of the Chamber are
in the Tin Exchange Rooms. The office-
holders are :. Mr. Lim Kek Chuan, presi-
dent ; Mr. Leong Lok Hing, vice-president ;
Mr. Yeow Paik Tat, treasurer ; and Mr. Kaw
Cheng Sian, secretary. The committee is
composed of Messrs. Quah Beng Kee, Goh
Boon Keng, Goh Say Eng, Oon Boon Tan,
Lim Seng Hooi, Ong Hun Chong, Khaw Joo
Tok, Lo Poey Chee, Ng See Sin, Chung Thye
Phin, Oh Ah Min, Yeap Yin Khye.
THE TOWN CLUB.
The Town Club was formed in December,
1901, as the result of a meeting of Pinang resi-
dents called by Mr. Robert Yeats, of Messrs.
Boustead & Co., who was chosen as the first
chairman. It has its accommodation in the
same building as the Chamber of Commerce,
by permission of the Government. It is largely
resorted to by business men for tiffin and com-
mercial talk. The membership numbers no,
and includes most of the influential European
men of business and civil and municipal ser-
vants. The club rooms are large and airy, and
consist of a dining-room, which will accom-
modate more than one hundred guests, buffet
and bar, and a long verandah overlooking the
roadstead. The chairman of committee is
Mr. D. W. Gilmour, and the other rriembers
of the committee are Messrs. A. R. Adams,
J. W. Hallifax, W. H. Macgregor, H. Picken-
pack, J. G. Berkhuijsen, C. G. May, and
THE TOWN CLUB AND OFFICES OF THE CHAMBER OP COMMERCE.
Court building. Prior to i88p the public had
access to a small voluntary collection known
as the Prince of Wales Library, in Downing
Street. But the settlement was growing
rapidlv, and in order to meet the demand
for good literature the Government consented
room, containing -four modern tables, and
close adjacent are the card-rooms, with a
breezy verandah facing the sea. An adjunct,
overlookmg the harbour, provides pleasant
residential quarters. Attached to the club is
a modern American bowling alley. Cinderella
^^gg^
r/
^^f -^ -fw.
PINANG CLUB.
KOBERT Yates (President for many years).
Some of the Meajbers.
The Cub.
Ho.\. Mii. Walter Scott (First President).
2\
746
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
dances are given by the members every month, F. M. T.
and balls are held twice a year during the race secretary,
weeks. The president of the club is Mr.. J. W. Brown, a
Skae. Mr. D. A. M. Brown, tlie
is the eldest son of Mr. David
well-known pioneer of the settle-
The ENGINEERS' INSTITUTE.
Hallifax, and the committee consists of the
president and Messrs. J. G. Berkhuijsen, D. W.
Gilmour, F. J. Hallifax, C. A. Law, H. Picken-
pack, A. K. Adams, E. W. Presgrave, and Dr.
raent, to whom reference is made elsewhere
in this work. Born in 1871, he was educated
at Harrow and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where
in 1891 he distinguished himself a& captain of
the 'Varsity Golf Club. On returning to Pinang
in that year he entered the Perak Civil Service
as a cadet, on the nomination of Sir Cecil
Clementi Smith, then Governor of the Straits
Settlements. In 1894, however, he resigned,
and commenced business on his own account
in partnership with Mr. Richard P. Phillips.
Mr. Brown is secretary of the Chamber of
Commerce, the B'ire Insurance Association,
and the Pinang Turf, Town, and Golf Clubs,
besides many public and private companies.
DEUTSCHE VEREINIGUNG.
This association was established on June i,
1898, by Messrs. J. Bruggmann, A. Friedrichs,
A.. Geller, A. Oechsle, H. Pickenpack, J.
Pickenpack, M. Schiffmann, O. Sielcken, and
A. Asmus. The purpose of the association, as
stated in the rules, is to foster social inter-
course among the members, to further mutual
interests, and to get into touch with similar
bodies at Singapore and elsewhere. Member-
ship is open to all Germans and Swiss resident
in Pinang. To-day the membership of the
association comprises 33 gentlemen. So far
the association does not possess a building
of its own, but meets at the residences of
the various members as occasion requires. A
well-stocked library is kept for the use of mem-
bers at Germania House.. Mr. H. Pickenpack
is the president, and Mr. W. Lehrmann the
secretary and treasurer.
ENGINEERS' INSTITUTE.
In Pinang, where the trade very largely
depends upon the rapidity and general effi-
ciency of steamship communication, the en-
gineers naturally form a very considerable
MEMBERS OF THE DEUTSCHE VEREINIGUNG.
(German Club.)
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
747
section of the community. It is, indeed,
estimated tliat nearly one-third of the entire
European population are mechanical engineers.
On March 5, 1888, an institute was opened for
their recreation and general convenience. For
some time rooms were occupied in Beach
Street, ^d membership was confined exclu-
sively to engineers and mechanics. The estab-
lishment, however, became so popular that
before long the regulations were altered so as
to include'deck officers and certain longshore-
men. The advantages of this course of action
became speedily evident. Premises were
secured in the centre of the town, but the
growth and development of the institute pro-
ceeded stJ rapidly that larger buildings were
soon reqijired, and, by an arrangement with
the late Captain Ah Kwi, the present head-
quarters were erected. The building is a solid
square structui'e standing in a good position at
the junction of Leith and Farquhar Streets. It
is two storeys high, and contains large, lofty,
and comfortable rooms. From Leith Street
the entrance is by a broad flight of steps lead-
ing to a handsomely fitted hall, from whence
there is access to the reading-room and to a
tine billiard-room containing three tables.
Two flights of stairs lead to the concert or
ball room. Upon the staircase is a beautiful
stained-glass window, recently presented by
the late Captain Ah Kwi, and bearing the
inscription, " Erected by Captain Cheng Kheng
Kwi, Perak and Pinang, 1901." Near at hand
is a portrait of the donor. The club subscrip-
tions are arranged upon a graduated scale to
include i-esident and visiting members. The
management of the institute is vested in an
executive committee, consisting of the presi-
dent, the vice-president, the hon. treasurer and
secretary, and ten members.
THE INDIA-CEYLON ASSOCIATION.
In igo6, largely owing to the efforts of
Messrs. S. Augustine, B.A., B.L., V. CheUiah
Pillay, B.'A., P. D. Nambyar, and V. V.
Krishnier, an India-Ceylon Association was
formed in Pinang. The objects of this insti-
tution are to afford facilities for the physical,
moral, intellectual, and social advancement of
Indians and Ceylonese residing in the Straits
Settlements and Federated Malay States, and
under its auspices a school called the India-
Ceylon School has been established. The'
president of the association is Mr. P. K.
Nambyar, B.A, (Cantab), barrister-at-law, and
the secretary is Mr. S. Augustine, B.A., B.L.
SOCIAL AND PROFES=
SIGNAL.
EUROPEAN.
The Hon. Mr. A. Huttenbach.— The
colonies of the Empire present many instances
of foreigners who, having become British sub-
jects, show by the way in which they work for
their adopted country that they have changed
their nationality not m.erely to obtain the ad-
vantages, but also to fulfil the duties, of their
new status. The Hon. Mr. A. Huttenbach is
a case in point. The eldest son of Mr. S.
Huttenbach, he was born on October 19, 1850,
at the famous old city of Worms, on the Rhine,
where his father was a manufacturer, and he
received his education at the Latin College
there. In 1870 he served throughout the
Franco-German War with the first battalion of
the Hessian Guards, and fought in several
engagements, of which Mars-la-Tour, Grave-
lotte, Noiseville, and Orleans were the most
important. Mr. Huttenbach first came to the
Straits in February, 1872, as assistant to Messrs.
Katz Brothers. In 1885, together with his
brother Ludwig, he founded the firms of
Huttenbach Brothers & Co., Pinang and Singa-
pore ; Huttenbach, Liebert & Co., Pinang, and
Huttenbach and Co., London, of which firms
he is senior partner. When he first arrived in
Pinang in 1872, the place was small and
straggling, grass grew in the main streets, not
one of which was lit after dark, and the princi-
pal illuminant in houses was coconut oil.
There was only one bank, and the medium of
exchange was the Mexican dollar, soon to
fluctuate wildly in value in the wake of de-
clining silver. Facilities for working the
business of the port were totally absent, and
trade was inert. The tide of Pinang's pros-
perity began to turn just about that time. The
surrounding countries were being opened up,
and the Achin war brought a good deal of
trade to the port. It was in connection with
Achin that Mr. Huttenbach entered the ship-
ping business. He was the first to run a regular
service to the Achin ports. This service led
to quite a large fleet making their home at
Pinang, and included such steamers as the
Meanatchy, the Devonhurst, the M, Vajirunhis,
and the Kongsec. It was Mr. Huttenbach, also.
AUGUST HUTTENBACH.
who inaugurated regular steam communication
with the Coromandel coast, now the main
source of the labour-supply of Malaya. It was
his idea, too, to utilise this service to carry the
European mail via Negapatam, and for many
years his firm gave the advantage of this
service gratis to Pinang, whereby the town
obtained the benefit of the present weekly,
instead of the previous fortnightly, mail.
Among the new outlets for the settlement
created by him was a steam service between
Pinang and the native State of Selangor,
which, up to that time, had Singapore as its
only market. Mr. Huttenbach brought the
first direct cargo of petroleum from Phila-
delphia, and was the first to introduce petroleum
lamps into Pinang. For some time he lighted
at his own cost a part of Beach Street, to
demonstrate the advantages of street-lighting,
and this led to the Municipality giving him the
contract for the oil-lighting of Pinang — a
contract which he still holds after thirty-four
years, and of which he declares himself
prouder than of many larger and more pro-
fitable undertakings. Mr. Huttenbach has
always had a special fondness for Pinang,
making it his home in preference to Singapore,
contrary to the custom of all the seniors of
Straits firms. He took an interest in all putilic
matters open to him while not yet a British
subject. In bis early days he was a devotee of
the turf, and owned the horses Egremount,
Kettledrum, and Moracia, the first of which
brought the blue riband of the Saigon turf to
Pinang, and the honorary membership of the
Cochin China Club to its rnvner. Mr. Hutten-
bach is a Past Master and honorary member
of the Royal Prince of Wales Lodge in Pinang,
a member of the Pinang Chamber of Com-
merce, on the committee of which he has
served at various times ; and in his younger
days filled, amongst others, the offices of com-
mandant of the Volunteer Fire Brigade and
Consular Agent for the United States and
Italy. Mr. Huttenbach became naturalised as
a British subject in 1889 in order that he might
be better qualified to work for his adopted
home. He is, on the whole, a supporter of the
Government, and beheves in the Crown
colony constitution, which, he thinks, may
still exist when Parliamentarianism is played
out. In 1894 the Government appointed him a
member of the Legislative Council, in which
capacity he worked hard. He considered it
the first duty of a member to study thoroughly
every Bill, so that the interests of everybody
affected by the measure might be safeguarded.
Bills such as those concerning the bankrupt,
the gunner, the Malacca padi planter, and the
vagrant, he deemed to be deserving of just as
much attention as larger measures, such as the
Bill for the Registration of Partnerships. Mr.
Huttenbach was among the first to agitate for
the boon of a sound currency. He opened a
literary campaign on behalf of this within a
few days of the closing of the Indian mints,
and contributed largely to the study of the
question by a succession of addresses, pamph-
lets, &c. In 1903 he published a monograph
entitled "The Silver Standard' and the Straits
Currency Question," which was favourably
received and commented on by the Press and
expert opinion alike. In it he advocated a
currency as much as possible like that of Great
Britain, as the most beneficial to a country
where trade is the predominant interest But
his main aim has been to procure for Pinang
those proper facilities for carrying on the
transit trade on which her prosperity solely
depends. For many years he has advocated
and strenuously worked for a Port Trust to
secure the cheapest possible working of the
port, and he was one of the promoters and
founders of the Pinang Association, formed in
1906 chiefly to obtain, perfection in this direc-
tion for Pinang. Mr, Huttenbach is at pre-
sent again on the Straits Legislative Council,
but this time is only acting for the Hon.
John Turner while on leave. He gained, in
the war of 1870, two medals and a decoration
(the Militair Verdienst Kreuz), and holds also
the Order of Cavaliere Corona d'ltalia. Mr.-
Huttenbach married, in 1890, Louisa Camilla
Walker, who died in 1892. In 1904 he married
Clara Trevylyan, daughter of the late Rev.
Nicholas Frank Hill. He has one son, Norman
Hugh, born in 1891, now at Harrow and
destined for the army,
Messrs. Presgrave and Matthews. —
This is one of the oldest legal firms in the
Straits Settlements. It was founded on Janu-
ary I, 1879, the original partners being Mr.
Arthur Edward Clark, barrister-at-law, and
Mr. Edward Presgrave, who was a mem-
ber of the Legislative Council until .August of
1907, when he resigned. For three years the
business was carried on under this style, al-
though Mr. Clark died in 1879. Then Mr.
Glutton, who relinquished his position as
Registrar of the Supreme Court, added his
name to the firm. This partnership was dis-
solved in 1894, and four years later Mr. W.
Bromhead Matthews, a barrister of the Inner
Temple, who had been practising previously
748
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
in Singapore in the firm of Messrs. Bradell,
Brothers, & Matthews, joined Mr. Presgrave,
and the business assumed its present name.
Mr. Matthews was one of the best Icnown
men in the Straits Settlements. For several
terms he served as a member of the Legislative
Council, he acted as Solicitor-General, and
in 1905 refused an offer of a' judgeship.
Afterwards he accepted the appointment of
Attorney-General of the Bahama Islands, and,
accordingly, left his old firm on January i,
1907. Mr. Sydney Cole Ambrose, who had
been Mr. Presgrave's assistant since 1904., was
admitted a partner in May, igo6. Messrs.
Presgrave & Matthews act as solicitors to the
Pinang Municipal Commission, the Chartered
Bank of India, Australia, and China, the Hong-
kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation^ the
Mercantile Bank of India, the Netherlands
Bank, and other leading business firmp. Their
offices are in Beach Street.
Mr. Edward William Presgrave is a
barrister, practising in Pinang, and senior
partner in the firm of Messrs. Presgrave &
Matthews. He was born in the settlement in
185s, and was educated at Edinburgh Academy
and University. Entering the Middle Temple
in i875i he was " called" three years later, and
since his return to Pinang has acted as Solicitor-
General and in other public capacities. Mr.
and Tuirf Clubs. His residence is " Weldbeck,"
Pangkor Road.
Mr. Sydney Cole Ambrose, B.A., LL.B.
— Born at Stow-cum-Quy, Cambridgeshire, in
1873, Mr. Sydney Cole "Ambrose, of Pinang,
was educated at King Edward VI. 's School,
Bury St. Edmunds, and at Pembroke College,
Cambridge, where, in 1895, he graduated B.A.
and LL.B. On leaving college he was articled
to Messrs. Dees and Thompson, of Xewcastle-
on-Tyne, and admitted a solicitor in 1899, He
first practised in South Wales, and early in
1904 he came to Pinang as assistant to Messrs.
Presgrave & Matthews. Since 1906 he has
been a partner in the firm and a notary public.
He is a member of all local clubs, and re-idss
at " Morningside," Burma Road.
Mr. John Frederick Wreford came to
Pinang many years ago, and for a long time
occupied the presidential chair of the local
Turf Club. He was born in 1859 at Clanna-
borough, Devon, and his father, Mr. John
Wreford, J.P., had him educated at Winchester
and at Exeter College, Oxford. He qualified
as a solicitor in . London in 1883, and was
admitted to the Bar of the Straits Settlements
in February of 1889. He is now senior partner
in the legal firm of Messrs. Wreford &
Thornton, of Pmang, Kuala Lumpor, and
Ipoh. Mr. Wreford is a keen supporter of
Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay
States. Admitted to practise in 1901, he has
become a partner in the legal firm of Messrs.
Wreford & Thornton, of Pinang, Kuala Lum-
por, and Ipoh. Born on July II. 1878, he is a
son of the late Rev. G. R. Thornton, M.A., and
a grandson of the late Mr. John Labouchere,
of Broome Hall, Surrey. Mr. Thornton is a
member of Pinang Club, the Town Club, Turf
Club, and other local sporting clubs, as well as
of the Lake Club, Kuala Luinpor, and the
Sports Club, London.
Messrs. Adams & Allan.— As solicitors to
the Kedah Government, to the Opium and Spirit
Farms, to the Netherlands Discount and Inter-
national Banks, besides numerous mining and
planting companies and leading business firms,
Messrs. Adams & Allan, of Beach Street, enjoy
a large practice in and around Pinang. The
firm was established on May i, 1904, by Mr.
A. R. Adams, in conjunction with Mr. Murison
Allan. Mr. Adams had been previously in
partnership with Mr. R. A. P. Hogan.
Mr. G. S. D. Hamel was born at Elmina,
on the Gold Coast, Africa, in 1877, and was
educated in Holland and Germany. After
.passing the consular examination he entered
the Netherlands Consular Service, and for some
time afterwards he was employed in the Foreign
Office at the Hague and in the Consulates-
:''''*^^-"^'-^^°
^ttm^ttm
^mtHm
• BOSSLYN."
G. S. D. HAMEL.
(Consul for the Netherlands.)
Presgrave has been President of the Municipal
Commission, and in 1897 was elected by the
Pinang Chamber of Commerce to the Legisla-
tive Council of the Straits Settlements. He
resigned his seat, however, in 1907. Mr. Pres-
grave is a trustee and member of the committee
of the Pinang Club, and a member of the Town
sport of all kinds, and is a member of all
local clubs.
Mr. Maxwell Ruthven Thornton, of
Pinang, is a nephew of the Right Hon. Henry
Labouchere. He is a solicitor of the Supreme
Court of Judicature in England, and an advo-
cate and solicitor of the Supreme Courts of the
General at Hamburg and Antwerp. He came
to Singapore as Vice-Consul at the beginning
of igo6, and has been Acting Consul at Pinang
since the middle of that year. The consular
offices are situated in Union Street, and Mr.
Hamel's private residence is at" Rosslyn," Ross
Road. ^ '
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA 749
Mr. Balfour Earl Ross.— Born in Pinang
in 1882, Mr. Balfour Earl Ross was educated
at the Edinburgh Academy and at Christ's
College, Cambridge. He joined the Inner
Temple in 1901, and four years later was
called to the Bar. Upon his return to Pinang,
Mr. Ross joined the firm of Messrs. Adams &
practising in Ireland for some time, Mr. Wil-
liam Reginald Armstrong came to Pinang in
October, 1903, to join the firm of Logan &
Ross, advocates and solicitors. He was born
at New Ross, county Wexford, Ireland, in J874,
and was educated, first at Ivory College, and
then at Trinity College, Dublin, where he
the volunteer force and of all the local clubs,
and takes a great interest in both football and
cricket '
Mr. R. E. H. Schubert.— Born at Ham-
burg in 1876, Mr. R. E. H. Schubert was edu-
cated privately, and received his commercial
training in his native city. He came out to the
" ECBHLSTBDT."
MR. AND MRS. R. SCHUBERT.
Allan, advocates, as assistant, and was asso-
ciated with them until the end of 1905. In the
latter part of 1906 he entered into partnership
with Mr. Gawthorne, under the style of Gaw-
thorne & Ross, advocates and solicitors.
Mr. Murison Allan. — Many public ap-
pointments in Pinang have been held by Mr.
Murison Allan, He was born at Capetown in
1857, educated at St. Andrew's, Scotland, and
arrived in the East in 1875. After spending
two years in Moulmein, Burma, as assistant
with Messrs. W. Strang Stut & Co., he came to
Pinang in 1877 and became assistant to the
Pinang Wharf and Transit Company. In 1878
he was appointed Coroner ; from 1879 to 1888
he acted as Assessor and Collector for Province
Wellesley, in 1880 as Coroner for the same
territory, in 1883 as Municipal Secretary, and
from 1888 to i8gi Sheriff and Official Assignee
of Pinang. He was called to the Bar at Gray's
Inn in June, 1892, and was admitted an advo-
cate of the Supreme Court of the Straits Settle-
ments in September of the same year. From
that time onwards, until 1904, he practised on
his own account, and then joined in partnership
with Mr. A. R. Adams. During September and
October, 1904, he acted as Solicitor-General,
Straits Settlements. He is a member of local
clubs, and of St. Stephen's Club, London,
and resides at " Westcroft," 'Western Road,
Pinang.
Mr. W. R. Armstrong, LL.D.— After
-graduated with honours in metaphysics in
i8g6. He took the degree of LL.B. in 1897,
and that of LL.D. two years later. After being
for some lime at King's College, Dublin, he
was called to the Irish Bar, and later came to
the East. He is now senior partner in the firm
of Messrs. Logan & Ross, his confrere, Mr.
S. F. Brereton Martin, managing the Ipoh
branch of the business. With him at Pinang
he has Mr. Yeop Guan Seok, B.A. Cantab., a
barrister-at-law, while at Ipoh Mr. Martin is
assisted by Mr. H. L. Cowdy.B.A., also a barrister-
at-law. Mr. Armstrong was married, in 1906,
to Isabel, daughter of Mr, Wm. Warham, of
Dublin, and now lives at " The Aloes," Northam
Road, Pinang. He is a member of all the
local sporting and social clubs, and takes an
active interest in golf and tennis. At one
time he was a prominent cyclist and runner,
for both of which he holds his college
colours.
Mr. R. C. Gould was born at Sheffield
in 1877, and was educated at King James's
Grammar School. He vi'as with the firm of
Messrs. Gould & Coombe, of Sheffield, for five
years, until he passed his law final in igoo,
when he joined Messrs. Gear and Pease,
London. He came to Pinang about two and
a half years ago, and was for some time
engaged with Messrs. Adams & Allan,
solicitors. Afterwards he entered into part-
nership with Mr. Logan. He is n member of
East in 1899, and joined the firm of Messrs.
Behn, Meyer & Co., at Pinang. Since 1902 he
has had the power of signing per procuration ;
since April i, 1907, he has been Acting Vice-
Consul for Germany, and is a member of all
local clubs. His private residence is at
" Roehlstedt," in McAlister Road. In 1905 he
married Alice Henrietta Agatha, only daughter
of Mr. C. G. Engel, merchant, of Hamburg.
Mr. O. E. Wriglit=Motion has been a
partner in the legal firm of Messrs. Hogan &
Motion, of Pinang, since January, 1907. Born
in London in 1865, he was educated at Christ's
Hospital and at the University College School.
After matriculating at the London University in
1882, he was articled to Messrs. Wright, Bonner
& Wright, of London, and remained with them
as their managing clerk till 1897, having passed
the Law Society's final examination in 1888.
He practised on his own account in London
from 1897 till 1905, and then came out to
Pinang as assistant to Mr. R. A. P. Hogan (with
whom he is now in partnership), and was
admitted to the local Bar. He is a member of
the Incorporated Law Society and of most of
the Pinang clubs. Mr. Wright-Motion has
been instrumental in staging several successful
minstrel shows in Pinang, and is a good
amateur actor. His residence is in Northam
Road.
Mr. Daniel Logan is the son of the late
Daniel Logan, Solicitor-General for over thirty
2 I
*
750
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
years, and is a grandson of James Richardson
Logan, to whom the inhabitants of Pinang
have erected a statue outside the Supreme
Court. He was born at Pinang in 1868, and
was educated at Eton and at Trinity Hall,
Cambridge. After keeping terms at the Inner
Temple, he was called to the Bar in 1892.
Upon his return to Pinang he joined the firm of
Messrs. Logan & Ross. Later on he practised
independently, and then became senior partner
in the firm of Messrs. Logan & Gould. Mr.
Logan took charge of his late father's planting
interests, and is now owner of the Ayer
Malintas estate, which comprises about 1,000
acres in Province Wellesley, planted with
rubber and coconut trees. He is a prominent
figure on the local turf, having owned such
famous mounts as Bittern, Festive, and Re-
ward. The latter has won for him, among
other trophies, the Turf Club Cup, the Miners'
Cup, Batu Gajah, and the Deli Cup in 1902.
Mr. Logan resides at Erskine Lodge, Gottlieb
Road, Pinang.
The late Dr. N. B. Dennys.— The late
Dr. Nicholas Belfield Dennys, Ph.B^ had a
varied and eventful career. He entered the
Civil Department of the British Navy in 1855.
and during August of the same year was
present at the bombardment of Sveaborg, for
which he obtained the Baltic medal. Resign-
ing later, he joined the Consular Service in
China in 1863 as student interpreter at Peking,
passing his examination in the Chinese language
a year later. In the following year he resigned
and became proprietor and editor of the China
Mail, Hongkong, which position he retained
until 1876, during most of which time he was
Secretary of the City Hall, Curator of the
Museum and Librarian (semi-ofiicially) and
(for a time) Secretary of the Chamber of Com-
merce. In April, 1877, he was appointed
Assistant-Protector of Chinese at Singapore and
a Justice of the Peace for the Straits Settlements,
receiving the decoration of the Dragon from the
Chinese Emperor in the following year. Ap-
THE LATE DR. N. BELFIELD DENNYS.
pointed Police Magistrate in 1879, Ihe served
successively as Third, Second, and First Magis^
trate and Commissioner of the Court of Re-
quests in Singapore and Province Wellesley.
Dr. Dennys was appointed Extra Coroner in
1881, and served as a magistrate inlButterworlh
for six years. During the next two years he
performed similar duties in Singapore. While
in Singapore he was Secretary, Librarian, and
Hon. Curator of the Raffles Museum. In 1889
he was made Magistrate at Gopeng, Kinta, in
the Federated Malay States, but in the follow-
ing year was obliged to resign owing to ill-
health. A few years later, however, he was
selected as District Judge and Protector of
Chinese in Sandakan, North Borneo. After a
painful operation for the removal of a tumour,
he died in Hongkong Hospital in 1900. Dr.
Dennys was the author of several books,
including " The Treaty Ports of China," " The
Folklore of China," " Notes for Tourists in the
North of China,'' " Handbook of Cantonese,"
" A Descriptive Dictionary of British Malaya,"
&c. He was also the inventor of the Zocus
anti-fouling paint, the Dennys-Cuff system of
electric lighting, and the flexible cofferdam.
His widow has settled in England, while his
only daughter married Mr. (now Sir) George
S. Murray, of Singapore, who is well known
throughout the Straits Settlements. His several
sons have mostly settled in various parts of the
Straits Settlements.
Mr. Charles Alfred Waller. — Born in
Shanghai in 1872, Mr. C. A. Waller was sent
for his early education to St. Xavier's Institu-
tion, Pinang, and afterwards joined the Diocesan
College, Hongkong. He served an apprentice-
ship in the Crown Colony with the Hongkong
and Whampoa Dock Company, and at the
termination of his five years' agreement
became third engineer on the steamer Fitz-
patrick. Nine years later he attained the
position of chief engineer, and became superin-
tendent engineer afloat for the Hock Chong
shipping firm. To-day he is consulting engineer
to a number of important industrial concerns,
including Leng Cheak Steamship Company, the
ME. AND MRS. C. A. WALLER AND FAMILY.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA 761
S. F. Brereton Martin.
R. C. Gould.
B. E. Ross.
A. R. Adams.
W. R. Armstrong.
THE PINANG BAB.
J. Bromhead-Matthews.
E. W. Presgrave.
W. J. MuRisoN Allan.
G. E. Wright-Motion.
J. F. Wreford.
P. K. Nameyar.
M. R, Thornton.
D. Logan.
Khye Hin Bee Rice and Oil Mills, the Chip
Hong Bee Rice Mills, the Sin Kye Bee Rice
Mills, the Ban Eng Tapioca Mills, "the Ping Un
Oil Mills, the Ban Hin Huat Saw Mills, the
Chip Bee Rice Mills, Kedah, and the Kedah
Sugar Mills, Mr. Waller is a member of the
Engineers' Institute, the Turf Club, and the
Hunt Club, and was formerly a well-known
owner of horses. He married the only daughter
o the late Mr. A. Macdougall, of Hongkong.
His residence is Lake Villa, 351, Perak Road,
Pinang.
Mr. Henry Alfred Neubronner. — Dis-
tinguished alike in his profession as an archi-
tect and in social and sporting circles, Mr.
H, A. Neubronner is one of the most popular
men in Pinang to-day. He is the only son of
Mr. Alfred De Windt Neubronner, and was
born at Malacca in 1872. He was educated at
Alexandra Park College, North London, and
by a private tutor in the metropolis and at
Lowestoft. His education partly completed,
Mr. Neubronner was articled to the firm of
Messrs. Chambers & Roberts, of London and
Lowestoft, and before he qualified for an
Assistant Surveyorship at H.M. Office of Works,
London, he passed the qualifying examination
as a Professional Associate of the Surveyors'
Institution, and later the Associate Examina-
tion of the Royal Institute of Architects. After
practising for some time in London, Mr.
Neubronner came out to Pinang, where he
was attached to the Siamese Consulate. Later,
in conjunction with Mr. Alan Wilson, he
established the firm of Wilson & Neubronner,
architects and civil engineers. Most of the prin-
cipal public buildings and private mansions in
the settlement have been designed and their
construction superintended by his firm. He is a
member of the Royal Society Club, St. James's,
London, and of all local clubs. Since his boy-
H. A. NBUBBONNBR.
(One of the most notable all-round athletes, of Pinang.)
hood he has been a keen cricketer. When
only nine years old he played for Alexandra
Park College, and very quickly got into the
first eleven of the school. He also played
football for that institution, and later for the
Clapham Rovers and the Civil Service (Associa-
tion). He gained his Middlesex. County badge
in 1897, and played right-forward in the
English team against France at Paris in 1898.
Since 1899 ^^ h^s played for Pinang both at
football and cricket, and has taken part in
practically all the inter-settlement and inter-
State matches, captaining on two occasions
teams representing Pinang. Mr. Neubronner
is also an excellent tennis player, having been
runner-up for the championship of Pinang on
three occasions. In golf, gymnastics, billiards,
and swimming matches he has figured as a
prizewinner, and has also met with success as
a runner at athletic sports. At one time he was
senior non-commissioned officer in the Pinang
Volunteer Corps, and is now on the Re-
serve. In 1902, 1904, and 1906 he won
the rifle championship, besides numerous
other trophies ; attended the Hythe School
of Musketry, and passed out with distinc-
tion ; and in 1905 reached the second stage
in the competition for the King's Prize at
Bisley. As further showing the scope of
Mr. Neubronner's tastes, it may be added that
he is a member of the Pinang Hunt Club, the
Choral and Orchestral Society, and the Dramatic
Society. He possesses an exceptionally good
high baritone voice. As a member of the
Pinang "Impressionists " he gained first honours
in water-colours for his pictures " Desolation,"
"A Malay Settlement," and "Sunset Glow."
Mr. Neubronner is Vice-Consul for Siam, and
resides in Perak Road.
Dr. James Kirk.— Medicine and volunteer-
752
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
ing contribute largely to the career of Dr.
James Kirk, who was born in Scotland's capital
in 1864. Educated at London and Edinburgh,
his University days were distinguished by his
winning in 1894 the Grierson Bursary. He
graduated M.B., CM. in 1895, and M.D. in 1897.
He came to the East ten years ago, and
practised for some time in Singapore before
establishing himself in Pinang. He is editor of
the Straits Medical Journal, sits on the Medical
Council of the Straits Settlements, and is a
member of all local clubs. Dr. Kirk has always
taken a lively interest in volunteering, having
been, while in London, a member of the 19th
Middlesex Rifle Volunteers, and more recently
a member of the Singapore Volunteer Rifles
and Maxim Detachment. Since igo6 he has
been Surgeon-Captain of the Pinang Volunteer
Corps. Dr. Kirk's favourite recreations are
riding, golf, and bowls. His residence is in
Northam Road.
Dr. Avetoom. — The son of a successful
Calcutta and Rangoon merchant, the late C. T.
Avetoom, Dr. Thaddeu.s Cachick Avetoom was
DR. T. C. AVETOOM, L.R.C.P. &
li.M. EDIN.
born in Calcutta in 1861. After studying
medicine at the Medical College Hospital,
Calcutta, from 1879 to 1882, he left for Edin-
burgh, in which city he stayed for three years,
and graduated L.R.CP., L.R.C.S., and L.M.
Since 1886 he has been in practice in Pinang,
and has reached the front rank of his profes-
sion. Besides being a Municipal Commissioner
from 1888 to i8go, and acting as Deputy Presi-
dent of the Municipality for nine months (for
which he received the thanks of the Govern-
ment), he was appointed Medical Superin-
tendent of the Chinese Infectious Diseases
Hospital in 1904. He is now president of the
Pinang Section of the British Medical Associa-
tion and Pinang representative on the Council
of the Malaya branch. He resides at " Bur-
leigh," Northam Road, and is a member of
most of the local clubs.
Mr. Robert Young was born at Bishop
Auckland, Durham, forty-seven years ago. He
was educated privately, and trained as a
mechanical engineer in the works of Messrs.
Kitson & Co., of Leeds. In 1885 he went to
India, where his service included three years
with the Great India Peninsular Railway, and
four years later he came to Pinang as engineer
to the Tramways Company. Since 1897 he has
been in practice as a consulting engineer, and
in this capacity he acts for the Municipal Fire
Brigade. Mr. Young is a Fellow of the Royal
Colonial Institute, a member of the Institution of
Mechanical Engineers, and of the Constitutional
and Sports Club (London) ; and in addition to
being an ex-President of the Engineers' Insti-
tute and a member of the Chamber of Com-
merce, is also enrolled in all the local clubs.
He is a director of the Times of Malaya, and
chairman of the Pinang Gazette, Ltd, and
of the Karangan Tin Mining Company.
Mr. J. O. Berkhuijsen, manager for
Messrs. W. Mansfield & Co., Ltd., is a native
of Amsterdam. He has been in the service
of Messrs. Mansfield & Co. since 1885, joining
first the Singapore branch. From 1886 till
1889 he managed the Pinang branch, and
afterwards the British North Borneo branch.
In 1899 he returned to Pinang to take his
present position. He is a member of the
Chamber of Commerce, of the Committee of
the Pinang and Town Clubs, and of all other
local institutions. His private residence is
" Ramoth," Pangkor Road.
Mr. Joseph Manook Anthony. — No
history of Pinang in the last hundred years
could be considered complete without men-
tion being made of the Anthony family,
whose representative to-day is regarded as
the doyen of Pinangites. This gentleman,
Mr. J. M. Anthony, has a better and more
intimate knowledge of all that pertains to
the rise and progress of the settlement than
can be claimed by any one else. Springing
from an old and respected Armenian stock,
the family name of Anthony first appears in
Eastern records when Arratoon Anthony,
grandfather of the subject of this sketch, and
a native of Shiraz in Persia, sailed in a
native dhow for Bombay, accompanied by
his wife and three sons. Thence the family
migrated to Calcutta, where the eldest son,
Anthony Arratoon, married Mariam Jan,
daughter of Ter Stephen, a minister of the
Armenian Church. In 1825 this same
Arratoon and his son came to Pinang, and,
after surveying the land, decided to settle
there. This was in about the year 1830. He
commenced business as an exporter of local
produce to Calcutta, his godown being situ-
ated on what is now the corner of Beach
Street and Church Street, and was at that
time the only house in the neighbourhood.
His son was married in 1833. About the
same time Anthony Arratoon commenced
planting the estate now known as " Eng-
land " at Ayer Etam, opening up 300 acres,
first with nutmegs, and afterwards with coco-
nuts. At this time his residence was Clove
Hall, which is now the block between Clove
Hall Road and Arratoon Road. Later, he took
his eldest son, Michael Arratoon, into partner-
ship, and established the firm of A. A.
Anthony & Co. The founder of the concern
died in 1873 at Pinang. His second son,
Joseph Manook, who was born in 1847, and
educated at the Pinang Free School and
the La Martiniere College, Calcutta, entered
the firm in 1863 as an assistant, and on the
death of his brother Michael, in 1878,
became sole partner. To-day he is the
oldest merchant in Pinang. The firm carry
on business as general merchants, agents,
and so forth, doing a large business in ship-
ping and insurance. They represent the
Apcar Line of steamers, the Douglas Line,
and the Bombay and Persia Steam Navigation
Company, and are agents for the Com-
mercial Union Assurance Company, the
Pelican and British Empire Life Assurance
Company, and the British Dominions Marine
Insurance Company, In 1905 Mr. Anthony,
in partnership with Mr. A. F. Gore Ander-
son, established the well-known firm of
Anthony & Anderson, carrying on business
as share and exchange brokers in the same
office. Mr. Anthony, in 1870, married Isabel
Marian, eldest daughter of Mr. John Hogan,
merchant, of Pinang. Some time after the
death of his first wife he married Regina,
second daughter of Mr. M. Gregory, one of
the leading merchants and shipowners in
Calcutta. His eldest son, Stephen, born in
1871, educated at Dollar Institution, Scotland,
and Edinburgh University, has been a
partner in his father's business since 1896.
His three younger sons were also educated
at Dollar. Mr. Anthony is a member of all
local clubs, and is a keen follower of the
turf. In his early days he was a successful
gentleman rider, and since 1891 he has owned
many celebrated local racehorses, among them
Bittern (who won the Queen's Diamond Jubilee
Cup in 1897), Parmesan, Bushrat, Richard, and
Plunger. He has a beautiful residence, " Chats-
worth," in Northam Road.
ORIENTAL.
Mr. M. M. Noordin. — In the annals of
Pinang's commercia:! history the family of
Noordin have played a prominent part. At
its head was Mohamed Noordin, who, since
1820, had traded in the northern settlement
with such success that the present representa-
H. A. CADBB.
fives hold considerable house and shop property
and a large estate in Province Wellesley, known
as the Noordin Estate. This gentleman was
well known in public life by reason of his
extensive and catholic generosity. Although
he remained a staunch Mahomedan, he
rendered considerable assistance to many
Christian institutions. For many years he was
a Municipal Commissioner and Justice of the
Peace, and he contributed a large sum towards
the cost of inaugurating the town's first water-
supply from the Waterfall before the pipe
system was in use. He died in 1870, leaving
six sons and five daughters. His fourth son,
Mr. M. M. Noordin, who is the proprietor of
the firms of M. M. Noordin (Pinang and
Singapore), was born in the settlement, and .
received his education at the local Free School.
He is a special juror, has made three journeys
to Europe, and two of his children are being
educated in England. He does a large trade
in the export of local produce to London,
Marseilles, and several chief ports of India and
China, in addition to his many other interests.
The manager of Mr. Noordin's business is
Mr. Hassanally Abdul Cader, who was born in
Surat in 1867, and was manager to Mr.
Hussainally Wasi, in Singapore, a well-known
Indian firm in Bombay, from 1891 to igoi, and
has been with Mr. Noordin ever since. He is
an enlightened gentleman, and his son is being
educated at the Secondary County School,
M. M. NOOBDIN, HIS OFFICES, AND RESIDENCE, "CLIFTON."
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
755
Ilford, Essex. He is a member of the
Pinang Turf Club, and also a juror of the
Supreme Court, Pinang, and is highly respected
in commercial circles.
Mr. P. K. Nambyar, B.A., barrister-at-
law, advocate, and solicitor, of Pinang, was
born at Malabar, India, in 1869, and received
his education at the Presidency College,
Madras, and at St. John's College, Cambridge.
He graduated B.A. with 'honours in 1893, and
was called to the Bar in 1891.. Mr. Nambyar
practised in Madras from 1894 till 1904, and
has since followed his profession in Pinang.
He is president of the Pinang India-Ceylon
Association.
Mr. Quah Beng Kee. — Education in
Pinang is supported staunchly by Mr. Quah
Beng Kee, who has been a Municipal Commis-
sioner for Georgetown since 1902. He is the
son of Mr. Quah Joo Moye, a well-known
coconut planter of the settlement, and was
born in 1872. He was educated at the Pinang
Free School and at Roberts' College, Calcutta.
Afterwards he entered the service of a Pinang
business house, and subsequently he and his
brothers started business as shipowners and
general merchants, under the style of Beng
Bros. They founded the Guan Lee Hin
Steamship Company, of which Mr. Quah Beng
Kee is now the sole proprietor. He is on the
committee of the Chinese Chamber of Com-
merce and of the Chinese Town Hall, and is a
member of the Pinang Association. His
enthusiastic support of education is shown
by the fact that he has generously conceded
free passages on any of his launches to all
children on the mainland of Province Wellesley
desiring to attend schools at Pinang. Mr. Quah
Beng Kee, in 1894, married the daughter of the
late Mr. Chew Choo In, Captain China of
Deli, Sumatra. He has two residences — a
town house at 95, Bishop Street, Pinang, and
a country seat, " Castled:ile," in Province
Wellesley.
Mr. Koh Seang Tat, J. P. —There are very
few families in Pinang ableto trace their descent
from the early Chinese immigrants who came to
the settlements in the far-off days of Captain
Francis Light at the end of the eighteenth
centurj'. But this distinction can be claimed
by the family of whom Mr. Koh Seang Tat
is the senior representative to-day. Of this
family — an old and respected one from the
village of Koh-choo, Tang-on-Kwan, in Chuan-
Chiew-fu, in the Hokien province of China —
the iirst representative in the Straits Settle-
ments was Mr. Koh Lay Hwan, who held the
office of Captain China of Kedah in the native
States. He had six sons and two daughters by
his Pinang wife, Saw It Neoh, and two sons
and one daughter by his Kedah wife, Guan
Boey Neoh. The eldest son of the Pinang
family was Mr. Koh Kok Chye, who married
Cheah Thoe Neoh, and had six sons and three
daughters by her. His eldest son was Mr. Koh
Teng Choon, who carried on business as a
planter. He married Uhoo Sim Neoh, and had
five sons and three daughters. He died in 1874
at the age of sixty-one, and his wife died in 1901,
when eighty-seven years old. Of this family
the eldest son was Mr, Koh Seang Tat, the
subject of this sketch. He was born in 1833,
received his education at Pinang Free School,
and, in partnership with the late Mr. Foo Tye
Sin, commenced business as a general merchant
under the style of Tye Sin Tat & Co., in the
premises in Beach Street now occupied by
Messrs, Pritchard & Co. Up to the eighties
the liquor and opium farms at Singapore had
always been in the hands of local men. Mr.
Koh Seang Tat was the first Pinang man to
secure the contract and at the same time he
contrived to get the Johore farms, his tenders
for the Singapore farms receiving the support
of the then Governor, who had watched with
approval the way in which he had conducted
the Pinang farms in the previous year. After
a full and busy life as managing partner of these
various concerns, he visited Europe, travelled
extensively on the Continent, and came back to
the Straits Settlements I'id America. On his
return Mr. Koh Seang Tat was made a Justice
of the Peace, being the first Chinese gentleman
upon whom the Governor conferred that
honour. For several terms he sat as a Muni-
cipal Commissioner. Successive Governors,
when visiting Pinang, were entertained at his
fine estate at Balik Pulau. On the occasion of
the visit, in 1869, of H.R.H. the late Duke of
Edinburgh, Mr. Koh Seang Tat had the honour
of entertaining the royal visitor for several days
as a guest at his palatial mansion in Leith
Street, now bearing the name of Edinburgh
House in commemoration of that occasion.
Mr. Koh Seang Tat married Oon Geok Teah
Neoh, sister of Captain China Oon Gan Thay,
of Deli. On May 9, 1903, the venerable couple
celebrated their golden wedding, on which
occasion festivities on a lavish scale were held,
and congratulations and innumerable marks of
esteem were received from all classes of the
community. There are many enduring evi-
dences in Pinang of Mr. Koh Seang Tat's
munificent benefactions. In 1863 he presented
I, Mr. and Mrs. Kaw Leok Hup.
KOH SEANG TAT.
i & 3. Mr. axd Mrs. Kaw Cheng Siax. 4. Mr. and Mrs. Koh Seang Tat (taken on the occasion of their Golden Wedding).
5. Granddaughter. 6 & 7. The late Mr. and Mrs, Koh Teng Choon.
03
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o
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA 757
EDINBURGH HOUSE.
the town with a fountain which was erected
near the Town Hall. It bears the inscription :
" Presented to the public of Pinang by Koh
Seang Tat, Esq." In 1878 he provided the
funds for erecting a new wing for the Free
School, on one of the walls of which are
inscribed the words : "This building was
erected at a cost of 2,020 dollars by Koh Seang
Tat, Esq. : 1878." At the village of Balik
Pulau, some 15 miles from the town, is a foun-
tain with cattle-trough, also presented by him.
On an obelisk between the water receptacles is
a metal plate, the inscription on which shows
that this monument was erected by Mr. Koh
Seang Tat, of Edinburgh House, who has large
interests in Balik Pulau, to commemorate the
visit in 1882 of Sir Frederick Weld, K.C.M.G.,
Governor of the Straits Settlements, as a token
of gratitude for the improvements made in the
Balik Pulau district during his term of office.
The fountain was opened in 1885 by Colonel
Dunlop, President of the IVIunicipal Com-
missioners of Georgetown, with much
ceremony. In 1886 Mr. Koh Seang Tat
founded the Centenary Scholarships of 1,500
dollars each for the Free School and St.
Xavier's Institution. In memory of his father,
Mr. Koh Teng Choon, he built a hospital at
Balik Pulau at a cost of 2,000 dollars, and
handed it over to the community. He also
made a free gift of land at Bukit Panara for
the purposes of a police-station and at Ayer
Etam for a water reservoir. Mr. Koh Seang
Tat had six sons and four daughters. The
eldest surviving son, Mr. Kaw Cheng Sian, was
beam in 1863, and was educated at Pinang Free
School and Doveton College, Calcutta. He was
a partner in the ship-chandling firm of Messrs.
Cheng Hooi & Co., until it was closed on the
death of his brother, Kaw Cheng Hooi, the
senior partner. In 1899 he secured the Hong-
kong Opium Farm and managed it for four
years. Returning to Pinang in 1903, he has
since managed his father's estates. He was
for two years secretary and adviser to the
Pinang Chinese community, and is now
secretary of the Chinese Chamber of Com-
merce, and a member of all local clubs and
public institutions. He was for many years
President of the Anglo-Chinese Reading Room.
In 1880 Mr. Kaw Cheng Sian married Cheah
Saw Keow Moh, daughter of Mr. Cheah Siang,
of Pinang, and by her has one son, Mr. Kaw
Leok Hup, and two daughters, Kaw Chooi
Pheng and Kaw Chooi Eng. The elder
daughter was married, in 1905, to Mr. Chung
Thye Seong, eighth son of the late multi-
millionaire. Captain Chung Keng Kwi. The
son, Mr. Kaw Leok Hup, is now assisting in
the management of his grandfather's business.
In igo6 he married Ooi Phek Eong, only
daughter of the late Mr. Ooi Eow Kee, mer-
chant. Of this marriage a daughter, Kaw Suat
Hoon, was born in March, 1907.
Mr. Lim Soo Chee, eldest son of Mr. Lim
Kek Chuan, managing partner of the Pinang
Opium and Spirit Farm, was born in 1880, in
Pinang, and educated at the Free School there.
After a commercial training with Messrs. Behn,
Meyer & Co., he took up mining in Perak, and
is still carrying on this industry in various parts
of the Federated States. He is a partner in the
Pinang Opium and Spirit Farm, and in other
farms at Perils in the Siamese Malay States. In
1901 he married a granddaughter of Khor Sim
Choah, Raja of Luan Suan in Siam. He has
three sons and one daughter. Mr. Lim is a
member of the Society of Arts, London, the
Pinang Turf Club, the Cycling Club, the Pinang
Mutual Improvement Association, the Chinese
Merchants' Club, and the Chinese Recreation
Club. He resides at No. 4, Pinang Street.
Mr. H. M. Noordin, J. P. —Mr. Habib
Marican Noordin is the third son of the late
Mr. M. Noordin. He was born in Pinang in
May, 1847, and was educated at St. Xavier's
Institution. In 1862 he entered his father's
business, and went to Bui'ma in one of the
firm's sailing vessels for the purpose of buying
rice, and during the succeeding few years he
made several similar trips. Upon his father's
death, in 1870, he was appointed executor and
trustee of the deceased gentleman's estate. At
this time he commenced business on his own
account, and did a large trade in the expoit of
local produce. He was also agent for several
lines of steamers, and managing director of the
India Merchant and Steam Navigation Com-
pany. He has lived in retirement since 1905,
and his business has been managed by his
nephews and son-in-law. He has been a
Justice of the Peace for Pinang since 1889,
and resides at No. 193, Hutton Lane (Noordin
Hall), and at Winnie Lodge, Hutton Lane.
Mr. Cheah Chen Eok, Superintendent of
the Pinang Opium and Spirit Farm, is the only
son of the late Mr. Cheah Sim Hean, merchant,
of Pinang. He was born in 1852, and received
his education at the Pinang Free School. When
he was sixteen years of age he entered the
service of Messrs. Boon Tek & Co., ships'
chandlers, but shortly afterwards went to the
Pinang branch of the Chartered Mercantile
Bank of India, London, and China. There
he remained for eight years, receiving a sound
financial li-aining, and in j 876 he commenced
business as a ships' chandler and general
merchant under the style of Chen Eok & Co.
After six years' successful trading he embarked
upon opium and spirit farming, and was con-
nected with practically every farm in Singapore
and Pinang for twenty-live years. His manage-
ment of these mammoth concerns was beyond
LIM SOO CHBE.
I, 2, & 3- Mr. and Mrs. Lim Soo Chee and Family.
4. The Coach House
(See p. 757.)
5 DuMoxD Jubilee Lodge.
H. M. NOOBDIN ANDl HIS RESIDENCE.
(See- p. 757.),
CHBAH CHEN EOK.
THE SONS OP CHEAH CHEN EOK.
"COOMBE HILL."
CHEAH TATTO.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
761
all criticism, and although in 1902 he retired
from active business, he consented to superin-
tend the affairs of the present Pinang farm at
the urgent request of the syndicate. Together
with Mr. Lim Kek Chuan he was formerly
largely interested in tin transactions, but now
devotes himself, apart from the affairs of the
farm, to the care of his estates, of which
Coombe Hill is the principal. He is a Justice
of the Peace, was formerly a Municipal
School, where he gained a gold medal (in 1887)
and four scholarships. On completing his
scholastic studies he entered the Mercantile
Bank in order to obtain a iiiiancial training,
and after three years spent there he got an
insight into commercial matters in the service
of Messrs. Behn, Meyer & Co. In 1896 he
started on his own account as general revenue
farmer in the native States, at one time running
some twenty customs, opium, gambling, and
trading mostly in produce, pepper, and tin.
The Calcutta business was carried on under
the style of Messrs. Eng Hong & Co., and
managed by his brother, Mr. Gan Hong Kee.
The Pinang'branch is carried on as Messrs. Eng
Joo & Co., and is managed by himself. There
was also a branch at Rangoon trading in rice
and cutch, under the chop Eng Hong & Co.
Failing to find enough scope for his energies in
Calcutta, Mr. Gan Ngoh Bee came to Singapore
ME. AND MBS. GOH BOON KENG AND FAMILY.
Commissioner, visitor to gaols and hospitals,
member of the Chinese Advisory Board, trustee
of the Free School, and a member of all local
clubs. The Pinang clock tower was erected at
his expense in commemoration of the late Queen
Victoria. In 1872 he married the daughter of
the late Foo Tye Sin, one of the best known
Chinamen in Pinang, He has six sons and
three daughters, and has won the high esteem
of all classes of the community by his sterling
qualities and liis charitable and unassuming
nature.
Cheah Tatto.— Mr. Cheah Tatto, eldest son
of Mr. Cheah Chen Eok, was born in Pinang
in 1871 and educated at the Convent, the St.
Xavier's Institution, and St. George's College,
England. In 1897 he entered Lincoln's Inn,
but did not complete his terms. He returned
to Pinang in 1900, and now is a partner in the
opium and spirit farm. He intends shortly to
proceed to England and take his final in law.
Mr. Cheah is a member of the Turf Club and of
the Chinese Recreation Club. He is married,
has two sons and one daughter, and resides at
Coombe Hill.
Mr. Qoh Boon Keng is the fourth son of
Mr. Goh Oon Kee, merchant, of Pinang, who
died about thirty years ago. He was born in
Pinang in 1872, and was educated at the Free
other farms, as well as being superintendent
and general managing partner of the rice mills
in Bridge Street, Pinang. To-day he carries
on various revenue farms in Pinang, Kedah,
Perlis, Satool, Perak, Negri Sambilan, and
Selangor, and is interested in tin mining. He
has travelled extensively in Europe, Asia, and
in this colony and the neighbouring States.
Mr. Goh Boon Keng is a committee m-ember
of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, the
Chinese Recreation Club, and the Pinang
Literary Association, is a director of the Straits
Eclio, &c. His offices are at 159, Beach Street,
and his private residence is at No. 278, Pinang
Road. In 1894 he married Lim Kwee Sean,
eldest daughter of the late Mr. Lim Leng
Cheak.
Mr. Qan Ngoh Bee. — A prominent man,
who, up till his retirement from actual business,
played an important role in the Chinese com-
munal life of Pinang, and who is now regarded
as a doyen by his fellow-countrymen, is Mr.
Gan Ngoh Bee. The son of Mr. Gan
Guan Teat, a rice merchant of Saigon, he
was born in 1859, ^nd was educated at the
Brothers' School and at Doveton College,
Calcutta. On the completion of his education,
he started business with his uncle, Mr. Gan
Kim Swee, and his brother, Gan Hong Kee,
in 1889, and interested himself in the opium
and spirit farm, of which he soon became
manager, retaining the position for nine years.
At the end of that time he went to Pinang,
where, from 1897 to 1907, he managed the
opium and spirit farm. Though Mr. Gan
Ngoh Bee has now retired from actual
business, he is still interested largely in tin
mining in the native States, has a big share
in the Tronoh Mines, and owns a mine at
Chooliat, in Perak. He also holds extensive
landed property in Pinang. His residences, of
which we give photographs, require to be seen
to be fully appreciated. In his town house,
" Aurora," Eastern splendour and Western
solidity are combined harmoniously. His
estate of Bloemfontein, Glugor, in the centre
of the island, is one of the best in the settle-
ment, whilst his other residence, " Town
View," on Ayer Etam Hill, some 800 feet
above sea-level, commands a magnificent pano-
ramic view of the town and roadstead. His
wife, Khoo Kuat Keong, whom he married in
1879, is the second daughter of Mr. Khoo
Cheng, of Pinang. Of the marriage there are
ten children. The eldest son, Mr. Gan Teong
Teng, was educated at the Free School, and is
now receiving a financial training in the
Chartered Bank. The eldest daughter married
GAN NGOH BEE.
I. Mrs, Gan Ngoh Bee. 2. Mrs, Cheah Teong Ho.
6. Gan Choo Lait.
3. Gan Ngoh Bee. 4. Miss Ga.n Cheah Pek Ho. 5. The l.ate Gan Guan Teat
7, THo Chuah Neoh. g, Gax Teong Teng, 9. Mrs. Gan Gian Teat.
"Town View."
GAN NGOH BEE.
2. " BlOEMFONTEIN."
Drawing room ok Aurora House
GAN NGOH BEE.
MAXl'SCRH'T LbTIER OF THE I.AIE GAX GUAN THEAT, DATED 1837.
Aurora House.
l'.t
" Castle Dale."
The late Mrs. Quah Joo Moye.
QUAH BENG KEE.
QUAH BENG Kee.
The late Quah Joo Moye.
The Familv.
766
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Mr, Cheah Teong Ho, of Pinang, and the second
daughter is the wife of Mr. Khoo Siew Bee,
manager of the revenue farms in Sarawak,
North Borneo. Mr. Gan Ngoh Bee has always
been a liberal-minded man, with a purse ever
open to charitable institutions and to every
public and sporting movement. The Gan
Ngoh Bee Fountain was presented to the Pinang
Free School by him. He is a member of the
London Society of Arts, of the Pinang Associa-
tion, and of the Pinang Literary Association ; is
a trustee of the Pinang Free School and a
visitor to the local hospitals.
Mr. Yeo Wee Qark is a son of Mr- Yeo
Chin Poon, who came to the Straits Settle-
ments some sixty years ago, and settled in
Pinang as a merchant. Mr. Wee Gark was
educated privately. While still a young man
he went to Asahan, in Sumatra, and set up
business as a merchant, dealing in gutta and
other local produce, and afterwards engaging
in revenue farming. Amongst his initial ven-
tures in this direction was a partnership in
the Asahan Farm. Upon his return to Pinang
in 1 88^ he became manager of the local Opium
and Spirit Farm, and since then he has been
connected with numerous farms in Pinang, the
Federated Malay States, and Kedah. At the
several lots of house property in Pinang. His
offices are at ig, Market Street. He resides at
60, Prangin Lane, and has a palatial country
residence named " Kelso," in Scotland Road.
He has two sons — Yeo Tin Lin and Yeo Tin
Kee — and two daughters — Yeo Sin Choo and
Yeo Song Pek. One of the daughters is
married to Mr. Khoo Swee Bok, who assists in
his father-in-law's business affairs generally.
Mr. Ho Tiang Wan. — Born in Pinang in
1850, Mr. Ho Tiang Wan is a son cf Mr. Ho
Kim Pan, of China. He started life as super-
cargo on a native vessel trading between
Pinang and Singapore, and afterwards engaged
in tin buying in Singapore in partnership with
Mr. Ong Tim. Returning to Pinang in 1880,
he opened a native drug and medicine store
under the style of Lo Chong Ann & Co.. at
No. 81, Beach Street, Pinang, and commenced
dealing on a large scale in Achin pepper.. He
took the gambling sub-farm and many other
farms in the Federated States, and became a
partner in the Pinang opium and spirit farm.
He is the managing farmer of the general
opium and gambling farm at Satool, Sungei
Upay, and Perlis in the Siamese Malay States,
and is still interested in the pepper trade in
Satool, where he has a branch business. Mr.
daughters. The elder son, Mr. Ho Kim Kee,
is manager of all his businesses, and a partner
in the firm of Messrs. Chow Kit & Co., of
Kuala Lumpor. He is a keen sportsman,
taking an especial interest in horseracing.
Among his best-known horses are Palawan,
Lady Kiss, Albion II., and Lynwood. He is .
a member of all the Straits racing and turf
clubs, as well as of the Chinese Recreation Club
and the Cycling Club. The other son, ;\Ir. Ho
Kim Tuk, is in England. Mr. Ho Tiang Wan's
town house is at 76, Love Lane, and his
country residence is Pretoria Hall, 376, Burma
Road.
Mr. Lim Eu Toh is the second son of the
late Lim Chin Guan, who was in the Chinese
Imperial Customs for twenty-five years, and
was decorated by the Emperor Tung Chi with
the Order of Merit. He was born in Pinang
in 1871, and received his education at the Free
School and St. Xavier's Institution. In 1887
he entered the service of Messrs. Huttenbach,
Liebert & Co,, and remained with them until
1896, when the firm of Messrs, Tiang Lee &
Co., of which he is the senior partner, was
formed. He was formerly on the committee
of Pinang Free School, and he is vice-president
of the Pinang Association. In 1905 he was
J. I'LAN OV XliW RESIDESCE.
YEO WEE GAEK.
2. "Kelso."
3. Plan of New REsmENCE (Side View).
present time he Is ti partner in and auditor of
the Pinang Opium <md Spirit Farm. Mr. Yeo
Wee Gark is president of the Chinese Club,
a patron of the Chinese Recreation Club, a
member of the Chinese Advisory Board and
of the Pinang Literary Association. He
possesses interests in various revenue farms
in Perak and Northern Johore, and in tin
mines in the native States, and he owns
Ho Tiang \\'an is the secretary of the Chinese
Club, a member of the committee of the Anglo-
Chinese Reading-room, a member of -the Pinang
Literary Association, a patron of the Chinese
Recreation Club, and is also on the board of
directors of Pinang Khean Guan Insurance
Company, Ltd. In 1871 he married Quah
Keat Sim Neoh, daughter of Mr. Quah Eng,
of Pinang. He has two sons and three
elected a member of the Pinang Municipal
Commission for Georgetown, and was re-
elected in 1907. He is a member of the London
Society of Arts. He married in i8go the second
daughter of Khoo Thean Poh, but she died in
1903. In 1905 he married the eldest daughter
of Khoo Kuat Siew, merchant, of Rangoon.
He resides at 1$, York Road, and has two sons
and two daughters.
<!
a
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m
o
H
HO TIANG WAN.
Pretoria Hall.
2 Ho TiANG Wan axd Fajuly
(See p. 766.)
LIM EU TOH.
I. Mrs, Lim Eu Toh. 2. The late Khoo Soon:Neoh (Wife of Lim Eu Toh).
... 5. Lim Eu Toh.
(See .p. 766.)
3. The Residence. - 4. The late Lim Chin Gu.4n.
3 K
770
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Mr. C. S. Seng and his Partners. — In
Chinese circles in Pinang the partners in the
firm of C. S. Seng & Co. are well known
figures. Mr. Law Yew Ee is the son of the
late Mr. Law Seow Huck, a Pinang merchant
and shipowner. He was born in i86g, and was
educated at the Pinang Free School, where he
won the Gottlieb and Le Boon Choe Scholar-
ships. Upon leaving school he entered a
mercantile office, and after having had ten
years' commercial experience, became one of
the founders of the firm of C. S. Seng & Co.,
of which he has since been the senior partner.
He is a member of the Chinese Chamber of
Commerce, the Chinese Merchants' Club, the
Chinese Recreation Club, and the Pinang
Literary Association. He married a daughter
of Mr. Yoh Boon Leng, of Pinang, and his
private residence is 138, Carnarvon Street.
Mr. Yoh Boon Tean is also a native of Pinang,
and attended the Free School. He joined
the firm in 1902, and married a daughter of
Mr. Foo Choo Choon^ a wealthy tin-inine
owner of the Federated Malay States, whose
assisted in the supervision of the Pinang opmm
and spirit farm by his second son, Mr. Cheah
Tat Jin, who was born at Pinang in 1886. This
gentleman received his education at the St.
Xavier's Institution. In addition to his con-
nection with the opium farm, he is a partner
in the shipping firm of Keng Bee. He is a
member of the Turf Club and of the Chinese
Recreation Club. In May, 1906, he married
Lira Kwee Guan, third daughter of Mr. Lim
Leng Cheak, late manufacturer and shipowner
of Pinang. Mr. Clieah Tat Jin resides at
" Eokham," Pinang.
Mr. Cheah Choon Seng was born in 1874
at Pontianak, in the Dutch East Indies, where
he was educated in the Chinese language. As
a young man he began contracting on his own
account for the supply of provisions and food-
stuffs to the Dutch Government, and continued
the business for eight years. Then he removed
to Kota Raja, on the west coast of Sumatra.
He still held contracts from the Government,
and undertook also various railway construction
contracts, besides interesting himself in opium
Tambun mines in Perak and the Bentong mines
near Kuala Lumpor, and is also a partner in
the Medan opium farms. He is a member of
the Chinese Town Hall Committee, Pinang.
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ME. AND MBS. CHEAH TAT JIN.
biography is given in another section of
this work. Mr. Chew Seah Seng, after
whom Messrs. C. S. Seng & Co, is named,
was one of the founders of the business, but
has ceased to be an active partner. He is
engaged in managing the business of his father-
in-law, Mr. Cheah Choon Sen, Chinese Consul
at Pinang. Mr. Lo Beng Kuang is attorney to
Mr. Chan Kang Choon, and he has been
largely responsible for financing Messrs. Seng
& Co. He was until lately a Municipal Com-
missioner. Mr. Chan Kai Choo is a son of
Mr. Chan Kang Choon. He is a large landed
proprietor and tin miner, and has an interest
in the Pinang opium farm.
Cheah Tat Jin.— Mr. Cheah Chen Eok is
and other revenue farms. .4bout this time he
was appointed Lieutenant China, a post which
he held for twenty-one years, and afterwards
Captain China. In this connection the Dutch
Government invested him with the Gold Star
for "Trouwen Verdienste," and with a gold
medal for sterling services rendered to the
administration, Mr. Cheah acquired large
properties at Kota Raja. Some ten years ago,
however, he relinquished all his business there,
and, handing it over to Mr. Leong Mok On, his
attorney, came to Pinang, and was appointed
Chinese Consul. That office he filled for seven
years, and upon his resignation it was taken up
by his son-in-law, the well-known Mr. Leong
Fee. Mr. Cheah is largely interested in the
CHEAH CHOON SENG.
His wife is a daughter of Mr. Chong Hi, the
Burgermeester (Mayor) of Pontianak, and he
has one son and four daughters, as well as
three adopted sons. A few years ago he lost
his eldest son, who was a promising man. His
private residence in Pinang is at No. 8, Leith
Street.
Mr. Leong Lok Hing, J. P. — Mr. Leong
Lok Hing is a very prominent member of the
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LEONG LOK HING, J.P.
Cantonese community in Pinang. The son of
a Chinese merchant, he was born in Canton in
1851, and educated at San Francisco, U.S A.
He carried on business as a general merchant
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I. The lateChua Yu Kay,
CHUA KEE EE.
2. The late Chua Kang Whuat. 3. Mrs. Chua Yu Kav.
5. Mrs. Chua Kakg Whuat. 6. The late TVIrs. Chua Kee Ee.
Chua Kee Ee and Family.
4. Chua Kee Ee.
772
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
in California until t888, when he came to
Pinang and established the firm of Kwong
On & Co., importers, at 113, Beach Street.
Branches have since been opened at Ipoh
and Tapah, in the Federated Malay States.
Mr. Leong owns several tin mines in the
Federated Malay States, and the Sungei
Semambii, a very extensive rubber, coconul,
and tapioca estate, in the Krian district. He
has been a member of the Chinese Advisory
Board for over ten years, is Vice-President of
the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, a Justice
of the Peace, trustee of the Free School and of
the Chinese Town Hall, and a member of the
committee of the Pinang Association. He
resides at No. 76, Bishop Street, and has a
country house, " The Pleasance," in Gottlieb
Road.
Mr. Liiti Eow Thoon, second son of the
late Mr. Lim Leng Cheak, was born at Pinang
on December 6, 1886. After completing his
schooling in English and Chinese at the Free
School, he joined his father's firm as an
assistant, and since 1901 has been a partner
in the business. He is managing partner of
the Chop Chip Hong Bee & Co.'s rice mills,
and is also part owner of Batu Puteh estate
and of various other estates under his father's
Mr. Ong Hun Chong.— One of the best-
known merchants of Pinang is Mr. Ong Hun
Chong, the son of the late Mr. Ong Guan
Cheng, who came to the settlement from
Hokien Province in China same fifty-three
years ago and began business as a tin merchant.
His son, the subject of this sketch, was born in
1865, and educated at a Chinese school in
Pinang. After leaving school he entered into
business with his father, trading under the style
of Ban Tin Lum at 231, Beach Street, as tin,
pepper, and salt merchants. After his father's
death he carried on the business in conjunction
with his brothers, but now he is the sole pro-
prietor. Business connections are maintained '
with Achin, Perak, and the Siamese Malay
States, from whicli countries tin and pepper
are imported. Mr. Ong Hun Chong is also a
partner in the Pinang opium and spirit farms,
and principal shareholder in the spirit farm of
Tongkah, besides owning coconut plantations
in Green Lane and Western Road, Pinang. He
was one of the founders and at one time secre-
tary of the Chinese Merchants' Club. He is on
the committee of the Chinese Chamber of
Commerce, and is head trustee of the Ong
Ancestral Temple in Pinang Road. His chief
residence is at 48c, Northam Road, and he has
in Pinang and Kuala Lumpor is Mr. Yeoh Paik
Keat, second son of Mr. Yeoh Chin Leong, of
Pinang. He was born in Pinang in 1874 and
educated at the Free School there, afterwards
serving with Messrs. Schmidt, Kuestermann &
Co. for ten years. At the end of that period he
embarked upon an independent business career,
joining as manager the firm of Tiang Lu &
Co., Pinang, import and export merchants, of
which he was one of the founders. Early in
1907 he extended his business to Kuala Lumpor
under the same style — Tiang Lu & Co.— and
bought the interest of the Federated Malay
States Ice Company. Both enterprises are
now under his sole management. Mr. Yeoh
married in i8q6 the fourth daughter of Mr.
Khoo Thean Poh. He owns various planta-
tions and rubber estates in Province Wellesley
and Pinang and tin mines in Selangor. He
is a member of the Weld Hill Club, Kuala
Lumpor, and of the Chinese Recreation Club,
Pinang.
Mr. Khoo Guat Cheng, third son of the
late Mr. Khoo Soo Hong, merchant, of Pinang,
the subject of this sketch, was born in 1862.
He was educated at the Pinang Free School,
and commenced business on his own account
as a general merchant under the style of Guat
LIM BOW THOON.
Thk Family.
Lim Eow Thoom.
will. Mr. Lim is a member of the Chinese
Recreation Club, and plays tennis, football,
cricket, and billiards. A keen patron of the
turf, he owned the well-known racing pony
The Gunner, which won two gold cups in
1906, and several other racehorses. On March
4, 1904, he married Goh Saw Chooi, second
daughter of Mr. Goh Ewe Keong, of Pinang,
and has one son. His private residence is at
278, Pinang Road.
another in Prangin Lane. In 1884 he married
Lim Pek Mow, daughter of Mr. Lim Seok
Chin, of Pinang. Of the marriage there are
five sons and three daughters, of whom the
eldest, Ong Huck Hoon, is now preparing for
his Cambridge examinations at Pinang Free
School, where he is sub-prefect and sergeant of
the Cadet Corps.
Mr. Yeoh Paik Keat. ~ A well-known
member of .both commercial and social circles
Cheng Brothers in Beach Street. He owns
extensive landed property in Pinang town,
including such well-known residences as
" Cedar Bank," off Northam Road, " Hill
Rise," in Waterfall Road, and others. In
former days he was a keen supporter of the
turf, and owned some well-known racehorses.
In 1884 he re-married Cheah Choo Neo,
daughter of Cheah Hin Chien, and he has
i^vo sons — Khoo Teik'- Hock and Khoo Teik
I "Cedar Eaxk.'
KHOO GUAT CHENG.
1. Khoo Guat Chexg.
3. The Family Group.
2 IC
1. BAN ONG (ONE OF THE ANCESTORS OF ONG HUN CHONG).
(Wang Shen Tsi in the later " Leanfi " dynasty was created Ban Ong by Emperor Tai Tsu in A.D. 907.)
3. ONG GUAN CHENG. 4. FAMILY BIRTHDAY GROUP,
(See p. 772.)
2. ONG HUN CHONG.
ONG HUN CHONG AND FAMILY.
"FONTENAY,'
(See p 772.)
THE LIM KEK CHUAN FAMILY AND THE FAMILY VAULT.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
777
Ee— and three daughters — Khoo Lean Im,
Khoo Lean Oon, and Khoo Lean Khim. His
private residence is at " Cedar Bank."
Mr. Khoo Cheow Teong, son of the late
Mr. Khoo Cheng Lim, was born in Pinang in
1849. Educated in a Chinese school, he soon
College in Singapore, and a very considerable
sum to the Mahomedan community of Asahan
for repairing a Mahomedan mosque. He has
three sons and three daughters. The eldest
son, Mr. Khoo Sian Wei, who carries on busi-
ness on his own account as a general trader, is
years after leaving school he served in the
Chartered Bank and then joined Mr. Gan
Ngoh Bee as assistant in the management of
the Pinang Opium and Spirit Farm. In 1901
he became managing partner of the Singapore
Opium and Spirit Farm, and held a similar
GAN TEONG TAT'S RESIDENCE.
became a very proficient scholar, and was
therefore able when quite young to join a
Chinese firm as an assistant. Having served
his apprenticeship, he went to Perak, where he
traded and assisted others in trade for some
time. He subsequently chose as the field of
his labour Asahan, on the east coast of Sumatra,
where he carried on business as a general mer-
chant with such success that he rapidly became
quite a wealthy man. His business led him
from one part of Malaya to another, and it
was while he was in Malacca in 1874 that
he was married to the eldest daughter of the
late Mr. Lim Cheoh, a popular rice merchant
of that settlement. In 1878 the Dutch Govern
ment made him Captain China of Asahan, an
appointment somewhat analogous to that of
Protector of Chinese in the Straits Settlements.
Since then Mr. Khoo Cheow Teong has been
interested in the revenue farms of Deli, Asahan,
Bengkalis, Pinang, as well as carrying on busi-
ness in several other places. In 1904 he re-
signed the post of Captain China on account
of old age, but he still spends a considerable
part of his time in Asahan, looking after his
numerous businesses. He makes his home in
Pinang, where he owns considerable landed
property and is regarded as one of the
wealthiest inhabitants. His private residence,
which faces the Supreme Court, is known
as Sunbeam Hall. The various charitable
donations made by Mr. Khoo Cheow Leong
include a gift of 2,000 dollars to the Medical
the son-in-law of the late Gor Khuan Lung and
the grandson-in-law of the late Mr. Foo Thye
Sin, of Pinang. The second, Mr. Khoo Sian
Ewe, married the only daughter of the late
Mr. Lei Bian Leong, the well-known merchant
of Pinang, and granddaughter of the late Mr.
Khoo Tiong Toh, millionaire and steamship-
owner of Chop Bun Hin, Singapore and
Pinang. Mr. Khoo Sian Ewe, who was born
in Malacca in 1885, was educated both in
English and Chinese. He is now looking after
his father's Pinang affairs. The third son of
Mr. Cheow Teong is still pursuing his studies
in the Pinang Free School.
Mr. Qan Teong Tat.— The father of Mr.
Gan Teong Tat was Mr. Gan Hong ICee, who
was born in Pinang in 1836. Mr. Gan, sen.,
obtained his education at James's School and
St. Xavier's Institution, and then commenced
business, together with Mr. Gan Kim Swee, as
general and produce merchants, under the style
of Eng Joo & Co., Pinang, and Eng Hong &
Co., Calcutta. For more than six years he
represented his firm in Calcutta, and on return-
ing to Pinang became managing farmer of the
Opium and Spirit Farm. He died in 1895. His
eldest son, Mr. Gan Teong Tat, born in 1878,
was educated at the Free School and St.
Xavier's Institution, where he had a distin-
guished career as a student, winning the
Centenary Scholarship and gold medal, as
well as the Cross and' Bee medal for " truth,
honesty, and industry " in 1896. For two
appointment in the Pinang Farm from 1904
till 1906. Mr. Gan Teong Tat has served as
a Municipal Commissioner, is on the com-
mittee of the Chinese Recreation Club, a
member of the CycHng Club, the Turf Club,
and the Pinang Mutual Improvement Asso-
ciation. He also holds a commission as second
lieutenant in No. 2 Company, Pinang Volunteer
Cadet Corps. In 1897 he married Kam Chooi
Lean, fourth daughter of Mr. Kam Beng
Chan, of Pinang. He resides at " Roseland,"
Farquhar Street. His brother, Mr. Gan Teong
Tiek, was born in Calcutta in 1881 and edu-
cated at the Free School and St. Xavier's Insti-
tution. After passing the Cambridge Junior
Local examination he entered the Chartered
Bank, and is now managing partner of the
important pepper firm of Messrs. Ban Eng
Seng & Co., of Presgrave Street. He is.hon.
secretary of the Chinese Recreation Club and
a member of the Turf Club.
Mr. Thio Tiauw 5iat, alias Chang Chin
Hsun, left his native district of Taipu, in Canton
Province, in 1840, when he was only seventeen,
and emigrated to Batavia, in Java. There he
set up in business as a general merchant,
gradually extending his operations to the
renting of opium, spirit, and revenue farms,
besides taking up large contracts for the Dutch
Government. Having laid the foundations of
his fortune, he went, when thirty-five years of
age, to Achin, where he carried on contract-
ing and revenue farming. In 1875 he opened
2 K **
, 2, & 3- Mr- Khoo Cheow Teong and Family.
KHOO CHEO'W TEONG.
4. Mr. and Mrs, Khoo Siax Wei.
(See p. 777.)
5. Sunbeam Hall.
1. GROUP OF THE LATE GAN HONG KEE'S FAMILY.
2. GAN TEONG TAT AND FAMILY.
3. GAN TEONG TIEK AND FAMILY.
(See p. 7J7.)
I. Thio Siauw Kong (Manager).
THIO TIAtrW SIAT.
2. THIO TIAUW SlAT.
3. THIO TiAuw SiAT's Residence.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
781
a branch business in Pinang, in partnership
with Mr. Lee Ah Ghee (Captain China of
Batavia) and Mr. Wong Boon Sin. Five years
later the business was extended to Deli, and in
1886 he started on his own account the firm of
Ban Yoo Hin, running the steamships Pegu,
Rajah, and Hok Canton in the Achin trade.
Mr. Thio Tiauw Slat's business ramifications
extend to Hongkong and Chefoo. He is also
a partner in the Pinang Opium and Spirit
Farms, was formerly interested in Singapore
and Riau Farms, and owns large landed pro-
perties in Java, Sumatra, and Pinang, besides
being interested in tin mines in Klang, Selan-
gor. During his frequent visits to China and
the Netherlands Indies his Pinang business is
managed by his cousin and attorney, Mr. Thio
Siauw Kong. Mr. Thio Tiauw Slat was for-
merly Consul for China in Pinang, and after
that went to Singapore as Consul-General for
China. At present he is Minister for the
Emperor of China. He is on the Board of
Directors of the Canton Railway and a partner
of the Bank of China.
Mr. Lim Cheng Law is the second son of
the late Mr. Puah Hin Leong, rice-mill owner
and landed proprietor, of Pinang. Born in
Pinang in 1888, he was educated at St. Xavier's
Institution. Upon leaving school he entered
the employment of Messrs. GilfiUan & Co.
(now Adamson, Gilfillan & Co., Ltd.) in
Pinang. Some time afterwards he transferred
his services from this firm to his father's busi-
ness, and is now . manager and cashier. He
speculates extensively in shares, and has
acquired considerable wealth. In January,
1905, he married the only daughter of Mr.
Khoo Bean Leang, rice-mill owner, and the
wedding was very brilliant, being celebrated
with the usual picturesque rites and attended
by the leading European and Chinese residents
of the settlement. Mr. Lim is a member of
the Society for the Encouragement of Arts,
Manufactures, and Commerce of London, and
of the Chinese Recreation Club. At one time
he was a committee member of the Pinang
Anti-Opium Association, but he resigned in
consequence of pressure of business. Mr. Lira
is very fond of horses, and possesses many
valuable animals. One of the best of these is
the bay gelding Diamond. The chief occu-
pations of his leisure are walking and tennis.
His residence is Kitson Hall. Mr. Lim Cheng
Law has many sisters. The eldest, Lim Saw
Yean, married Mr. Chuah Chooi Ghee,
managing proprietor of Messrs Soon Hin &
Co;, exporters and importers of rice, copra,
nutmegs, &c. This gentleman is assisted in
his business by his brother, Mr. Chuah Hoe
Hup, and his nephew, Mr: Chua Sui Wool.
He is a member of the Pinang Chinese Chamber
of Commerce and a trustee of the Seh Chuah
Kongsi and of the Pinang Chinese Town Hall.
He has a country seat at Jelutong. Lim Saw
Geg, another sister of the subject of this sketch,
is the wife of Mr. Chuah Chooi Boey, who is
the manager of Messrs. Heap Hoe & Co. He
is a member of the Chinese Cycling Club
committee and a life member of the Chinese
Recreation Club. Mr. Ong Oh Leng, son of
Mr: Ong Beow Suan, a well-known citizen of
Tongkah, Siam, married Mr: Lim Cheng Law's
third sister, Lim Saw Khim, who died in
January, 1907. Mr. Ong Oh Leng, who is
manager and cashier of the ironmongery
business of Messrs: Guan Teen Ho & Co.,
Pinang, has considerable landed property both
in Pinang and Tongkah.
Mr. Foo Bang Sean, chief storekeeper and
principal Chinese clerk to Messrs. Behn, Meyer
& Co. at Pinang, was born in the settlement
and was educated at the Free School. In
1892 he became a clerk to Messrs. Behn,
Meyer & Co., and has risen to his present
position by reason of his integrity and abihty.
He has tapioca, coconut, and rubber-planting
interests in the Siamese Malay States, and has
also tin-mining interests in Selangor. His
father, Mr. Foo Tye Sin, was born in Pinang
in 182S and educated at the Free School. He
commenced business as a general merchant,
under the style of Tye Sin Tat & Co., in Beach
Street, and became a prosperous mine owner
and a leading member of the Chinese com-
munity. He was appointed a Justice of the
Peace and a Municipal Commissioner, and
enjoyed the complete confidence of the Govern-
ment. He showed considerable interest in
educational matters. He married a daughter
of Mr. Kam Tong Keng, merchant, of Pinang,
and has four sons and six daughters. His
estate of Victoria, in Kedah, is the largest
property of its kind in the vicinity of Pinang,
being some 25,000 acres in extent. Mr. Foo
Eang Sean's town residence is at i. Light
Street, Pinang.
PINANG COMMERCIAL.
EUROPEAN.
KENNEDY & CO.
The present firm of Messrs. Kennedy & Co.
was the outcome of a business originally estab-
lished by Mr. Whitworth Allen, broker and
KENNEDY & CO.
Offices.
z. Exterior of Premises,
1. Stakting Fon a Drive.
LIM CHENG LAW.
. The Stables. 3. The Reception Hall. 4. Mes. Puah Hin Leong.
(See p. 781.)
5. Mk. akd Mrs. Lim Cheng Law.
The late Foo Tye Sin.
Mrs. Foo Tye Sin.
FOO BANG SEAN.
Foo Eaxg Sews KEbiDEXCE.
Foo Eang Sean.
The Drawing-room.
(See p. 781.)
Mrs. Foo Eang Sean.
Tix Exhibit.
BOUSTBAD & CO.
■z. THE GODOWN. 3- Tin refinery
4. PiNANG Premises.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
785
accountant, in Logan's Buildings, Beach Street.
In 1886 Mr. James Young Kennedy joined Mr.
Wtiitwortii Allen, and the name of the firm
then became Allen & Kennedy. Mr. Allen
died in England in 1898, and in the following
year the title of the firm was changed to
Kennedy & Co. Towards the end of 1900
Mr. J. Y. Kennedy severed his connection
with the East, and Mr. Cecil Alexander Law
and Mr. Alexander Bowers Smith, assistants
in the firm, took over the business as exchange
and share brokers, accountants, and estate
agents. The firm are agents for the Perak
Sugar Cultivation Company, Ltd., of Shanghai ;
Kalumpong Rubber Company, Ltd., of Shang-
hai ; Malay Peninsula Agricultural Association ;
Pinang Labour Bureau ; New Padang Jawa
of the Peace, a member of the Chamber of
Commerce, and one of the committee of the
Pinang Club.
Mr. Alexander Bowers Smith was born in
Greenock, Scotland, and educated at Clifton
Bank School, Dundee High School, and St.
Andrew's University. Trained as a merchant
in Dundee, he came to Pinang in March, 1897,
and acted for a short time as secretary to Mr.
Justice A. F. G. Law, afterwards joining the
firm. He is a member of the Chamber of
Commerce, and was Worshipful Master of
Lodge " Royal Prince of Wales," No. 1,555,
E.C., during the year 1902. Formerly a
member of the 1st Fifeshire Artillery Volun-
teers (University Battery), he joined the Pinang
Volunteers as sergeant when the corps was
own refinery, where their special brand of
" Boustead " tin is produced. Tapioca, rubber,
copra, pepper, nutmegs, sugar, hides, and
gums also bulk largely in the firm's exports.
Messrs. Boustead are the Pinang repi'esentatives
of several estates, the more prominent of which
are the Pinang Sugar Estates, the Straits Sugar
Company, the Malakoff Plantations Company,
and Bertam, Otaheite, and Sans Souci estates.
Among the many other important agencies
held by the "firm are those of the Nippon Yusen
Kaisha, Glen, Shire, Messageries Maritimes,
Indo-China Steam Navigation Company, and
other steamship lines. The local manager is Mr.
W. H, Macgregor. He is a Justice of the Peace,
vice-chairman of the Chamber of Commerce,
and a member of the Pinang committee of the
BOUSTEAD & CO.
Shell Transport^Oil Comp.4ny's I.vstallation.
Rubber Company ; Gedong Bidor Rubber
Company -, Denison Estate Company, Ltd. ;
Cherok Krian Tin-Mining Company ; Kedah
Rubber Syndicate ; Rahman Tin Syndicate 5
Bidor Mining Syndicate ; Chior Valley Tin
Syndicate; Pinang-Maliwan Syndicate ; Guar-
dian Assurance Company, and Reuter's
Telegram Company, Ltd., and they represent
also the Scottish Provident Assurance Company
in Pinang. The partners of the firm have been
appointed by the Supreme Court of the Straits
Settlements as receivers of the estates of
Mahomed Noordin, of Syed Pullay Merican,
Seh Tan Kongsee, and of M. N. M. Noordin.
Mr. C. A. Law was born in County Dublin,
and educated at Monmouth and Kingstown,
and was trained as a stockbroker on the Dublin
Stock Exchange. He came to the East in 1896
as secretary to Mr. Justice A. F. G. Law, Puisne
Judge, and afterwards joined the firm of
Messrs. Kennedy & Co. He is now a Justice
formed' in 1900, and was promoted to com-
missioned rank in 1901.
BOUSTEAD & CO.
At Pinang, as well as at Singapore, large
areas of land abutting on the sea have been re-
claimed. In the northern settlement. Beach
Street, although now a considerable distance
inland, ran along the sea front, and it was
in those early days that the Pinang branch of
the important Straits merchant and shipping
house of Boustead & Co. was estabUshed. The
firm's present commodious offices and go-
downs on Weld Quay are built on reclaimed
ground and were first occupied in 1893. A
great variety of goods is imported by the house,
the principal lines being cotton and piece
goods and hai'dware. On the export side, tin,
the most important Malayan product, takes the
first place. Messrs. Boustead & Co. have their
Tanjong Pagar Dock Board and of the Harbour
Advisory Board.
HUTTENBACH BEOTHEBS & CO.
This important firm, having been established
so far back as 1873, ranks amongst the oldest in
the settlement. The business of the firm is
that of general merchants, and comprises
ataongst other interests the importation on a
large scale of piece, rough and sundry goods.
The town offices and warehouses shown in our
illustrations are situated at 27 and 27A, Beach
Street, and cover a considerable area, while at
Sungei Pinang the coal, oil, machinery and
general stores are perhaps unique, as regards
their favourable position and large storage
capacity, and have the advantage of being easy
of access by both road and water. The firm is
well known for its enterprise and its general
policy of progressing with the times. For
HUTTENBACH BEOS., LTD.
The Offices andJShowroojis.
Outlying Godowns atiSungei Pixaxg.
August Huttenbach (Senior Partner)
Electrical Showrooms.
HUTTENBACH BROS., LTD.
Wall Built of Product of the Factory. Pipes and Ridging at Batu Feeeinghi.
The Ice Works. Group of Messrs. Huttenbach Beos. & Co.'s Staff.
(Presented to Mr. Huttenbach by the staff on his departure for Europe.)
HUTTBNBACH BEOS., LTD.
Tasgve's E.vgikes and Pumps.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
789
instance, in tlie year 1903 Messrs. Huttenbach
Brothers & Co., recognising the rapid de-
velopments taking place in the Straits Settle-
ments and Federated iMalay States in connection
with the many branches of industry requiring
machinery, started their machinery department,
which has met with such continued success,
that at the present time they have a connection
extending throughout the Straits Settlements,
Federated Malay States, Siamese States, and
Lower Burma. From the commencement of
the department the firm has made a special
point of keeping abreast with the latest
practices in tin mining, saw milling, the
treatment of paddy, tapioca, &c., and all
agricultural machinery, with the result that
they are always in a position to offer competent
advice on these matters, and to supply
machinery best calculated to meet the require-
ments of their clients. They have a number
of fully qualified European mechanical engi-
neers attached to their staff, who superintend
the erection and testing of any plant supplied
by the firm, and who instruct their clients in
the handling, running, and cleaning of the
plant — a most important consideration for its
continuous satisfactory running and long life.
London, whose well-known Kitson vapour
lamps have proved a great boon to tin
miners, &c., who require a quickly available,
powerful, yet economical light not dependent,
like electricity, on generating machinery. The
firm has carried out large contracts for the
supply of ironwork and steel girders for a
number of bridges and buildings constructed
by the Government Public Works Department
and private contractors. It may be mentioned
also that the whole of the street lighting of
Taiping — an important mining town in the
Federated Malay States — consisting entirely of
Kitson vapour lamps of 500 and 1,000 candle-
power, was installed by Messrs. Huttenbach
Brothers & Co. It was in conjunction
with Messrs. Tangye that suction gas-pro-
ducing plant and engines were first introduced
into the Straits Settlements and Federated
Malay States. Illustrations of these and other
of Messrs. Tangye's machinery are shown in
the text. It was soon found that these engines
were far and away the most economical and
the simplest to handle, with the result that they
are now being introduced into every new mine
or industrial undertaking where running ex-
penses are an important item. A branch of the
probably the first water-power plant erected in
the Straits. The plant is capable of developing
80 b.h.p., and 18 tons of ice can be made daily.
The Kuala Lumpor plant is driven by Turner's
horizontal steam-engine, and is capable of
turning out 10 tons of ice daily. In combina-
tion with the Pinang Ice Factory is a factory
where decorative tiles for floors, cement drain-
pipes and concrete blocks for building purposes
are made. Illustrations of some of the tiles,
cement blocks, pipes, and ridging made at these
works are shown. Following their policy of
keeping up with the times, the firm added an
Electrical Department to their Pinang office in
1904, and so well was their enterprise justified
that branch offices have since been opened in
Kuala Lumpor and Singapore, all being in
charge of European electrical engineers, of
whom there are at the present moment five
attached to the electrical department solely.
Although the electrical department is of recent
origin only, a large number of important
contracts have already been successfully carried
out. The Kuala Lumpor branch has been
entrusted with extensive Government contracts,
and has also carried out numerous private
installations both for lighting and power.
The Tile Works.
HOTTENBACH BBOS., LTD.
Specimen Tiles.
Among the principal sole agencies held by the
firm for machinery goods are those of the well-
known firms of Messrs. Tangye, Birmingham,
whose suction, gas, and oil engines, steam
pumps, petrol motor pumps, &c., have gained
for tliemselves, through their sound construction
and simple design, a very high reputation ;
Messrs. E. R. & F. Turner, Ipswich, makers of
steam-engines, &c. ; A. & J. Main & Co., Ltd.,
structural engineers, of Glasgow and Calcutta ;
the Kitson Light Foreign Supply Company,
department is the manufacture of ice, one of
our photographs showing the general view of
the Pinang Ice Works. They have two ice
factories, one at Batu Ferringhi, some 12
miles out of Pinang, and one in Kuala Lumpor.
Both factories as well as the adjoining
managers' houses are lighted by electricity,
, the supply of which is generated by their own
dynamos. The Pinang factory is driven by
water-power, the turbine, &c., having been
installed by their own engineers. This was
Among some of the contracts carried out by
the Pinang branch, mention may be made
of the following : the lighting and ventilating
of the Residency, Drill Hall, Chinese Temple,
&c. ; a complete lighting and power plant for
Messrs. Lee Chin Ho & Sons, which concern
has lately been taken over by the Eastern
Smelting Company, Ltd. This plant comprises
gas producers and engines driving the
• dynamos whi'ch supply the whole of the
necessary power for the working of all the
TANJONG PINANCt ICE COMPANY, LTD.
1. The Ice Works. 2. Thl Staff, 3. the Factory.
.^-'
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
791
machinery and the lighting of the works and
manager's house. The stamp batteries, pumps,
furnace blowers, and stone crushers are all
driven by electric motors. Another plant has
just recently been completed for the lighting
up of the houses and streets on an estate ; the
plant comprises an oil engine, dynamo,
accumulator battery and switchboard. Another
interesting plant installed by the firm consists
of a dynamo driven by a water-wheel, the
water-wheel having been designed and made
on the estate, which is right in the jungle, and
twenty-five miles away from any town. The
firm was recently entrusted with an order for
the lighting of a large Mahomedan temple,
the main feature of which is a 120-light
electrolier, which is to hang from the centre
dome. This electrolier will be 66 feet in
length, and will be gold-plated. This electro-
lier, as well as all the others that are to be
installed, was designed by their own engineers.
Among the various plants carried out by the
Singapore branch, mention may be made of
the lighting up of a large pineapple factory.
The records -of these two departments up to
the present fully justify the initiative displayed
by the firm in starting them, and future expec-
tations will doubtless be equally realised. Our
illustrations also contain a group photograph of
the staff and employees of the firm, the original
of which was taken for and presented by the
staff as a souvenir to Mr. Huttenbach, on the
occasion of his departure for Europe. The
picturesque group is at the same time an
illustraticjn of the diversity of nationalities
required to make up the staff of a mercantile
firm in these parts of the East.
Mr. H. Hilton, J.P., is the eldest brother
of Captain Frank Hilton, of Singapore. He
was born at Stand, Whitefield, Lancashire, and
was educated privately at Fairfield. He received
his mercantile training at Manchester, where
he resided for eight years. In 1891 he came
to Pinangand joinedMessrs. Huttenbach, Bros.
& Co., with whom he served at Singapore.
He was with them for eleven years and then
became a partner in the firm as well as in
Huttenbach & Co., of London. In 1900 he
married Ada Margaret, elder daughter of Mr.
John Findlay, of Hankow, China. He is a
Justice of the Peace, and a member of all local
clubs, including the Singapore Club. His re-
creations are golf and shooting.
ADAMSON, GILFILLAN
CO., LTD.
Although Pinang is a much older British
settlement than Singapore, the general trend
of commercial houses is to lay the foundation
in the southern settlement and extend to
SS. "Pasha" Discharging Coal.
ADAMSON, GILFILLAN & CO.,
The Coal Depot at Peye.
LTD.
The Steam Laikch " Despatch,'
1. The Main Office.
ADAMSON, GILFILLAN & CO., LTD.
2. SHIPPING Office. ^3. xhe Main Premises.
4. The Godowns.
Twentieth century impressions of British maeaya
793
Pinang as prosperity increases. Tliis was tlie
case with the well-lcnown Scotch firm of
Adamson, Giliillan & Co, Ltd., the formation
and growth of which is detailed in the Singa-
pore section of this worlc. In 1884 Messrs.
H. W. Wood and R. T. Peake, of whom the
former is now a director of the company and
the latter the secretary, started the Pinang
kind of local produce. They represent several
marine and fire insurance companies, amongst
which may be mentioned the Marine Insurance
Company, of London, the New Zealand Fire
and Marine, the China Fire Company, the
Scottish Union, and the National Fire Insurance
Company. They are also agents for several tin
mining undertakings, including the Rahman
eering firm of McAlister & Co., and the
character of the business done is precisely
similar to that at Singapore, which is fully
described elsewhere in this volume. All kinds
of engineering requisites are sold, both locally
and in Sumatra, Northern Perak, Province
Wellesley, and the Siamese Malay States. A
speciality is made of estate tools, particularly
McALISTBB & CO.
The Offices and the Showroom.
branch. A general export and import business
only was done at first, but a most important
development took place in 1888, when the
agency of the P. & O. Steam Navigation Com-
pany was acquired. Since then other im-
portant shipping agencies have been obtained,
including that for the Asiatic Steam Navigation
Company, Ltd., of India, the American Asiatic
Steam Navigation Company, the steamers of the
Standard Oil Company, and the Straits Steam-
ship Company. The firm do a large and miscel-
laneous import business in Manchester goods
of all classes — sewing cotton (manufactured
by the Central Agency, Ltd., of Glasgow), oils
and candles' (manufactured by the Burma Oil
Company, Ltd.), water and steam pipes, iron and
hardware (including the manufactures of the
Bengal Iron and Steel Company, Ltd.), mining
machinery (the firm, as representing Messrs.
Fraser & Chalmers, being exceptionally well
equipped for this class of business), American
and Australian flour, provisions, wines, spirits,
&c. Coal is one of the items in which the firm
specially interests itself, and large stocks are
carried. The\ company, in addition to an ex-
tensive mining and bunkering business, hold
the present contract for the Federated Malay
States Rail way, .and supply coalsJrom the well-
known Lodna Colliery, which they represent.
They do a large export trade in tin, tapioca,
pepper, copra, hides, spices, and in fact in every
Tin Company, Ltd., the Rahman Hydraulic
Tin, Ltd., and the Siamese Tin Syndicate, Ltd.
Messrs. Adamson, Gilfillan & Co.'s offices are
located in the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank
buildings and are among the finest in Pinang.
The staff comprises seven European assistants
and twenty-five Chinese and other clerks, go-
down superintendents, and so forth. The
general office arrangements are in the hands
of Mr. A. J. Reutens, who has been with the
firm since its earliest days. The firm's go-
downs are situated in Church Street Ghaut,
Sungei Pinang, and Batu Panjang Block, Beach
Street. Mr. John Mitchell, the Pinang manager,
who is a Scotsman, after a lengthy practical
experience in shipping and other businesses in
London, joined the company in Pinang in
1897, and has held his present position since
1904. He is a member of the committee of the
Pinang Chamber of Commerce and the Pinang
committee of the Tanjong Pagar Dock
Board, besides being the Consul for Belgium
and Consular Agent for France in the settle-
ment. Mr. D. Duncan is in charge of the
import department, and Mr. C. Matthew of the
shipping.
McALISTBB" & CO.; LTD.
In January, i8gg, Mr. C. V. Stephens founded
the Pinang branch of the well-knowm engin-
rubber machinery. Ships' gear, such as wire
and other kinds of ropes, paints, and general
ships' chandlery, form an important line of
business.
Mr. William Qoldie, manager of the
Pinang branch of McAlister & Co., Ltd., is a
native of Glasgow. He joined his present
employers at Singapore in 1899, and subse-
quently managed the firm's branch house in
Ipoh, Perak, being transferred from there to
Pinang.
SANDILANDS, BUTTERY & CO.
The firm of Messrs. Sandilands, Buttery & Co.
was established at Pinang in 1854-55, by Messrs.
John Buttery and G. M. Sandilands, both of
Glasgow, on the site of the present Government
buildings. The partners commenced business as
East India m.erchants with an office in Glasgow,
but transferred in 1875 to London. Early in
the history of the firm Mr. John Allan was
taken into partnership. After the death of Mr.
Sandilands, at Hampstead, in 1880, and of Mr.
Allan, in 1894, the firm consisted of Messrs. J.
Buttery, James Gibson, Arthur George Wright,
Daniel Gilchrist and A. K. Buttery, the last
named two being at Pinang. The London
offices are No. 5, Mark Lane, and there is a
branch at Singapore. At the present time the
firm are general importers and exporters. Their
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TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
795
imports comprise all imaginable articles, from
cotton goods, iron ware, and machinery to
wines and spirits. Flake tapioca forms the
principal article of export, the firm being
agents for the well-known tapioca estates of
Batu Puteh, in the Kedah district, and Alma
estate in Province Wellesley. Pepper, nutmegs,
cloves, and isinglass are dealt in, while Ram-
bong rubber from Sumatra, as well as estate-
grown Para rubber, is also traded in extensively.
Tobacco grown on the famous Paya Jambu
estate at Deli, Sumatra, is sent direct by
the firm to their brokers in Amsterdam and
there sold. They also ship tin largely to
all parts of the world, whilst sugar in its raw
state from Province Wellesley is consigned to
the London and Greenock refineries. Among
the agencies held by the firm are those of
the National Bank of China, Ltd., National
Bank of India, Ltd., Clan line of steamers, Ben
line. Union line, Mogul Une, Warrack line.
Pacific Mail Steamship Company, Occidental
and Oriental Steamship Company, Toyo Kisen
Kaisha, Portland and Asiatic Steamship Com-
pany, Lloyd's, Liverpool Underwriters' Asso-
ciation, Underwriters' Association, Glasgow ;
Underwriting Association, London ; Imperial
Fire Office, Norwich Union Fire Insurance
Company, Commercial Union Insurance
Company, Ltd., Liverpool and London
present time the staff consists of three Euro-
peans and a number of native clerks, store-
keepers, coolies and others. The firm's
godowns extend in an unbroken block from
Beach Street to Weld Quay. Mr. Alexander
Kay Buttery, who was born in Glasgow and
educated at Charterhouse and King's College,
London, joined the office in Mark Lane and
came to the East in 1894. He is a member of
the Chamber of Commerce, of the committee
of the Turf Club, and of the Pinang Associa-
tion, a member of all local clubs, a Justice of
the Peace, and was formerly a member of the
Municipal Council. He is a well-known patron
of the turf, owning the horses Diamond Star
and Evening Star, which did so well in 1906.
His private residence is at " Highbury," Perak
Road.
ALLEN DENNYS & CO.
The firm of Allen Dennys & Co. was estab-
lished at Pinang in 1888 under the title of
Wooldridge & Co. as landing, shipping, and
forwarding agents, carrying on business in a
small way on the site of the present store-
houses, known as the " Jetty Sheds," which
face the water-front. Mr. Wooldridge was
at that time in the employ of the Prye River
Dock Company. In 1900 he took into partner-
the numerous parcel and forwarding agencies
which it holds are those of Thomas Cook &
Sons, George W. Wheatley & Co., the Globe
Foreign Express, Neale & Wilkinson, Ltd.,
Pall Mall Deposit and Forwarding Company,
Ltd., William Whiteley, Ltd., Van Oppen & Co.,
Ltd., Sewell & Crowther, Ltd., Pitt & Scott,
Ltd., Pickfords, Ltd., Stockwell & Co., E. B.
Creasy, McDougall, Clark & Co., Parcel Des-
patch Company, and John Little & Co. The
firm are also landing agents for cargoes ex the
steamers of the P. & O. line, the Ocean ("Blue
Funnel" line), China Mutual, Messageries
Maritimes, Indo-China, Nippon Yusen Kaisha,
Warrack, Mogul & Ben lines. Shire & Glen
lines, and the Java-Bengal line. From a small
beginning, when Mr. Allen Dennys and six
native clerks conducted the whole of the
business, the undertaking has so grown that
now it requires the services of two Europeans,
30 other assistants, and some hundreds of
coolies, whilst a fleet of 25 lighters is more or
less continually employed. The premises,
which are leased from the Government, adjoin
the pier, and give the firm every facility for
dealing with the ever-increasing transhipment
trade of Pinang. About 14,000 tons of cargo
can be stored at one time in the godowns.
Mr. Allen Dennys, the proprietor, was
born in New York, U.S.A., in 1871, educated in
i
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ALLEN DENNYS & CO.'S PREMISES.
and Globe Insurance Company, Standard Life
Assurance Company, Merchants' Marine In-
surance Company, Ltd., Union Insurance
Company of Canton, Ltd., Yangtsze Insurance
Association, Ltd., City of Glasgow Life Assur-
ance Company, Globe Marine Insurance Com-
pany, World's Marine Insurance Company,
Italia Soc. Assicurazioni, Paya Jambu Tobacco
Estate, and Larut Tin Mining Company. At the
ship Mr. Frank Dennys, who became sole
owner in the same year on the death of Mr.
Wooldridge. His brother, Mr. Allen Dennys,
joined the business as a partner in 1901, and
after buying out the original proprietor he
changed the name of the firm to Allen Dennys
& Co., of which he is sole owner and proprietor
at the present time. The business is now one
of the leading concerns of Pinang. Among
Essex, England, and at the early age of sixteen
came out to the colonies and joined the firm of
Messrs. Boustead & Co., Singapore. There he
remained for eight years in the shipping de-
partment. Afterwards he became manager of
the shipping business of Messrs. W. Mansfield
& Co.'s Pinang branch. At the end of six
years he joined his brother in the firm of
Wooldridge & Co., which was subsequently
796
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
changed to its present name. He is a member
o£ the Chamber of Commerce and of all local
clubs, was formerly a member of the Pilot
Board, and is official pool measurer to the New
York Shipping Conference. His residence is
" Norwood," Logan Road. In igoo he married
Blanche Josephine, youngest daughter of
Lieut.-Colonel G. Roche Kettlewell, I.V.D., of
the Bengal staff, and granddaughter of the
late General J. W. Kettlewell, R.A. His father.
Dr. Nicholas Belfield Dennys, was one of the
best known public men in the Straits Settle-
ments. He entered the Civil Department of
the British Navy in 1855, and during August
of the same year was present at the bombard-
ment of Sveaborg, for which service he obtained
the Baltic inedal. Resigning later, he joined
the Consular Service in China in 1863 as
Student Interpreter at Peking, passing his ex-
amination in the Chinese language a year
later. In the following year he resigned from
that service and became proprietor and editor
in Butterworth for six years, and in the next
two years performed similar duties in Singapore.
During his sojourn in Singapore he was secre-
tary, librarian, and honorary curator of the
Raffles Museum. In 1889 he was made Magis-
trate at Gopeng, Kinta, in the Federated Malay
States, but in the year following he was
obliged to resign owing to ill-health. A few
years later, however, he was selected as
District Judge and Protector of Chinese in
Sandakan, North Borneo. After a painful
operation in the Hongkong hospital he died
in igoo. Dr. Dennys was the author of
several books, including " The Treaty Ports
of China," "The Folklore of China," "Notes
for Tourists in the North of China," " Handbook
of Cantonese," " A Descriptive Dictionary of
British Malaya," &c. He was also the inventor
of the Zocus Anti-Fouling Paint and the
Dennys-Ciiff system of electric lighting, and
the flexible cofferdam. His widow has settled
in England, while his only daughter married
Friedrichs, who remained with him until 1900.
In igo2 Mr. Jebsen retired, and the business
was sold to Messrs. Henry and Johannes
Pickenpack, who are the sole proprietors at
the present time. Mr. A. Friedrichs represents
them in Hamburg. The firm import a variety
of goods, the principal lines comprising iron-
ware, hardware, and a multitude of manufac-
tured goods from Germany, while special
attention is given to fire, life, and marine
insurance business. Messrs. Pickenpack Bros.
were born, educated, and commercially trained
in Hamburg. The senior partner, Mr. Henry
Pickenpack, came East in 1894, and his brother
followed two years later. The firm are mem-
bers of the Pinang Chamber of Commerce.
PATEBSON, SIMONS & CO., LTD.
The many activities of this well-known firm
are narrated in detail in the Singapore section
PREMISES OP HEEM. JEBSEN & CO.
of the China Mail, Hongkong, retaining the
position until 1876, and during most of the time
acting as secretary of the City Hall, curator of
the Museum and librarian (semi-official), and
for a time secretary of the Chamber of Com-
merce. In April, 1877, he was appointed
Assistant Protector of Chinese at Singapore
and a Justice of the Peace for the Straits Settle-
ments, receiving the decoration of the Dragon
from the Emperor of China in the following
year. He was appointed Police Magistrate in
1879, and served successively as Third, Second,
and First Magistrate and Commissioner of the
Court of Requests in Singapore, and also
Province Wellesley. Mr. Dennys was appointed
extra Coroner in 1881, and served as Magistrate
Mr. (now Sir) George S. Murray, of Singapore,
who is well known throughout the Straits
Settlements. The sons have settled in various
parts of the Straits.
HERM. JEBSEN c& CO.
It was on April 15, 1882, that Hermann
Jebsen, of Altona, near Hamburg, and his
partner, A. Behncke, who were both employed
by Messrs. Schmidt, Kuestei-mann & Co. of
Pinang, commenced operations as general
importers and exporters at 35, Beach Street.
Mr. A. Behncke died three years later, and Mr.
H. Jebsen was joined in partnership by Mr. A,
of this volume. In igo2 Messrs. Paterson,
Simons & Co. commenced business at Pinang
by taking overthe local concern of Hallifax & Co.,
importers, exporters, and general merchants.
Their trade, conducted from Weld Quay, is of
a varied nature, like that carried on by the
Singapore house, a special branch being
devoted to tin and coal. The local manager
is Mr. F. O. Hallifax, who was born in Norwood,
a suburb of London. He received his education
at Ramsgate, and came to Pinang- in 1882,
where, ten years later, he founded the firm
of Hallifax & Co. Mr. Hallifax is a member of
the committee of the Pinang Chamber of Com-
merce, President of the Pinang Cricket Club
and a member of Jill other local clubs,
PATBBSON, SIMONS & CO.
The Offices.
2 L
I. Interior of Tin Factory.
GUTHRIE & CO., LTD.
i. The Smelting Ovens.
3. Tin Exhibit.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
799
GUTHBIE & CO., LTD.
The history of the house of Guthrie, the
oldest mercantile firm in the Straits Settlements,
is fully narrated in the Singapore section of
this publication. The Plnang hranch was
established by Mr. A. Hood Begg jn April,
1005, at Nos. 49 and 51, Beach Street. Here
the business carried on is almost identical with
that of the Singapore establishment. Extend-
ing from Beach Street in an unbroken block
to Weld Quay, the firm's godowns are stocked
with enormous quantities of goods used in the
Eastern trade. An important item, however,
which applies only to the Pinang branch, is
the tin-refining business done by Messrs.
Guthrie & Co., Ltd. The refinery works (of
which our photographs show a section) are
situated in the centre of the godowns. Tin in
its crude state is brought in from Perak and
the Siamese Malay States, and after passing
through the refining process is shipped to all
parts of the world. The business is presided
over by Mr. A. Hood Begg, with a staff of three
European assistants and some twenty other
employees, besides a small army of coolies in
the godowns and the works. Mr. Hood Begg
is a native of Edinburgh, and was educated at
the academy in that city. He came East some
thirteen years ago, and has managed the Pinang
branch of Guthrie & Co., Ltd., since its incep-
tion. He is on the committee of the Chamber
of Commerce and a member of all local clubs
as well as of the Sports Club, London.
SCHIPFMANN, HBEB & CO.
This firm was established in July, i8qi, by
Messrs. Schiffmann & Heer, who, before that
date, had been the chief assistants in the firm of
Messrs. Friedrichs & Co. In 1903 Mr. Heer
retired from the business and went to Europe
on account of failing health, his place being
taken by Mr. Fertile, head of the firm of
Messrs. Pertile & Co., of Singapore. In 1904,
when Mr. Schiffmann went to Singapore as
managing-partner of the house there, Mr. A.
Tobler, who had been an assistant with the
firm since 1900, took over the management
of the Pinang branch. In 1906 Mr. Pertile
ceased to be an active partner, and the firm
is now being carried on by Mr. Schiffmann as
sole proprietor. The firm are extensive im-
porters, dealing with practicall3' everything that
the Far Eastern market demands, and chiefly
with piece and cotton goods, cloths, drills, prints,
all sorts of ready-made clothing, hardware, and
ironware, procured direct from the United
New Prejiises.
SCHIFFMANN, HEEB & CO.
The Office.
Old PRE^nsES
PREMISES OF MESSRS. HOWAETH ERSKINE & CO., LTD. PREMISES OF MESSRS. RILEY. HARGREAVES & CO., LTD
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
801
Kingdom, Germany, and Austria. A big trade
is also done in flour from Australia and refined
sugar from Java. The firm are the sole
importers of the well-known " Straits Dollar "
safes. Their chief exports are spices of all
descriptions, rubber, tapioca, wolfram, and so
forth. They hold the agencies for I'Uni-
verso Insurance Company, Ltd., Milan ; the
Continental Insurance Company, the Law
Union and Crown Insurance Company,
rUnion Fire Insurance Company of Paris,
Albingia Insurance Company of Hamburg,
and the Hevea Rubber Planting Company,
Ltd. Mr. A. Tobler, the manager, is a native
of St. Gall, in Switzerland, and received his
commercial training at Zurich. He came to
Pinang in 1900, and is now a member of
all local clubs, and of the Chamber of Com-
merce, and is Vice-Consul for Denmark. His
private residence is at " Friedrich's Ruhe,"
Northam Road.
ALBERT EDWARD WEBSTER.
Born in Essex and educated in Hampshire,
Mr. A. E. Webster, the manager of Messrs.
Fraser and Neave's mineral water factory in
Pinang, received a thorough training in this
industry in his father's establishment. He
came to the Straits Settlements in 1906, and
was an assistant in the firm's Singapore works
before going to Pinang. He is secretary of
the local branch of theY.M.C.A. and a member
of the Cricket and Swimming Clubs.
HOWABTH ERSKINE, LTD.
A branch of this important engineering con-
cern, the widespread activities of which are
fully described in another section of this work,
was opened at Pinang in igoi. At first its busi-
ness was confined to installing electrical plants,
appliances, and so forth, but now more general
engineering work is carried out. Among the
important contracts executed from the Pinang
branch are the construction of three bridges
in Province Wellesley, of a three-span steel
bridge at Kopala Batas, Kedah (the first of its
kind in that country), and of an aerial ropeway
at Tongkah. The Ri\er Road and Sungei
Pinang bridges also are being built for the
municipality of Pinang by this firm.
HILEY, HARGREAVES & CO., LTD.
In the Singapore section of this work the
operations of this important engineering con-
cern are described at some length. The
Pinang branch was opened in 1907, and is
intended to serve the purpose of an agency for
the head office in Singapore. A large stock of
all kinds of engineering appliances is kept in
Pinang, and the firm is prepared to carry out
bridge building, the construction of iron go-
downs, the supply and erection of cooking
plant of every description, rubber factories,
rice mills machinery, and so forth. An electric
lift and electric installations have just been
completed by Messrs. Riley, Hargreaves & Co.
in the buildings of the Hongkong and Shanghai
Banking Corporation. The firm's premises are
in Beach Street, adjoining the International
Banking Corporation. Mr. Thomas Edward
Edmett, who opened the local branch, received
his engineering training with Messrs. Riley,
Hargreaves & Co. Previously he was engaged
in gold mining in Western Australia.
BEHR & CO.
A branch of the Singapore firm of Messrs.
Behr & Co., merchants, was established in
Beach Street, Pinang, in December, igo6, and
is at present under the management of Mr.
Carl Bolius. Both import and export business
is done, the principal article of trade being tin,
which is largely bought in the Federated Malay
States and Siamese territories, refined at the
firm's refineries, and then exported to London.
Mr. Carl Bolius, the manager, is a native of
Hamburg, and has gained experience in
Eastern trade since 1904 in Sumatra and
Pinang. He is a member of all local clubs,
of the Deutsche Vereinigung, Chamber of
Commerce, &c.
BEHN, MEYER & CO., LTD.
The advance of German commerce in the
East is illustrated by the operations of Messrs.
Behn, Meyer & Co., Ltd., the remarkable growth
of whose business is detailed in the Singapore
section of this work. In 1890, Herr Eugen
Engler, from the Singapore office, opened the
Pinang branch in Beach Street by taking over
the tin smelting business of Messrs. Friedrichs
& Co. The business of general importers and
tin refiners was carried on,- as well as an
agency for the Italian Florio and Rubbattino
shipping line. At present the firm hold the
local agencies for the steamship lines of the
Norddeutscher Lloyd, the Hamburg-Amerika
line, the German Australian Steamship Com-
pany, the Union Line of Hamburg, the Indra,
Atlantic Transport, Wilson Hill, East Asiatic
Company, and Russian East Asiatic Company,
as well as for a large number of important
insurance companies, most of which are
German. Messrs. Behn, Meyer & Co. are very
large exporters of tin, and they send copra in con-
siderable quantities to Spain, France, Germanj',
and Russia. A big trade, too, is done by them
BEHN, MEYER & CO.,
Manager and Staff.
LTD.
2 L-
I. The Godowns.
BBHN, MEYEE & CO., LTD.
2. The OFricES.
3. The Premises.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
803
BEHN, MEYER & CO., LTD.
I. Tin Refinery.
2. 0.\LOADiXG Tin.
in raw sugar, which is oblained from Province
Wellesley and Perak, and sent to breweries in
the United Kingdom. Rubber, tapioca, cloves,
pepper, and all local produce are forwarded to
all parts of the world, and a variety of Western
goods is imported, as at Singapore. The firm
have premises in Weld Quay and extensive
godowns in Beach Street. The staff comprises
twelve Europeans, fifty Chinese clerks, and a
host of coolies. The manager of the Pinang
branch is Mr. A. G. Faber.
Mr. A. Q. Faber was born in 1873 at
Madeira, and educated in England, Switzer-
land, and Germany, In 1894 he joined the
firm of Messrs. Behn, Meyer & Co. at Singa-
pore, and was transferred early in 1897 to
Pinang, where he now has charge of the
company's business.
Mr. H. Jessen, one of Messrs. Behn, Meyer
& Co.'s assistants, was made export manager in
Pinang in 1905. He was born, educated, and
commercially trained in Hamburg. He joined
his present employers in Pinang in 1901.
SCHMIDT, KUBSTEBMANN & CO.
One of the oldest firms of importers and
exporters in Pinang is Messrs. Schmidt, Kues-
termann & Co. The business was established
as a branch of the Singapore house of Rauten-
berg, Schmidt & Co. (of which particulars are
given on another page of this work) in 1858.
In those days the firm occupied the small
godown in Beach Street shown in the accom-
panying illustration, and its progress since may
be inferred by comparison of this little place
with the present spacious premises and godowns.
Messrs. Schmidt, Kuestermann & Co. deal in
imports and exports. Their principal trade,
however, is in imports, which include almost
every article imaginable — rough goods, cotton
goods, hardware, ironware, provisions, wine?,
spirits, and so forth. These goods are dis-
tributed mainly to the local trade, the east
coast of Sumatra, the Federated Malay States,
and the Siainese Malay States. The firm are
the agents or representatives of many powerful
companies in the United Kingdom and on the
Continent, amongst which may be mentioned
the world-known Kaiser Brewery of Messrs.
Beck & Co., Bremen, Germany. They also
hold the agency for the Austrian Lloyd's Steam
Navigation Company, as well as for a great
many fire and marine insurance companies.
The partners are the same as for the sister firm
in Singapore, viz. : Messrs. C. Sturzenegger,
Schaffhausen, Switzerland ; R. Kluender, Ham-
burg ; M, Suhl, Pinang ; and R. Sturzenegger,
Singapore.
KATZ BROS., LTD.
The history of the foundation and develop-
ment of ^ Katz Bros., Ltd., will be found in the
Singapore section of this work. The Pinang
branch was started in 1888 by Mr. F. Lederer,
and the business done there is confined to
import transactions, goods of every description
coming from England, Germany, Austria, Italy,
Spain, the United States, India, AustraHa, and
Japan. These are sold wholesale to the trade
in Pinang, the native States, Sumatra, Achin
and other countries. A special feature of the
business is the distribution of petroleum of the
Maatschappij Tot Mijn en Bosch en Landbouw
Exploitatie en Langkat, for which the firm are
the sole representatives in Malaya. Mr. O.
Schule, who in- 1902 became a director, has
managed the business at Pinang since 1896,
when the concern was converted into a limited
liability company. A native of Switzerland, he
was educated and trained in that country, and
joined Messrs. Katz Bros, in Pinang in 1891.
He is Consular Agent for the United States of
America in Pinang, is on the committee of the
Chamber of Commerce, and is a member of
the principal clubs of the settlement.
G. H. SLOT & CO.
Some twenty-five years ago Mr. G. H. Slot,
now of the Hague, Holland, in partnership
with Mr. Robert Hendry, established the above
firm at No. 35E, Beach Street, as importers and
as contractors to the Dutch naval and military
forces in Achin. Afterwards a general import
trade was engaged in. Mr. Slot retired in
1903, and in the following year Mr. R. Hendry,
brother to the partner in the well-known firm
of Owens & Hendry, of London, took into the
business Mr. Jules Martin, who for twenty-five
years had been in the employment — latterly as
manager — of the important shipping firm of
Messrs. Huttehbach, Liebert & Co. The firm
of G. H. Slot & Co. are members of the
Chamber of Commerce. Their imports come
principally from England, France, and Holland,
and embrace all kinds of merchandise. Their
export trade to Europe and the United States
consists of all descriptions of produce from the
Federated Malay States and Sumatra. Messrs.
Owens & Hendry are their London agents.
There is a branch house at Medan, Deli.
Amongst the more important agencies which
the firm hold are the Deli Maatschappij, the
largest tobacco-growing property in the East ;
the Handelsvereeniging, Amsterdam ; the Singa-
pore Rubber Works, and the Tanjong Pinang
Ice Company, Ltd. Mr. Robert Hendry and
Mr. Jules Martin belong to all local clubs.
KAT2 BROS., LTD.
Interior of Offices.
(See p. 803.)
Old and New Preiuses.
SCHMIDT, KUBSTEKMANN & CO.
Offices.
(See p. S03.)
Interior of Godowns.
806
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
GOLDENBERG & ZEITLIN AND MARTYN
& CO.
Some twenty years ago Mr. H. J. Martyn,
jun., established an import business at Pinang.
In i8go he was joined in partnership by Mr. J. E.
Eliermann, and traded under the style of H. J.
Martyn, jun. Branches were opened at Medan
and Achin, and in 1899 the firm was in-
ALPRED STUHLMANN & CO.
In the commercial and social life of Pinang
a conspicuous place is occupied by Mr. Alfred
Sluhlmann, who, after eight years' experience
of Eastern business in Singapore, Sumatra,
and Pinang, commenced trading on his own
account, as Alfred Stuhlmann & Co., in Pinang,
in 1903. The imports of the firm range from
Alexander Jack, acting local manager, is a
native of Birkenhead. He was educated at
St. Andrew's High School there, and trained in
the famous firm of Messrs. Holt, of Liverpool,
for whom he came out East in 1898. Since
August, 1889, however, he has been in the
service of the Straits Trading Company, and
was stationed in the Federated Malay States
until he was appointed acting manager of the
ALFRED- STUHLMANN & CO.
The Offices.
Exterior of. the Premises,
corporated under the title of Commanditaire
Vennootschap Martyn & Co. Four years
later Messrs. Goldenberg & Zeitlin acquired
the shares, and the two firms are now con-
ducted under one management. Both firms
are large importers of cotton goods from
Manchester and Holland, of tobacco, vvines,
and spirits (especially Hollands gin), ironware,
hardware, and provisions. A very extensive
trade is carried on in the celebrated " Milk-
maid" brand of condensed milk, and the firm
are the sole agents for Messrs. Tieleman &
Daos (tinned provisions), Leiden, Holland.
Being local agents for the Asiatic Petroleum
Company and the Royal Dutch Oil Company,
regular shipments of oil are received, and these
are stored in the firm's oil godown at Sungei
Pinang. Messrs. Goldenberg & Zeitlin have
branches at Medan, the Hague, and Hamburg,
and Messrs. Martyn & Co. have a branch at
Achin. Mr. Alfred Zeitlin was born in Russia,
educated in Germany, and trained in various
banks in Belgium and Germany. Accompanied
by Mr. M. Goldenberg, of Hamburg, he went
to Sumatra in 1892 and founded the firm of
Goldenberg & Zeitlin in Medan in 1898, and
in Pinang in 1903. He is a member of the
Chamber of Commerce and of most of the local
clubs.
cotton and piece goods, ironware, and hard-
ware to German beer and wines and spirits,
and they are sold locally and in Sumatra and
the Federated Malay States. A number of
important agencies are held by the firm. Mr.
Stuhlmann was born, educated, and trained in
Hamburg. He is a member of the Chamber
of Commerce and of the Pinang, Turf, and
Swimming Clubs, and was formerly president
of the Deutsche Vereinigung.
STRAITS TRADING COMPANY.
The Pinang branch of the Straits Trading
Company, one of the largest industrial con-
cerns in the colony, commenced operations in
December, 1901, on a large scale at Bagan
Luar, in Province Wellesley, on the mainland,
directly opposite Georgetown. As shown in
the accompanying photographs, the buildings
are of a substantial nature, and spacious
enough to cope for some time to come with
the ever-increasing quantity of tin ore received
for smelting. A jetty, built on screw piles,
enables coasting steamers and native vessels to
discharge the ore direct, and it is then run on
trucks to the smelting works. ' The ore is
obtained from Perak and the Siamese Malay
States, and is also bought up locally. Mr.
Pinang establishment in 1907. The works
manager is Mr. E. Shenton.
PRITCHARD & CO.
A notable feature of Eastern shops is that
most of them do not confine their business to
any one class of goods, but are " universal
providers," and Messrs. Pritchard & Co., of
Pinang, are not exceptions to the rule. Up-
wards of a quarter of a century ago this
business was started as a small tailoring and
outfitting store by Mr. G. H. Pritchard, who
came from Middlesex and had had Eastern
experience in Siam. With the advance of
Pinang and the opening up of the Federated
Malay States and the Siamese territories, the
undertaking grew rapidly, and depaiiment
after department was added. First came the
general department, containing harness,
saddlery, bicycles, stationery, plated ware, and
other goods ; and this was followed by a
provision department ; a china, glass, and
hardware department ; and a drapery, dress-
making, millinery, and outfitting department.
About eight years ago the firm obtained
the services of an English cabinet-maker for
the purpose of adding a furniture department,
and remarkable success has attended this new
MESSES. GOLDENBBRG & ZBITLIN (AND MAETYN & CO. INCOEPOEATED).
The Premises. Oil Godowns. The Showroom.
1^
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O
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^^^^^^^^^^^^•SiSS.
I & 4. Showrooms.
PBITCHABD & CO.
2 Furniture Department.
(See p. S06.)
3. Main PRtMisES.
810
mVENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
departure. The furniture branch now occupies
spacious new buildings in Union Street, where
an up-to-date machine sawing plant is in opera-
tion and a staff of thirty skilled cabinet-makers
is permanently employed. The premises -on
the opposite side of Beach Street have also
been requisitioned to cope with the ever-in-
creasing business of the firm. The founder of
the house now presides over the London
branch at Birkbeck Bank Chambers, Holborn,
and the management at Pinang is in the
hands of Mr. G. H. Lees, who joined Messrs.
Pritchard & Co. shortly after its establishment
as an assistant. He is now the senior partner
at Pinang, is a well-known figure locally,- and
is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and
a Municipal Commissioner nominated by his
Excellency the Governor. The other partner
is Mr. Edward Lees, a brother of Mr. G, H,.
Lees. The staff consists of fifteen European
departmental managers and assistants, thirty-
five clerks and salesmen, and a host of other
minor employees.
CALDBECK, MACGRBGOR & CO.
Prior to April, 1905, this firm of wine-mer-
chants (whose operations are fully dealt with
in the Singapore section of this publication)
besides doing a large business direct with the
inhabitants of Province Wellesley, Perak, the
Siamese Malay States, and other districts. The
godowns at No. 29, Beach Street are always
stocked with a large quantity of the best
liquors obtainable in the East, and Messrs.
Caldbeck, MacGregor & Co.'s name has be-
come a household word' in Pinang, Mr.
Edward Arthur Swan is manager of the
branch. He is a native of Southsea, Hants,
and was trained as an accountant in London.
Mr. Swan has been in the East since 1892, and
has had experience in Singapore, Pinang,
and the Federated Malay States. He is a
member of most of the local clubs.
HUG & CO.
The German house of Hug & Co., established
at the beginning of 1906 -at S, China Street,
grew so rapidly that larger premises in Beach
Street were taken in February, 1907. The
business transacted is that of general importers
and commission agents, the principal imports
being piece, cotton, and print goods from
Manchester, Germany, and Italy. Sundries,
such as articles of clothing, woollens, hard-
ware, ironware, 'provisions, wines, and spirits,
are also supplied to native traders in Pinang
native of Hamburg, and has been in Pinang
since July, 1906. Messrs. Hug & Co. have
a branch at Medan, in Sumatra, and both
partners are members of the Chamber of
Commerce, of the Pinang and Turf Clubs,
and of the Deutsche Vereinigung.
GRAHAM & CO., LTD.
A considerable business in a variety of goods
is carried on from Pinang with the northern
portion of the Federated Malay States and the
neighbouring Siamese States. In this way
Messrs. Graham & Co., Ltd., chemists, supple-
ment their local trade. Established originally
as a branch of Messrs. Maynard & Co., of
Singapore, this house was afterwards purchased
by Mr. David Graham, who had come East as
an assistant to Messrs. Maynard. He con-
tinued the business under the style of Graham
& Co., and it was incorporated in 1903, The
business is that of manufacturing chemists
and druggists, in which wholesale and retail
trade is conducted. Drugs are imported prin-
cipally from the United Kingdom, and large
stocks of sanitary appliances, optical instru-
ments, and patent medicines of all descriptions
are always kept on hand. The directors are
CALDBECK, MACGREGOR & CO.
E. A. Swan (Manager).
were represented in Pinang by an agency,
under the charge of Messrs. Kennedy & Co.
Increasing trade,- however, warranted the
establishment then of a separate branch, and
premises were opeijed in Beach Street, at the
corner of Church Street Ghaut,- whence the
firm distribute their well-known brands of
wines, spirits, and other goods to the whole
of the local trade, to hotels, messes, and clubs.
and Province Wellesley and exported to
Sumatra, while all kinds of estate necessaries
are sent to the planting districts of the Fede-
rated Malay States. The partners are Mr. John
Hug and Mr. Oscar Jallas. Mr. Hug was born,
educated, and trained in Switzerland. He came
to the East in 1898, and, after serving with
important houses in Singapore, commenced
business on his own account. Mr. Jallas is a
Mr. Graham, Dr. Koh Liap Teng, M.B., CM.,
Mr. Quah Beng Kee, and Mr. Yap Keng Teng.
Mr. W. D. Wilson, the manager, is a native of
Aberdeen, and a member of the Pharmaceu-
tical Society. He has been in the East about
twelve years, and has had experience through-
out the Straits Settlements and the Federated
Malay States. Dr. Quah Seng Keat is in atten-
dance at the store.
PREMISES OF GBAHAM & CO., LTD.
HUG & CO.'S PBBMISBS,
812
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MAF.AYA
THE GBOEGBTOWN DISPENSARY.
THE GEORGETOWN DISPENSARY, LTD. years it became prominent among similar busi-
nesses. In i8g5 tlie present commodious
The Georgetown Dispensary, Pinang, was premises at 37A, Beach Street, were occupied,
established in i88g, and in the course of a few and in 1901 the concern was incorporated as a
WHITEAWAY, L,AIDLA"W & CO.
New Premises.
limited liability company. Drugs and chemicals
of all kinds are imported from the United King-
dom, the United States, and the Continent of
Europe, and a large trade is done with the
Federated Malay States, where half a dozen
dispensaries and estate and other hospitals are
furnished with regular supplies. Business is
also done with the Siamese territories, and a
speciality is made of optical appliances and
photographic materials. A qualified English
chemist and a staff of trained assistants is
employed. The secretary is Mr. J. R. Brown.
WHITEAWAY, LAIDLAW^ & CO.
"The Whiteley of the East" Is an apt de-
scription of the famous house of Whiteaway,
Laidlaw & Co. What has been said of the
older store at Singapore applies with equal
force to the Pinang branch,, and need not be
repeated here. But the growth of the Pinang
store has been so phenomenal that it deserves
narration. On March 24, 1903, a young gentle-
man landed at Georgetown with some cases
containing ;f5oo worth of goods, and forthwith
engaged a gharry to go in search of premises
where he could deposit them. He found suit-
able accommodation in Mr. C. W. Barnett's
offices in Beach Street, and there he com-
menced business. One of the accompanying
illustrations shows the room in which this
small beginning was made. Scarcely a year
had elapsed before it became necessary to find
larger premises, and on April 16, IQ04, the
present capacious building was occupied.
Even now further enlargement is contem-
plated. A careful study has been made of
local requirements. A " cash " trade only is
done, and in this way the consumer obtains
goods at lower prices than if credit were
allowed. The nature of tlie business done is
o
o
Q
<!
1-4
814
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
the same as at Singapore, and the clientele
consists principally of the European residents
and the better-class Chinese and IWalays. The
enterprising manager, who founded this
branch, is Mr. Sydney George Parrett, a
native of Bedfordshire, who was commercially
trained in Rugby and London, notably with
Messrs. Copestake, Crampton & Co., Ltd. He
joined Messrs. Whiteaway, Laidlaw & Co. in
Calcutta in 1902, and was for a short time in
the Singapore store before opening the branch
at Pinang.
CUNNINGHAM, CLARK & CO.
This firm was established at Pinang in 1900
by Mr. James Stuart Cunningham, trading in
his own name as an importer of musical
there and trained at Glasgow. He came to
Madras in 1897, settled in Pinang in 1900, and
has since established a branch in Singapore.
He is a member of all local clubs, a committee
member of the Engineers' Institute, J.W;
of the Royal Prince of Wales' Lodge of Free-
masons, J.D. of the Lodge Scotia, honorary
organist of the Presbyterian Church, and one
of the best-known local singers. In 1905 Mr.
Cunningham married George Vivian, the only
daughter of the late Mr. Maurice Drummond,
of Edinburgh, Singapore, and Bangalore. His
private residence is "Kilmarnock," Anson Road.
AUGUST KAULFUSS.
Mr. August Kaulfuss is the oldest established
European photographer in Pinang, and has
Sultan of Kedah, and has taken a unique col-
lection of photographs in the Malay Peninsula.
He is a member of the Cricket, Turf, and
Swimming Clubs, Engineers' Institute, and of
the Masonic Lodge Royal Prince of Wales,
1,555-
AUSTRALIAN HORSE REPOSITORY.
The Australian Horse Repository at Pinang
is a branch of Dalian's Horse Repository at
Singapore, of which a full account is given in
the Sport section of this works It was founded
in igo6, on behalf of the proprietors, by Mr.
W. H. Mawley; Draught and saddle horses
are imported from Australia, broken and trained,
and sold both locally and in the Federated
Malay States. Elegant carriages, dog-carts,
I. Premises.
CUNNINGHAM, CLARK & CO.
2. J. S. Cunningham.
3. A Sale Scenk.
instruments and general merchant in premises
in Union Street. After two years Mr. A. E.
Clark, who was at that time on the staff of the
Pinang Volunteers, joined him in business, and
the firm came to be styled Messrs. Cunning-
ham, Clark & Co., carrying on the business of
auctioneers and general brokers. Mr. Clark
died in 1902, and Mr. Cunningham became
sole proprietor. The company conduct most
of the important sales of movable and im-
movable property, besides being engaged in the
buying and selling of estates, mining properly,
lands, and houses. They are auctioneers to the
Bankruptcy Department, agents for the Vacuum
Oil Company, for Messrs. CoUard & Collard,
and for the Sun Life Insurance Company of
Canada, the Pinang Pilots' Association, Metzler
& Co., and John Roberts & Co. Mr. James Stuart
Cunningham, who is a native of Kilmarnock,
Scotland, was educated at the local academy
taken all the photographs of Pinang and
district which are reproduced in this work. He
was born at Rohnstock, Silesia, in i86l, and
was educated there. When he was fifteen he
entered the photographic studio of Otto van
Bosch, at Frankfort-on-Main, then the leading
photographer of Southern Germany. He re-
mained there two years, and afterwards followed
his calling in various parts of Germany. He
served two years in the German navy. He
first came to Pinang in 1883, and has been in
business as a photographer there since 1886.
Mr. Kaulfuss has travelled extensively, having
traversed on foot the whole of the Malay
Peninsula, from Province Wellesley in the
north to Johore in the south, at a time when
there were few good roads and no railways.
He explored the country behind the territory
of Kedah, prospecting for minerals, and visited
Bangkok. He is photographer to H.H. the
coaches, vans, and all kinds of horse-drawn
vehicles may be hired at this establishment.
The premises include stabling for thirty horses.
, PINANG HORSE REPOSITORY.
This establishment was founded some twenty
years ago in Leith Street, Pinang, by a Mr.
Lee, and was afterwards acquired by that well-
known sportsman, Mr. H. Abrams. Later on
it was bought by Mr. Archie Campbell, who
took it over as it stood at No. 76, Kelewai Road.
The establishment covers some two and a half
acres of ground, and occupies one of the best
sites in Pinang, extending from Northam Road
to the sea-beach, and including a fine residential
bungalow, offices and workshops, engine and
machinery rooms, stalls, sheds, and other build-
ings. A large number of draught, saddle, and
race horses are every year imported from
, The bungalow.
THE AUSTRALIAN HORSE REPOSITORY.
i. The Stables,
3. The Carriages,
A. Campbells Blngalow.
PINANG HORSE REPOSITORY.
2. Chaff Cutting Room. 3. The Stables.
4. Some op the Carriages.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
817
Victoria, Australia, broken in and trained, and
sold privately to residents in the settlement, the
Siamese States, and the Dutch islands.
Carriages of every description, from heavy
furniture wagons and four-wheeled drays to
modern victorias and dog-carts, are always
kept in stock for sale or hire, and the wants
of thfe public are studiously considered. In
connection with the establishment there are
also a harness depot (where imported harness
is pieced together and local harness made) and
a blacksmith's and shoeing shop. The stables,
as shown in our photographs, embrace some
fifty loose boxes, situated in an airy, dry build-
ing, and are generally occupied. Many resi-
dents, for convenience, send their horses to
Mr. Campbell's repository to be stabled and fed,
in ihe full knowledge that there they will get the
made of the training of griffins, imported from
Australia, and drawn for under the Turf Club
rules. Some of the best-known horses on the
Straits turf have come out of Mr. Campbell's
stable, notably Nereus (who won thirteen out
of fifteen races for which he was entered).
Devilment, and Battenberg. Mr. Campbell is
a native of Victoria, and has been associated
with the turf from his early days. When only
thirteen years of age he commenced riding in
Victoria, and later on he rode in the principal
races in Calcutta and elsewhere in India. For
two years, up to 1890, he was one of the most
distinguished jockeys in Victoria, riding all the
principal racehorses from the Australian stables.
In 1894 he gave up actual riding and came" to
the Straits Settlements. There he remained
with Mr. Abrams for a year, after which he
r'w
♦
♦
A. B. WEBSTER.
(Pinang Manager, Messrs. Fraser & Neave, Ltd.)
F. A. HEISE. H. JESSEN.
(Of Messrs. Behn, Meyer & Co., Ltd.)
H. GOOS.
(Shipping Superintendent, Messrs. Behn, Meyer & Co., Ltd.)
best of attention. Mr. Campbell imports from
Calcutta grain and crushed food, and from
Australia oats, hay, chaff, and various other
kinds of fodder. There is on the preniises a
chaff-cutting machine, driven by a powerful
engine, which effects an enormous saving in
labour. Mr. Campbell is in full charge of the
repository, and has on his staff two harness-
makers, three blacksmiths, two shoeing-smiths,
sixty grooms, stablemen, and other employees.
In Straits Settlements racing Mr. Campbell's
stable holds a position of r great importance, as
it is the only establishment in Pinang with
accommodation for racehorses coming from
outside, and practically throughout the year
there is a batch of racers in his stables being
trained for local events. A special feature is
had charge of the stud of H.H. Sultan Ibrahim
of Johore, whom he initiated into the racing
world. Since 1900 he has been in Pinang
managing his own establishment.
FBIEDBICH ADOLPH HEISE.
Mr. F. A. Heise was born at Meerane,
Saxony, on May 4, 1877, and educated at
Leipzig College, where he passed the usual
final examinations. He received his com-
mercial training in Leipzig, and came out to
Canton in 1898 for the East Asiatic Trading
Company. In 1899 he threw in his lot, as
travelling agent, with the Equitable Life Insur-
ance Company of New York, and for many
years journeyed throughout China, Korea, and
Japan. At Shanghai, in 1906, he represented
the Sun Life Insurance Company of Canada
as superintendent of agencies, and in the same
year joined the Shanghai Life Insurance Com-
pany as general agent for the Straits Settle-
ments, Sumatra, and the Federated Malay
States. His present office is at 18, Church
Street, Pinang.
ORIENTAL.
EASTERN SMELTING COMPANY, LTD.
Whatever may be said concerning the innate
conservatism of the Chinese and their conse-
quent reluctance to adopt modern commercial
methods and industrial processes, there are in
the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay
States notable exceptions to the general rule.
One of these is the Chinese concern known as
the Seng Kee Tin-smelting Works, Date Kramat
Road, Pinang, which were started in 1898 by
Mr. Lee Chin Ho, the pioneer Pinang tin ore
smelter and the first Chinaman to introduce
European reverberatory furnaces and a gas-
producing plant. Tin ore is brought from the
firrri's mines at Gopeng, in the Tempolong
district of Perak, and from other mines. It
is smelted by Javanese labourers in four large
reverberatory furnaces of European principle,
and the residue is re-smelted in the old-fashioned
Chinese furnaces. As much as 12J tons of pure
tin is produced in a day, and this is mostly sold
to local merchants, though a little is exported
direct. Oil fuel is employed for two of the
large furnaces and coal for the other two.
The rollers, stamps, crusher, and pumps are
electrically driven. 'The current for the various
motors in operation is generated in a dynamo,
driven by the gas-producing plant, and the
works and Mr. Lee Chin Ho's private resi-
dence are electrically lighted from the same
source. In a well-equipped laboratory on the
premises ore samples are tested before the
bulk is purchased. The Seng Kee works cover
three acres of ground and employ a hundred
workmen. In August, 1907, the concern was
floated as a limited liability company, known
as the Eastern Smelting Company, Ltd., with a
capital of one and a half million dollars.
The founder of the concern is the second son
of the late Mr. Lee Pean Peh, a well-known
merchant miner of Taiping, who was born in
the Hokien Province of China and came to
the Straits Settlements when quite a youth.
Eventually he built up a large business as a
tin and spice merchant, and for many years
before his death took place at Taiping, in 1902,
at the age of seventy-three years, he was one
of the most influential residents of the district.
He was very highly respected among all classes
of the community, and he had the honour of
counting among his personal friends the
highest officials, including Sir Hugh Low,
Sir William Hood Treacher, and Colonel
Walker, C.M.G. The following tribute from
Sir W. Hood Treacher has been engraved
upon his tomb at Batu Lanchang Cemetery,
Pinang ;
In Sacred Memory of
Lee Pean Peh,
of Taiping, Perak,
Loyal to the Government of his adopted
country, and esteemed by the British
officials with whom he came in contact
as an upright and trustworthy citizen.
(Srf.) W. H. Treacher,
Resident-General, F.M.S.
The deceased-gentleman -held- a title from the
Chinese Government which gave him a place
among the Mandarins, and he was a Visiting
Justice of the State of Perak. He was among
the first to introduce the use of steam engines
and pumps in the mines worked by the Chinese
2 M
. The Staff,
LEE CHIN HO..
2. Left Front Block,
3> Right Fkont Block.
1, The Old Smeltkrs.
LEE CHIN HO.
^. Main Engines.
3. The Smelting Works.
820
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
owners in the Larut Province, and he first used
the Relaw Tongak for smelting. _ His second son,
Lee Chin Ho, began business life in his father's
firm, and in 1882 started on his own account in
Taiping under the chop of Leong Seng. As
One of the properties is the Chip Hong Bee
Mill, owned by Messrs. Leng Cheak & Co. The
late Mr. Lim Leng Cheak, founder of the firm,
had a remarkable career. The son of one of
the first Chinese to come to the settlement, he
sons and seven daughters— and his eldest son,
Mr. Lim Eow Hong, is now the managing
executor of the business. This gentleman was
born in Pinang in 1878 and was educated at the
Free School and at a Chinese school. He
BAT0 PUTEH RUBBER ESTATE (LENG CHEAK & CO.).
Rubber Nursery. 2 Youkg Rubber Trees.
trade increased he opened a branch at Kinta, and
did a large business as a miner and merchant
before opening up the smelting works at Pinang.
His eldest son, Mr. Lee Quee Choo, is the
manager of the works, and his second son,
Mr. Lee Quee Inn, has charge of the testing
laboratory.
LIM SUN HO.
Some fifty years ago Mr. Lim Chy, a native
of China, commenced business in Pinang, on
a small scale, as a dyer and merchant. He had
a shop in Beach Street, and employed only six
men. His son, however, Mr. Lim Sun Ho, has
enlarged the business to such an extent that it
is now one of the leading establishments in Pi-
nang. He moved the dyeworks to McAlister
Road, then practically open country, and started
branches in Ipoh Lane and Bridge Street. In
addition to his local trade, he exports to Singa-
pore, Rangoon, Sumatra, and China. He deals
with something like three-quarters of a million
yards of cloth in a year, and employs about
120 men. At 164, Beach Street, he carries on a
retail business under the name of Hong Moh
& Co., and he is also a partner with Mr. Foo
Eang Seang in the Victoria estate in Kedah.
In 1884 Mr. Lim was instrumental in founding
the -Pinang- Drapers' Guild.
LENG CHEAK & CO.
In Pinang are some of the largest rice and
oil mills in Malaya, and it is worthy of note
that they are nearly all owned by Chinese.
was born in Pinang, in humble circumstances,
in 1850, and his start in life was made as a clerk
in a mercantile office. A few years later he
commenced business on his own account by
opening a general store. By careful manage-
ment he was able to save a little capital and
went to Achin, where he entered into partner-
ship with another Chinese merchant. The
partners purchased one or two sailing-vessels,
and did a large trade in carrying pepper from
Achin to Pinang and there disposing of it.
Later, they ran a fleet of steamships between
the same ports, and, when his partner retired
from the business in 1879, Mr. Lim Leng Cheak
took over the entire concern himself. At the
invitation of the Sultan of Kedah, with whom
he was on terms of cordial friendship, he
opened up a new enterprise — a tapioca estate —
in the Kulim district of that potentate's terri-
tory. The Sultan also granted him a twenty
years' monopoly in 1888, when he established
a rice mill in Alor Star, Kedah. This privilege
was extended to his successors, and is enjoyed
by them to this day. In addition to these
operations, Mr. Lim Leng Cheak planted coffee
and coconuts in Kulim, Kedah, was lessee of
the Opium, Spirit, and Padi Farms, &c., started
a rice mill in Pinang in 1893, and became a
director of the Singapore Opium and Spirit
Farm.
When Mr. Lim Leng Cheak died at the age of
fifty-one on February 16, 1901, he left an exten-
sive and varied business of the first importance.
His family consisted of fifteen children — eight
became assistant to his father at the age of
seventeen, and four years later was appointed
manager. His brother, Mr. Lim Eow Thoon,
manages the Pinang rice mill. Messrs. Lim
Leng Cheak are the owners of the Chip Bee
Rice Mill, Alor Star (Kedah), the Chip Hong Bee
Rice Mill (Bridge Street, Pinang), and a large
tapioca mill (Kulim, Kedah). In 1899 they ,
started a sugar mill at Alor Star. They convey
their produce in their own fleet of steamers —
the Kedah line of passenger and cargo boats —
have a tapioca estate embracing 14,000 orlongs
in Kulim, Kedah, and are the employers of a
thousand men. They import large quantities
of padi and prepare both white and boiled rice
in their mills. These products they supply to
estates in Kedah, Province Wellesley, and Ihe
Federated Malay States, besides exporting to
Ceylon, India, and Mauritius. Sugar they sell
locally, and tapioca they send to London, Havre,
Nantes, and many other European ports.
Messrs. John Buttery & Co. are their London
agents. Mr. Lim Eow Hong is one of the
leading Chinese in the settlement, a member of
the committee of the Free School, a director of
the Straits Echo and Criterion Press, a com-
mittee member of the Pinang Association, and
a part owner of the Pinang Foundry. His
eldest son is being educated at Dollar, Scotland.
SIN KHYE BEE MILLS.
Rice, the staple food of the Asiatic, is pre-
pared in immense quantities in Pinang. The
The Okfice.
LIM SUN HO'S DYE WORKS.
The Works.
LiM Sun Ho.
The Headql'.^rtee ok the Drapers' Guild.
2 M'
1 The Soaking Tanks.
SIN KHYB EBB'S BICE MILLS.
2. THE MILLS FROM THE WATER FRONT,
3. Interior.
Drying Floor.
SIN KHYE BEE'S BICE MILLS.
The Engines.
The Mills from the Road.
824
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
padi is imported from Kedah, Province Welles-
ley, and the Federated Malay States, and the
finished product, in the shape of white and
boiled rice, is exported to Ceylon, China, and
the Federated Malay States. The Sin Khye
Bee Mills, where no less than four hundred bags,
weighing 225 lbs. each, are manufactured in one
day, are conveniently situated on the bank of
the river at Sungei Pinang, and thus it is possible
for all the goods to be conveyed to and from the
mill doors by water. The premises cover an
area of 3J acres ; the machinery is largely of
Glasgow manufacture, and of modern pattern ;
and 120 men find employment in the mills.
The business was founded in 1888 by the late
Mr. Chua Yu Kay. At first there was a smaller
mill on the same site, but the growth of the
trade is shown by the fact that in twenty years
the output has been practically doubled. In
1892 the mill was completely gutted by fire,
and, as it was not insured, Mr. Chua Yu Kay
sustained a loss of 170,000 dollars. But he
removed to temporary premises and success-
fully tided over this misfortune. He was not,
however, spared to see the erection of the pre-
sent mi.l, for he died in 1894. His end was
hastened by a tragic occurrence. As he was
seated in his room, at the offices of the Kong
Hock Steamship Company, which was founded
by his father, the late Mr. Chua Kang Whuat,
an enemy entered and stabbed him. Although
he recovered from the wound, he remained
blind to the end of his days as a result of the
shock. His son, Mr. Chua Kee Ee, who suc-
ceeded his father in the proprietorship of the
mill, was born in Pinang in 1880 and received
his education at St. Xavier's Institution. He
was for seven j'ears in the offices of the
Kong Hock Steamship Company. He super-
intended the erection of the Sin Khye Bee
Mills, and has successfully managed them ever
since. He is well known in local sporting circles,
is a supporter of the turf, and formerly ran several
racehorses. He is a member of the Turf Club
and of the Chinese Recreation Club, and is an
enthusiastic player of cricket and football.
TIANG LEE & CO.
The distinction of being one of the first
Chinese firms in Pinang to open direct busi-
ness with merchants and manufacturers in
Europe and America and to conduct their
business on Western lines belongs to Messrs.
Tiang Lee & Co. The business was estab-
lished in 1896 by six partners — Lim Eu Toh,
Yeo Paik Tatt, Chua Yu Thye, Khoo Chin
Boo, Yeoh Paik Keat, and Yeoh Tay Thor—
at 95, Beach Street, as a general store, and in
the following year the proprietors developed
into wholesale importers. In 1903 the senior
partner, Mr. Lim Eu Toh, went to Europe and
round the world, and on his return the firm
removed to larger premises at 53i Beach Street.
The principal imports from the United King-
dom are cement, hardware, household utensils,
building material, ironware, cotton, and other
Manchester goods of all descriptions. From
Rangoon rice is shipped in large quantities ;
from Australia, flour ; from various parts of
Europe, spirits, wines, and beer ; from Eng-
land and America, manufactured tobacco and
cigarettes and tinned provisions ; and from
Austria, refined sugar. All these goods are
distributed throughout British Malaya. Pepper,
tapioca, copra, and nutmegs, and other local
produce, are exported to Europe, America,
China, and Japan. Messrs. Tiang Lee & Co.
own the Simpa rubber and coconut planta-
tions in Province Wellesley, which embrace
an area of 700 acres. In addition they hold a
large number of important agencies, including
those for the British American Tobacco Com-
pany, Ltd., Read Bros., Ltd. (brewers), Joseph
Etournaud & Co. (cognac distillers). Green-
lees Bros, (whisky distillers), Henry Kaufmann
& Sons (cutlers), Dai Nippon Brewery Com-
pany (Japan), the Patriotic Assurance Company
(Dublin), the China Mutual Life Insurance Com-
pany, Ltd., the Shanghai Building and Invest-
ment Company, Ltd., the Yuen Sheng Insurance
and Banking Company, and two other Chinese
Marine Insurance Companies.
KHIE HENG BEE MILL.
This rice and oil mill, at Sungei Pinang, is
one of the largest and most important industrial
concerns in the northern settlement. The pre-
mises are situated on the bank of the Pinang
river, and cover an area of three acres. White
and boiled rice and coconut oil are prepared by
up-to-date steam and hydraulic machinery, and
three hundred men are employed in conducting
the various processes. The average output of
the mill is one thousand piculs of rice and one
hundred piculs of oil in a working day of
twelve hours. The raw padi is imported from
Perak and the Siamese Western States, and the
copra comes from Padang and other parts of
Ihe Federated Malay States, and from Sumatra.
White rice is sent to China, Province Wellesley,
Kedah, Java, and Sumatra ; boiled rice goes
principally to estates in the Federated Malay
States and to India for consumption by Tamil
coolies ; and the coconut oil is exported,
through Pinang merchants, to Europe and
MBS. PUAH HIN LBONG.
LIM CHENG TEIK.
THE LATE PUAH HIN LEONG.
LIM CHENG LAW.
I CHUA YU THYE. 2. Yeo Paik Tatt.
6. PixANG Premises.
TIANG LEE & CO.
3. Yeoh Paik Keat.
4. LIM Eu TOH.
7. Kuala Lumpor Premises.
5. Khoo Chin Boo.
2 U *"■'■•
I. Deying Floor.
KHIE HENG BEE BICE AND OIL MILLS.
z. The Mills from the Road Front. 3. The Mills from the- Water Front.
4. The Residence.
m
J
3
n
o
H
Iz;
W
s
828
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
THE FAMILY OF THE LATE PUAH HIN LEONG.
America. The rice mill is driven by a 6o-h.p.
horizontal engine and the hydraulic oil presses
are worked by a 24-h.p. engine. The steam for
these engines is generated in three large boilers,
and two of these and all the machinery are of
English manufacture. The founder of this
enterprise was the late Mr. Lim Choo Guan,
better known in his later years as Mr. Puah
Hin Leong. He was born of poor parents in
the village of Chuan Chew, in the Fukien Pro-
vince of China, in 1844. When still in his teens
he emigrated to Pinang with scarcely a dollar
in his pocket. After a very precarious exist-
ence, he at length obtained a situation with a
Chinese firm, and during the two years he
remained with them he lived frugally, and, by
saving what he could afford- from his slender
salary, was enabled to open a small retail
business in the country district of Tanjong
Tokong. This prospered, and he proceeded to
establish a branch in the town itself for the
purpose of dealing in rice. These small enter-
prises developed considerably, owing to Mr.
Lim Choo Guan's industry, ability, and probity,
and within twenty years of his arrival in the
colony he was able to establish the first rice
mill ever started in Pinang. He did this in
partnership with the late Messrs. Chua Yu Kay,
Lim Leng Cheak, Cheah Joo Jin, and Cheah
Ewe Ghee. Some years later his partners sold
out their interests and Mr. Lim Choo Guan
carried on the undertaking himself, and rapidly
amassed a large fortune. He then acquired
e.\tensive house and landed property in his
native country, and purchased some of the best
sites in Pinang, upon which he erected many of
the large godowns now occupied by European
business firms. In 1900 he bought the site on
which the Khie Heng Bee Mills now stand, but
was not spared to see their completion, for he
died in 1901 at the age of fifty-seven. He
married in 1874 the fourth daughter of the late
Mr. Ong Boon Chin, and when he died he left
a large family of children and grandchildren.
The eldest son, Mr. Lim Cheng Teik, has suc-
ceeded to the management of the mills, and he
is assisted by the second son, Mr. Lim Cheng
Law. The third son, Lim Cheng Ean, is still
at school, and it is intended to send him to
Europe to study for the legal profession. The
late Mr. Puah Hin Leong was very highly
respected, both for his commercial ability and
for his many acts of discriminating charity.
Among these should be mentioned a gift
of 10,000 dollars to the Chinese quarantine
camp at Jelutong, contributions of 5,000 dollars
each to the Indian and Amoy famine funds, and
large gifts to the principal educational insti-
tutions of Pinang. Notwithstanding the large
sums which he gave away, the late Mr. Puah
Hin Leong, at the time of his death, was one of
the wealthiest Chinese in Pinang.
PINANG SALES ROOM.
The sole proprietor of the above is Mr. Koh
EngHin, who established himself in 1892, with
headquarters at 39, Beach Street. The firm
carry on business as auctioneers and merchants.
They conduct important sales of both movable
and immovable property, and are well-known
as appraisers, brokers, and house and land
agents. They import British, Continental, and
Japanese goods, and are also cabinet-makers
and complete house-furnishers. Mr. Koh Eng
Hin — son of the late Mr. Koh Ah Khung, of
China, and a successful trader m the Federated
Malay States — was born in Singapore in 1862,
and was educated at Raffles School. He com-
menced business as a trader, and was very
fortunate in every enterprise upon which he
embarked, with the result that he is now pos-
sessed of landed property. In 1887 he married
Miss Teoh Lian Keow, by whom he has two
sons and two daughters. His residence is at
63, Magazine Road.
MESSRS. GOON YEN & FRIENDS.
One of the leading general retail stores of
Pinang is that of Messrs. Goon Yen & Friends,
at 30 and 32, Beach Street. The business was
established by Mr. Goon Yen and several part-
ners in 1886. After nine years' successful
trading as general store-keepers, ships' chand-
lers, provision merchants, commission agents,
&c., Mr. Goon Yen's original partners retired,
and in their place Mr. Ng Seah Wong was
admitted a partner. In the following year Mr.
Ng Seah Wong and the firm in equal shares
started tapioca planting in Kedah. Their pro-
perty there, which is known as the Pinang
Tunggal estate, is about 9,000 orlongs in ex-
tent, and at the present time a fifth of this area
has been planted with tapioca and coconuts
and a little Para and Rambongrubber. Between
six and eight hundred men are employed on the
estate, and the tapioca is prepared in an up-to-
date steam factory on the property, and all the
produce is disposed of locally. Messrs. Goon &
Friends are also agents forone or two tapioca
estates. Mr. Goon Yen's eldest and second
sons assist in the Pinang store, where a staff
of twenty-five is employed.
THEAN GHEE & CO.
An example of the ability of Chinese busi-
ness men to recover their position after heavy
financial losses is furnished by Messrs. Thean
Chee & Co., outfitters, storekeepers, Govern-
ment contractors, and ships' chandlers at
1. The Mart.
KOH ENG HIN.
z. KOH EXG HiN.
3. Interior ov Presiises.
GOON YEN & FRIENDS.
i. Choy Goon Yen.
The Premises.
3. Ng Seah Wong.
(See p. 828.)
4. Interior of Premises.
1. The Staff.
ANGLO-CHINESE STORE.
2. J. De R. Sousa (Proprietor). 3. The Preiiises,
(See p. 833-)
4. The Grocery Departmext.
I & 3- Showrooms.
THEAN CHEE & CO.
2. Xg Pak Hoey (Senior Partner).
4. New Premises,
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
833
Pinang. The business was founded in 1853,
under the style of Boon Eng & Co. (Chop Loon
Hong), by Mr. Ng Ah Thye and others. Mr.
Mg Ah Thye was one of the wealthiest resi-
dents of his day, who owned most of the
business premises in Beach Street and was
for nine years lessee of the Opium and Spirit
Farm. In 1858 the original partnership was
dissolved, and the business \vas carried on by
the founder under the present style. Upon
his decease he was succeeded by his three
sons, Ng Pak San, Ng Pak Hoey, and Ng Pak
Theen. The first named has since died, and
firm is represented on the Pinang Chamber
of Commerce.
CHOO CHUAN KEOK & CO.
This is one of the best-known ship-chandling
firms in Pinang. It was established in i8g6by
three of the present partners — namely, Messrs.
Lee Kim Cheng, Lim Boon Guan, and Lira
Seow Kung — with premises at No. 23, Beach
Street. They deal in all kinds of marine stores
— principally in ironware and hardware, paints,
oils, piping, packing, and running gear — and
by Senhor Jose De Ricci Sousa, whose idea
was to provide an up-to-date provision and
general business which could supply the wants
of both the European and Chinese population.
All kinds of provisions and household requi-
sites are imported and sold. The stock in-
cludes wines and spirits, silver and plated ware,
fancy goods, furniture, &c. There is a ladies'
outfitting department under European super-
vision. The premises are at No. 5, China Street.
The proprietor, Senhor Jose de Ricci Sousa, is
of Portuguese and Italian extraction. He was
educated at the Jesuit College, Shanghai, and
THEAN CHEB & CO.
The Old Preiuses after the Fire,
the other two sons are the sole partners at the
present time. In 1901 they sustained heavy
losses through their premises collapsing, but
they continued their operations in temporary
premises in Beach Street. These and the stock
which they contained were entirely destroyed
by fire in 1904. Being uninsured, the firm lost
heavily, a second time, but nevertheless in the
following year they purchased their present
premises in Bishop Street and entirely rebuilt
them. Under contract they supply the Govern-
ment with tools and other plant, cordage and
ships' chandlers' stores. They also do a large
general business in this class of goods. In
1905 a drapery and outfitting department was
added, for which goods are imported direct
from the United Kingdom. In addition to
their local trade they do a large business in
the Federated Malay States, Sumatra, and
the Siamese Malay States through agents.
Mr. Ng Pak Hoey, the senior partner, is a
comparatively young man, but has shown
both perseverance and ability in the face of
adverse circumstances. He has considerable
interests in tin mining in Selangor and in
rubber estates. Mr. Tan Sean Poe, the
manager, has a staff of 25 assistants. The
are contractors to the Pinang Steamship and
Trading Company. They supply stores to
numerous regular callers at the port, and to rice,
oil, tapioca, sugar, and saw mills ; sell tools,
gear, and sundries to estates in Province Wel-
lesley, Perak, Sumatra, and the Siamese terri-
tories, and generally conduct a flourishing
business. In 1904 Mr. Lim Cheng Seong,
eldest son of the late Mr. Lim Eng Phoon, a
well-known merchant of Rangoon and a Justice
of the Peace, entered the firm as a partner.
The senior partner, Mr. Lee Kim Cheng, fourth
son of Mr. Lee Paik Lean, was educated at
Pinang Free School, and received his business
training as shipping clerk in the well-known
establishment of Messrs. Chong Moh & Co.
Afterwards he became shipping manager for
the firm of Messrs. Hock Chong & Co. In
addition to his other activities, he is also
manager of the firm Choo Chuan Keok.
ANGLO-CHINESE STOBB.
Though it has only been in existence since
the early part of 1907, the Anglo-Chinese Store
has already become an important business
house in Pinang. It was established in April
started life as a telegraph operator. Subse-
quently he was employed in the Russo-Chinese
Bank, and travelled extensively in China. In
these travels he nearly lost his life on several
occasions. Previous to opening the Anglo-
Chinese Store he had experience for four years
in various similar concerns. He is a very keen
business man, and speaks French, German, and
several other European languages, as well as
Chinese.
QUAH BBNG KEE.
In addition to being the sole proprietor ol
the Guan Lee Hin Steamship Company, Mr.
Quah Beng Kee does an extensive export busi-
ness in copra from the well-known coconut
estates of Otaheite, Glugor, and Sungei Nibong,
of which he is the lessee. He owns also the
large ironworks known as the Pinang Foundry,
where mining and milling machinery of all
kinds is manufactured by means of a modern
steam and hydraulic plant. The workshops,
situated in Beach Street and Weld Quay, are
managed by Mr. J. Leith Wemyss, M.I.N.A.,
and a large staff of trained and qualified work-
men is employed.
I. Interior of Premises. z. Lee Kim Chen'g.
CHOO CHUAN KEOK & CO.
3. LiM Seow Kung. 4. LiM Cheng Seong.
(See p. 833.)
5. LiM BOON GUAM. 6. The Premises.
QUAH BBNG KEB.
Views of the Pinang Foundry.
(See p. 833.)
iNTIiRIOR,
C. S. SENG & CO.
^ Thi! Premises.
3. Oil Store at Jelutong.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA 837
C. S. SENG & CO.
The Office Staff.
£. The Partners and their Soxs.
C. S. SENG & CO.
This firm was established in the year 1889,
and in its inception was of an unassuming
character. The founders were Messrs. Law
Yew Ee and Chew Siah Seng, and a small
building in Pinang Street served as the place
of business. Through the ability and business
acumen of Mr. Law Yew Ee and the honest
dealings of the firm the business rapidly deve-
loped, and the present commodious offices at
No. 33c, Beach Street had to be secured. In
1902 Messrs. Lo Beng Quang, Yeoh Boon
Tean, and Chan Kai Choo were admitted
partners. Messrs. Seng & Co. are importers
only, and they deal mostly in cotton, piece,
and print goods, ironware, hardware, wines
and spirits, and other general goods, which
come to them direct from Europe and America.
They are agents for the Standard Oil Company
of New York in Pinang, Province Wellesley,
Perak, the Siamese Malay States, and Sumatra ;
and they have a special oil store at Jelutong.
Among other agencies which they hold are
those for the Manufacturers' Life Insurance
Company, the Swiss National Insurance Com-
pany, Messrs. Wm. Younger & Co., Ltd. (the
well-known Edinburgh brewers), the Rangoon
Steam Rope Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
and the Pedis Tin Mining Syndicate. Messrs.
Seng & Co.'s staiT consists of twelve assistants,
storekeepers, &c. Messrs. Law Yew Ee and
Yeoh Boon Tean are the managing partners,
and the oil store is in the charge of Mr. V. E.
Gregory.
e_
MALACCA.
MALACCA, the oldest and largest of the
Straits Settlements, is a triangular
territory situated on the west coast of the
Malay Peninsula. It embraces 659 square miles,
has a coast line of 50 miles, and is adjacent to
the States of Johore and Negri Sambilan.
Malacca is essentially an agricultural country.
The land is largely held by Orientals, and the
chief products are padi, cultivated by Malays,
and tapioca, cultivated mainly by Chinese.
There are close upon 100,000 acres under
tapioca. Since the opening of the railway,
which links the country with the whole of the
Federated Malay States railway system, the
development of the settlement has made rapid
progress. Recently several European com-
panies have planted large areas of land with
rubber, and the Chinese have extensively inter-
planted their tapioca with that product, the
total area now under rubber being estimated at
34,000 acres. The rapidity with which rubber
cultivation has developed is shown by the fact
that in 1906 18,500 lbs. of dry rubber were ex-
ported, as against 3,000 lbs. in 1905. Several
syndicates have lately been formed to work
large areas of tin-mining land.
The country generally is typical of cultivated
Malaya at its best, and is traversed by a net-
work of excellent roads. To drive along any
of these is to witness scenery of great beauty.
On either side are rice fields — emerald green
when newly planted, golden when the grain is
ripe, and brown when it is fallow — and these
are variated with tapioca and rubber planta-
tions and studded with lofty areca-nut palms.
In the distance, hills chequer the sky-line and
form a blue-grey background.
The temperature is lower and the rainfall less
in Malacca than in any other part of the Straits
Settlements. In 1906 the mean temperature
in Malacca was 79-6° as against So's" in Singa-
pore and 8o-3° in Pinang, while the mean
rainfall was 80-57 inches as compared with
Il8'38 inches in Singapore and I02'2i inches
in Pinang. Malacca is also the healthiest of the
three settlements. In igo6 its birth-rate was
37'05 per mille as against 22-27 in Singapore
and 16-79 i" Pinang, while the death-rate was
37-12 per mille as compared with 39-65 in
Singapore and 41-81 in Pinang.
At the census of igoi the total population
of the settlement was returned at 95,000,
and included 73,000 Malays and 20,000
Chinese. It was estimated in 1906 at 97,387.
The value of Malacca's imports in 1906 was
about 4,900,000 dollars, and of its exports
about 4,700,000 dollars. The great bulk of
838
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
both imports and
Singapore.
The industry
exports are shipped through
of basket-making by Malay
headquarters, and all the oldest Straits Chinese
families are consequently descended from
Malacca ancestors.
the shore. Dredging 'operations, however,
have since been carried out, and, as a result of
the deepening of the channel at the river
mouth and the construction of groynes on the
north and south, large lighters and Chinese '
junks are now able to enter the river and
discharge cargo alongside the wharf. It is
mteresting to note that during the dredging
operations quite a large collection of coins re-
presenting the several periods of the European
occupation of the place and of the ancient
Malay dynasty were unearthed in a bank
across the river mouth. They are referred to in
a special article.
When approaching Malacca from the open
sea, one is impressed by its quaint and
picturesque appearance. It presents the
curious spectacle of a town with its legs in
the sea. The reason for this is that the houses
which face the main street of Malacca have
their backs to the shore, and the rear portions of
the dwellings have been liuilt into the water
upon higli red pillars. This is the style adopted
over the whole length of the town on the
north side of the river. On the south side
is the landing pier, and quite close to it, on the
side of St. Paul's Hill, is the Dutch Stadt
House. This solid, old world building is
approached by a flight of steps, and is used as
the Government oflices. On the summit of the
hill is the ruined and roofless Church of Our
Lady, built by the Portuguese and afterwards
renamed the Church of St. Paulus by the Dutch.
Many Dutch tombs are contained in it. The
house of the Resident Councillor and the light-
house are also situated on the hill-top. The
view from the summit is enchanting, whether
women is almost entirely confined to Malacca.
The material used is the leaf of the Panda nits
fasciailaris, locally known as the Bang Kuang.
The basket is built up from a beginning of six
strands woven into a star shape. It takes a
woman a whole month working steadily every
day to make a set of five baskets of ordinary
quality, and three months to make a set of fine
quality. Of the various shapes in which the
baskets are made, the most popular is the hex-
agonal, and for a set or nest consisting of three
or five of different sizes fitted into one another,
from 2.50 to 5 dollars is charged, according to
quality and size. Up to fifty years ago the Malays
of Malacca made a really fine cotton lace.
Whether this art was taught them by the Portu-
guese or Dutch or was indigenous is unknown.
Formerly, this lace was always worn by the
men on their coats and trousers, and it may
still be seen occasionally at weddings. But all
that remains of the industry now is the manu-
facture of Biku, a kind of kice made out of
coloured silk and used for the borders of
handkerchiefs and for veils.
The port and chief town of the settlement is
at the mouth of the river, and is in latitude
2° 10' North and longitude 102° 14' East. It is
118 miles distant from Singapore by sea and
250 miles from Pinang. As it was the seat
of the ancient Malay kingdom and has been
occupied by Europeans — first Portuguese, then
Dutch, and finally British — since the beginning
of the sixteenth century, it is of exceptional
historical interest, and, in this respect, is one of
the most notable towns of the East. The first
Chinese settlers in Malaya made Malacca their
There is no real harbour at
until a few years ago even
could not get within three or
MRS. W. EVANS.
Malacca, and one looks eastward over the orchards and
small vessels villages to Gunong Ledang, called Mount
four miles of Ophir (4,200 feet high), or to the hill which
VIEWS IN MALACCA.
I, Scene on ihe River, j. a Street Scene. 3. The Quay, 4, The Residency. 5. Old Portuguese Gate. 6. Visit of H.E. the Governor.
840
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
VIEW OP MALACCA.
has been appropriated by the Chinese as their
fashionable burying-place, or over the darii-
red roofs of Malacca town, across rice fields
and coconut groves, to Cape Rachado. Stand-
ing prominently behind the houses which line
the shore at the river mouth is the Church
of St. Francis Xavier, a beautiful Gothic
structure.
The town extends inland about a mile. Its
streets are very narrow, and most of the houses
are of Dutch origin. One of the most interest-
ing historical structures in the place is the
gateway of the old fort, which is preserved by
the Government. Upon a mural tablet placed
on the relic appears the following inscription :
"The only remaining part of the ancient
fortress of Malacca built by Alfonso d' Albu-
querque and by him named Famosa in 15 ii ;
near this stood the bastion of Santiago."
The town is administered by a Municipal
Commission, of which the Resident Councillor
is, ex officio, President. Within the municipal
limits there is a population of 18,000, mostly
Chinese and Malays, the only Europeans being
Government officials. There is a good water
supply, and within the next few years the town
is to be improved by the widening of its streets,
which are lighted with oil lamps.
The only other townships in the settlement
are Alor Gajah and Jasin. The former is
situated 15 miles up the river from Malacca,
and the latter is about midway between the
two. At both these places Government District
Officers are stationed. There is a hot spring
with valuable medicinal properties at Ayer
Panas, and the Government have recently
constructed a new bath-house there.
THE MUNICIPALITY.
A Municipal Commission was first formed in
Malacca twenty years ago, and the new body
was financed by a loan of 25,000 dollars from
the Government of the Straits Settlements.
During the last few years the town has
THE BEACH,
1. STADT HOUSE. 2. THE STRAND.
S. DISTRICT OFFICER OF ALOR GAJAH AND HEADMEN OF THE DISTRICT.
THE PORT.
2 N
842
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
increased in importance, and the municipal
area has been extended until it now comprises
nine square miles. The Commission consists
of six members, of whom three are appointed
by the Governor and three are elected by the
ratepayers. The Resident Councillor of the
settlement f>ro tern, is, ex officio, President of
the Commission, and, as such, has a casting
vote. Each Commissioner holds office for
three years, and one is elected each year.
A candidate for election to the Commission
must be a male British subject over twenty-five
years of age, able to speak and read the English
language, and resident within four miles of the
1905. By the general rate 26,488 dollars was
raised. The expenditure amounted to 80,355
dollars, leaving a credit balance of 20,178
dollars on current account on January i,
1907. The Commission's outstanding loans
amount to 65,000 dollars, and include one of
50,000 dollars borrowed for the purchase of the
land on which a new bridge across the Malacca
river is shortly to be erected.
A census taken in 1906 showed a population
of 15,540 within the municipality, but this
return, owing to the common practice of
understating the number of people living in
a house, falls far short of the actual number ■
Commission recently undertook the supervision
of 90 miles of roads outside the town, for which
service they are reimbursed by the Govern-
ment.
Mr. Tan Chay Van, J. P., a member of the
Municipal Commission, is the pioneer Chinese
rubber planter of Malacca. It was in 1896 that
he planted his first seedlings, which he received
free ftom the Singapore Botanical Gardens as
an encouragement to rubber planting in the
Straits Settlements. These seedlings were of
two kinds — Ficiis clasiica and Hevea Brasili-
ensis — and 40 acres were first planted with
them. After a three years' experience, Mr.
MALACCA MUNICIPAL COMMISSION.
(H. W. Firmstone, Acting Resident Councillor of Malacca, in the centre.)
municipal limits. He must either pay rates to
the amount of, at least, 20 dollars in respect
of property of which he is the owner, or be the
occupier of a house of an annual rateable value
of not less than 480 dollars.
The Commission is responsible for the sani-
tation of the town, the construction, mainten-
ance, and cleansing of the roads, the erection of
public buildings, and the lighting of the streets.
For these services it is empowered to levy a
general rate not exceeding 15 per cent, of the
rateable value, which is determined by assess-
ment. The provision of the water supply and
the Hcensing of vehicles and of dangerous
trades also come within the sphere of the
Commission, and are a fruitful source of
revenue. It may here be mentioned that there
is an adequate supply of good water drawn
mainly from an impounding reservoir at Ayer
Kroh.
The general rate now stands at 10 per cent,
of the rateable value, and the water charges are
3 per cent. In igo6 the total revenue amounted
to 100,513 dollars, which included a credit
balance of 11,105 dollars brought forward from
20,000 would probably be nearer the truth.
Five hundred and twenty- five births and
742 deaths were registered during the
year, which, calculated on a population
of 15,540, gives a birth-rate of 3378 per
mille and a death-rate of 4774 per mille.
Thirty-one per cent, of the total deaths were
of children under one year of age, and close on
40 per cent, were attributable to fever, phthisis,
and beri-beri. The high rate of infantile
mortality is largely due to ignorance, and a
great deal of sickness is caused by the crowded
state of the native parts of the town. The
health of the people is guarded by the regular
inspection of all the meat offered for sale, and
of all dairies, bakeries, eating-houses, opium
shops, and laundries ; while a strict surveil-
lance is kept over all dangerous and offensive
trades.
There are eight miles of roads in the township
of Malacca, and they are flanked by open
drains, which empty themselves into the river.
All the main streets are lighted by oil lamps.
In addition to maintaining and scavenging the
roads within the municipality, the Municipal
Tan found that the trees thrived well, and he
commenced planting on a large scale. In five
years he had fully planted with rubber the
Bukit Asahan estate, which is 3,000 acres in
extent, and a few years ago it was floated as a
limitedliability company, known as the Malacca
Rubber Plantation, Ltd. Mr. Tan Chay Yan's
ancestors have been settled in the town of
Malacca for upwards of a hundred years, and
his grandfather, Mr. Tan Tock Seng, founded
the hospital which bears his name in Singapore,
and gave great financial assistance to numerous
other local charitable institutions. Mr. Tan
Chay Yan is now engaged as a merchant, and
has also considerable planting interests. He
has played an active part in the public life of
Malacca for several years, and was made a
Justice of the Peace wTien he was only twenty-
four years of age. He owns much landed
property in Singapore.
Mr. Chan Koon Cheng, J. P.— One of
the oldest Chinese families in Malacca is that
of which the present-day representative is Mr.
Chan Koon Cheng, tapioca and rubber planter.
He can trace his descent in a direct line for
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
843
eight generations. His ancestor who first
came from China and settled with his family
in Malacca was Mr. Chan Plan Long, who was
a Chin Su. He arrived in 1671. Mr, Chan
Koon Cheng's grandfather, Mr. Chan Hong
Luan, was once a lessee of the Government
spirit and opium farms in Malacca. His father,
the late Mr. Chan Eng Hock, was a tapioca
planter. He himself was born in 1869 and
educated at the Government Free School. At
the age of sixteen he started his commercial
career as a shipping and goods clerk with
Messrs. Kim Guan & Co., agents for the Blue
Funnel liners, Malacca (Alfred Holt's
steamers), in whose employment he continued
from 1885 till 1891. In 1887 he was made
assistant agent, in 1888 acting agent, and in
1889 manager of the firm. He was then trans-
ferred as the steamers' agent to Kuala Lumper.
He remained there for ten months, but was
obliged to resign on account of ill-health. For
more than a year subsequently he was not able
to engage in any work, but at the end of that
time his health was fairly well restored, and he
accepted the post of chief clerk on board the
ss. Sappho. In 1895 he resigned from that
service and started as a rubber planter in
partnership with Mr. Tan Chay Yan at Mukit
Lintang (Kandang and Ayer Molek). In the
first instance he planted 60 acres, and in 1897
planted 40 acres on his own property, Bukit
Duyong. From 1895 to 1900 he was also
manager of Messrs. Guan Hup & Co., general
storekeepers, &c., Malacca. In 1901 he com-
menced planting 3,000 acres at Kemendor, Bukit
Senggeh, Selandar, Kesang, and Rim, known
as Kesang-Rim rubber and tapioca estate,
and by the year 1906 he had the whole estate
set with tapioca and interplanted with rubber.-
This property he sold shortly afterwards. Mr.
Chan Koon Cheng owns houses and land in
Singapore, Selangor, Negri Sambilan, and
Malacca. He is married and has five sons
and three daughters. The sons are Chan
Soo Chin, Chan Soo Khim, Chan Soo Ann,
Chan , Soo What, and a baby ; the daughters,
Chan Eak Jin, Chan Eak Hin, and Chan Eak
Sheng. Mr. Chan was made a Municipal
Commissioner in 1905 and a Justice of the
Peace in 1906. He is a trustee of the Pulok
Samah Burial Ground, a Visiting Justice of
Malacca Prisons, and a Licensing Justice under
the Liquors Ordinance for 1907.
Mr. Ong Kim Wee, one of the most
prominent Chinese residents of Malacca, is
the son of the late Mr. Ong Keng Hoon, who
for many years carried on an extensive
business as a planter and rice merchant in
Malacca. Born in 1851, he received his
education at Malacca Free School, and joined
his father's business at an early age. Since
the decease of his father in 1904 at the advanced
age of eighty-six, he has carried on the business
himself, and he is well known and widely
respected in commercial circles throughout
British Malaya. He owns the Merleman
estate of 6,200 acres, planted with tapioca
and interplanted with rubber, and an estate
of 5,000 acres, under the same products, near
Port Dickson. In addition, he has a good deal
of house property in Singapore, Malacca, and
Kuala Lumpor. He has always taken an in-
telligent interest in public affairs, and in 1897
he was made a Justice of the Peace, and six
years later became a member of the Malacca
Municipal Council, Local charitable objects
have benefited largely from his generosity,
and he has recently provided the whole cost
of constructing a roof to the landing-stage at
Malacca. Mr. Ong Kim Wee married a
daughter of the late Mr. Chua Tiang Kiam,
and has two sons and one daughter.
Mr. L. E. Koek.— Born at West Kensing-
ton, London, on February 24, 1878, Mr. L. E.
Koek, secretary to the Municipal Commission,
is a son of the late Mr, Edwin Koek, solicitor, of
Singapore. After finishing his education at
Highbury House, St. Leonard's-on-Sea, he was
apprenticed in 1893 to a wholesale counting-
house for four years, then served under articles
with a solicitor for four years, and had two
years' mercantile experience. This useful train-
ing completed, Mr. Koek received, in October,
1903, the appointment which he now holds.
He is a member of the local clubs, and his
recreations are tennis and golf.
Dr. Francis Croucher, the Colonial
Surgeon and Municipal Health Officer of
Malacca, is a son of Mr. J. S. Croucher,
C,E,, of Blackheath (retired). Born in London
on November 30, 1866, he completed his educa-
tion at Aberdeen University, where he graduated
M.B. in 1889, and commenced his professional
career as Resident Medical Officer of the Sea-
men's Branch Hospital. After serving there
for a year he sailed for thirteen months on the
P. and O, steamers as surgeon, and in 1893
was appointed House-Surgeon in Singapore
Government Hospital. Since that time he has
served in various capacities (including that
of Colonial Surgeon resident at Singapore)
in the public medical institutions of the colony.
Dr. Croucher, who is a widower with two sons,
married a daughter of the late Mr. W. Bristow,
solicitor, Blackheath. He is a member of the
British Medical Association and also of the
Sports Club, London, and of the Singapore Club.
Mr. Harry Lupton, M,J.I,E.,the Municipal
Engineer, is also Government Superintendent
of Works at Malacca. A sketch of his career
appears under the heading " Public Works
Department."
DISCOVERY OF OLD COINS.
Some seven years ago, in the course of
excavation work near the mouth of the Malacca
river, a considerable number of old coins was
made of tin, and bear the date 1511 (the year
in which the Portuguese took possession of
Malacca), or closely following years. With re-
gard to their discovery the Hon. W. Egerton,
a former Resident Councillor of Malacca,
writes :
" The Malacca coins were found in digging
a channel from the mouth of the river seawards.
Outside the mouth there is a deep pool, and
beyond that a bank submerged at high water,
extending some half mile or more seawards.
It was in this bank the coins were found
scattered here and there, not in large pockets.
The bank contained quantities of household
detritus, broken crockery, and old ironware,
bricks, earthenware, &c. I think it is quite
possible that buildings on piles, like those now
seen on the foreshore, may have been built on
this bank, or possibly all this rubbish was
thrown out of ships at anchor, or washed down
out of the river. Most of the coins were found
in the first hundred yards outside the big pool
referred to above. There must be many still
there."
Of Asiatic coins there were about 150,
most of them so defaced as to be unde-
cipherable. A few that were wholly or partly
deciphered bore Arabic characters, and some
of them are referred to the period before the
Portuguese occupation, which lasted from 1511
to 1641. From 1641 to 1795 Malacca was held
by the Dutch, from 1795 to 1818 by the English,
from 1818 to 1824 by the Dutch again, and
since then by the English. The coins in the
collection which date from the first Dutch
occupation are nearly all well known, but it is
otherwise with a large number of tin coins
struck by the Portuguese in Malacca itself at
the mint established by Albuquerque imme-
diately after the conquest of the place. Of
these the oldest specimens are three coins in
OLD COINS.
found scattered in the mud. These coins, which
are of great historic interest, are now preserved
in. Raffles Museum, Singapore. Two papers
descriptive of them have been contributed by
Dr. R, Hanitsch, Curator of the Museum, to the
y ■tirtial of the Straits Branch of the Royal
Asiatic Society,
The collection contains coins of both Asiatic
and European origin. The European coins —
Portuguese, Dutch, and English — relate to prac-
tically the whole period of the various European
occupations of Malacca — some four hundred
years. The most interesting are those of
Portuguese origin, for they form the oldest
archaeological record of the colony. They are
excellent condition belonging to the reign of
King Emanuel, who was on the throne when
Malacca was captured. Their diameter is
lyj- inches, their weight 10-3 to io'8 grammes,
and they are probably bastardos, equal to
100 dinheiros (the smallest denomination
issued). On the obverse side they bear the
Portuguese coat-of-arms, around which is the
inscription :
EMANUEL ;
P : ET : A : DOVINE.
The last word might stand for " Domine," the
others mean " Emanuel Rex PortugaIi;e et
Algarbiorum. " On the reverse side is a device
844
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
of the sphere, used as a symbol of the glorious
world-wide conquests of Portugal (Figs. 2
and 2A).
The coin pictured on Fig. i, of which there
is only one specimen, was probably struck at
Goa, as its obverse bears a device very like the
wheel, the symbol of the martyrdom of St.
Catherine, the patron saint of Goa. Its reverse
is entirely smooth. The size of the coin is
irV inches, its weight 8'9 grammes.
Dating from the reign of the next king,
John III. (1521-57) there are between fifty and
sixty coins. These bear on the reverse the
usual sphere, and on the obverse an inscription
set around the device of a cross of the Order of
Christ. There are also some smaller tin coins
of the same reign, and others belonging to that
of the succeeding King of Portugal, Sebastian.
Towards the end of 1904 the Hon. R. Bland,
Resident Councillor of Malacca, obtained more
coins from the locality in which the first collec-
tion had been discovered, and presented them
to the Raffles Museum. Of these the most
remarkable were six huge tin coins, struck in
two varieties, giving neither a date nor the
name of the ruler, but having a pattern similar
to that of the coins issued by King Emanuel
and John III., namely, a cross on tjie
obverse and a sphere on the reverse. One
kind measures from 35 to 36 millimetres in
diameter, 6 millimetres in thickness, and weighs
from 37 to 41-5 grammes.
The Dutch never minted any coins especially
for Malacca, but used the coinage current in
Java. That island passed into several different
hands after the end of the sixteenth century,
viz. :
Compagnie van Verre te Amsterdam, 1594-
1602.
Compagnie van Verre te Middleburg, 1597-
1602.
Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, 1602-
i799.
Batavian Republic, 1800-7.
French Government, 1807-11.
British Government, 1811-16.
Dutch Government, 18 16.
Coins belonging to four of these epochs were
found at Malacca.
It would appear that the two companies Van
Verre issued silver coins only, but the collection
does not contain any specimen of these.
The Dutch East India Company issued gold,
silver, and copper coins. Copper coins were
first minted in 1644, but in the Malacca collec-
tion, which contains no gold or silver coins, the
earliest copper coins date from 1729.
The Batavian Republic issued gold, silver, and
copper coins, but the collection does not contain
any. The Raffles Museum, however, possesses
a copper coin of that period. The obverse
shows the Dutch coat-of-arms, consisting of a
crowned shield enclosing a lion rampant, with
the figures 5 and -^ to the right and left of the
shield respectively. The reverse bears the
inscription "INDI,E BATAV. 1802."
The French Government issued silver and
copper coins, and two of the latter were found
at Malacca.
The British Government issued gold, silver,
copper, and lead coins during its occupation of
Java, but the Malacca collection contains none
of them. The ' Raffles Museum, however,
possesses silver rupees of the years 1812 and
1816, half rupees of 1813, copper stuivers of
1814, half stuivers of all the years i8ii to 1815,
copper duits of the years 1811 to 1813, and lead
duits of 1814.
The Dutch Government of Java has so far
issued no gold coins. The first silver coins,
which were guilders, seem to have been
struck in 1821, the first copper coins in 1817
or 1818. The Malacca collection contains four
copper coins.
In addition to coins current in Java, some
of the well-known tokens issued by British
merchants and traders in Sumatra were also
found, as well as some coins struck by the
British East India Company for Pinang, a coin
from India, and one from Holland.
MALACCA CLUB.
The principal rendezvous of the European
population of Malacca is the local club, formed
a few years ago chiefly through the instru-
mentality of Government officials, and com-
bining the functions of a sporting and social
institution. The membership numbers forty-
two gentlemen and six ladies, and the officers
are : President, the Hon. Mr. Evans ; treasurer.
Dr. Croucher ; captain, Mr. H. W. Firmstone ;
hon. secretary, Mr. W. E. Maddocks. The
committee comprises the officials and Messrs.
J. Howell, J. D'Arcy Symonds, and H. Lupton.
The club-house, in Fort Road, contains a
bilHard-room, a card-room, ladies'-room, and
bar and dressing rooms. In front of the
building there is a playing-field laid for tennis
and croquet. Tennis, croquet, and billiard
tournaments are held every year.
MALACCA CHINESE CLUB.
In 1889 twelve Chinese of Malacca formed
themselves into a club for recreative and social
purposes. The institution now has a member-
ship of fifty. Mr. Tan Jiak Lira is president,
Mr. Tan Kan Swee, vice-president, Mr. Chan
Geok Kum, hon. secretary, Mr. Chi Yang
Cheng, hon. treasurer, and the following are
the committee : Messrs. Beng Kong Seng,
Tan Jiak Choo, Tan Chim Tee, Chi Kan Cheng,
Chan Koon Cheng, and Lee Chin Guan.
THE FEDERATED MALAY STATES
KUALA LUMPOR.
HE choice of Kuala
Lurapor as the capital
of the Federated Malay
States was a wise one,
for the town is healthy,
offers many natural
advantages as a place
of residence, and, above
all, it is central. When
the Johore section of the Federated Malay
States Railway is completed, Kuala Lumpor
will be about equi-distant by rail from Singa-
pore and Pinang ; it is within an hour's
journey of Port Swettenham, which promises
to be the chief port of the Malay Peninsula ;
and it is only a few miles from Kuala Kubu,
from which town runs the trunk road into
Pahang. The Federal Government appreci-
ated and developed these advantages, and men
of business find it convenient to locate their
headquarters in the capital by reason of the
exceptional facilities which are offered for
intercommunication with other parts of the
peninsula.
Klang, the seat of the Sultans of Selangor,
was the original capital of the State. In those
days Kuala Lumpor was little more than a
name to the British. A journey to it was an
adventure, owing to the absence of any kind
of road. An attempt at tin mining in Kuala
Lumpor was made in 1857, and two years
later tin was exported. A rush of Chinese
miners to the new fields of enterprise followed.
As their numbers increased friction arose be-
tween the different factions. A series of fierce
^UALA LUMPOB IN 1882,
2 N
B46
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OP BRITISH MALAYA
GENERAL VIEW, SHOWING GOVERNMENT AND FEDERAL OFFICES.
quarrels broke out, and resulted frequently
in bloodshed. The time produced its strong
man in the person of Yap Ah Loi. Driven
by poverty from his native country to even
greater privation in the land of his adop-
tion, he had, by sheer force of character,
attained to prosperity and great influence, and
when Captain Liu retired, he became the Captain
China. According to Chinese versions of the
history of his time, he succeeded in quelling
the rebellions and restoring the district to a
condition of comparative quiet. He owned
practically the whole of Kuala Lumpof, and is
said to have twice rebuilt the town. He was
the chief employer of labour, and discharged
the functions of a lawgiver. Upon his death
in 1886 Yap Ah Shak became the Captain
China.
The first British Resident of Selangor was
Mr. J. Guthrie Davidson. His successor.
Captain Bloomfield Douglas, held the opinion
that Klang, being a seaport, was the natural
capital of the State, and it was not until 1880,
five years after his appointment, that he made
Kuala Lumpor his headquarters.
In those days the only house of any preten-
tions was that of the Captain China ; what is
now the padang was a swamp, and the only
agricultural products raised in the neighbour-
hood were tapioca and sugar. The mines lay
in the direction of Ampang and Pudoh. There
were no roads. A tree-trunk was the only
form of bridge in existence, and a few clusters
of attap huts constituted the only dwell-
ings. But all this was soon changed. Mr.
(now Sir) F. A. Swettenham initiated reform
and progress. His successor, Mr. J. P. Rodger,
made the welfare of the town his personal
concern. He found it a hotbed of filth and
dirt ; he left it well advanced on the road to
modern cleanliness and sanitation, and his
name will go down to posterity in the annals
of the town and in the name of an important
thoroughfare.
The rapid growth of Kuala Lumpor was,
however, scarcely foreseen, for Government
offices were hardly constructed before they
GROUP OF MEMBERS OF THE FEDERAL COUNCIL.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
847
-<^v^ii*.M i >«^^-.-<rrwiW:'frttI^^^/^^^^J|^
H.H. ALA'IDIN SULEIMAN BIN ALMERHUM RAJA MUSA, C.M.G., SULTAN OF SBLANGOB, AND FOLLOWERS.
were found to be inadequate. It is something
in tlie nature of an object-lesson to see the
Federal police headquarters on the hill over-
looking the padang, and to reflect that this
unpretentious building once sufficed for the
whole of the administrative offices and courts.
Now that Kuala Lumpor has become the
Federal capital, so vast is the machinery which
has been called into being that even the huge
pile of buildings stretching along one side of
the padang is inadequate, the work in some
departments oozing out of its confines into the
verandahs and odd corners. The idea of the
new Government buildings originated with
Mr.- (now Sir) William Maxwell, who was of
opinion that advertisement should not be
neglected even by a Government, and that a
few effective-looking buildings would give
an air of prosperity to Selangor that was lack-
ing in the neighbouring States, and cause the
wavering Chinaman to throw in his lot with
that of Selangor. The result was that in 1894
the foundation-stone of the most imposing
edifice in the Federated Malay States was
laid. The buildings comprise the Govern-
ment administrative offices, Town Hall, Post
Office, and Railway offices. They are in the
modern Saracenic style — the arabesque features
of which are in keeping with the surroundings
and appropriate in a Mahomedan country —
and are constructed of red brick, with imitation
stone dressings. A verandah 12 feet in width
runs round each block, the pointed arches giv-
ing good light, and at the same time protection
from the sun. A square clock-tower 135 feet in
^MSteid
Mil
\
H*;/:/ '^■■:
2S^^^^
l^£-r'-_'
j^sa
,--'^-r-^^
,wrft.^
'*»»»^^^^^%#«i(.i.r.i
^^
^^*
•0^.
.■'- V-. --" ---1 - >■
- — -^«
"^-r::-?^: :
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■^P^
£.
1 1 \ \ '.
■jj» . :v^'ff«3i- - ■*.-'-•'' -"^-V
Ws ^m
f#-^
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K-H-^lklL^. :
y- ■ :,.:,
:0iM§-
.^^rf^^Yr'
VIEW SHOWING RAILWAY OFFICES AND RAILWAY YARD.
848
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
height rises from the centre of the administration
block, and forms the main feature of the front,
whilst two lesser towers, of circular shape,
give access by means of spiral staircases to
the upper storey and form handsome additions"
to the facade. The foundation-stone at the base
of the clock-tower bears the following in-
scription :
H.H. Sir Abdul Samat, K.C.M.G.,
Sultan.
H.E. Sir Charles B. H. Mitchell, K.C.M.G.,
Governor, Straits Settlements.
W. H. Treacher, C.M.G.,
British Resident.
Tliis stone was laid by H.E. the Governor
on the 6th day of October, 1894.
A. C. NORMAX, C. E. Spooner, B.E.,
Architect. State Engineer.
Kuala Lumpor is a town of much beauty.
Situated on a small plain, at the junction of the
Klang and Gombak rivers, it is sheltered on
three sides by hills. Kuala Lumpor means,
literally, " mouth (of) mud," though the reason
for the name is not apparent. The area em-
braced by the town limits is extensive, and the
more important bungalows crown the tops of
a cluster of small hillocks. The slopes of these
eminences meet in pleasant little valleys, and
break up the landscape into the most pleasing
the main range, a clear blue outline, in which
the initiated may distinguish the Ginting
Bedai, one of the passes leading to Pahang.
In the heart of the town is the padang, an ideal
"Spotted Dog." It is the focus of European
sporting life, and, without disparagement to
the more aristocratic Lake Club, it has the
widest reputation of any club in the Federated
THE GOVERNMENT OFFICES.
playground, on which football, cricket, hocke)',
and tennis are in turn enjoyed. This grassy
plain is bounded on the east by the Govern-
ment Offices and the new Post Office, on the
west by the railway line, skirting Government
Hill ; on the south by the Chartered Bank and
the Government Printing Office, and on the
Malay States. The Recreation Club, which
fulfils a similar place in the life of people other
than Europeans, also overlooks the padang ;
and many are the hard struggles for supre-
macy in the field which take place between
the two institutions.
So thoroughly have the Asiatics assimilated
SELANGOB HOCKEY CLUB TEAM.
SELANGOR FOOTBALL CLUB TEAM AT "WHITSUN, 1907.
combinations, gratifying the beholder with an
endless panorama of charming views. Look-
ing eastwards, the Ulu Klang and Ampang
hills engage the sight, and carry the eye to
north by the modest little English church, and
the road leading to it. Adjoining the padang
is the great social institution of the town, the
Selangor Club, popularly known as the
the sporting proclivities of their instructors
that they not infrequently " better the instruc-
tion." It is doubtful whether anything in the
Federated Malay States has contributed more
I The Printing Office.
2. The Barracks.
5. The Railway Station.
SOME GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS.
3. Bachelors' Quarters for Civil Servants.
6. The Post Office.
4. The Residency.
3 N
850
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
to the furtherance of the intimate understand-
ing which exists between the various sections
of the community than the padangs, scattered
through the States, upon which all classes
meet in friendly emulation.
Early in 1888 it was suggested that it would
greatly enhance the beauty of Kuala Lumpof
if gardens were laid out. The Resident,
Mr. (now Sir) Frank Swettenham, entered
heartily into the proposal, and secured the
High Commissioner's sanction to the expen-
diture of the money required to carry it into
effect. A valley, through which ran a clear
stream, was chosenj the few Chinese living
there were bought out, the jungle was cleared.
plants, and quite recently a fern-house and an
orchid-house have been added. The whole
area of the gardens, about 187 acres, has been
constituted by enactment a wild-bird reserve,
whilst the lake has been stocked with fish
specially imported from China. Overlooking
the lake is " Carcosa," a large bungalow occu-
pied by the Resident-General and until recently
providing accommodation for his secretariat.
On the surrounding eminences are the bunga^
lows of leading Government officials, and in
the midst of the gardens is the Lake Club,
taking its name from the Sydney Lake.
Situated near the Damansara Road entrance
to the gardens is the Selangor State Museum,
MASTERS OF THE VICTORIA INSTITUTE.
and a lake was formed by throwing a bund
across the lower end of the valley. The lake,
completed in February of the following year,
was named the " Sydney Lake," in honour of
the wife of the Resident. In May, 1899, the
gardens vvere formally opened, in the presence
of H.E. Sir C. C. Smith, G.C.M.G., and H.E.
Sir Charles Warren, G.C.M.G., K.C.B. Since
that date they have been steadily improved,
and now form one of the most charming
features in the neighbourhood. Mr. A. R.
Venning, late Federal Secretary, who took a
prominent part in the formation of the gardens,
has his name perpetuated in a road whichruns
through them. A plant-house contains about
three hundred species of foliage and flowering
a new building of the Flemish order. It has a
central hall from which run two main galleries.
The removal from the old museum in Bukit
Nanas Road took place in 1906. The exhibits
include a very complete collection of birds
found in the peninsula, a fine collection
of Malayan- krises, interesting ethnological
examples, and the nucleus of a representa-
tive zoological collection. A library attached
to the Museum contains several valuable publi-
cations.
Near the Museum is the road leading to the
Eutopean Hospital, which, perched on the
summit of a hillock, commands a view well
calculated to induce malingering on the part
of the convalescent. There are two ways of
returning to the town — one past the Museum
and the cemetery, leaving the railway station
on the right and the General Hospital and the
American Episcopal Methodist Church on the
left ; the other, a devious route via Damansara
Road and Swettenham Road, past the new
quarters of the Agricultural Department, and
skirting the hill on which stands the bungalow
of the British Resident. The latter brings the
visitor out near the little Church of St. Mary
the Virgin, which provides Kuala Lumper with
a place where the " two or three " of the
Established Church of England may gather
together. It is a simple, unpretentious example
of the Early English Gothic style, cruciform
in plan, with a nave 87 feet by 28 feet and a
chancel 29 feet by 22 feet, with octagonal end.
It was built in 1894 and consecrated by the
Bishop of the diocese early in the following
year, the Rev. F. W. Haines being the chap-
lain. The affairs of the church are managed
by a chairman and a committee of six mem-
bers elected by the congregation, and the
chaplain, now the Rev, G. M. Thompson, is
paid partly by the Society for the Propagation
of the Gospel, partly by the Government, and
partly by the voluntary offerings of the con-
gregation, A Tamil missionary is also attached
to the church.
From the Town Hall a drive may be taken
along the Batu Road past the Institute of
Medical Research and the District Hospital to
the racecourse. Returning by another road,
a turning to the rear of the Government build-
ings takes the visitor to the business part of the
town, where he will be astonished to find what
a large proportion of the trade is done by
Chinese. At night-time the streets are a sight
to be remembered, but of all the recollections
which the visitor will carry away with him,
the most vivid will be those of the gambling
shops legalised by the Government. Lit up
with a fascinating brilliance, these popular
places of resort are thronged with men intoxi-
cated by the love for play, but so inured to
the excitement that their faces wear a mask
of stolid indifference. The principal games
played are poeh, fan-tan, chap-ji-ki, and various
card games.
In the vicinity of Weld Hill, on which stands
the club of that name, are the golf links, with a
well situated pavilion, the old rifle range, and
the Law Courts ; whilst on Bukit Nanas Hill
are situated the headquarters of the Roman
Catholic Mission in the neighbourhood, the
Roman Catholic Church, and the new school,
with accommodation for six hundred boys,
known as St. John's Institution.
Returning to High Street, past the Federal
Dispensary, the Victoria Institute — an English
school with about six hundred boys on the
register — is reached, and on the opposite side
of the road is the Chinese secretariat. In this
vicinity, too, lies the Chinese Roman Catholic
Church, a handsome structure dedicated to
Our Lady of the Rosary. Hard by is the
convent, the sequestered scene of the labours
of a devout sisterhood, working for the benefit
of all classes, irrespective of creed or race.
A short journey by rail includes two interest-
ing features of the neighbourhood— the central
railway workshops, equipped with the most
modern machinery for the construction and
repair of engines and rolling stock, and the
famous Batu Caves. By road, the new rifle
range, near the old racecourse, the grand stand
of which is now the Federal Home for Women,
is within four miles of the town, whilst in
another direction Hes the Malay Settlement, a
unique experiment made by Government with
a view to meeting unique conditions.
There are several Chinese temples scattered
about the town. The chief of these are the
Sze Yah Miu, a Buddhist temple in High
Street, founded by Yap Ah Loi, for all classes ;
the Kwan Yim Thong (the Goddess of Mercy),
on the Ampang Road ; the Kon Yim Miu, on
d
H
a
H
1—1
EH
S62 TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
PROMINENT RESIDENTS OP KUALA LUMPOR AND DISTRICT.
1. R. G. HicKEY, Harbour Master, Port Swettenham. 2. H, E. SwAX, Second Asst. Dist. Officer. 3. S. R. SsilTH, Acting Executive Engineer for Selangor P.W.D.
4. G. E. Cobb, Kuala Lumpor. 5. T. H. T. Rogers, Advocate and Solicitor, Kuala Lumpor. 6. G. Buchanan, Chief Officer, Kuala Lumpor Fire Brigade.
7. L. B. VON DONOP, Secretary. Kuala Lumpor Sanitary Board. 8. J. Scott Mason, District Officer, Klang. 9. T. A. Moffatt, Surgeon Dentist, Kuala Lumpor.
10. J. G. T. POOLEY, Kuala Lumpor. II. H. G. R. Leonard, Asst. Supt. Immigration, Klang. 12. Dr. Malcolm Watson, Senior District M.O., Klang.
13. E. W. N. Wyatt, Asst. Dist. Officer, Klang. 14. A. -Fox, Kuala Lumpor.
the Third Cheras Road, for vegetarians ; the
Kong Siu Ooi Kwan, a Cantonese and Halska
friendly society's house, and the Fooi Chiu
Ooi Kwan, a Hakka temple, in Petaling Street ;
the Tin How Miu, for Hylams, in Sultan Street ;
and Ling Shan Che, a monastery for Chinese
Buddhist monks. About nine-tenths of the
Chinese are followers of Confucius ; most of
the remainder are Taoists.
THE SANITARY BOARD.
The Sanitary Board of Kuala Lumpor was
established in 1890 with a view to interesting
the inhabitants in the conservancy and im-
provement of the town. The membership
comprises a number of Government officers,
with a sprinkling of unofficial members
selected by the British Resident to represent
the European and native communities. A paid
Chairman and staff are appointed by the
Government. Meetings are held fortnightly at
the offices of the Sanitary Board, and the
minutes containing the Board's recommenda-
tions are forwarded to the Resident for his
information and approval.
The area under the Sanitary Board's control
is about nine square miles, and includes the
mining village of Sungei Besi, of two or three
thousand inhabitants, about nine miles to the
south, and the village of Ampang, six miles to
the east of Kuala Lumpor. The population of
the whole area was returned at 32,381 in 1901,
when the last census was taken, and it is
growing rapidly. The number of births regis-
tered in 1906 was 486. The low rate of 12-3
per thousand of the population is accounted
for by the excessive preponderance of male
population over female. The death-rate was
6S'0i per mille, dysentery, beri-beri, malaria,
and phthisis being the principal causes of
death.
The duties of the Board consist in the laying
out of the town, the regulation of buildings and
building operations ; the reservation of open
spaces ; the provision of public water supply ;
the cleansing, watering, repairing, and lighting
of the streets ; the supervision of sani&tion ;
the inspection of foodstuffs ; the establish-
ment and regulation of markets and slaughter-
houses ; the registration and licensing of
bakeries, dairies, laundries, street-stalls, com-
mon lodging-houses, eating-houses, and other
places of public resort ; the establishment of
public baths for natives ; the prevention of
nuisances ; the removal of obstructions in
verandahs and footways ; the repair or destruc-
tion of dangerous premises ; and all other
matters affecting the general welfare of the
inhabitants. In furtherance of these objects
the Board has power to frame and pass by-
laws, subject to the approval of the Govern-
ment, and to levy an annual rate upon lands,
houses, and buildings not exceeding 15 per
cent, of their annual value. In this connection
it is worthy of note that the Board are invested
with power to rate vacant lands, though, at
present, it is intended to exercise this power
only in regard to land in the central portions
of the town. The idea is to encourage
building, or rather to discourage owners from
holding land for speculative purposes and
making no use of it.
The revenue of the Board in 1906 was
262,304 dollars, and the expenditure 394,419
dollars, as compared with 55,593 dollars and
102,778 dollars respectively in 1901.
The town area contains nearly go miles of
macadam roads, exclusive of bridle-paths. The
existing bridges over the Klang and Gombak
rivers are shortly to be widened in order to
carry roadways of 40 feet, with footpaths on
either side.
The water supply, until recently ample for
all purposes, has become inadequate by reason
of the unexpectedly rapid growth of the town.
The existing supply is obtained from a catch-
ment area of 400 acres, and is impounded in
a reservoir on the Ampang Road, having a
capacity of 37,710,000 gallons. This is supple-
mented by a supply brought in from the upper
reaches of the Ampang river, through steel
and earthenware pipes, derived from a catch-
ment area of about 700 acres. The average
daily consumption in 1906 was 535,160 gallons,
which, assuming the population to be 33,000, is
equivalent to 16-22 gallons per head. It has
now been decided so to extend the waterworks
as to exclude the possibility of shortage. The
new scheme provides for a supply from the
main river in the Ampang valley, distributed
from a service reservoir to be built on Weld
Hill. This will increase the supply by 150,000
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
853
gallons a day ; and the intention is tliat tlie old
reservoir shall be used as a high-level supply
for the residential part of the town, whilst the
new service will provide an independent town
or low level supply. The aim of the Govern-
ment is to supply 35 gallons per head for a
population of 60,000, and it is hoped that the
scheme will be completed in about eighteen
months' time. A nominal revenue is derived
from pipes and fittings and private supplies.
The general public are served by dipper
fountains.
• Kuala Lumpor is lit principally by electricity,
which superseded the old form of oil lamps in
September, 1906. The current is generated
at a power station situated some miles from
the town along the Gombak road, by turbines
of 2,600 h.p., and distributed from a transform-
ing station near the Gombak Bridge. In
addition to gf miles of transmission cable,
there were at the end of igo6 18J miles of
overhead and 5J miles of underground dis-
tributing mains ; but the radius is being
continually extended, and these figures must
be taken as falling far short of those of the
present day. There were 57 arc, 2 Nernst,
and nearly 500 glow lamps on the public
lighting circuit ; whilst 6 Government build-
ings, 66 Government quarters, and 36 privale
houses were supplied at the end of 1906.
Current is also transmitted to the Central
Railway Workshops on the Batu Road, the
machinery there being all motor-driven.
Mr. Edward Shaw Hose, Chairman of
the Sanitary Board, Kuala Lumpor, and Super-
intendent of Prisons for the State of Selangor,
is a son of the present Bishop of Singapore,
and was born in 1871. Educated at Blundells'
School, Tiverton, he joined the Perak Civil
Service at the age of twenty as a junior officer.
Passing in Malay in 1892, he became Acting
Financial Assistant at Kuala Kangsa, and
subsequently secretary to the Sultan. He held
successively the posts of Demarcation Officer,
Kinta ; Assistant District Magistrate and
Financial Assistant, Kuala Kangsa ; Collector
of Land Revenue, Krian ; Acting Collector of
Land Revenue, Larut ; Acting Magistrate,
Larut ; Acting District Magistrate, Batang
Padang ; Assistant Secretary to the Govern-
THB AMPANG WATERWORKS.
ROAD TO THE WATERWORKS.
ment. Assistant Secretary to the Resident,
Acting Collector of Land Revenues, Larut, and
Registrar nf Titles, North Perak ; and Acting
District Officer, Larut and Krian. In March,
1904, he was transferred to the colony, where
he acted successively as Deputy" Public
Prosecutor, Singapore, Second Magistrate,
and Commissioner of the Court of Requests.
In October of the same year he was appointed
t<j his present position.
E. Burnside.— The Acting Secretary to the
Resident of Selangor is Mr. Edmund Burnside,
who holds a substantive appointment in the
Land Revenue Department. He entered the
Perak Civil Service in 1888 after having been
for five years private secretary to the Chief
Justice of Ceylon. He held a long series of
magisterial and other appointments in the
State until 1903, when he was transferi'ed to
Selangor as I)istrict Officer of Ulu Langat. He
returned to Perak for a time to act as Secretary
to the Resident, and was then appointed
Collector of Land Revenue, Kuala Lumpor,
and Registrar of Titles. He became in 1904
Acting Secretary to the Resident of Selangor,
and in the same year acted for a time as British
Resident. Mr. Burnside, who was born in
1863, lives in Kuala Lumpor.
J. E. Jackson. — The Executive Engineer
at Kuala Lumpor, Mr. James Edward Jackson,
A.M.I.C.E., is, ex officio, a. member of the Sani-
tary Board. He joined the Selangor Govern-
854
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OP BRITISH MALAYA
ment Service as an assistant engineer in igoo,
shortly afterwards becoming District Engineer,
Kuala Selangor, and Acting Supernumerary
Engineer, Kuala Lumpor. In 1904 he was
transferred to Perak, and in 1906, on return
from leave, he again came under the Selangor
Government in his present capacity.
Dr. Ernest Aston Otho Travers,
M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., who has occupied the
position of State Surgeon of Selangor since
1897, was born in 1866, and took up the ap-
pointment of Residency Surgeon, Negri Sam-
bilan, in 1887. To his duties there were added
for a time those of Acting Protector of Indian
Immigrants and Acting Magistrate. In 1891
he was made Residency Surgeon of Selangor,
and later he carried out for three years the ad-
ditional duties of Health Officer. Dr. Travers
resides at Kuala Lumpor, and is identified with
Tillotson, of Beckbury Hall. Mr. Baxendale
is a member of the Wyndham and Sports
Clubs, London, and of most local clubs.
Raja Alang Iskandar, a son of the Sultan
of Perak, was appointed Assistant-Commis-
sioner of Police, Kuala Lumpor, in 1905. By
virtue of his office he has a seat on the Sani-
tary Board. He was born in 1881, and was
privately educated at Oxford.
Raja Mahmud. — Raja Mahmud bin Sul-
tan Mahomed is the present Penghulu of the
Malay Agricultural Settlement at Kuala Lum-
por and a member of the committee of
management.
Inche Tamby Abdullah. — A prominent
merchant, Inche Tamby Abdullah, in addition
to being a m.ember of the Sanitary Board, is a
trustee of the Victoria Institute, a member of
the Board of Visiting Justices, and one of the
born in that settlement in 1859. After finish-
ing his education at Raffles Institution, he
carried on business for several years as a
general trader and military contractor. In
1884 he left Singapore and settled in Kuala
Lumpor as a merchant and tin miner. He
advanced money on mines, &c., and achieved
great prosperity. Now he is the lessee of all
the private mines in Selangor of the Sultan of
the State. He also owns mines in Selangor,
Perak, Kedah, Siam, and Pahang, and property
in Kuala Lumpor, Pinang, and Singapore.
Mr. Doorasamy takes a great interest in educa-
tion, and gives largely to charities. His is a
well-known name amongst the Tamil coolies
on the estates, for when they are obliged to
leave their employment through sickness they
go to him and are provided with two meals
daily. Besides being a member of the Sani-
1. B. DOOEASAMY PILLAY AND SONS.
2, R. DOOBASAMY PILLAY'S MINE AT SUNGEI PBTAY.
most of the local clubs and institutions. He is
a keen sportsman.
Mr. Arthur Salisbury Baxendale is
head of the firm of Baxendale & Devitt,
merchants, Kuala Lumpor. He was born in
1866, and was educated at Leamington College
and at the School of Electrical Engineering,
London. From 1888 to 1906 he was head of
the Post and Telegraph Department, Selangor.
In 1900 and 1902 he was sent as Special Civil
Commissioner to the Cocos-Keeling Islands,
and when called as a witness before the Cables
Communication Committee suggested the two
principal recommendations, namely, the con-
nection of Ceylon with the Cocos-Keeling
Islands by cable and of Burma and Pinang
by land line. His publications include " The
Ball," "The Planters' Telegraph Code," &c.
He married Violet, eldest daughter of Colonel
committee of management of the Public Gar-
dens, Kuala Lumpor. He resides in Malacca.
Towkay Lee Kong Lam. — -Towkay Lee
Kong Lam, another member of the Sanitary
Board, is a well-known merchant in Kuala Lum-
por. He was formerly secretary to Towkay Loke
Yew, and for many years conducted the business
of the miUionaire. Towkay Lee Kong Lam is a
member of the Board of Visiting Justices, Kuala
Lumpor, and of the Board of Visitors to the
Lunatic Asylum, a trustee of the Victoria Insti-
tute, and a member of the committee of
management of the Public Gardens. He re-
sides in Kuala Lumpor.
Mr. R. Doorasamy Pillay is a Tamil
gentleman highly esteemed both in the com-
mercial and social life of Kuala Lumpor. He
is a son of the late Mr. Ramasamy Pillay, who
was a contractor of Singapore, and be was
tary Board, Mr. Doorasamy is a Visiting Jus-
tice of Gaols. He is married and has three
sons.
Other Members.— Dr. R, Z. Thornley,
Health Officer ; Mr. H. C. Ridges, Protector of
Chinese ; Mr. H. M. Hatchell, Deputy Commis-
sioner of Police ; Mr. H. Redfearn Shaw, Super-
intendent of Revenue Surveys ; and Mr. A. B.
Hubback, Architectural Assistant, are ex-officio
members of the Board, and their biographies
appear elsewhere. The remaining member is
Towkay San Ah Wing, a well-known mer-
chant, whose career finds a place in another
part of this book.
L. B. Von Donop. — The Secretary to the
Sanitary Board is Mr. Lionel Brenton von
Donop, now on leave. Born in 1855, he entered
the service of the Selangor Government in 1893
as First Clerk in the P.W.D. head oHice
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
855
and later in the same year was appointed
to his present post. In 1906 he acted as
Chairman of the Board during the absence of
Mr. Hose.
Mr. Charles Buchanan. — As the result of
a pleasure trip to Singapore at the age of nine-
teen Mr. Charles Buchanan became the Secretary
of the Sanitary Board and first Lieutenant of the
Fire Brigade at Kuala Lumpor. He was born
in Scotland in 1876, his father, Mr. Alexander
Wingate Buchanan, being a well-known Glas-
gow barrister. Mr. Buchanan was educated at
Glasgow, andin 1895 came to Singapore with his
cousin, Mr. James Gardener, and continued his
journey to China, where, for eighteen months,
he studied the language. On returning to the
Straits Settlements he joined the Government
service in the Judiciary department in Singa-
pore, and in 1892 was transferred to the secre-
tariat at Kuala Lumpor. Two years later he
was appointed to the Treasury at Ulu Lungat,
and in 1895 to the Police Department at Kuala
Lumpor. Afterwards he was re-attached to the
secretariat, and then obtained the post of Sec-
retary to the Sanitary Board. His connection
with the Fire Brigade dates from 1892. He
was made Lieutenant in 1900, and Lieutenant
and Secretary in igo6. Mr. Buchanan has been
awarded the long service medal of the National
Fire Brigades' Union, and during his member-
ship of the brigade has obtained about eighty-
five prizes, including cups and other awards in
competitions in Kuala Lumpor.
THE FIRE BRIGADE.
Although a voluntary organisation, the Fire
Brigade is equipped by the Government. It
was started in the early eighties, with Captain
H. F. Bellamy, the Deputy State Engineer, as
chief officer and eighteen members, and it was
equipped with a horse-engine and the usual
accessories. At the present day the brigade con-
sists of thirty European members and twenty
natives, a motor fire-engine has replaced the
horse-drawn appliance, and before long a
motor hose tender will be added as an aux-
iliary. The chief officer is Mr. R. Charter, of
the Public Works Department, and the second
in command is Mr. Buchanan, who holds also
the position of secretary and treasurer. The
present Fire Station on the Ampang Road
was opened on October 30, 1893, by Mr.
W. H. Treacher, C.M.G., the then Resident.
It is in communication with the residences
of all the firemen and with street fire
alarms. The public is warned of any out-
break by gun-fire. Annual competitions are
held, and long service is recognised, Messrs.
Charter, Buchanan, J. Brown, C. Wilson, and
four native firemen having received medals
from the National Fire Brigades' Union for ten
years' service. Captain Bellamy still has the
interests of the brigade at heart, and retains
the post of honorary chief officer.
SELANGOR CHINESE CHAMBER
OF COMMERCE.
In the early history of Chinese mercantile
and mining activities in the State of Selangor,
business questions were generally discussed at
meetings held in Chop Tong Him Loong,
owned by the esteemed and wealthy Towkay
Loke Yew, This primitive arrangement,
however, was not allowed to continue
long. Mr. San Ah Wing, a public-spirited
gentleman of Kuala Lumpor, began an active
agitation in favour of the establishment of a
properly constituted Chamber of Commerce,
and as the result of a series of lucid and
forcible articles written by him and published
in the Malay Mail, a largely attended meeting
of merchants and miners was held at the
General Farm in Kuala Lumpor, and it was
unanimously decided to form the Selangor
Chamber of Commerce. An inaugural meeting
was held at the Selangor Miners' Association
on March 27, 1904, and the following office-
bearers were appointed : Chairman, Towkay
Loke Yew ; vice-chairmen, Towkays Chan
Sow Lin and Loke Chow Kit ; committee,
Towkays Chin Choon, Low Luan Gan, Lee
Kong Lam, Kan Choon, San Kee, Chia Boon
Teat, Yap Long Hin, Wee Hap Lang, Khoo
Hock Chong, Ong Chee Slew, Wong Wan Fan,
Wong Tau San, Fong Swee Chee, Mak Chak
Sang, San Ah Wing, Sin Chew Kee, Hoi Guan,
Eng Hoh Seong, Seng Soon, Fong On, Chin
duties of the office were undertaken by Mr.
Loon Len Yew, a well-known member of the
local community.
CLUBS.
The Selangor Club in Kuala Lumpor,
frequently referred to as the " Spotted Dog,"
is one of the most popular institutions of its
kind in the Federated Malay States. Its
membership roll contains about 650 names,
and includes all the Europeans of standing in
the States. It was founded in 1884 partly as
SELANGOR CHINESE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE,
Sin Hee and Mah Hoi Chee ; and hon. secre-
tary, Mr. San Ah Wing.
The Chamber holds regular meetings at its
rooms in Rodger Street. The representations
which it has made to the Government at
different times have invariably received every
consideration, and it has been accorded the
privilege of nominating two members to the
Kuala Lumpor Sanitary Board, as representa-
tives of the local Chinese community.
For the year 1907 Towkay Chan Sow Lin
was chairman, and Messrs. San Ah Wing and
Wee Hap Lang were the vice-chairmen. Mr.
Choo Cheong Khay, the hon. secretary, went
to Manchuria in May, and in his absence the
a sporting club for the purpose of fostering
games of various kinds, such as football,
cricket, &c., and partly as a reading-room for
the use of Government officials and others. Mr.
H. Conway Belfield, the British Resident, is ex
officio the president, and Mr. R. G. Watson
the vice-president. The club premises are on
the western side of the padang, and contain
three billiard tables, large reading and card
rooms, and a bar. They are lighted through-
out with electricity and fitted with fans. The
club house is the headquarters of the Turf
Club, of the Choral Society, and also of the
Automobile Club. The club is managed by
a committee of members elected annually.
«56
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
THE SBLANGOR CLUB.
WELD HILL CLUB.
FROM THE PORCH OF THE LAKE CLUB.
Mr. H. M. Rankilor has been the secretary
since 1905.
The Lake Club, ideally situated in the
midst of the public gardens, was founded in 1 891 .
It soon came to be regarded as the aristo-
cratic club of the neighbourhood, and before
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THE INTERIOR OP THE BATU CAVES.
many years had elapsed it became necessary
to enlarge the premises. To-day the club has
a membership of about 400, which includes
most of the leading Government officials in the
States. Captain Talbot is the president and
Mr. H. G. B. Vane the hon. secretary, these
gentlemen, with seven others, forming the
committee. Tennis, billiards, and the oppor-
. tunities afforded for social intercourse, not to
mention its charming situation, are the chief
attractions of the institution.
The Recreation Club was formed in i8g6
to provide a resort for Government servants
and others who had no club of their own. An
appeal for subscriptions was generously
responded to, and a building was erected on
the south-west side of the padang and pro-
vided with all the requisites of a modern social
institution. The club has a large membership,
and is ably managed by a committee elected
annually.
The Weld Hill Residential Club was
established by some of the prominent Chinese
residents of Kuala Lumpor in 1906, mainly for
the convenience of visitors from up-country
stations, as there is a great lack of accom-
modation in town. The founders of the club
were Messrs. Loke Chow Thye, Teh Seow
Teng, and Khoo Keng Hooi, the present hon.
secretary. The club, which has been elegantly
furnished, occupies an admirable site overlook-
ing the racecourse, and stands in tastefully laid
out grounds, covering an area of seven acres,
rented from Mr. Lee Kong Lam at a nominal
figure. Mr. Loke Chow Thye, with his
customary generosity, presented a full-sized
billiard table to the club, Mr. Eu Tong Sen
a handsome marble bar, and Mr. Lee Kong
Lam a drawing-room^ suite. The. subscription
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
857
to the club is higher than that of any other
dub in the Federated Malay States. A unique
feature of the institution is that it is the resort
of many of the Chinese ladies of Kuala
Lumper. The lady visitors indulge in games
of tennis and croquet, and the male members,
who include not a few Europeans, are about
to establish a rifle club among themselves.
Mr. Loke Chow Thye is president of the club
and Mr. Khoo Keng Hooi hon. secretary and
treasurer.
THE MALAY SETTLEMENT.
The original idea of the Malay Settlement
at Kuala Lumpor was to establish an industrial
school for the instruction of Malays in the
making of the silver ware peculiar to the
country, weaving, &c., and to provide Malays
employed in Kuala Lumpor with a reserve in
which they could live according to their own
manners and customs. For this purpose 350
acres of land within the municipal limits were
set aside by the Government under the Land
Enactment, and lots of half an acre were
granted to Malays willing to settle there. The
conditions imposed upon Malays taking advant-
age of this offer were that they should build
their own houses and fence and plant the land.
Their allotment was free of rent or premium.
Certain buildings were erected with a view
to giving the technical instruction already
referred to,, and the settlers were required to
devote a certain amount of their time to
learning Malay industries ; but the Govern-
ment found they had not secured the right
class of people. Most of the men, haying work
in Kuala Lumpor, could not find time for
weaving and silver work ; and eventually it
was decided to abandon the technical instruc-
tion and allow the settlement to become a
purely residential reserve, where the Malays
can live in surroundings natural to them,
instead of being huddled together in back
streets, burdened with the high rents prevailing
in Kuala Lumpor. Mr. A. Hale, now a District
Officer in Perak, took a great interest in the
settlement when it was first formed, and spent
much time in the endeavour to make it of use
to the Malay community. In recognition of
this his name has been given to the main road
through the reserve. The Kaja Muda of Kuala
Lumpor is ex officio chairman of the committee
of management, and the Inspector of Schools is
ex officio vice-chairman. Mr. B. O. Stoney,
the hon. secretary ,takes an indefatigable interest
in the welfare of the community.
THE BATU CAVES.
Though by no means the most extensive,
the Batu ("Stone") Caves, of which we give
illustrations, are perhaps more widely known
than any others in the Federated Malay States.
They are -distant about seven miles from Kuala
Lumpor, and may be reached either by rail —
the short line to the central railway work-
shops having been extended to the stone
quarries near the caves — or by road. Ten
minutes' walk from the station brings one to
the entrance to the light cave, usually the first
visited. It is a huge dome-like cavern, impres-
sive in its vastness, exciting in the mind a
vague awe. Beyond is a lesser cave, lit by a
circular shaft, covered from top to bottom
with profuse vegetation, a patch of sky, fringed
with a delicate leafy tracery, being visible.
On returning to the entrance to the cave a
charming view opens out and compels a
moment's halt. It is but a short distance to the
dark cave, the exploration of which is an
experience not soon forgotten. Some two or
three hundred yards from the entrance, after
scrambling over some rocky ground, a shallow
stream of water is met crossing the tunnel, and.
this must be waded if the inner recesses of the
cave are to be penetrated. There is, however,
no difficulty if acetylene lamps are carried and
a stick is used to feel the way across. The
main gallery runs on for some distance further,
and enters a large open space, from which
several directions may be taken. Whether the
caves have ever been thoroughly explored it
is not easy to say. In several places there are
considerable drops, which can only be descended
with the aid of a knotted rope fastened to some
projection. In one of the galleries a narrow
iissure beneath a mass of rock gives access to a
rugged descent, at the far end of which is a'
shallow pit. Gaining the bottom of this pit by
means of a rope, a dozen or so paces over
swampy ground lead to what is, apparently, a
traced across the entrance to each, there need
be no fear of covering the same ground twice
or of leaving any gallery unvisited. Plenty
of curious openings tempt the adventurous,
many of them so slippery with wet guano that
a rope is absolutely necessary to avert disaster.
The caves are inhabited by bats, white
snakes, toads, and insects, with probably a few
of the smaller nocturnal carnivores. The toads
are of extraordinary size ; the snakes, which
live on bats, attain a length of 6 feet, and not
a few of the insects are rare and peculiar to the
limestone caves of the peninsula. The bats
fly in their thousands, and the floor of the caves
is covered with beds of guano, in some places
6 feet or more in thickness. These flitting
creatures fill the air with a subdued roar, as
THE BNTBANCE TO THE BATU CAVES.
fearful shaft, the depth of which can only be
conjectured. " One, two, three, four " may be
counted slowly before the thud of a stone
hurled into it is audible. At no point does the
stone strike the sides of the shaft, and it is
possible, if not probable, that the shaft may
penetrate the roof of another immense cavern.
Other galleries radiating from the large open
space already referred to may be explored in '
turn, and, if a wavy line or some other mark is.
of the sound of many waters. The incessant
noise is punctuated by the " chink, chink " of
water, which, charged with carbonate, drips
from the pendent stalactites on to their opposing
stalagmites. Some of these formations are
large and of great beauty.
At the foot of the hiil — for the entrances to
the caves described are about half-way up the
cliff — a path leads to other caves, less extensive,
but well worth visiting.
858
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
^w?
THE LAKES.
PERAK.
PERAK, with an area of 6,555 square miles,
is the largest of the Western States, and
the most important commercially. It extends
from 3° 37' to 6° 05' North latitude, and from
100° 3' to 101° 51' East longitude. Its boun-
daries are Province Wellesley, Kedah, and
Rahman on the north, Selangor on the south,
Kelantan and Pahang on the east, and the
Straits of Malacca on the west. The coast line
extends for about go miles.
The rivers of the State are numerous, and, in
general, are navigable for vessels of shallow
draught. The Perak river, near the mouth of
tribute from the Plus, the Kinta, and the Batang
Padang, all of which are deep enough to carry
cargo boats, and during its course it flows
through some of the loveliest scenery in the
Federated Malay States, notably that surround-
ing Kuala Kangsa. The Bernam river, form-
ing the southern boundary line of the State, is
navigable for 100 miles to steamers of three or
four hundred tons. A canal runs from Utan
Melintan, near the mouth of the river, to Teluk
Anson. Other rivers which may be mentioned
are the Binding, Bruas, Larut, Sa'petang, Kurau,
and Krian rivers.
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A
2
THE TOWN IN 1878, PROM THE OLD BESIDENCY.
which stands the port of Teluk Anson, takes its
rise in the northern hills and flows due south
for the greater part of its course. It receives
The uplands of Perak may be divided roughly
into two main chains of mountains and a fevsr
detached groups of hills. The highest range is
that which runs along the eastern boundary of
the State and forms the watershed of the
peninsula. Some of the peaks in this range
THE LATE J. . W. BIECH.
(First British Kesident o£ Perak.)
attain an altitude of 7,000 feet. The other chain
extends from the south of Larut to the northern
boundary of the State, the highest points
being Gunong Bubu (5,450 feet) and Gunong
Inas (5,^96 feet). These ranges enclose the
basins of the Perak and Kinta rivers, which are
separated by a smaller range of hills.
The geological formation of the State is
primarily granitic ; secondly, a large series of
beds of gneiss, quartzite, schist, and sandstone
is overlaid in many places by thick beds of
crystalline limestone ; thirdly come small
sheets of trap rock ; and fourthly, river gravels
and quaternary deposits. Much, however,
remains to be known as to the various periods
in which tlie Titanic upheavals responsible for
o
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O
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860
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
the present configuration of the country took
place. The scanty data available only permit
of the surmise that they were of comparatively
case in this formation, are penetrated by
numerous extensive caves of great beauty
The alluvial deposits, consisting chiefly
of
NEAR THE ESPLANADE.
recent date. The main hills are composed
almost entirely of granite, Some of the smaller
hills are of limestone, and, as frequently is the
detritus from the older formation, are richly
impregnated with tin and other metalliferous
ores, including lead, iron, gold, silver, copper,
zinc, arsenic, tungsten, manganese, bismuth,
and titanium. Marble of goo^ quality is
abundant, and is worked to a limited extent in
'■ypoh.
"The climate of Perak is by no means so try-
ing to the European as that of many other
countries at a greater distance from the equator.
The temperature has approximately the same
range as that of Selangor, varying in the low-
lying country between 70° and 90° F. in the
shade, with an average mean of from 80° to
85° F. The nights are always cool, with an
average temperature of 70° F. In the hills at
altitudes of about 3;ooo feet there is a con-
siderable fall in the temperature, the average
being 60° F. at night and 73° by day. The
wettest months in the year are March, April,
May, October, Novemberj and December, but
these cannot be regarded as true rainy seasons.
The average annual rainfall is about go inches.
Perak is by far the most populous State in
the Federation. In 1901, when the last census
was taken, the population was returned as
329,665, and in igo6 it was estimated that this
figure had increased to 413,000. The increase
was largely amongst the Chinese, The number
of aborigines in the State was returned as
7,982 at the last census. Perak compares
favourably with other parts of the peninsula as
regards general health.
The State is divided into ten districts— Larut,
Matang, Selama, Kinta, Krian, Kuala Kangsa,
Lower Perak, Batang Padang, Upper Perak,
and New Territory. The Federated Malay
States trunk railway, with branch lines from
Taiping to Port Weld and from Tapah Road to
Teluk Anson, forms the chief means of trans-
port. It is supplemented by a motor sei-vice
between Temoh and Chanderiang and between
CrVIL SERVANTS, PERAK.
I. G. P. CuscADEN, 2, J. P. Harper. 3. R. Pixkkey. 4. A. Hale. 5. F. A, Sugden. 6. P. T. Allen. 7. A. B. Stephens.
8. R. S. Wilkinson, B.A. q. Dr. M. J, Wright, M.B., CM. 10, T. W. Rowley. ii. Raja Chulan. 12. A. B. Voules, B.A.
13. A. E. Young, A.M.I.C.E., F.R.A.S., F.R.G.S. 14. C. W. H. COCHRANE, B.A. 15. W. CowAN,
THE CENTRAL POLICE STATION.
THE OLD GOVBENMENT OFFICES. THE HOSPITAL
THE RESIDENCY. THE HOUSE OF THE SECRETARY TO THE RESIDENT.
THE NEW GOVERNMENT OFFICES.
862
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
THE PEBAK CLUB.
THE NE^W CLUB.
SOME OF THE NEW CLUB MBMBEBS.
Tapah Road and Tapah Town ; whilst 602
miles of metalled roads, 83 miles of earth roads,
267 miles of bridle-paths, and 410 miles of other
paths are available for vehicular and pedestrian
The revenue of the State in igo6 was
14,282,484 dollars, as compared with 12,242,897
dollars in the preceding year. The expenditure
amounted to 8,776,478 dollars, or 1,365,500
NURSING STAFF OF THE HOSPITAL.
traffic. Telegraphs and telephones extend their
service over 629 miles of line and 1,177 miles
of wire, v.-hilst the postal arrangements in the
State are characterised by efficiency and
despatch.
dollars less than in 1905. The revenue in 1876
was only 273,043 dollars, and the expenditure
289,476 dollars. The enormous wealth of the
State is shown by the fact that the value of the
merchandise expoited in igo6 was 41,290,778
dollars. The exports included tin to the value
of 37,234,126 dollars and sugar to the value of
1,044,564 dollars, this latter sum being little
short of that for the whole of the exports in
1877, viz., 1,075,423 dollars. The chief sources
of revenue are the export duty on tin, which
yielded 5,433,709 dollars, as compared with
1,541,44.2 dollars in 1896 and 140,292 dollars in
1877 ; and licences, which brought in 2,279,475
dollars. The financial retiirns show excess
assets amounting to 16,721,965 dollars.
The principal industries are, of course, tin
mining and agriculture, and, while Selangor
takes precedence in regard to the output of
rubber, Perak exports far more tin and tin ore,
435.908 piculs, of the approximate value of
38,500,000 dollars, being the quantity sent out
of the State during 1906. A total area of 146,624
acres has been alienated for mining purposes,
whilst the industry gives employment to 107,057
coolies, whose labours are augmented by
machinery representing a force of 39,000 men.
Of 364,303 acres devoted to agricultural pro-
ducts, about 20,890 have been planted with
rubber, and during 1906 the quantity of rubber
exported was 1,122 piculs, of the value of
3^6,831 dollars. The other articles of export
include areca-nuts, blachan, coffee, copra, dry
and salt fish, hides, indigo, padi, pepper, pigs,
rice, sugar, and tapioca.
Imports, of the value of 2i,7i0j689 dollars,
consisted of live animals, food, drink, and
narcoiics — ^together representing two-thirds of
the total — raw materials, manufactured articles,
and sundries. The State spends nearly 4,000,000
doUjirs annually on rice, but, as a supply to
meet the local demand might easily be raised
in the country, the Government is doing its
utmost to encourage padi cultivation.
Taiping, situated in the Larut district, is the
capital of the State, the seat of the British
Resident, and the headquarters of the Malay
States -Guides. ■ It contains the principal Gov-
ernment buildings, a Museum which is one of
the most complete of its kind in existence, and
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864
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
a large prison which has lately been converted
into a convict establishment for the whole of
the Federated Malay States. The Perakand New
Clubs exist in friendly rivalry, and have in the
padang, which they overlook, a spacious play-
ground. The extensive public gardens are a
popular resort, and there are good golf links
situated amidst the most delightful surround-
ings. The climate is somewhat enervating, but
relief is to be had in the sanitaria known as
"The Tea Gardens" and "Maxwell's Hill,"
situated in the range of hills above the town
at elevations of 2,500 and 3,500 feet respectively.
It is interesting to note that the first railway in
Perak was that constructed between Port Weld
and Taiping in 1881, some eight years subse-
quent to the British occupation. The name of
Taiping, which means "Grand Peace," is
reminiscent of the pacific settlement of the
faction troubles amongst the Chinese which
led up to that occupation. In 1874 a regular
battle was fought in what was then Geluntong,
and 2,000 lives are said to have been lost. Sir
Andrew Clarke, then Governor of the Straits
Settlements, succeeded in reconciling the rival
leaders, and the name of " Taiping " was
bestowed on the place. The population of
Taiping was returned at 13,331 when the
census was taken in 1901, but there has been
a gradual increase since that date, and a certain
danger of overcrowding exists. The town has
an excellent supply of good water and is well
lighted.
Ipoh, by far the most prosperous town in the
State, lies in the heart of the Kinta valley, the
richest mining district in Malaya. It is about
five and a half hours' journey by rail from
Pinang. The town has grown rapidly since
B. D. Mcpherson.
J 901, when the census return gave the popula-
tion as 12,791. The buildings which replaced
the old attap sheds and huts of fifteen years ago
are themselves fast giving place to substantial
business premises, Land is being reclaimed,
bridges are being constructed, roads widened
and improved, and the town is rapidly becom-
ing a place of which its inhabitants may justly
be proud. The extent of the building opera-
tions may be gauged by the fact that one
Chinese towkay alone is building 300 shop
premises, and so great is the demand for
business and dwelling houses that land has
quadrupled in value during the past five years,
and, with the Ipoh-Tronoh railway nearing
completion, is still appreciating. Desirable
residential bungalows extend for two or three
miles along the Kuala Kangsa, Gopeng, and
Tambun roads, and in the opposite direction
the Silibin Road is becoming increasingly
popular as a suburban dwelling-place. The
water supply of the town has been considerably
augmented, the system of " Lux " lighting for
the public streets has been introduced, and a
public market and up-to-date abattoirs have
recently been provided, The educational
agencies of the town, already excellent, are
soon to be augmented by the addition of a
large English school •; whilst, in view of the
fact that the hospital accommodation is becom-
ing inadequate, it is probable that a new
hospital will shortly be built. Ipoh will soon
be able to boast a handsome clock tower,
which is being erected to the memory of the
late Mr. ]. W. W. Birch, the first British Resi-
dent of Perak, who was assassinated by Malays
for political reasons at Pasir Salak, on the
Perak river, in 1875. The memorial when
NEW MEDICAL HALL, IPOH;
(In course of construction.)
LADIES' BISLEY COMPETITORS, AUGUST, 1907. THE RANGE ON BISLEY DAY.
PERAK LADIES' RIFLE ASSOCIATION.
AT THE FIRING POINT — TWO VIEWS.
2 O
ABOUT IPOH TO'WN.
The Residency.
The Chinese Protectokate,
The Railway Station.
The Malay Kampoxg.
Leech Street.
Q
6
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868
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH IMALAYA
completed will have cost about 25,000 dollars,
most of which has been subscribed by the in-
habitants of Ipoh. The recently constructed
bridge joining the old and new towns will also
serve to perpetuate the name of Mr, Birch.
club and similar institutions, provide the means
of recreation. There is a hospital for Euro-
peans, and an English Church (Holy Trinity),
which draws its congregation from the Kinta
district.
centre. Gopeng is one of the oldest mining
towns in the State, and enjoys increasing
prosperity. The other towns mentioned are
in close proximity to Ipoh.
The port of Teluk Anson has grown apace
PROMINENT MINING AND BUSINESS MEN.
How W.4N YUK. EU POOX GUAX.
Lam Yuen Saxg. Foo Fook Thve.
Law Foo,
Foo Chew Fan
Social intercourse is promoted by means of two
excellent European clubs, one of which was
recently opened by the Resident, and provision
has been made for the entertainment of the
Chinese population by the erection of a theatre
at a cost of 65,000 dollars. The padang, the
new recreation ground for clerks, and the
People's Park are freely resorted to by those
interested in cricket, football, tennis, and
kindred sports and pastimes. The People's
Park, valued at the rate of the land that
surrounds it, represents a gift by the Govern-
ment to the town of 70,000 dollars. A new
Mahomedan mosque for Indians was built
during igo6.
Batu Gajah, twenty minutes by train from
Ipoh, derives its importance chiefly from the
fact that it is the centre of administration for
the Kinta district. Most of the Government
offices in the district are there situated, and
altogether form an imposing pile of buildings.
The European population is larger than in the
purely mining towns, and as a result there are
numbers of picturesque houses occup)'ing
advantageous positions on hilly ground. A
fine racecourse and golf links, together with a
Other townships in the Kinta district are
Kampar, Gopeng, Menglembu, Lahat, and
Papan. Kampar is a place of great promise,
and will probably become an important mining
WOO CHAY.
with the development of Lower Perak, though
the railway, which places it within two and a
half hours' journey of Ipoh, is now steadily
encroaching upon its seaborne traffic. Daily
steamer communication is maintained with
other ports in the peninsula, and a slip-way
affords facilities for the overhauling of Govern-
ment launches. The town is important as
being the administrative centre for the district.
There are no mines in the immediate vicinity,
and, in regard to agriculture, rubber has to a
large extent superseded sugar cultivation,
formerly one of the staple industries. Upwards
of 30,000 acres are under coconuts. The social
life of the small European commimity centres
in the club, a commodious structure with
tennis, billiards, and other attractions.
Kuala Kangsi, which stands on the noble
Perak river, is almost unrivalled in the penin-
sula for its loveliness and the charm of its
surroundings. It is the seat of the Sultan, and
many Malay chiefs make their home in the
vicinity. The public gardens are spacious and
are noted for their beauty. The town has a
good water supply, recently completed, and is
lighted by means of a "Lux" installation. It
is not now commercially important, but it
ranks high as a Malay educational centre. The
Malay College, a school for the sons of Rajas
and chiefs, and the Malay Art School are both
established here. The Sultan has three palaces
IPOH MOTOR MEET ON THE OCCASION OF THE FORMATION OF THE
PERAK AUTOMOBILE CLUB, 1907.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
869
in the locality — one built by the Government
and the others by himself — and there is also a
handsome mosque given by his Highness to his
people. Within four miles of the town is a
curiosity in the shape of a natural water-chute
siderable areas have been cleared for rubber.
Twenty-four estates have an aggregale of
17,635 acres devoted to this product. Tanjong
Malim, on the Bernam river, is a little mining
township on the Selangor boundary. The
Upper Perak jungles afford plenty of big-
game shooting.
In Krian, as elsewhere, several large estates,
formerly yielding enormous quantities of sugar,
have been converted into rubber plantations,
H. A. THOMAS.
called the " Menggelunchore." This is a
descent of about 50 feet down an almost per-
pendicular face of rock, over which runs an
inch of water into a pool about 6 feet square.
The pastime of sliding down this chute was
indulged in by the Malays long before the
occupation of the Federated Malay States by
the orang puteh (white men). Experts can
make the descent face downwards or back-
wards, and a few are able to jump from the
pool over an intermediate slab of granite into
a second pool. The "Menggelunchore" is,
however, rarely visited, as it is surrounded by
dense jungle and some distance from any
habitation.
The busiest town in the Kuala Kangsa dis-
trict is Sungei Siput, where mining is active
and building operations are brisk.
In the Batang Padang district the chief town
is Tapah, a few miles north-east of Tapah Road
junction, and connected with the railway at
that point by a motor-bus service. Tapah is
showing " signs of the times " in the rapid
extension of town improvements and sanitary
schemes. Besides tin, wolfram and gold, in
comparatively small quantities, are won in the
district, and on the main trunk road con-
MINING AND BUSINESS MEN OP KAMPAR.
Wong Fokg. sod Ah Yoxg.
LiM Kiiu Seng. Lam Loo King. Leb Tian Siew.
■■■ ^ J'] R„;5=-"-.M
STREET SCENE, KUALA KANGSA.
Para rubber having come to the front at an
opportune moment when a fall in prices had
seriously affected the sugar market. Padi is
grown more extensively here than in any other
district in the State, 31,090 acres being under
this form of cultivation. Krian is noted for
snipe-shooting, the season lasting from Sep-
tember to the middle of December. On
August 8, 1906, the work of seventeen years
of contemplation and construction was con-
summated by the opening of the Krian Irriga-
tion Works, which cost over a million and a
half dollars. The reservoir is ten square miles
in extent, and contains l,477j millions of cubic
feet of water. The main canal is 2 1 miles long,
and passes under the Kurau river by means of
syphons with a dip of 29 feet, and, rising again,
resumes its course ; the river in Hood-time has
a depth of 24 feet above the pipes. There are
15 miles of branch canals, and 140 miles of dis-
tributing canals. The irrigable area is 70,000
acres, and a good supply of potable water is
given to the district. The undertaking has
given genuine satisfaction to the native popula-
tion of thedislrict.
C. ALMA BAKER.
I & 4, VllCWS OF MiXE SHOWIXG WORKINGS AXD AERIAL TRAMWAYS. 2. PRIVATE RIFLE KANGE ON THE GROUNDS.
5. SUNGEI Kaia Tin Mines.
3. Residence at B.atu G.ajah.
SCENE NEAR IPOH.
THE CAVES.
THE HOT SPRINGS.
The Teeasuky.
VIEWS OF TELUK ANSON.
The Court House.
The Clock axd Water Tower.
872
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
PERAK STATE MUSEUM.
The saying that an institution is the lengthened
shadow of a man has never been more happily
illustrated than in the case of the Perak State
Museum at Taiping, which owes its great value
in large measure lo the devoted labours of Mr.
Leonard Wray, I.S.O., F.Z.S., &c. The museum
was started in 1883 at the suggestion of Mr.
Hugh Low, then British Resident of Perak, and
two rooms in the Government buildings were
allotted to the exhibits. Mr. Wray was
appointed curator, after having filled the posi-
tion of Superintendent of the Government Kill
Gardens at Larut, and with such zeal did he
throw himself into a task so congenial to his
natural bent that scarcely two years had elapsed
before the premises became inadequate, and
the present building was commenced in 1885.
Since then the Museum has been considerably
enlarged, and to-day contains a unique collec-
tion of Malayan and other exhibits — a collection
that may well be described as "the known
history of the peninsula in object-lessons." It
would be futile to attempt to enumerate even
the headings under which the exhibits are
grouped, seeing that up till the end of 1906 no
fewer than 13,000 cards had been used, in
registering and cataloguing them.
The comparative ethnological room contains
a collection of articles manufactured by people
Siam, and other places. There are photo-
graphs of types of different races in the
archipelago and the surrounding countries,
perhaps the most striking being those of the
Semangs and Sakais, the aborigines of the
peninsula, showing that the former have woolly
hair, like the negro. The antiquities include
relics of the Stone Age, ranging from the rudi-
mentary chipped stone implements of the
paleolithic to the more finished implements of
the neolithic period. One of the stone axes
shown is almost identical in pattern with an
axe still in use amongst the Malays. A number
of wedge-point implements has a peculiar
interest from the fact that in no other part of
the world have similar implements been found.
Relics of the cave-dwellers are shown, and
some pieces of iron are fabled to be the arm-
bones of the orang-utan. With regard to a
number of clay and laterite bricks and a slab
of cut granite which were found on the top of
Kedah peak, scientific conjecture is silent,
although the explanation "Siamese," usual in
cases of doubt, is resorted to by the Malays.
The historical section contains guns, swords,
bayonets, and other relics of the Chinese riots,
together with a number of tin bullets, with
pieces of glass and china cast in them, used
against the expedition to Pahang during the
disturbances. Very curious are the old tin
coins from the east coast. Included amongst
..-^f^rz-
H. ASHW^OBTH HOPE.
DB. JOHN CROSS.
BRIO MAXWELL.
DB. JAMBS E. M. BROWN.
iron to a limited extent, making arrow-heads
and rude knives. It is curious to note that,
whilst other weapons were poisoned, the
spears were not. Blowpipes in the hands of
the Sakais and Semangs are quiti formidable ;
of other nationalities resident in the Federated
Malay States, the idea being tcrshow the range
oif the various exhibits. In this collection are
included products of China, India, Arabia,
Japan, Xias, Sumatra, Fiji, Borneo, Papua,
the numismatic exhibits are some of the old
East India Company's coinage.
In the aboriginal section are many e: amples
of bark cloth and other dresses, weapons, and
musical instruments. The Semangs woiked
CHIN AH SAICK.
their tiny death-dealing arrows, discharged
from close quarters, have been known to kill
even seladang. The poison used is generally
the dried sap of the upas tree, and sometimes
an infusion from the roots of several of the
strychnos. The poison is smeared on wooden
spatulas, upon which the arrows are rubbed
just prior to use. Other exhibits in the section
are Sakai combs, hairpins, earrings, and nose-
sticks, necklaces of teeth, shells, beads, and
coins, head-dresses, bracelets, armlets, finger-
rings, and girdles.
Coming to local Malay exhibits, the visitor
is struck by the number of articles in everyday
use in the West which have their prototype
or counterpart in the peninsula : bamboo
syringes, cake moulds, strainers, waffle-irons,
paste-boards and rolling-pins. From the sec-
tion devoted to dress and personal belongings
shoes are conspicuoush' absent. A marvellous
ingenuity is displayed in the manufacture of
many kinds of fish traps. The models of boats
illustrate most of the ordinary means of river
transport. The pottery from the various States
is remarkable in that it is made without the aid
of the potter's wheel. A slab of wood resting
on a bag of earth, bamboo knives, and wooden
bats are the only appliances employed, and
with these and the deftness born of long
practice the potter models his clay into
ware of great utility and sometimes of
singular beauty.
Passing by the mat and basket work, the
model looms, and the spinning wheels, whirls,
and spindles, the toy section is reached. It
would be difficult to name a Western toy that
could not claim kindred here. Basket footballs.
Lower Ethnological Rooms.
PBRAK STATE MUSEUM, TAIPING.
The Museum.
The Zoological Room.
LIEUT. -COLONEL E. S. F. WALKER'S COLLECTION OP OLD CHINA.
2 O
874
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
a foi-m of backgammon, chess, kites, toy
weapons, catapults, cross-bows, stilts, popguns,
pegtops, spintops, humming tops, spilikins,
dolls and dolls' cradles, a game analogous to
the European game of " conquers," played
with durian pips instead of horse-chestnuts,
puzzles, and an ingenious toy which exactly
imitates the noise made by a frog, are but a
few of the exhibits. The tin 'toys cast by the
Malays, too, call for mention. They include
models of elephants, mountains, crocodiles,
masks — each, like the shadows, having its own
significance — used in Malay plays.
Customs are represented, among other things,
by a rice tree, which takes the place of the
bridal cake in Western weddings ; a model of
the platform and accessories used in Malay
marriage ceremonies ; a carved hoe, given by
the bridegroom to the bride, as a delicate hint
that she is expected to perform her daily quota
of work ; and a form of bamboo water-squirt,
used in the wedding festivities, and resembling
TAJANG WATERFALL, NEAR CHANDERIANG, PERAK.
tortoise, fish, cock-fighting, four-legged grass-
hoppers, and the like.
The musical instruments comprise various
gongs, tambourines, reed instruments, horns,
bamboo "bones," and xylophones. It is notice-
able on the instruments, which are "fretted,"
that the intervals do not correspond at all
nearly to those of European instruments ;
while on the sets of gongs, usually consisting
of six, no portion of the Western scale could
be distinguished. Near them are the leathern
figures which show as silhouettes in the Kulit
Wayang, or shadow plays, together with the
those responsible for "all the fun of the fair"
in rural England. Illustrative of religious ob-
servances are censers, carved posts, and stones,
book-rests for holding the Koran, and flags set
to mark the sacred prayer spots or kramats,
which are analogous to the " high places " in
Biblical language. Malay magic is charac-
terised by a curious belief that sickness may
be sent away in model boats and rafts, known
as " anchar lanchang," which are cast adrift, or
banished by being deposited in an anchar and
slung in a tree. It is the practice of witch-
doctors to inflict on tiny lay figures the pains
and torments they desire to befall the originals,
just as did the mediaeval practitioners of the
black art in Europe. For the guidance of
intending housebreakers there are thieves'
calendars to show the most auspicious nights
for their nefarious calling. There is a fine col-
lection of medicines — used for the most part in
conjunction with witchcraft — teeth files, requi-
sites for blackening the teeth — a custom which
is dying out — and surgical instruments used in
accouchment. Forms of the taboo are exhi-
bited, consisting of pieces of cloth, or other
material, pendant from a string, which, when
hung across the door of a house, prohibit
entrance.
All the equipment of opium-smokers and the
devices used in the preparation of betel-nut are
to be seen in the museum. The custom of
betel, or sirih, eating is surrounded by quite a
small canon of ceremonies. A man is asked to
take sirih in much the same way as he is
pressed to partake of liquid refreshment
amongst Europeans. The sirih chimbals, in
which the betel is carried, are often fine
examples of repousse work. Some handsome
specimens of silver and other ware, a collec-
tion of metal boxes in which the Malays carry
tobacco for chewing purposes, and various
domestic utensils find a place in the Museum.
A nail-guard serves to remind one of the Malay
custom of allowing the nail of the little finger
to grow long as a sign that the wearer does no
work.
By far the most interesting and valuable
section of the Museum is that devoted to
weapons. There are shields of brass and
hide and cane. There are "crow's feet" of
sharpened bamboo spikes, tied together in such
a fashion that, no matter how they fall, there
are points standing upward. They were for-
merly strewn in great numbers around a camp
as a safeguard against the enemy. Of great
interest are the swords, with handles contain-
ing small cups. These are copies of the
swords of the Crusaders, who drank sacrifi-
cial wine from the cups before going into
battle, and 'were probably introduced by the
Portuguese and Dutch. Malayan swords,
with heavy ends and slightly curved blades ;
bills, used as weapons ; daggers and ripping
knives, in the use of which the Malays acquired
a cunning skill ; a magnificent collection of
krises, curved and straight, with handles at
right angles to the blades ; long execution
krises, a thrust from which, properly dealt,
as the executioner stood behind the kneeling
criminal, passed between the shoulders and
into the heart ; ceremonial krises, carried on
cushions before the Sultan or Raja ; spears with
kris or with square-section blades — these in
endless variety form a collection unrivalled in
completeness and value. The beauty of many
of the weapons, especially of the krises, is
enhanced by the watered markings produced
in the steel by means of arsenic.
The natural history section contains a repre-
sentative collection of the fauna of the penin-
sula, upon which an article appears elsewhere.
A rare specimen is the beast known as the
Cynogale Bennetti, a civit cat with the habits of
an otter. A very large collection of birds
peculiar to the peninsula includes, despite the
common belief to the contrary, several excel-
lent songsters. Comparatively few parrots
are indigenous, only four species being known.
The collection of reptiles is fairly complete,
and is by no means the least interesting feature
of the section.
The vast mineral wealth of the country is
represented by specimens of corundum, anti-
mony, arsenic, bismuth, barium, calciums,
traces of chromium, carbon, copper, gold and
cyanide of gold, iron (unfortunately unwork-
able for want of coal), loadstone or magnetite,
lead, lithium (the boon of the gouty), mag-
nesium, manganese, silicious quartz (which is
harder than steel), tin ores of almost every
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
875
conceivable colour and texture, wolfram (from
which the tungsten of commerce is obtained),
stolzite or tungstate of lead (a curiosity of very
rare occurrence), zinc, &c. Mineral economics
include pottery and clays, tiles, bricks, and
several varieties of marbles. Many are the
examples of the curious implements of native
husbandry. There is the knife for reaping
padi, which is cut one ear at a time, just as the
plants themselves are raised in nurseries and
planted out with the aid of a dibble. Then there
are spades, ploughs, hoes, an irrigating plant,
reaping hooks, winnows, sieves, scarecrows,
and other devices to mitigate the curse of
Adam, all of which serve to illustrate the truth
of the saying that there is nothing new under
the sun.
Mention of the library, in which there are
hundreds of valuable works of reference, and
of the herbarium, the extent of which may be
judged from the fact that the flora of the
peninsula is probably larger than that of India,
will serve to complete an article in which the
writer has done but indifferent justice to one
of the most valuable -institutions in the Fede-
rated Malay States.
THE IPOH CLUB.
The Ipoh Club is situated on a rise looking
southwards across the recreation ground,
seven and a half acres in area. The recreation
ground is used for football, cricket, tennis and
N. R. CEUM EWING.
(See p. S78,)
croquet ; and the club premises include bar,
billiard, card, reading, bath and dressing rooms.
There is also a theatre hall in which concerts
and performances of the Kinta Amateur
Dramatic Club frequently take place. For
the convenience of motorists a motor garage
of considerable size has been provided. The
site of the club buildings and of the recreation
ground is gazetted as a Government Reserve to
be maintained by the committee of the Ipoh
Club. The buildings at present are rather
disconnected, and the Government are being
requested to grant the club a more definite
title to the land, in order that the committee may
erect a building more worthy of the com-
mercial centre of Perak. The Ipoh Club is one
of the very few clubs, in the Federated Malay
States in which Government officials do not
form the majority of attending members. By
its constitution, the management of the club is
vested in a committee of nine members,
eight of whom are elected at a general meeting
of the club. The District Officer of Kinta is,
ex officio, president. The notice boards of the
club are always full of intimations of forth-
coming gymkhanas, football, hockey, cricket,
tennis and golf matches, and a notice relating
to some steeplechase seems never to be absent.
There are about 500 members of (he club, and
there are also many visiting members. The
club is in a very flourishing condition, and only
needs better accommodation to make it one
of the best clubs in the peninsula. The office-
bearers are Messrs. J. Brewster, president ;
J. H. Tatlock, vice-president ; A. B. McLennan,
hon. secretary; T. G. D. Cooper, L. M. Wood-
ward, J. I. Philips, R. Reid, S. Martin, and F.
Wickett, committee ; and Mr. A. H. Richards,
secretary.
present spacious structure, built on a site
granted by the Perak Government from plans
prepared by Mr. Lefroy in 1893, was opened in
the following year. The building scheme was
financed by the issue of debentures to the
value of 10,000 dollars, nearly the whole of
which has now been paid off. The clubhouse
overlooks the cricket and football grounds, and
affords a magnificent view of the Taiping Hill.=.
It contains airy and well furnished reading,
billiard and card rooms, a large dining room.
H.H. SIB IDBIS MBRSID-BL-AAZAM SHAH, G.C.M.G., SULTAN OP PERAK.
NEW CLUB, TAIPING.
The leading social institution in the capital
of Perak is the New Club, and here the re-
presentative European population of the district
— military, civil servants and planters— as-
semble. The club was formed in 1892. The
chief promoters of it were the late Dr. Shepherd,
and Messrs. Lefroy, Mais, Gray, and Aylesbury.
During the first year of its existence the club-
house was sold to the Sultan of Perak, and the
and five residential chambers. As is customary
in the Federated Malay States, ladies are
privileged to use the reading-room. To the
rear of the club building there is a croquet
ground. The Taiping Golf Club has its head-
quarters in the New Club house. The member-
ship numbers 270. Much of the success of the
institution" is due to the efforts of Mr. Tate,
who was the secretary until 1903. The affairs
of the club are managed by a committee con-
sisting of Colonel Walker, C.M.G., president
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878
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
and hon. secretary, Major Vanrenen, and
Messrs. Stephens, Barnard, Hale, Tate, Voules,
and Lawder- Watson.
Mr. N. R. Crum Ewing, B.A., holds the
substantive appointment pf Assistant District
Officer at Ipoh, but is acting as District Officer
at Kajang, Ulu Langat. He is a son of the
late Mr. H. E. Crum Ewing, formerly sugar
planter in Demerara and Jamaica, and was
born in Glasgow thirty-three years ago. He
was educated at Harrow and at Pembroke
College, Cambridge, where he gained a
classical scholarship. He obtained the degree
of B.A. in 1896, and came to the Federated
Malay States in the year following. Mr. Crum
Ewing has been acting District Officer at
Tampin and Ulu Langat, and Assistant District
Officer at Rembau and at Ipoh, though he did
not take up the latter appointment. He has
served also as Acting Magistrate, Seremban ;
Acting Circuit Magistrate ; and Acting Second
Magistrate, Kuala Lumpor. Mr. Crum Ewing
is a member of the East India, United Service
and Grosvenor Clubs, England, and of all local
clubs. He finds recreation in tennis and golf.
Mr. Percy Tothill Allen came to Selangor
in 1902 from Christ's College, Cambridge, where
he had graduated two years previously, and has
since served under the Protector of Chinese at
Pinang, and in the Malang district office of
Perak. He was born at Elesmere, Shropshire,
in 1878, and before joining college was
educated at Highjate School.
^-
''^
j^^
SELANGOR.
THOUGH ranking next to Perak in com-
mercial importance, Selangor takes
precedence of the neighbouring States by
reason of being the seat of the Government of
the Federation. It has an area of about 3,200
the Negri Sambilan on the south-east, and the
Straits of Malacca on the west and south-west.
It extends from 2° 33' 52"' North latitude to
3° 48' 46", and from 100° 46' S7" East longitude
to 102° o' 53"
KLANG CLUB.
square miles, and is situated on the western
side of the Malay Peninsula. Its boundaries
are Perak on the north, Pahang on the east.
It is well watered. The Burnam river, which
marks the northern boundary of the State, takes
its rise in the range overlooking Tanjong
Malim ; the Selangor river drains the Ulu
Selangor ; and the Klang river runs through
Kuala Lumpor and the extensive rubber
country in the Klang district. The Klang
river is the only river readily accessible to
vessels of deep draught, and Port Swettenham,
situated at its mouth, has in consequence every
promise of a prosperous future.
From the chain of granite hills which forms
the backbone of the peninsula the geological
formation ranges through quartzite, schists,
limestone, sandstones, and clay-slates to peaty
swamps. Extensive alluvial deposits of tin are
found inland, the ore occurring in the form of
tin oxide. If the phrase may be permitted, the
country is saturated with tin, there being hardly
any formation in which it is not to be found.
Iron occurs in large quantities in laterite
formations, but cannot be worked at a profit
owing to the absence of coal. The low-lying
lands are rich in peaty loam, so admirably
adapted for agricultural purposes that the vast
acreages alienated for rubber are being added
to almost daily.
Selangor possesses a climate of uniform
temperature, with a mean of 70° F. by night
and 87° F. in the shade by day. On the hills,
at an altitude of 3,000 feet, the thermometer
registers about ten degrees less by night and
fourteen less by day. The rainfall is large, and
is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year.
In the hilly inland districts it varies from 100
to 200 inches, and in the low-lying country
from 70 to 100 inches per annum.
The State is divided into six districts — Kuala
Lumpor, Ulu Selangor, Klang, Kuala Langat,
Kuala Selangor, and Ulu Langat, with an
estimated total population of 283,619, as
compared with 168,789 shown in the census
return of 1901. The birth-rate in 1906 was
9'942, or slightly less than in the preceding
year, while the death-rate was 26756, as
compared with 29'275 in 1905 — a satisfactory
indication that the general sanitation of
populous centres is improving, and that the
Government appreciates the necessity for the
strict supervision of immigrants.
There are well-made roads between the
principal towns in the State, including 454
miles of metalled cart-roads, 63 miles of
gravelled roads, 57 miles of earth-roads, and
210 miles of bridle-paths. The gradients are
good. The local railway service is most
creditable, and a great point is made of
punctuality ; whilst the recent development of
motor-bus routes has added greatly to the
facilities for travel. Telegraphic and tele-
phonic communication is maintained over 351
miles of line and 844 miles of wire.
The principal sources of income are land,
customs, and licences. The total revenue
amounted in 1906 to 9,803,184 dollars, as
compared with 8,857,793 dollars in 1905 and
193,476 dollars in 1876. The principal headings
of expenditure are personal emoluments and
other charges, public works, and federal
charges, the total amounting in igo6 to
TWENTIETH CET^^TURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
879
6,414,237 dollars, as compared with 7,186,146
dollars in 1905 and 191,174 dollars in 1876.
These figures give an epitome of the prosperity
mining revenue is steadily increasing, and
realised 3,357,033 dollars in 1906, the amount of
tin and ore exported being valued at 23,831,220
STREET SCENE, KLANG.
of the State under British rule, but this pros-
perity is shown in more detail by a comparison
of the land revenue in 1906, when 342,911
dollars was realised, with that of 1878, when
the receipts from this source were only 1,326
dollars. In ten years the receipts from licences
were trebled, and those from customs rose from
1,816,664 dollars to 4,281,176 dollars. Land
sales, which have only of recent years been
treated as a separate item, realised 86,986
dollars in 1901 and 212,613 dollars in 1906,
whilst in the same period forest revenue
increased from 42,751 dollars to 155,025 dollars.
In 1880 the postal and telegraph receipts were
27 dollars ; in igo6 they were 154,241 dollars.
The export duty on tin brought in 3,357,033
dollars during igo6, as compared with 111,920
dollars in 1878, or, to take a more recent figure,
with 1,377,325 dollars in 1896.
The assets of the State are valued at
18,852,351 dollars, and the liabilities at 308,795
dollars, testifying to a condition of financial
soundness scarcely equalled anywhere in the
world. The expenditure on capital account
incurred by the State up to the end of 1906
was 12,032,856 dollars.
Out of 2,082,382 dollars expended on public
works during 1906, 1,173,413 dollars came
under the heading of special services, and
included 270,180 dollars for new roads and
29,873 dollars for bridge construction, showing
how keenly alive the Government are to the
needs of the country.
Without going into further figures — for an
article on " Finance " appears elsewhere — re-
ference must now be made to the chief in-
dustries carried on in Selangor, and to its trade
in general.
Tin mining and agriculture are the staple
industries. The former is chiefly in the
hands of the Chinese, though of late years
a large amount of European capital has
been profitably invested in mining shares.
The industry gives employment to about 71,240
labourers — not so large a number as in 1905,
owing to the increased use of machinery. The
dollars. The latest available returns give a
total area of 68,000 acres of land alienated for
mining purposes, the principal mines being in
the neighbourhood of Kuala Lumpor.
matter of offering facilities to planters, reaping
in return an enormous accession of revenue,
with a promise of still larger returns within
the next few years. During 1906 69,968 acres
of agricultural land were alienated, bringing
the total up to 310,000. The Land Offices have
been busy dealing with innumerable applica-
tions for rubber country, the revenue derived
during the year amounting to upwards of half a
million dollars, against 340.360 dollars in 1905
and 322,163 dollars in 1904. The quantity ex-
ported during igo6 was 674,100 lbs., of the
value of 1,234,326 dollars, on which duty was
paid to the amount of 29,386 dollars.
The total area under coconuts at the close of
1906 was estimated at 19,216 acres, and 12,720
piculs of copra of the value of 43,826 dollars
were exported. The most suitable districts for
coconuts lie along the coast, and in the hands
of skilled cultivators the industry is most pro-
fitable.
Padi, or rice, is grown extensively in some
parts of the State, notably in the Kuang dis-
trict, but that it by no means supplies the
demand may be seen from the fact that rice
to the value of 4,134,562 dollars was imported
in 1906.
Coffee cultivation is decreasing. The value
of the 1906 export was 523,361 dollars, against
684,422 dollars in (he previous year. The chief
reason is that rubber is fast superseding the
product, coffee being now planted rather as a
catch-crop than as a staple. Areca-nuts to the
value of 20,664 dollars, pepper to the value of
55>67S dollars, and vegetables to the value of
53,185 dollars were exported during 1906, the
last two items showing a marked decrease as
compared with the figures for the preceding
year. No tapioca was exported.
The total exports from Selangor during 1906
were valued at 26,613,302 dollars, an increase
of 342,348 dollars over the total for the preced-
ing twelve months.
Kuala Lumpor, the capital of the State, is
described in detail under a separate heading
ON THE KLANG RIVEE.
Foremost among the agricultural enterprises
of the State is rubber growing. The Govern-
ment has exerted itself to the utmost in the
Klang, the next town of importance, is the
centre of one of the largest agricultural dis-
tricts in the Federated Malay States, an area of
880
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MAI.AYA
84,000 acres having been alienated for cultiva-
tion, of which about 34,000 acres are under
Para rubber. The district has a population of
ham was opened ; but, fortunately, with the
advent of rubber came a rapid rise in its
prosperity. In regard to genera! health Klang
GENERAL VIEW OF KUALA KUBU.
about 32,000, including over 200 Europeans.
The town itself, which has a population of
8,000, lies near the mouth of the river. It is
the seat of the Sultans of Selarigor,'and origi-
stands a monument to the effectiveness of anti-
malarial measures. Years ago it was one of
the worst fever districts in the State, but drain-
age and improved sanitation have changed it
OYSTER BED AT PULAU ANGSA I (ISLAND OP GEESE).
(Fifleen miles from Port Swettenham).
The club, which, lil<e the new Istana (or
Sultan's palace), overlooks the padang, has a
large membership, and is the centre of the
social life of the neighbourhood. There is a
little English Church at Klang, and excellent
educational facilities are provided by the Anglo-
Chinese School. The District Hospital has
recently been extended.
A new steel bridge is shortly to be built over
the Klang river at an estimated cost of about
;£20,ooo. This bridge will consist of four spans
of 140 feet each, supported on cylindrical piers,
each of an estimated depth of go feet. It is
expected that it will be opened for traffic by the
end of iqo8. Klang is about half an hour's rail-
way journey from Kuala Lumpor, and the
neighbourhood is opened up by good roads.
There is an abundant supply of good water.
Port Swettenham, though only a small town
at present, is rapidly coming into prominence
by reason of the deep water anchorage it offers
to ocean-going vessels, and because of its prox-
imity to Kuala Lumpor. Liners can wharf
alongside the railway line, and excellent pro-
vision has been made for handling and ware-
housing merchandise. There is a regular
service of coasting steamers between Port
Swettenham and the other ports of British
Malaya.
The chief towns in the Ulu Selangor district
are Kuala Kubu, Serendah, Kawang, Rasu, Ulu
Yam Bharu, and Kalumpong. The principal
occupation of the inhabitants is mining, for
which 19,360 acres have been opened up, and
nally was the capital of the State. It was also
formerly the port for Selangor, and it was a
serious blow to the town when Port Swetten-
into a healthy town, in which a European may
live quite comfortably and enjoy complete
immunity from malaria.
SULTAN'S PALACE, KLANG.
144,300 acres remain available. An area of
58,849 acres has been taken up for rubber
planting and general agriculture. Kuala Kubu,
which lies on the main line, at a distance of 39
miles from Kuala Lumpor, is a growing, pros-
perous town of from 3,000 to 4,000 inhabitants.
A motor-bus service in connection with the
Federated Malay States Railway runs to Pa-
hang, and passes " The Gap," where a Govern-
ment bungalow invites the traveller to stay
awhile. Another hill-station is situated on
Bukit Kutu, commonly known as " Treacher's
Hill," after a former British Resident of Selan-
gor. There are two bungalows 3,464 feet
above sea-level, and the temperature is re-
freshing to the jaded plain-dweller, whilst the
sight of familiar flowers and vegetables is a
pleasant relief after the tropical luxuriance of
the lowlands. The district is traversed by 85
miles of metalled roads, 17 miles of gravelled
roads, and 28 miles of bridle-paths.
Kajang, the principal town in the Ulu Langat
district, is 15 miles to the south-west of Kuala
Lumpor by rail. It is a mining centre, and
latterly a considerable acreage in the neigh-
bourhood has been placed under Para rubbei-.
Not far from Kajang are the sulphur springs at
Dusun Tua, with a Government bungalow for
the accommodation of Government oflicials
and other Europeans. The remaining town-
ships in the district are Ulu Langat, Cheras,
Semenyih.and Beranang, near the Negri Sam-
bilan border. The district is drained by the
Langat river.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
881
The town of Kuala Selangor, formerly a little
fishing village, has of recent years become
more important owing to the occupation of the
surrounding country by rubber planters. It is
after remaining with them for four years, he
proceeded to the diggings when the gold rush
occurred in Western Australia. Mr. Swan
stayed there for two years, and in 1896 came
to the Federated Malay States to engage
in coffee planting. When this industry was
affected adversely by the fall in the price of the
product, Mr. Swan joined the Government
service as a settlement officer in July, 1899. In
1904 he was made Acting Second Assistant
District Officer in Ulu Selangor, and in igo6
was given the substantive post. He is a son
of Mr. Henry Swan, retired Stipendiary Magis-
trate, of Adelaide.
Mr. E. W. N. Wyatt, the Assistant
District Oflicer of the Klang district of
Selangor, was born at Dulwich on August 4,
1879. Educated at Malvern and Cambridge,
he passed the Civil Service examination
towards the close of 1903, and was appointed
as a cadet to the Federated Malay States, where
he has served since in various capacities. He
is a son of Mr. George Nevile Wyatt, late of
and Acting District Officer of Klang, Selangor,
was educated at Manchester Grammar School
and at liirasenose College, Oxford. He was
appointed a cadet in the Federated Malay States
service in i8g6, and has since acted in various
capacities. He is a student of Lincoln's Inn
and a member of London University. An all-
round sportsman, Mr. Mason is president of
the Polo Club and a successful hunter of big
game. His wife is a daughter of the late Kev.
John Metcalfe, M.A., of Yorkshire.
Mr. J. E. Nathan, Assistant District
Officer, Kajang, is a son of Mr. Bernard
Nathan, a wool manufacturer, of Bradford,
Yorkshire. Born in 1881, he was educated at
Bradford School and at New College, Oxford,
where he took the degree of B.A. In 1904 he
was appointed cadet in the Straits Settlements
Civil Service. Upon his arrival in the colony
he was attached to the Resident Councillor's
office at Pinang. In the following year Mr.
Nathan served in the Post Office and the
Colonial Secretarv's office. In 1906 he was
J. B. NATHAN.
(Assistant District Officer, Kajang, Selangor.)
28 miles from Klang, and may be reached by
the Federated Malay States railway motor-bus,
which runs there twice daily. There is weekly
communication with Singapore by coasting
steamer, and with Port Swettenham by
Government launch. The district of Kuala
Selangor covers 880 square miles, and is purely
agricultural. An area of 67,420 acres is under
cultivation, including 7,000 acres of rubber.
The river at this point is navigable for coast-
ing steamers, the sand-bar being covered at
flood spring tide by 20 feet of water. Among
the hospitals in the district is the Beriberi
Hospital at Jeram, where valuable clinical
observations are made in connection with
the Federal Medical Institute.
Jugra, a small town in the sparsely populated
district of Kuala Langat, was at one time the
residence of the Sultans of Selangor. On
Jugra Island a concession of 140 acres has
been allotted by Government to a number of
Sakais (aborigines), the majority of whom are
employed on a neighbouring rubber estate.
The whole of the country in this part of the
State is flat, except in the direction of Sepang,
on the borders of Negri Sambilan, where a
range of hills gives rise to the Sungei (River)
Sepang, which forms part of the boundary of
Selangor.
Mr. Henry E. Swan. — Born at Adelaide,
South Australia, on September 29, 1874, Mr.
Henry E. Swan, the second Assistant District
Officer of Ulu Selangor, was educated at St.
Peter's College in his native town. Subse-
quently he joined the South Australian Land
Mortgage and Agency Company as a clerk, and
PULAU ANGSA REST-HOUSE.
the 5th Fusiliers. An all-round sportsman, he
has played cricket for the Federated Malay
States against the colony.
Mr. J. Scott Mason. — A native of Man-
chester, where he was born on March 3r, 187^,
Mr. J. Scott Mason, District Officer of Jelebu
Acting Fourth Magistrate, Singapore, and later
Acting Third Magistrate, Pinang, in which
capacity he served until appointed to his
present post in 1907. Mr. Nathan is a member
of the local clubs, and finds recreation in tennis,
football, and shooting.
NEGRI SAMBILAN.
THE Negri Sambilan, or Nine States, origin-
ally consisted of Klang, which has now
been absorbed into the State of Selangor,
Sungei Ujong, Jelebu, Sri Menanti, Rembau,
Johol, Jempol, Inas, and Gemencheh. The
territory now known as the Negri Sambilan
comprises an area of about 2,600 square miles,
extending from latitude 2° 24' North to
latitude 3° 11' North, and from longitude
101° 50' East 10 longitude 102° 45' East.
It is, roughly, pentagonal in shape, its boun-
daries being Selangor, Pahang, Johore, Malacca,
and the Straits of Malacca. The coastline
extends for 30 miles.
In its physical geography and geology the
State resembles Selangor. The main range of
mountains forms practically a part of that which
traverses the whole length of the peninsula.
It extends from Jelebu in a southerly direction
for 20 miles, and then turns to the south-
east as far as the Malacca boundary. The
principal peaks are the Telapak Berok (a little
less than 4,000 feet), the Gunong Angsi (2,695
feet), and the Gunong Tampin (1,800 feet).
The range forms a watershed in which several
rivers have their source. The largest of these,
the Muar river, runs through Kuala Pilah, and
on through Johore into the Straits of Malacca.
Its tributaries are the Jelei, Jempol, Johol,
Gemencheh, and Gemas. Other streams which
empty themselves into the Straits are the Sungei
Sepang, which forms part of the Selangor
boundary line, the Sungei Linggi, and the
882
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAVA
Pahang to the north-east of the peninsula.
There is a branch line connecting Seremban
with Port Diclcson.
The revenue of the State amounted in 1906 to
2,487,090 dollars, an increase of 131,555 dollars
over that of 1905, and more than twenty times
the amount of the revenue in 1H76. The ex-
penditure in 1906 wras 2,274,337 dollars, or
60,24^ dollars more than in the precedinjj year.
In 1S76 the expenditure was only 104,538
dollars. The State has a credit balance of
1,311,049 dollars.
Negri Sambilan is divided into five districts
for administrative purposes— the Coast, Serem-
ban, Jelebu, Kuala Pilah, and Tampin. The
roads are generally good, and considerable
extensions are in progress, including a road
from Kuala Pilah to the Pahang boundary to
meet the Bentong road.
The town of Seremban, the capital of the
Negri Sambilan and the seat of local admini-
stration, is a prosperous planting and mining
centre, with a population of about five thousand
inhalMtants, nearly all of whom are Chinese.
The Government oflices and buildings are less
imposing than those of the other Western States,
but <i handsome new Residency has recently
been built.
The general sanitary condition
town is satisfactory, and there will
ample supply of good water when th
works, now in course of construction, are
completed. There are excellent schools and
up-to-date hospital accommodation. The
European section of the community consists
mainly of civil servants, planters, and mining
men, and their bungalows are perched on the
eminences surrounding the town. For their
benefit there are two social and several re-
creative clubs, cricket, football, tennis, golf,
and billiards being the chief pastimes.
At Sri Menengok, on Gunong Angsi, at a
height of 2,626 feet above sea-level, is a hill
sanitarium for Europeans.
Port Dickson, the principal town in the Coast
District, is 25 miles by rail from Seremban.
About 70,714 acres have been alienated in the
district for agricultural and mining purposes,
but the mining is, comparatively speaking,
negligible. Para rubber is coming to be the
chief product ; till now the staples have been
)f the
be an
water-
A COUNTRY ROAD NEAR
SEREMBAN.
Sungei Lukut. On the other side of the range
the Sungei Triang rises, and, after receiving the
waters of the Kenaboi, Pertang, and Jeram
rivers, flows into the Pahang river.
The population of the State, estimated at
121,763, has increased considerably since 1901,
when "the census returns showed a total of
96,028, made up of 64,565 males and 31,463
females. This great disparity between the
sexes is noticeable throughout the Eastern
States, and is, of course, due to the large number
of male immigrants.
The chief source of revenue, as with the
other States, is in the export of tin, but this in-
dustry is not conducted on a scale comparable
with Perak or Selangor. New country is, how-
ever, being opened up by the construction of
roads and railways, and it is hoped that new
aelds will thus be found. Rubber planting is
in an exceedingly prosperous condition, and it
is possible to travel for miles by road and rail-
way through country entirely planted with
rubber, or cleared for the cultivation of this
product. Other products are coconuts, tapioca,
coffee, and rice.
The main line of railway runs through the
State from Selangor to Johore, and a new line
is to be constructed immediately from Gemas,
the junction of the Johore line, to run through
THE RAJAS OF NEGRI SAMBILAN AND FOLLOWERS.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
883
tapioca, ,i;ainbier, and peppct". An important
native industry is that of hat-making'. About
five tliousand hats are exported yearly — a
larger mnnher than from any other district of
the P'ederated Mahiy States. The shipping
of ttie port is showing a shght tendency to
decrease, owing to the competition of the
railway.
A Government bungalow at f^ort Dickson,
open to the European public, is a populai" resort ;
the air is salubrious, and tirere are e.xcellent
bathing facilities.
Jelebu is a mountainous district. The chief
town, Kuala Khiwang, is about 25 miles by road
from Sereniban. Mining is carried on in the
district, for the most part on a small scale, bv
handfuls of Chinese. The famous banyan tree
at Jelebu is an object of great veneration
amongst the Malays, who regard it as a kramat,
or sacred tree. Tradition ascribes great age to
it, and the h\\\ on which it stands was used as a
burial ground upwards of two hundred years
ago. The graves of Tuan Kathi, the head
priest of that time, and his wife are still to be
seen.
In point of size, Ivuala Pilah, the centre of
the district of that name, is the second town in
importance in the State, ft is 26 miles from
Seremban by road, and lies near the route of
the proposed l^ahang extension of the Fede-
rated Malay States Railway. The Martin
I.ister Memorial at Kuala Pilah — a photograph
of which appears on page 885 — is probably
the only public tribute ever paid bv the
Chinese community to a civil servant in the
St.ite.
Tampin is noted for the fact that large areas
are worked by Malays for agricultural pur-
poses. Nowhere in the Federated Malay
States are more regular, systematic, and
successful methods of culture adopted by the
people indigenous to the country.
Mr. Thomas William Rowley, District
Officer of the Coast, Negri Sambilan, and now
Acting Magistrate, Taiping, was born at
Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1859, and
educated at Cheltenham College. In 1878 he
held a lieutenant s comnrission in the 2nd
Regiment Light Infantry (Royal Guernsey
Militia), and from 1885-88 served with the
New Zealand regular forces. He entered the
Perak Civil Service in 1889 as Inspector of
VIEW OF JELEBU.
THE FAMOUS BANYAN TREE AT
JELEBU, VENERATED BY MALAYS.
Bridle-paths. In 1801 he was appointed
Assistant Collector of Land Revenue at Matang,
and, after acting in several other capacities,
became Assistant Collector of Land Revenue at
Kinta, and subsequently Assistant Commis-
sioner of Police, SelangiH'. In January, 1903,
he was appointed District Treasurer at
Seremban, and afterwards at Batu Gajah, and
acted as District Treasurer at Kuala Lumpor
and Taiping, and ;is Assistant District Ofiicer
at Matang and Larut. He received the
appointment of District Officer, Coast, Negri
Sambilan, in Januarv, 1007. He is a member
of the Grosvenor Club, London, and of all
local clubs. His principal recreati^ins are
tennis and riffe shooting.
Mr. James Edward Bishop, Assistant
District Officer. Raub, is acting as District
Officer at Jelebu in the absence of Mr. J. S.
Mason, the substantive holder of the otiice.
He was born in December, 1875, and entered
the Federated JNIalay States Civil Service as a
cadet ill 1898. During the following five years
he was stationed in different parts of Pahang,
and was successively Acting .Assistant District
Officer at Pekan aiid IJpis, Assistant District
Officer at Lipis and Raub, and Acting District
Officer of Raub. His present acting appoint-
"*^^'
THE GOVEKNiMENT BUILDINGS.
VIE"WS IN SERBMBAN.
The Residency, 3. The Court House.
^. The Residency Grounds.
TWENTIETH CEXTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
885
THE MAIN STREET OF KUADA PILAH.
THE MARTIN LISTER MEMORIAL AT KUALA PILAH.
ment dates from August, 1905, and he has
charge of a district embracing 400 square
miles and containing a popuiation of about
10,000.
Mr. Eric Ayton Dickson, District Officer
in charge of the Kuala Pilah district of Xegri
Sambilan, was born in 1876, and at the age of
twenty entered the Federated Malay States
Civil Service as Junior Officer under the
Selangor Government. After having had
charge of the Sepang district for a short time,
he became Acting Assistant Collector of Land
Revenue at Kuala Lumpor. Subsequently he
acted as Assistant District Officer, Serendah,
District Officer, Kuala Langat, Second Magis-
trate, Kuala Lmnpor, and District Ofiicer, Kuala
Langat. In 1903 he was appointed to the
State of Pahang as Acting District Officer,
Senior Magistrate, Registrar of Titles, and
Superintendent of Prisons, and for some lime
before taking up his present position, in 1904,
he acted as Circuit Magistrate in the State of
Selangor.
Mr. Henry Brooke Ellerton, Acting
District Officer at Port Dickson, was born in
May, 1862, and has been in the Civil Service
in the Federated Malay States since 1892, when
he was appointed to act as Treasurer of
Pahang. In i8g6 he went to Pekan, in the
same State, as District Officer. Since then he
has acted as District Officer, Kuala Langat,
Selangor, and as Circuit Magistrate in the same
State. He has occupied his present position
since the beginning of 1903.
PORT DICKSON.
886
T^^E^TTETII century impressions of BRITISH MALAYA
PAHANG.
The principal river in the State is the Pahang
river, swelled by the waters of the Tembeling
and Jelai rivers. These in turn receive tribute
from numerous^streams. Into the Tembeling
flow the Sungei Tahan, the Sungei Kendiam,
the Sungei Jentoh, the Sungei Benus, the
Sungei Telcai, and others ; whilst the Jelai
receives the Telom, Serau, Tenom, Kechau,
and Lipis rivers and numerous lesser tribu-
taries! Other main feeders of the Pahang
river are the Semantan river, which brings
down the waters of the Sungei Bentong and
Sungei Bilut ; the Sungei Triang and Sungei
Bera, which flow from the hills on the Negri
Sambilan boundary ; and the Sungei Lui and
Sungei Lepar, which rise in the uplands of the
Kuantan district.
The Pahang is navigable for shallow draught
steamers only. Owing to its sandy bed and to
the absence of rapids it may be navigated with
safety by small cargo boats. The Rompin,
which also flows into the China Sea, has six
feet of water above the bar at low tide, and
there is deep water for nearly a hundred miles
of its course. The Kuantan river rises in the
Trengganu district, whilst the Endau forms the
boundary between Pahang and the State of
Johore.
Geologically, the formation of Pahang is
granite in the western mountain range, and
runs through slate, sandstone, and a con-
glomerate series to the plains. It is interesting
THE HON. MB. CECIL WRAY.
(British Resident, Pahang.)
THE total area of the Federated Malay
States is 26,380 square miles, and of this
area more than one-half, namely, 14,000 square
miles, is comprised in the State of Pahang.
This State is bounded on the north by the
Siamese Malay States, Kelantan and Treng-
ganu ; on the east by the China Sea ; on the
south by Johore and the Negri Sainbilan ; and
on the west by Perak and Selangor. It lies
between latitudes 2° 30' and 4" 50' N., and longi-
tudes 101° 30' and 103° 40' E. Parallel to the
coast line, which measures 130 miles, run two
chains of islands — the largest ten miles by five
— which are included in the territory. By far
the larger portion of the State is still covered
with virgin jungle, in which elephants, sela-
dangs, rhinoceroses, tigers, deer, and wild pigs
roam almost unmolested, for only sportsrhen of
means and ample leisure can undertake their
pursuit. The: ri\'ers abound with crocodile,
snipe, and waders.
The physical formation of the country may
best be understood by a glance at a map of the
Malay Peninsula. Along the western boundary
runs a ridge of granite hills, attaining in places
a height of 7,000 feet. In the northern high-
lands the Gunong Tahan, 7,050 feet, is the
culminating peak of a number of spurs.
Through the intervening valleys run the tribu-
taries of the Tembeling and Jelai rivers, which
cominingle in the plains below to form the
broad Pahang river. The next highest summit
is that in which the Semantan river takes its
r-ise. Other summits are Gunong Benom
(6,900 feet) and Bukit Raka, in the western
hills ; Gunong Kenering and Gunong Rakau in
the north ; Gunong Pallas in the east, from
MRS. WBAY.
which runs the formidable chain of hills
dividing the Temerloh and Kuantan districts ;
and Gunong Gayong in the south, from which
the Sungei Rompin flows.
to note the difference between the tin-bearing
stratum in Pahang and that on the other side
of the range. In Selangor and Perak by far
the larger proportion of the workings are
VIEWS IN PAHANG.
SORI'IKG riSH ON THE BEACH, BESRAH. TUBA FiSHIXG IN' THE PAHAXC, RiVER.
Ox THE Kuantan River. Suxgei Parit, Pekan.
Limestone Mountain on the Kuantan River,
VIEWS IN PAHANG.
Raub.
The British Residekcy, Kuala Lipis.
The Rest-house at Raub.
Tras Village.
The Motor Garage at Raub.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
889
lombong ; that is to say, they are alluvial
deposits lying beneath many feet of over-
burden, as opposed to lampan workings, in
which the ore is won from alluvial washings.
As explained briefly in reference to the older
States, the rich alluvial deposits there were the
result of detritus from the stanniferous granite
formation. In Pahang there has been less
detritus, with the result that there is less
alluvial tin and less overburden. But while
the lombongs in Pahang are poor, the lampans
are exceedingly rich ; the tin is high up in the
range, most of the paying mines being at
elevations of close upon 2,000 feet. It would
seem from this that the future prosperity of the
State, if it ever has any great prosperity, will
be derived from the treatment of lode ore by
means of crushing machinery. This applies
to the Ulu districts. Kuantan is an exception
to the rule ; its geological formation diilers
entirely from that of the other districts. Tin
is found in lode formation, and in this locality
are the deepest underground mines in the
peninsula.
After leaving the. granite formation the slate
country is reached, and here, in the centre line
of the State, gold is found. Between the
auriferous chain and Kuantan lies an enormous
tract of country which is only of value for
agricultural purposes.
Pahang possesses a warm, moist climate,
free from extremes of temperature, and differs
from the Western States in that it has seasons
governed by the monsoons. The rainfall
averages from 150 to 175 inches a year, the
wettest period falling between November and
February, when the north-east monsoon pre-
vails. The heavy rains are usually followed
by floods. The thermometer shows a mean
annual temperature of about 75° F. or 80° F.,
and the European may, if he takes due regard
to the general principles of hygiene requisite
to residence in the tropics, live in tolerable
comfort.
The State is thinly populated. In igot a census
returned the number of inhabitants as 84,113.
To-day it is estimated to be about 100,000, an
average of seven persons to the square mile.
There are between seven and eight thousand
aborigines in Pahang, the Lipis valley, parts
of Temerloh and the Pekan district being their
chief strongholds.
Means of communication in the State are
scanty, but are being extended as rapidly as
resources permit. There are 122 miles of
cart-roads, 5 miles of gravelled roads, 86
miles of earth roads, 28J miles of bridle-paths,
and 14s miles of other paths. From Kuala
Kubu, in Selangor, an excellent road runs
through Tras, Raub, and Benta to Kuala Lipis,
the administrative capital of .the State. From
Tras a road to Bentong opens up a rich tin
country, and will, when the road through the
Sempak Pass is completed, give an alternative
route to Kuala Lumpor, the Federal capital.
An important highway will be the Kuantan-
Benta road, a continuation of the trunk route
across the State from west to east. The line
for this road has been found, and now only
requires tracing. The Kuantan-Lepar road,
which will give access to the tin mines in the
Blat valley, is nearing completion, and a road
from Kuala Pilah, in Negri Sambilan, to
Bentong is being rapidly pushed forward.
Other than those enumerated, the only trans-
port facilities at present are those afforded by
the rivers and their tributaries ; some are
navigable for cargo-boats and steamers of light
draught, while others are accessible only to
small native dug-outs, or sampans. In time,
however, will come the railway. Already the
permanent survey between Geinas, in Negri
Sambilan, and Kuala Semantan, on the Pahang
river, has been completed, and a commence-
ment will soon be made with this extension.
From Kuala Semantan three trial surveys have
been carried out. The first runs due north to
Kuala Tembeling, roughly following the course
of the Pahang river ; and the second bears to
the westward and then north to Kuala Lipis
via Bentong. The first line, if made, will form
part of the main trunk railway, starting from
Gemas and running to the east of the Guncng
Tahan massif, the main central range ; the
second, it has been decided, is unsuitable for a
main trunk line, but may be carried out as a
branch line to Bentong. The third trial survey
runs from Kuala Semantan to Kuantan, and
this railway, if made, will form a branch line
to the seaport there. It will necessitate the
bridging of the Pahang river by a structure
of six spans, each of 150 feet. There are 76
miles of telegraph wire and 85 miles of
telephone wire in the State.
administrative purposes: Pekan, Kuantan,
Raub, Lipis, Temerloh. The relative import-
ance of these is shown by a comparison of the
revenue derived from each district. Lipis
contributed 141,257 dollars, Raub 252,346
dollars, Temerloh 19,559 dollars, Pekan 53,711
dollars, and Kuantan 159,4^4 dollars ; and if it
be borne in mind that of a sum of 122,823
dollars, for farm revenue, credited to Lipis as
being the headquarters, three-quarters belongs
properly to Raub and the remaining quarter to
Kuantan— the districts where Chinese are most
largely employed — it-will at once be apparent
that Raub and Kuantan are by far the most
important districts in the State.
Kuala Lipis, the capital, was formerly of
some commercial importance as the centre of
H.H. SIR AHMAD MAATHAM SHAH'IBINI ALMBEHUM ALI, K.C.M.G., SULTAN
OF PAHANG, AND FOLLOWERS.
The revenue of the State for igo6 amounted
to 650,718 dollars, and the expenditure to
1,434,353 dollars, as compared with 528,368
and 1,208,176 dollars respectively in 1905, and
with 62,077 ^nd 297,702 dollars in i8go. The
expenses of administration are borne chiefly
by advances from the neighbouring States, the
loan account at the end of 1906 showing
4,366,568 dollars due to Selangor and 1,574,435
dollars due to Perak. These loans are free of
interest, and no period of repayment has been
fixed. The principal heads ^of revenue in the
financial statement for 1906 include : Land
revenue, 78,329 dollars ; customs, 2go,65l
dollars ; and licences, &c., i47,go7 dollars.
Undi-r expenditure the heaviest item was that
of 653,073 dollars for roads, streets, and bridges
(special services).
The trade returns show on the whole a
gradual improvement. In igo6 the value of
the exports was 3,770,325 dollars. To this total
tin contributed no less than 3,090,124 dollars,
the duty paid on it amounting to 276,672 dollars.
Gold is exported more largely than from any
other State in the Federation, and amounted to
10,728 oz., valued at 367,8.17 dollars. A con-
siderable trade is carried on in dry and salt
fish. Other articles of export are guttas and
tapioca. The acreage under rubber at the close
of the year was approximately 12,000 acres,
although only two years previously there were
but 245 acres under this product. The imports
during the twelve months under review were
worth I,i94,g2i dollars.
The State is divided into five districts for
the gold mining district. Now, all the gold
mines in the neighbourhood have closed down,
and it has dwindled to a town of five or six
hundred inhabitants, only notable because it is
at present the seat of local administration. The
chief Government offices are situated at Kuala
Lipis ; and there are a hospital, a gaol, a rest-
house, and vernacular schools in the district.
The town is the terminus of the motor service
from Kuala Lumpor. Beyond the small
holdings owned by natives there is practically
no planting industry in the district.
In Raub, which is 45 miles by road from
Kuala Lumpor, is to be found the only gold
mine now working in the State. This mine
is situated on a property of about 12,000 acres
with a proved lode of nearly five miles. It is
worked almost entirely by electricity generated
at a station on the banks of the Sempan river,
the power being transmitted through the jungle
a distance of 7f miles to Bukit Koman, the
headquarters of the mine, two miles from the
town. Not only are the pumps and hoists
motor-driven, but the shafts and the houses are
lit by electricity. It is curious to see native
attap huts illuminated by this means, in a place
where elephants are employed to carry the ore
to .the town — to note the contrast between
civilisation and jungle life. Of course, the
more important industry is tin mining, the
district showing an output for igo6 of 18,261
piculs, of which quantity Bentong was respon-
sible for two-thirds. The demand for land is
great, and the revenue from this source shows
a steady increase. There are ten vernacular
2 P
890
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MAI.AYA
schools, and both Government and privately
owned hospitals in the district.
Bentong is rapidly growing in importance,
and when direct communication is opened up
with Selangor and Negri Sambilan it should
have a considerable access of prosperity.
Kuantan is regarded by many as the coming
district of Pahang. It possesses vast mineral
wealth, and contains good agricultural land, for
which there is an increasing demand. Most
of its tin export during igo6 came from the
Blat valley, in which neighbourhood are some
of the largest mining concessions in the State.
Kuala Kuantan is the only port of anv real
value in the State It is situated, as its'name
implies, near the estuary of the Kuantan river
and has commercial potentialities which are
certain to be utilised to the fullest extent as
soon as an enhanced revenue justifies the
necessary expenditure. The Kuantan river is
navigable for cargo boats, and forms the interior
route to the Ulu district.
Temerloh is chiefly an agricultural district,
the population being to a great extent confined
to small villages scattered along the banks
of the rivers. Tembeling, the point to which
one of the trial-surveys for the trunk raflway
has been carried, is noted for its earthenware ,
incidentally it may be mentioned that the
potter's wheel is as yet unknown.
Pekan, the principal town in the district of
that name, was originally the capital of the
State, and is still the seat of the Sultan of
Pahang, who holds his State Council, there.
Pekan is noted for its mat-making and sarong-
weaving industries, which are carried on by
the Malays. Seven miles down the river stands
Kuala Pahang, of little value as a port except
for shallow-draught steamers.
'^^riS,
J2^^
JOHORE.
THE State of Johore occupies the southerii-
most portion of the Malay .Peninsula.
It embraces about nine thousand square rniles.
On the north it adjoins Malacca, Negri
Sambilan, and Pahang ; on the south it is
separated from Singapore island by the Strait
The first of these is the most important stream
in the southern part of the Malay Peninsula.
The main 'products of Johore are gambler,
pepper, sago, tapioca, and rubber. The
mineral wealth of the country has not j'et
been exploited, but tin mining is carried on in
peans with conspicuous success, especially in
Muar, the north-western portion of the State.
A railway running from north to south is now
under construction, and when completed will
connect Singapore with the Federated Malay
States trunk line, and thus establish through
THE MOSQUE, AND VIEWS OF JOHOBE FROM THE FORT.
of Johore ; and on the east and west it is
washed by the sea. The territory is still covered
to a great extent with virgin jungle, and can
only be traversed by indifferent roads. As a
- whole, the country is less mountainous than any
other part of the peninsula. The Blumut Hills
(3,180 feet) are the principal mountain group,
and Mount Ophir, which is over 4,ooofeet high,
- is the highest peak in the State. The three
largest rivers are the Muar, in the north, the
Endau on the east, and the Johore in the south.
one or two districts. Iron is plentiful all over
the State, but so far it has not been worked,
owing to the absence of coal.
The population of the State is, approximately,
250,000, of whom no fewer than 200,000 are
Chinese. The trade is almost entirely in the
hands of the Chinese, and passes through
Singapore. Recently, widespread attention
has been drawn to the commercial potentialities
of the State, and several large tracts have been
opened up and planted with rubber by Euro-
rail communication between Singapore and
Pinang.
Johore is an independent State, ruled by
his Highness Ibrahim, Sultan of Johore, D.K.,
S.P.M.J., K.C.M.G., who came to the throne
ten years ago. In the government of his
country he is assisted by a Council of State,
consisting of ministers and chiefs. This
Council also forms the High Court of Appeal.
The form of government is akin to an absolute
monarchy, and is in accordance with a con-
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
891
stitution promulgated in 1895. The annual
revenue of the State is 1,500,000 dollars, derived
principally from import taxes and opium and
gambling farms.
Johore Bharu, the principal centre of
commerce and the seat of government, is a
thriving little town with about 20,000 inhabi-
tants, situated opposite the island of Singapore.
It is easy of access from the town of Singa-
pore, the 15-mile rail and ferryboat journey
occupying about an hour. As seen from
Woodlands, the northern terminus of the
Singapore railway, it presents a very attractive
appearance. Along the sea-front is a broad
well-made road, backed for a short distance
by a row of substantial buildings, of which the
Johore Hotel is the most notable. Over the
calm, sunlit waters of the Strait glide pic-
turesque native craft of varying sizes, with
their brown sails silhouetted against the sky.
Immediately behind the town rise verdure
clad slopes, and further inland appears the
shadowy outline of high hills. Johore Bharu
forms a popular Sunday resort for Singapore
people. Its chief places of interest are the
Sultan's Istana (palace), the Abubakar mosque
— one of the most imposing and beautiful
buildings devoted to the Mahomedan religion
in the Far East — and the gambling saloons, in
which a polygenous crowd may always be met
trying their luck at the Chinese games poh
and fan-tan. The attendance is especially
numerous on Sundays, when train-loads of
people representative of every class of society
in Singapore flock into the town. The Sultan
draws a considerable portion of his revenue
from the Chinese kongsee which runs the
gambling farms.
and rubber produced in the State is grown.
Muar is the centre of administration for a
district embracing about 2,000 square miles
and containing 50,000 inhabitants, and is the
chief port of the State. A daily service of
Sultan of the Independent State of Johore, is
the eldest son of the late Sultan Abubakar,
G.C.M.G., K.C.S.I., and was born on Septem-
ber 17, 1873. He was proclaimed King on
September 7, 1895, and was crowned two
DATO' MAJOB ABDULLAH.
(State Commissioner, Muar.)
Besides the capital, the only other township
in the State worthy of note is Muar, situated
at the mouth of the Muar river in the north-
western province of the Slate. Along the banks
of this river the bulk of the gambier, pepper,
H.H. IBRAHIM, D.K., D.M.J., K.C.M.G., SULTAN OF JOHORE.
steamers runs between Muar and Singapore,
and road and telephonic connection between
Muar and Malacca, 27 miles away, is shortly
to be established.
The Sultan of Johore is a travelled, active,
and enlightened ruler. With the example of
the Federated Malay States before him, he is
doing much to encourage the development of
his country, which in the near future is
likely to share in the prosperity enjoyed by its
neighbours.
The Sultan of Johore.— H.H. Ibrahim,
months later. Although he has not had the
advantage of a European education, he is,
nevertheless, remarkably conversant with
European affairs, and adopts the manners,
customs, and fashions of Western civilisation.
He takes a close personal interest in the
administration of his country, but even the
active supervision of the various State depart-
ments does not absorb the whole of his energy,
for he finds time to superintend the manage-
ment of several rubber estates of which
he is the owner. An extensively travelled
892
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
man, he has frequently visited Australia and
England. An enthusiastic sportsman, he has
gained a reputation as a daring big-game shot,
an excellent rider, and a keen automobilist.
except on state occasions. He prefers as a
place of residence a bungalow, same few miles
away, which he has had furnished in European
style. In addition, he has two residences in
^
fi^
A MUCH TRAVELLED YOUNG AUSTRALIAN AT JOHOBB.
He maintains an armed force of about a
thousand men, who are drilled after the
manner of European troops and present a very
smart appearance. The royal palace or
" Istana Besar " is situated in Johore Bahru,
the capital, but the Sultan seldom occupies it
Singapore. He was married in 1892, and his
son and heir, Ismail Trunku Makote, was born
on October 28, 1894.
Dato' Major Abdullah, D.K., D.P.M.J., of
Johore, is State Commissioner, Commmder-in-
Chief of the Muar Volunteer Forces, and Chief
Magistrate of the district of Muar. He is a son
oif the present Prime Minister of Johore, Dato'
Mentri Besar, and a relative of his Highness
the Sultan. The Dato' is vi?ell-educated in
English as well as in Malay. He commenced
his career in the public service of the State as
Assistant Commissioner of Police at Muar. In
1895 he wasappointed Commissioner of Police,
and a few years later was made State Com-
missioner and placed in charge of Muar
district, of which he has full control. Muar
has a population of about fifty thousand.
Dr. Andrew Grant, M.B., Ch.B., and
D.P.H. Edin., is the Government Medical
Officer of the Muar district of Johore. He is a
DB. ANDREW GRANT.
(Medical Officer. Muar.)
Scotsman and studied medicine at Edinburgh
University. For three years he has been in
the Johore Government service. At present
Dr. Grant is in charge of a district of 60 square
miles and also holds the appointment of
Assistant Doctor to his Highness the Sultan
of Johore. He has done much towards im-
proving the health conditions on the various
estates in the district of Muar, where he had
to organise the medical department with the
assistance of Chinese and Indians only. Dr.
Grant describes the health of Muar district as
being good. Most prevalent diseases are
beri-beri, malarial fever, and dysentery, from
which troubles the greatest sufferers are the
Chinese, who are attacked by those ailments
largely through bad food, and often fall victims
to them owing to their reluctance to come into
town from the jungle until very seriously ill.
FEDERATED MALAY STATES.
SOCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL.
EUROPEAN.
Mr. Eric Maxwell, the well-known ad-
vocate, vi'as born in 1873, and is a son of the
late Sir Wm. Maxwell, K.C.M.G., formerly
Governor of Singapore. He was educated at
Bedford Grammar School and at Cheltenham
College, and, on leaving school, studied farm-
ing in Bedfordshire and at Tamworth Agricul-
tural College for two years. In 1891 he went
to British Columbia. Two years later he came
to Singapore, and spent about six years in the
offices of Messrs. Drew and Napier, solicitors,
being admitted an Advocate and Solicitor of
the Supreme Court of the Straits Settlements
in 1899. He then went to Ipoh, Perak, and
established the practice which he still carries
on. He owns considerable property in Ipoh,
and is largely interested in rubber planting
and tin mining. Mr. Maxwell has been a
member of the Kinta Sanitary Board for
about five years, is a Visiting Justice, and was
the European Unofficial Member of the Perak
Stale Council for about sixteen months (1905-
6-7). He has always taken a great interest in
sport, and has done a considerable amount of
big-game shooting in the P'ederated Malay
States. For some years he has been a mem-
ber of the committee of the Ipoh Gymkhana
Club (which he founded), of the Kinta Gym-
khana Club, and of the Straits Racing Associa-
tion.
Mr. H. Ashworth Hope, sole partner of
the firm of Gibb and Hope, advocates and
solicitors, Ipoh, was born in 1878, and has
been in the law some nine years. In the year
1905 he came out from England, and joined in
partnership with the late Mr. A. M. Gibb, whose
successful career was cut short by his untimely
death in November, 1906. Mr. Gibb came out
originally to join the firm of Presgrave and
Matthews, of Pinang, and, after three years'
service, opened a branch for them in Ipoh, the
principal town of the great Kinta tinfield, then
rapidly rising in population and importance.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
893
So large was the volume of business there that,
in igos, he bought the practice from Messrs.
Presgrave and Matthews, Mr. Hope shortly
afterwards joining him. From the outset the
business and reputation of the firm have gone
on increasing steadily, scarcely a case of note
having been heard in Perak in which they
have not been engaged as counsel, while at
the same time they are retained as legal
advisers by a large number of the great
mining and planting companies operating in
the State. Mr. Hope is at present assisted by
Mr. R. B. Bannon, who is an ardent sports-
man, and has the reputation of being one of
the best cricketers in the State. Mr. Hope,
like his late partner, is an enthusiastic sports-
man, his principal recreations being riding,
tennis, and golf. As a gentleman rider on his
own mount he has had the good fortune to be
first past the post at the local races.
Mr. David Bannerman, who is engaged
in tin mining in Perak, and is well known in
Perak, is the son of the Rev. E. Bannerman,
and grandson of the late Colonel Alexander
Bannerman, formerly Lieutenant-Governor of
the Pinang settlement.
Mr. James Edward M. Brown, M.B.,
Ch.B. Edin., who is at present practising in
Ipoh, came out to the Federated Malay States
as District Surgeon. He was born on August
9, 1875 ; educated at the Royal College of
Mauritius and the Universities of Edinburgh
and Montpellier (France) ; was house surgeon
at the Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital ;
and served with the Royal Army Medical Corps
during the South African War, being rewarded
for his services with a medal (1899-1900) and
two clasps. In 1904 he was appointed District
Surgeon of Larut, in the Federated Malay
States, and in the following year was trans-
ferred to Gopeng. He retired from the
Government service in June, 1907. Dr. Brown
holds the Edinburgh University and London
School of Tropical Medicine diplomas for the
study of tropical diseases, is a Fellow of the
Royal Colonial Institute, and an examiner for
the Manufacturers' Life Insurance Company.
His address is 14, Station Road, Ipoh, Perak,
Federated Malay States.
Mr. E. D. McPherson, manager of
Messrs. McAlister & Co.'s business at Ipoh,
was born at Laurieville, Victoria, in 1873. He
was educated at Rutherglen, Victoria, and,
after serving his apprenticeship with Messrs.
Hamilton and Sons in that town, he came to
the Straits Settlements in 1899 to join his
present employers. He has been engaged at
their Pinang and Ipoh branches ever since, and
for some time managed the firm's affairs in the
northern settlement. His principal recreation
is horse-riding.
Mr. T. H. T. Rogers is the senior member
of tlie legal profession in Kuala Lurapor. He
was born in 1846 and educated at Clifton ;
served his articles with Messrs. Fussell and
Prichard, of Bristol, and Messrs. Clarke, Wood-
cock, and Ryland, of Lincoln's Inn Fields,
London ; and was admitted an attorney and
solicitor in Hilary Term, 1870. Mr. Rogers
practised some years in London before he
came East.
Mr. John Qurdon Turner Pooley.— Of
professional men generally, and lawyers in
particular, Mr. J. G. T. Pooley is one of the
best known in Kuala Lumpor. A son of the
late Rev. J. G. Pooley, M.A., R.D., J.P., of
Stonham, Suffolk, he was born in 1874 and
educated at Haileybury. After qualifying as a
solicitor, he practised in London for ten years.
He came out to Perak in 1903, and is now the
only solicitor in Kuala Lumpor with qualified
assistance. Mr. Pooley is a director of several
local companies and possesses interests in
many others. He is a Freemason of the local
Lodge (No. 2,339), and of the Perak Lodge,
Taiping, and a member of all the local clubs.
His favourite recreation is golf.
Mr. John Gardner is the oldest European
resident of Jelebu, and has been interested in
tin mining in the district for some fourteen
years. He is a Magistrate and Coroner, and is
the owner of about a thousand acres of mining
land near Jelebu, which he works by Chinese
miners on the tribute system.
Mr. Frank A. Moffatt, R.D.S., Kuala
Lumpor, was born in Bombay, where his
father, Mr. John Moffatt, was at one time super-
intendent of the water police. The family
went to Australia in 1885 and settled in
New South Wales. Mr. Moffatt received his
education at public schools, and learned his
profession in the historic suburb of Paramatta,
afterwards practising in the country and in
Sydney for thirteen years. He has been in the
Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay
States for three years, and is now practising in
Kuala Lumpor.
Mr. A. Q. Crane. — Born in Singapore on
June 27, 1871, this gentleman is a son of the late
Mr. C. E, Crane, who carried on business as a
valuer and commission agent in that city for
many years, and is now living in retirement in
England. After leaving Dedham Grammar
School, Mr. A, G. Crane was for some time on
his Majesty's training-ship Worcester. He
then came out to the East and joined his father's
business. Two years later he entered the
service of a mercantile firm, and remained with
them for two years, when, owing to ill-health,
he had to go to Canada. In that country he
resided for three years, two of which were
spent in a silk house and the other in a salmon-
tinning business. Returning to the Far East,
he joined the Perak Government service, and
was in it for four years. At the end of this
engagement Mr. Crane went to England to
study mining and mineralogy. Having gone
through a short college term, he returned to
the Federated Malay States in 1904, and, on
behalf of a Perak Syndicate, prospected for tin
ore in Western Siam for a year and a half.
Having selected two tin conces:!ions for the
syndicate, he returned to Kuala Lumpor and
accepted Towkay Loke Yew's offer of the
management of Hawthornden estate, which
comprises about 300 acres of tin-mining land
and 300 acres planted with rubber. Mr. Crane
is an enthusiastic amateur photographer.
Mr. William North Buckmaster, soli-
citor and advocate, in charge of the Taiping
W. N. BUCKMASTER.
office of Mr. F. J. Bryant, B.A., barrister-at-
law, is the son of the Rev. John North Buck-
master, B.A. Oxon., and was born at Ramsgale
in 1873. He was educated at Sherborne School
and at University College, Oxford, where he
graduated B.A. with honours in literas human-
ioribus and law. He was articled with Messrs.
Blount, Lynch, and Petre, solicitors, of London,
and passed his final law examination, with
second class honouns, in June, 1899. For two
and a half years he was in practice at Heme
Bay, Kent, and came out to the Federated
Malay States to join Mr. F. J. Bryant in 1905.
He is a member of the Sports Club, London ;
the Kent County Cricket Club ; the New, Perak,
and Turf Clubs, at Taiping ; the Batu Gajah
Club, and also of the Incorporated Law
Society, England.
Mr. Q. E. Cobb is one of those who have
heard the insistent voice of the East a-calling,
for when he went home to England in igo6
he remained there for only a few months,
and then returned to eilablish a business of his
own at Kuala Lumpor. Born in Leith, Scotland,
in 1878, he was educated at George Heriot's
Hospital, Edinburgh. After serving with a com-
mercial firm in his native town, he sailed for
Singapore in igoi, and was in the employment
of Messrs. McAlister & Co. for five years. He
managed some of their branches at intervals,
and finally acted as secretary to the company.
He is now engaged in business as a general
merchant and importer, and also, controls
Messrs. Huttenbach's ice factory and the elec-
trical department in Kuala Lumpor.
Mr. Alexander Fox, son of Captain
William Walter Fox, of London and Liverpool,
was born on board the British sailing shipPersia
at sea in June, 1864. He was educated at Raffles
Institution, Singapore, and subsequently, for
seven years, was employed in Messrs. Robinson
& Co.'s business house. He then went as
assistant to Messrs. John Little & Co., Ltd., and
was their travelling representative for thirteen
years. Leaving them in 189S, he established a
business of his own, but the venture not proving
successful, he entered the service of the China
Mutual Life Insurance Company, Ltd., in 1901,
and opened up their business in Medan, Atjeh,
Padang, Fort de Kock, and Bencoolen in
Sumatra. In 1904 he settled in Kuala Lumpor
as their resident superintendent. He also
started business on his own account as an
auctioneer, appraiser, registration, insurance,
commission, and forwarding agent, and
established the firm of Sheddon & Co., cash
drapers, milliners, house furnishers, &c.
ORIENTAL.
Towkay Loke Yew. — After losing as much
as two million dollars in the short space of
three years, Towkay Loke Yew is a millionaire
to-day. He is a remarkable man, almost every
moment of whose life of sixty-one j'ears has
been fully occupied. Born of humble parent-
age in the village of Thong Cheung, in the
district of San Wui, in the Kwang Tung pro-
vince of China, an only son in a family of five,
Mr. Loke Yew's boyhood was spent assisting
his father to cultivate the fields. His father,
who has led a simple country life, is close upon
one hundred years of age. But Mr. Loke Yew-
was not destined to follow in the footsteps of
his father. He heard of the chances which
Singapore offered, and so, in 1858, at the age
of thirteen, he proceeded to the settlement, and
by working in a shop in Market Street was
able in four years to save 99 dollars. With
this capital he opened a shop of his own under
the chop Heng Loong, and thus laid the foun-
dations of the famous firm which is now known
throughout the Malay States, and in which he
is still interested. He continued to conduct
the business for five years, and then, leaving it
in the hands of a manager, he went further
afield. He proceeded to Matang, Larut, where
he assisted Messrs. Chan Kam Chong and Ng
Sow Swee in profitable mining ventures. The
Perak war was being waged at this time, and
Mr. Loke Yew secured the contract for supph-
ing the troops with food. He remained in
Larut for fifteen years, engaging principally in
mining, but, although his first mines at Kamun-
ting paid fairly well, subsequent undertakings
four years after he arrived in Perak proved
2 P 1
LOKE YEW, AND VIEWS OF HIS MINE (CHOP CHUNG YIK) AT SERENDAH.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
895
disastrous, and he lost 140,000 dollars. The
price of tin was at this time only 24 dollars
per picul, and it shortly afterwards fell to
17 dollars. War was waged in the village, the
coolies were driven away, and the place was
burnt out, with the result that Mr. Loke Yew
was left almost penniless. Nothing daunted,
he carried on the contract for supplying food
to the troops, despite the difficulties under
which he laboured, and he can relate some
good stories of the escapes he had when piloting
his own boats up the river after dark. A wave
of prosperity came when Lower Perak (Kinta)
was opened up, and Mr. Loke Yew was
amongst those who benefited by it. After
establishing himself firmly in Perak, he turned
his attention to Selangor, where he had already
opened a branch of his Singapore business.
The growth of Selangor and Negri Sambilan
liberally helped by him, especially the Old
Men's and Cripples' Home at Kuala Lumpor,
which he endowed with 30,000 dollars. In
opening up the more remote districts of the
Malay States Mr. Loke Yew has been of great
service to the Government. In parts of the
country where the Government was not pre-
pared to make roads and open up districts he
has undertaken the work in return for conces-
sions of land. In addition to his mining inte-
rests Mr. Loke Yew has about 20,000 acres of
rubber plantation at Tanjong Malim. He is a
great worker and is highly respected. His
business was for years conducted by his able
secretary, Mr. Lee Kong Lam. His present
managers are Messrs. Chew Kam Chuan and
Cheong Yoke Choy. Mr. Loke Yew has been
thrice married. By his first wife there were
no children, by the second there was one
wards a China famine relief fund. In his
early days China had already begun to decline,
and as an enlightened and cultured man Cap-
tain China naturally looked out for some other
part of the world that would be better suited
for the display of his abilities. On first leaving
his own country he went to Roko, in the
Federated Malay States, where he became very
influential, and was frequently called upon by
the people to decide disputes among them.
After a short stay in Roko Captain China went
to Malacca, where he made money by trading,
and then moved into Selangor to engage in
tin mining. The then Captain China of
Selangor was Mr. Liu Yim Kong, who became
one of Mr. Yap Chee Ying's best friends, and
used to seek his advice on political and other
questions. Kuala Lumpor was at that time
merely a place in the jungle, and Captain
Yap Looxg Hix's Kuala Lvmpor Residexce.
YAP LOONG HIN.
2. The late Captain China Yap Chee Ying
3. Yap Looxg Hin.
IS recent history, and the part that Loke Yew
played in it is well known. He joined in
every promising venture, and during the last
fifteen years everything which he has touched
has turned into money. But Loke Yew and
his family are not the only ones who have
benefited by his prosperity. Since he first
made Kuala Lumpor his home no public
movement of any importance in the States has
been without his support. When a new
quarantine station was badly needed in Singa-
pore, he offered the Government the necessary
money, and as this offer was declined, he spent
50,000 dollars in improvements to the Tan
Tock Seng Hospital for poor Chinese. On
another occasion he subscribed 30,000 dollars
towards the establishment of a college for
technical instruction, and the gift was grate-
fully accepted by the Resident, Sir Wm.
Treacher. Many other institutions have been
daughter, and by the third there were one
daughter and two sons. Miss Loke Yew has
been educated in England. On the occasion
of (he King's Coronation Mr. Loke Yew took
his family to- England, and so well pleased
were they with the trip that they repeated the
visit in 1907.
Mr. Yap Loong Hin, of Kuala Lumpor, is
the son of the late Captain China Yap Chee
Ying, and inherited his father's wealth. The
late Captain China Yap Chee Ying was a
Hakka Chinese from Yun On district, Fui
Chiu prefecture of Kwang Tung province.
During his whole lifetime Captain China
devoted himself to the promotion of public
welfare and performance of philanthropic
deeds. Titles of honour were bestowed upon
him by the Chinese Government in recogni-
tion of his liberality. On one occasion Captain
China contributed half a million dollars to-
China Chee Ying tried hard to open up the
country to commerce. The first step taken
was to get the then handful of Chinese traders
to act unitedly for the common interest. The
jungle was cleared and a few shop-houses
were built in preparation for immigrants from
China, which was then famine stricken. Cap-
tain China Chee Ying proceeded thither to
recruit a labour force for his new country, and
he found no difficulty in obtaining it. On his
return he took the leading part in organising a
friendly society lor mutual assistance, known
as F'ui Chiu Club, besides building blocks of
houses and erecting temporary accommodation
for the new immigrants, who soon came in
swarms. These were all dependent on Cap-
tain China Yap Chee Ying, and he found them
work and even furnished some who were
intelligent with capital to carry on business.
In 1877 a road from Kuala Lumpor to Salak
TEH SEOW TBNG
TOKG Tu.vG. Teh Seow Tesg's High Street Residenxe.
The late Captain China Yap Kwan Sexg. Yap Tai Cheong.
High Street House and Garden. Teh Seow Teng.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
897
South was made, and one from Salak South to
Sungei Besi in 1880. In consequence of the
improved means of communication the growth
of these two places was incredibly rapid, and
the mining industry flourished as well. Cap-
tain China's attention was now turned to
Ampang, which was still jungle, and through
his efforts it also was opened up in the follow-
ing year. Two years later the demise occurred
of Captain China Liu Yim Kong. Captain
China Yap Chee Ying was offered the vacant
appointment, but he earnestly declined, and at
the same time recommended to the Raja Cap-
tain China Yap Teck Loy, who was assisted in
the discharge of his duties by Captain Yap
Chee Ying. During his career Captain China
Yap Chee Ying encountered numerous hard-
ships and dangers, and on several occasions
narrowly escaped with his life. At one time
Rajas Asan and Jilowut formed an alliance
and revolted, and the country was in great
commotion. Captain China at once collected
his miners and other Chinese together, and
made preparations to resist the impending
Malay invasion. Battles eventually took place.
Throughout the engagements with the Malays
Captain China acted as the leader of his little
troop and won several contests, but in conse-
quence of his colleagues' failure at one time to
take precautions against attack he was cap-
tured. One.night, after several vain attempts,
he effected his escape, although surrounded
and pursued by the enemy. He lost his way
in the jungle, however, for several days, and
was in danger of being starved to death or
devoured by wild beasts. He was obliged to
subsist on leaves and grass, and at night he
slept in high trees for safety. At last he was
struck with the idea that he might find his way
out of the jungle by following the direction of
a stream near by, and doing so, he got out to
the open again. After this Captain China
again marched against the Malay rebels, and
this time Raja Jilowut, his chief followers, and
several hundred men were killed. Raja
Asan retreated to Perak, but he was never
friendly with the Chinese, and always har-
boured vengeance against them. In order to
avoid further disturbance and establish per-
manent peace. Captain China obtained the
assistance of Sa Ya, who sent his troops from
Klang to Kuala Lumpor to co-operate for the
preservation of peace. Captain China Yap
Chee Ying was Appointed to the captainship
after the death of Captain China Yap Teck
Loy, and during his time the Selangor Miners'
Association was organised, to the advantage
both of English and Chinese miners. Captain
China was so diligent in doing good that he
met with praise and approbation everywhere,
and had bestowed upon him by the Raja Jam
Tuan many honours and decorations.
The San family, of Selangor, originally
came from the province of Kwang Tung in
China. The first members of the family to
settle in the Federated States arrived in the
early seventies. The present head, Towkay
San Peng, who resides in Kuala Lumpor,
commenced business there as a Government
building contractor, and erected the Resi-
dency and other important, public and private
buildings. Later he engaged in tin mining,
and soon became the owner of several mines
at Rawang, in the Ulu Selangor district. In
1888 his eldest son, Mr. San Ah Wing, then
only fifteen years of age, entered his business
as an apprentice and soon carved out a career
for himself. In the middle of the nineties Mr.
San Peng retired from business, but he soon
returned to it and took over the active manage-
ment of the Bentong concession in Pahang,
which was owned by Towkay Loke Yew. It
was only a few years ago that he gave up this
position. Mr. San Ah Wing, his son, is an
up-to-date young man whose views were con-
siderably broadened by a visit to Europe on
the occasion of King Edward's Coronation.
He has interests in several large tin mines
and estates in Selangor, is a member of the
Sanitary Board of Kuala Lumpor, the founder
and vice-chairman of the Selangor Chinese
Chamber of Commerce, vice-president of the
Kuala Lumpor Recreation Club, and a com-
mittee member of the Miners' Association, the
Lumpor, and he also has a summer seat known
as the " Villa de San."
The late Captain China Yap Kwan
Seng was the eldest son of Yap Hoin Yin,
and was born in 3846 at Liang Poi in the
Kwang Tung province of China. At the age of
sixteen he went to Malacca on a visit to a
RESIDENCE OF SAN AH WING.
SAN PENG. SAN AH WING.
Anti-Opium Society, and the Weld Hill Club.
He acts also as an assessor of the Supreme
Court, Kuala Lumpor. Mr. San Ah W ing is
a philanthropist, and amongst other benefac-
tions, has endowed some scholarships in con-
nection with the Methodist School at Kuala
Lumpor. His residence is " Belle Vue," Kuala
friend, and learning of the great success
attending tin mining in the Malay States, he
decided to remain in the country. After spend-
ing some time in the service of Captain Yap Ah
Shak, he started mining on his own account,
and was successful in securing from the
Government the monopoly of the State Farms.
2 p *■'
898
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRtTISH MALAYA
In 1888, on the death of Captain Yap Ah Shak,
he was elected Captain China of Selangor, and
was given a seat on the State Council and
local Sanitary Board. During the Pahang
rebellion he assisted the Government by pro-
visioning the expeditionary forces. • He also
founded the Tung Shin Hospital at Selangor,
and endowed it with a house and land rent
free. Again in i8g6 he rendered valuable ser-
vice to the Government by calling together the
heads of the Chinese community and helping
to quell the riots that occurred in that year.
In educational matters Mr. Yap Kwan Seng
took the greatest possible interest, and was
made a trustee of the Victoria Institute. It
was on his recommendation that the Govern-
ment started the vernacular schools which are
now so popular with the Chinese. During the
Boer War he started a relief fund, and headed'
it with the munificent contribution of 10,000 dol-
lars. When Sir William Maxwell was Governor
of the Gold Coast the late Captain Yap Kwan
Seng sent him thirty expert miners to introduce
the Federated Malay States system of mining
into that colony. The late Captain China had
many friends amongst the European residents
of the Malay States^ included amongst whom
were the late Mr. Justice Jackson, Q.C., and Mr.
G. T. Hare, C.M.G., Secretary for Chinese,
Affairs. Mr. Yap Kwan Seng died at his resi-
dence at Kuala Lumpor in 1901, leaving a
Teng, the principal trustee, was educated at
the Free School, Pinang, and at a compara-
tively early age joined the firm of Messrs.
Thean Chee & Co. of that town. While in
Pinang he founded a store, and soon after-
wards went to Kuala Lumpor as joint manager
of the firm of Chow Kit & Co. In 1902 he
accepted the secretaryship of the State Farms,
and occupied the office until the lease of the
farm expired three years later. He is now
a trustee of the Victoria Institute, a director
of the Eastern Trading Company, a director
of Messrs. Chow Kit & Co., and is interested
in numerous other business concerns. Mr,
Yap Tai Cheong is an all-round sportsman.
A lover of music, he is encouraging his wife
and daughters to learn the use of European
musical instruments. He is a committee
member of several local clubs, of the Anti-
Opium Society, and of the Selangor Chamber
of Commerce.
Mr. Lam Loo King is one of the prominent
residents of the mining town-of Kampar, Perak,
and the owner of several tin mines in the dis-
trict of Kinta, employing about a couple of
thousand men (Chinese). He is a native of
San-Wui district, near Canton, China. Mr.
Lam Looking was born and educated in
Pinang, where his family have been well
known and respected for many generations.
He proceeded to China when he was eighteen
P
B
1. YAP HON CHIN.
2. THE LATE YAP DOONG SHOON.
3. CAPTAIN YAP AH LOY.
ing ammunition and treasure over to Tarn
Sui, Formosa, where he rendered valuable ser-
vice, in recognition of which he was created
a Mandarin of the Blue Button and decorated
with a peacock feather. When he retired an
elder brother assumed the office. One of his
brothers, Liu Kok Cheong, is in charge of the
southern squadron at the present time.
The late Mr. Low Ah Pang.— The career
of the late Mr. Low Ah Pang furnishes another
example of the success which many Chinamen
have achieved who came to Malaya in youth
family of fifteen sons and ten daughters, and
estates valued atseveral million dollars. The
estates- were, left in trust to Messrs. Teh Seow
Teng,-Tong Tung, and Yap Tai Kee, his eldest
son. The last-named died, shortly after his
father, and his place was taken by the second
son, Mr. Yap Tai Cheong. Mr. Teh Seow
years old, and entered the Chinese Imperial
naval arsenal at Foo Chow to learn navigation.
He joined H.l.C.M. ship Fei-Yiwii as a mid-
shipman, was promoted to gunner, and then
lieutenant. At the time of the Franco-Chinese
War he was transferred to Canton to take
charge of a chartered steamer, Eiiniy, carry-
THE LATE LOW^ AH PANG.
(Captain China.)
without any capital except their own energy
and ability. The deceased gentleman was
born in 1844, educated in China, and came to
Pinang at the age of twenty years. ■ Very
shortly afterwards he started a small general
merchant's business on his own account, and a
few years later was able to open a tin mine in
Perak. This venture was remarkably success-
ful, and in 1896 Mr. Low Ah Pang went into
partnership at Kuala Lumpor with Mr. Loke
Yew. In 1870 he married Pam Kim Leng, by
whom he had two sons — Low Chick Tum, who
is managing his deceased father's estate, and
Low Foong On. They own houses and mines
in Pinang, Perak, and Kuala Lumpor, and
extensive padi fields in China.
Mr. Wong Fong. — A well-known and
popular resident of Kalupar is Mr. Wong
Fong, of 132, Jalan Gopeng. A native of the
Kwang Tung province, and a son of Mr.
Wong Yin Tu, a leading ■ trader in the Straits
Settlements and Federated Malay States, Mr.
Wong Fong came to the Federated Malay
States about thirteen years ago. He now owns
mines at Kampar and Tanjong Tohalang,
some of which are let to and worked by other
towkays. Mr. Wong Fong is a member of the
Perak Rifle Association, and is one of the best
rifle shots in Perak. He is also a member of
the Gymkhana Club and several other local
institulions.
Mr. Cheah Cheang Lim, attorney and
manager for Mr, Foo Choo Choon, has exten-
sive business interests of his own. His father
and grandfather took an important part in the
commercial development of British Malaya.
About a century ago his grandfather emigrated
to Pinang from China, and engaged in busi-
ness as a pepper and cloth merchant under the
style, of Eng Huat & Co. Economy ancj
perseverance enabled him to amass wealth.
He acquired land, became a planter on a large
scale, and shipped goods to and from China in
his own sailing vessels. His second son, Mr.
Cheah Boon Hean, father of Mr. Cheah Cheang
YAP HON CHIN'S OFFICES, KUALA LUMPOR, AND RESIDENCE AT PAKALING HILL.
900
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
The late Foo Kang Nyong (Mrs. Cheah Boon Hean).
CHBAH CHEANG LIM.
Cheah Cheang Lim.
The late Cheah Boon Hean.
Lim, started as supercargo on one of his fattier's
vessels, and eventually became a cloth and
porcelain merchant in Sumatra. He formed a
strong mining syndicate at Kota Taiping, and
erected at his own expense the Taiping
market. Mr. Cheah Cheang Lim is the sixth
son of Mr. Cheah Boon Hean, and was, born at
Taiping in 1875. He was educated at the
Taiping Central School, and from i8go to 1894
served in the Post Ofiice in his native place.
In the latter year he became private secretary
to Mr. Foo Choo Choon, being appointed
assistant manager in 1896 and general manager
and attorney in 1900. He is the proprietor of
the Lahat Kiri mine, worked by puddling
machinery, and smaller mines which he lets
out, and he is the employer of about three
hundred coolies. He is chairman of the direc-
tors of the Ipoh Foundry, Ltd., and a director
of the Tanglin Kubber Estate Syndicate, Ltd.
His business affairs are managed by his
brother, Mr. Cheah Cheang Hee, and his
brother-in-law, Khoo Soon Keng. He has
residences in Pinang and Ipoh, is married, and
has one son and three daughters.
Mr. Soo Ah Yong. — Few men in the
Federated Malay States occupy a more trusted
position than Mr. Soo Ah Yong, general
manager of Towkay Eu Tong Sen's business
in Perak. He holds full power of attorney for
his employer, and has charge of very consider-
able interests. He went from China to Pinang
at an early age, and at the Pinang Free School
received a sound education in English and
Chinese. He entered the Government service
in Perak, but left it after some years in order
to take up his present position, which he has
held for ten years.
The late Mr. Ho Chun Fatt v.'as born
in China in 1843, and came to the Federated
Malay States at the early age of eighteen years.
He commenced working as a miner at Batu
Gajah, and after earning sufficient money he
purchased tin-mining land which proved to be
so rich that he made his fortune o.it of it in ten
years. He died in 1900, leaving one son and
one daughter, and bequeathing all his property
to his wife. The son, Mr. Ho Kim Nyean, was
born at Batu Gajah in 1888. He was educated
at Pinang Free School, in which he passed the
seventh standard. When his father died he
went back to Batu Gajah, and is now managing
his mother's estates, which consist of tin mines,
houses, and 2,000 acres of land, mostly planted.
Mr. Ho Kim Nyean is a member of the Kinta
Chinese Chamber of Commerce, the Anti-
Opium Society, and the Perak Mining and
Planting Association. His name has also been
put forward as a candidate for the Sanitary
Board of Kinta South.
Mr. Low Boon Tit is one of the successful
and extensive miners of the Federated Malay
States. Born in Ann-Khay, in the district of
Chuan-Chew, in the Hukien province, China,
in 1851, and educated in his native country, he
came away some twenty-two years ago, first
visiting Sumatra and afterwards Pinang, but
eventually setiling in Serendah as a tin-miner
under the style of Chop Aik Hin. He gradually
extended his operations from Serendah to
Kuala Lumpor, Sungei Ujong, and practically
all parts of the Federated Malay States, and is
now the sole owner of several tin mines, is a
partner in others, and lets some mining land
out on tribute Mr. Low is also a property-
owner in Kuala Lumpor, Serendah, and Rawang.
He has thirteen children.
Mr. Khoo Hock Cheong;, miner, planter,
and. contractor, was born in 1855 in China, and
went to Pinang about thirty-seven years ago.
Very shortly afterwards he opened a small
shop. At the end of three 5'ears he was joined
by a partner and extended his business. At the
same time he took charge of a sugar planta-
tion and factory, and commenced to import
European goods. Twelve years later the part-
nership was dissolved, and for a few months he
did no business at all. In 1887 he started to
trade as a merchant, and in 1888 held the lease
of the Situl General Farms in Kedah. Losing
heavily in this venture, he was obliged to give
up the business and start another, with several
partners, as dealers in indigo and tapioca. Two
years later, finding that this business did not pay
him well, he withdrew from it and went to
Teluk Anson, where he established himself as
a rice and tin merchant. At the end of two
more years he went to Kuala Lumpor and
opened up a business in partnership with a
Singapore firm as a dealer in tin, opium, rice,
coffee, &c. There he remained for about nine
years. He then entered into contracts for the
supply of labour to load and unload the goods
conveyed by the Federated Malay States Rail-
ways in Selangor, Negri Sambilan, and Malacca.
Later on he commenced rubber-planting and
mining. He is now a landed proprietor, own-
ing houses and mining land in Kuala Lumpor,
Port Swettenham, and other parts of the State
of Seiangor. Mr. Khoo has an ofiice in Old
Market Square, Kuala Lumpor, under the style
of Chop Hock Cheong. He is a son of the late
Mr. Khoo Tek Heok, is married, and has a
family, the eldest son being Mr. Khoo Chye
Poh, who was formerly a teacher in the Vic-
toria Institution, Kuala Lumpor, for two years
but gave il up in order to assist his father.
HO KIM NYE AN AND FAMILY, AND THEIR RESIDENCE AT BATU GAJAH.
Residence at Kuala Lumi'OK.
LOW BOON TIT.
The Offices at Serendah.
Low Boon Tit axd Family.
902
TWENTIETH CEXTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Mr. Chan Yap Thong, of Ipoh, is a son of
Mr. Chan Thye, who left China for Rangoon
and commenced business on his own account
as a building contractor. Having amassed
some money, he came to the Federated Malay
States and started mining in Perak under
the chop Tai Lee Yik Kee. This was about
thirty years ago. In his mining operations he
employed about ten thousand coolies. Mr.
Chan Yap Thong was born in Rangoon.
When eight years of age he was sent to China
to be educated, and obtained the degree of
Siew Chye or Ip Siang. Then he went to
Hokien, in Amoy province, and purchased the
title of See Yong Tow. When thirtv-one years
of age Mr. Chan Yap Thong lost" his father,
and came to the Straits Settlements and
Federated Malay States to take charge of his
business, which he successfully developed. At
present in Canton province there is a hospital
(Kong Chee), a home for the poor (Kong Hin
Sin Tong), and a school (Hock Tong), all of
which he has endowed. In recognition of his
benefactions the Emperor of China conferred
upon him the title of Lock Sim Hoe See, which
another which ran between Bcrlayleng, Macas-
sar, Deli, and Pinang. In 1879 he married,
and, after spending a year on the steamship
Ponlianak, commenced business in Kuala
Lumpor. In company with Mr. Ong Chie
Siew, he engaged in mining in 1895, and ten
years later opened the business of Sin Seng
Kee & Co., trading in rice, black cloth, opium,
&c. This business, as well as mining, he still
carries on very successfully. He is a member
of the Anti-Opium Society, the Chinese Miners'
Association, the Selangor Chinese Chamber of
Commerce, and of the committee of the Chinese
School, " Choon Khong Huck Tong." His son,
Mr. Yeo Cheow Tiat, was born in 1884 and
married in 1905 ; his daughter was born in
1895. In 1906 Mr. Yeo Cheng Lean became a
grandparent, and he and his family now reside
in Kuala Lumpor.
Mr. Low Boon Kim, miner, is a son of the
late Mr. Low Hiang, and was born in 1844 in
China. With his father he left China about
fifty-one years ago for Saigon, where he stayed
for three years. At the end of that time he
moved to Singapore, in which place he opened
paying a rent of 7,950 dollars a month in the
first terra and 14,000 dollars a month in the
second term. Xow the rent is 125,000 dollars.
He also interested himself in tin mining, and
now owns mines at Rasa, Kuala Kubu, Kelom-
pang, Ulu Langat, Kajang, and other places in
the Federated States. He is a large landed
proprietor in the Federated Malay States and
Pinang. He has four sons — Messrs. Low
Leong Cheok, Low Leong Huaf, Low Leong
Gan, and Low Leong Choon.
Mr. Tan Jiak Whye is the son of Mr. Tan
Beng Wi, the adopted son of Mr. Tan Beng
Swi, and the grandson of Mr. Tan Kim Seng.
He was born in 1852. In 1902 he was elected
president (Teng Choo) of the Chinese Temple
(Hood Choe) at Malacca, a post held by the
family for three generations.
Mr. Chee Swee Cheng traces his ancesti-y
back through nine generations of Malacca-
born Chinese, the first representative of the
family to settle in the territoiy having come
from China more than 150 years ago. Mr.
Chee is a wealthy man, following the business
of opium and spirit farmer and planter. His
CHAN YAP THONG -AND CHOP THYE LEE (IPOH).
means "a generous-hearted and honourable
gentleman."
Mr. Yeo Cheng Lean has had a varied
career. A Hokien, born in Malacca in 1841,
he was the eldest of a family of seven sons and
five daughters. In 1856 he went to Singapore,
but, after spending three years in business in
that settlement, he chose a seafaring life and
joined a sailing vessel running between Ran-
goon, Pinang, and Siak. In 1875, which was
the year in which he lost his father, Mr. Yeo
transferred to a steamship trading between Java
ports, and two years later quitted this for
a shop and managed it for six years. After that
he migrated to Malacca and started business as
a rice merchant, continuing in that line for
eleven years. Then he extended the business
to Asahan, Sumatra, where he also dealt in
padi. Subsequently he established his head
office at Pinang. After two years' stay there
he sold his business and settled at Durian
Sabatang, in Perak, as a contractor, supplying
all sorts of goods to the State Government.
He removed to Kuala Lumpor in 1883, and
became the lessee of the General Gambling
and Spirit Farms of Selangor for three years.
great-grandfather was the late Mr. Chee Kim
Guan. His great-grandmother. Go Him Neo,
who is ninety-two years of age, appears in a
family group photograph which we reproduce.
Mr. Chee Swee Cheng's grandfather, the late
Mr. Chee Yean Chuan, who was born on May
24, 1818, at Malacca, founded the firm of
Messrs. Leack Chin Seng, general merchants,
of Singapore. He was also a nutmeg-planter
at Malacca and Singapore, and speculated
largely in land and buildings. He died on July
28, 1862, leaving seven sons and two daughters,
and bequeathing a large estate both in Malacca
o
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o
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<1
EH
CHEE SWEB CHENG.
The late Chee Yeax Chuan. 2. Chee Hcon Bong, 3. Chee Swee Cheng and Relatives. 4. " Lovelv, ' the Eesidexce of Chee Swee Chenq.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
905
and Singapore. His sons were Messrs. Chee
Jin Siew, Chee Him Bong, Chee Hoon Bong,
Chee Lim Bong, Chee Hee Bong, Chee Quee
Bong, and Chee Beck Bong. His photograph,
as shown here, was reproduced from the
original negative talcen about fifty years ago.
Mr. Cliee Swee Cheng's falher was the late Mr.
menced planting tapioca, subsequently inter- Chee was
planting it with rubber. At the same time he Orphans
established a saw-mill. In 1906 Mr. Chee Si.\ years
and his two partners leased the General Spirit Justice of
and Opium Farms for British North Borneo of the Ch
and Labuan. Mr. Chee was then appointed Singapore
general manager of the concern. At present was born 1
hon. secretary of the Widows and
Fund of Singapore and Malacca.
later he was appointed a Visiting
Prisons, and was on the committee
inese Weekly Entertainment Club of
. His brother, Mr. Chee Sim Cheng,
in 1873, and was educated at the High
■?***C!iGi»?.^lst v-'^*r.ii - "^ .-':r=s«K4fea«i(>.i^:i:iX.*r'>*-.i?s::;-j^
LOW YANG HIN. MISS TAP KON KIOW. THE LATE YAP LOONG KEB.
MRS. lilEW HUP NBO (WIPE OF THE LATE YAP LOONG KBE).
KUALA LUMPOR RBSIDBNOE.
Chee Hoon Bong. Starting life as a tapioca-
planter, he opened up an estate at Bukit
Bruang. Subsequently he held a partnership
in the firm of Messrs. Leack Chin Seng &
Co., general merchants ; in the City Saw Mills,
Malacca ; and in the General Spirit and Opium
Farm at Malacca. He was headman of the
Hokien Chinese sect, and was for about six
years a Justice of the Peace for Malacca.
He died on September 28, 1903, leaving four
sons and three daughters. Two of the sons
predeceased him, those surviving being Mr.
Chee Swee Cheng and Mr. Chee Sim Heng. Mr.
Chee Swee Cheng was born on December 13,
1866, and was educated at the local High
School, Malacca. At the age of sixteen he
went as cashier to Messrs. Lim Tiang Wah
& Co., general merchants, of Singapore, and
remained with them till 1886, when he joined
Messrs. Leack Chin Seng & Co., in whose
employ he remained for four years. Subse-
quently he acted as manager for Messrs. Soon
Tye, general merchants, and in igoo was
appointed a partner in and the manager of the
General Spirit and Opium Farm in Borneo.
The Governor of British North Borneo, with a
view to encourage planting and help forward
the development of the country, offered Mr.
Chee Swee Cheng 5,000 acres of land for
plantfng purposes. This offer was readily
accepted, and Mr. Chee Swee Cheng com-
he is also the principal shareholder in the Straits
Industrial Syndicate, of Singapore, which deals
in timber, and has also an ice factory, turning
out from S to 20 tons of ice a day. This
factory was established by Mr. Chee Swee
Cheng, who recognised that the price of ice
was excessive, and, as an outcome of his
venture, the price of the commodity has been
reduced to such an extent that even the poor
can afford to buy it. Mr. Chee sold the factory
to the syndicate, though Mr. Chee retained a
large number of shares. In 1905, in partner-
ship with his brother, Mr. Chee Sim Cheng,
and brother-in-law, Mr. Chan Cheng Siew, he
purchased 1,000 acres of land at Bratam
Payeh Rumpot for rubber-planting purposes.
Under the management of Mr. Chee Sim
Cheng, 600 acres of this property have already
been planted. The estate has very rich soil,
and is situated close to the town of Malacca.
Besides this he has planted coconuts and rubber
at the rear of his summer house, which is about
four and a half miles out of Malacca. Mr.
Chee Swee Cheng owns property in Malacca,
Singapore, Jesselton, Beaufort, and Papa, most
of his money being invested in rubber and
tapioca plantations. He has been married
twice. By his first wife he had one daughter.
His second wife is a daughter of Mr. Lee
Keng Leat, and has one son, Chee Guan
Chiang, eleven yeai-s of age. In 1890 Mr.
School, Malacca. A tapioca and rubber planter,
he is at present a partner in and inanager of
Bratam Payeh Rumpot rubber estate, as well
as a sleeping partner in the spirit and opium
farms at'Singapore, Malacca, and Labuan. He
is married to a daughter of Mr. Chan Kung
Swee, and has four sons.
The late Mr. Yap Loong Kee was a good
example of the successful Chinese business
man. He was born in Malacca in 1864, and at
the early age of twenty he commenced tin
mining in Petaling, Salak. This' venture
proving successful, he bought other mines, and
out of these made his fortune. In 1879 he
married Liew Hup Neo, and at his death in
1903 left her with one daughter. Yap Kon Kiow,
and two adopted sons. Mr. Yap Loong Kee
was a member of the Chinese Kongsee. His
estate, which consists of mines, residential
property, &c., is now managed by his widow's
brother, Mr. Low Yang Hin, who was born at
Ulu Langat in 1882, and educated at the
Victoria Institution. He was for two years in
the Government service (Customs Department),
at Port Dickson before he joined Mr. Yan Tet
Shin in his spirit and gambling farm. Upon
the death of his brother-in-law, four years
later, he undertook, at the request of his sister,
the management of the late Mr. Yap Loong
Kee's estate.
Mr. Chee Lim Bong, who comes from a
906
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
CHEB KANG CHENG AND FAMILY.
good English education at the Malacca Hi^.h
School, and at the age of nineteen joi"^" "'=
father in business. Later on he purchasea me
Diamond Jubilee estate, in partnership with
two others, and started planting tapioca and
rubber. The estate was so well managed that
at the Agri-Horticultural Show at Kuala Lumpor
in IQ04 its tapioca secured the i^rst prize, while
within twenty months from the time of purchase
it changed hands at an unusually high price.
Mr Chee Kang Cheng now holds shares in the
property and in two other rubber estates in
Malacca.
family which has occupied a leading place in
the Chinese community of . Malacca for . six
generations, was born in that settlement in
1849. His father, the late Mr. Chee Yam
Chuan, was an experienced business man, and
was so much respected that at the early age of
twenty-one years he was elected head of the
Hokien community in Malacca. Mr. Chee
Kang Cheng, the eldest son of Mr. Chee Lira
Bong, was born in 1876. He received a fairly
TOWKAY LIM TO,
Towkay Lim To is one of the leading men
in the town of Muar, Johore. He is head of
the firm of Chop Yap Hin, who carry on the
K. T. PARIMANAN PILLAY'S RESIDENCE AT KUALA LUMPOB.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
907
gambling farm for the district, and also possess
a large tract of planting land at Batu Pahat.
This property extends to about 600 acres, and
is divided up into small sections and sub-let.
The towkay at present is building a new
theatre and a new gambling farm, which
promise to be amongst the best architectural
features of Muar. He is a native of Amoy, in
South China, and has been in Johore for nearly
forty years. He is married and has one son,
Lim Im Kui, who is to be educated in English.
The late Mr. Hin Kian Ng.— When the
late Mr. Hin Kian Ng, a Perak mirie-owner,
came to the Federated Malay States about forty
years ago, there were serious faction fights
going on amongst the Chinese, and he became
one of the most prominent combatants. After-
wards he removed to Pappan, in Perah State,
and began mining and prospecting on a small
scale. Eventually he located rich mines and
made several fortunes, which, however, were
spent almost as soon as made, for he was of a
very liberal disposilion and helped every one
who cared to appeal to his generosity. He was
born in Canton in 1835, was married in Malacca
about twenly-five years ago, and died in 1904,
leaving a widow with seven sons and several
daughter?. The eldest son is Mr. Hin Chin
Chen, who was born in 1883 at Pappan and
educated there. He is now managing his
father's estates, comprising mines in diilerent
parts of Perak — some of which are let out on
tribute — and shop-houses and other properties
in and around Pappan and Malacca.
INDUSTRIAL.
FEDERAL OIL MILLS, LTD.
The manufacture of oil from coconuts by an
up-to-date process may be seen in operation
at the Federal Oil Mills at Kuala Selangor.
-^
<A
r
s
1. HIN CHIN CHEN. 2. THE LATE HIN KIAN NG'S MEMORIAL TABLET.
THE FEDERAL OIL MILLS.
908
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
I. J. R. Crawford (Managing Director).
THE IPOH FOUNDRY.
2. J. R. Cr.4wford's Residence.
3. The Fouxdry.
The mills, which are owned by a limited com-
pany, occupy about three acres of ground, and
are fitted with the latest machinery. There is
a steam-heated apparatus for drying the copra
artificially, and by this means much time is
saved. The copra is first ground to powder,
then heated, and the oil is extracted by
hydraulic pressure. The residue, which ap-
pears in long flat cakes, known as oil-cake, is
used as a fattening food for cattle, pigs, &c.
KINTA ICE WORKS.
The capacity of the mill is about 3 tons of
oil and ij tons of cake per diem, which is
disposed of in the Federated Malay States.
The manager of the mills is Mr. H. d'Esterre
Darby, who came out to the Federated States
as a coffee planter in 1889. He had charge of
several estates before taking over his present
position in 1903.
THE IPOH FOUNDRY.
The Ipoh Foundry is a well-equipped en-
gineering establishment which was opened by
Mr. J. R. Crawford and a few Chinese gentle-
men interested in mining, &c. A large share
of the work for the Chinese miners of the dis-
trict is done here, and additional premises have
become necessary. These will include a well-
equipped show-room. Mr. Crawford is the
managing director, The other directors are
Messrs. Foo Choo Choon, J. G. Allan, Chung
Ah Yong, Cheah Cheang Hin, and Eu Tong
Sen ; and the chief clerk is Mr. S. Com-
marasang. The firm are sub-agents for Messrs.
Guthrie & Co., Ltd., and for Messrs. Marshall
& Sons, engineers and boiler-makers, &c., of
Singapore.
KINTA ICE WORKS.
The establishment of the Kinta Ice Works
was an undoubted boon to the people of Ipoh,
and, indeed, of Perak. Until its inauguration
two years ago by Mr. Shaik Adam, proprietor
of the Kinta Aerated Water Factory, Taiping,
Kampar, and Ipoh, ice and mineral waters
were unobtainable in the neighbourhood.
Needless to say, there was a large and imme-
diate demand for the products of the factories.
At present the supply of ice is still below
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
909
requirements, although the plant has been
more than doubled in capacity. Machinery
capable of turning out five tons of ice daily
was originally installed, and the additional
plant laid down was capable of manufacturing
seven tons more, so that twelve tons of ice are
made and sold every day. There is also a
small plant at Teluk Anson, used only for the
fish trade, the fish being brought some 125 miles
from the mouth of the river and stored for
about fifteen hours for the supply of the whole
of Perak. The machinery employed in Ipoh
is all of the most modern pattern, and was
suppUed by Messrs. Henry Vogt & Co., of New
York, U.S.A. The Teluk Anson plant is of the
Linde British type, from London. The ice is
of excellent quality, and is made from water
drawn from the town mains. An enormous
quantity of river water is used every day for
the three machines for Mr. Shaik Adam, was
appointed manager and engineer-in-charge of
the ice plant after it had undergone satisfactory
trials. He obtained his technical training with
Messrs. Riley, Hargreaves & Co., Ltd., of Singa-
pore, and of late was representative and outside
manager for the firm in the district of Perak.
SBRBMBAN ENGINEERING COMPANY.
The Seremban Engineering Company is the
only establishment of its kind in the Negri
Sambilan, and is a great convenience to miners,
motor-car owners, and the Government of the
State. The business was opened on January i,
igoi, by the present managing director, Mr.
James Craigie, local capital being used for its
flotation. The works aire very well equipped
for all kinds of jobbing work, whether light or
the Government wharves at Port Swettenham.
He is rightly regarded as one of the pioneers
of the State ; he came to the country at a time
when there were no railways and very few
roads, and travelling was not attended with
the comfort enjoyed nowadays.
FEDERATED ENGINEERING COM-
PANY, LTD.
An excellent rubber-washing machine which
has obtained medals and diplomas in the Straits
Settlements and Ceylon owes its origin to an
engineering firm in the Federated States — the
Federated Engineering Company, Ltd. This
machine is now being generally adopted. It
is of simple construction, yet very effective,
the rubber blocks being free from all im-
purities when they leave the machines, which
THE SEREMBAN ENGINEERING COMPANY.
condensing purposes. As showing the lucra-
tive nature of the business, it may be stated
that out of revenue the cost of installing the
machinery was cleared off within six months
after the opening. Mr. Shaik Adam is one of
the pioneers of Ipoh. A thorough business
man, he has risked a great deal of his money
in concerns which at the outset did not promise
any very rapid returns , but which have since
become very lucrative. He is a big landowner
and house-owner in Perak. At present he is
building a temple for the Mahomedan com-
munity in Ipofi as a mark of his gratitude
towards his fellow-religionists. Its cost will
be 500,000 dollars, and when finished it will be
one of the most picturesque buildings in Ipoh.
Mr. Shaik Adam has been working hard in
this territory for the last twenty years, and has
thoroughly deserved the success which he has
attained. Mr. E. A. Hodges, who erected all
heavy, and the range of repairs undertaken
extends from road rollers to gramophones. A
great deal of work has been done for the State
Government. Most of the iron bridges for the
roads have been supplied and erected by the
company, who also constructed the public
markets in the town. During 1907 they erected
no fewer than seventeen bridges. Mr. Craigie,
the manager, has under him a staff of about
fifty men. He has been in the Federated
Malay States for twenty-seven years. Formerly
he was connected with the Larut Foundry, at
Taiping, and he afterwards founded the Ipoh
Foundry Company at Ipoh, which, owing to
the low price of tin and the consequent de-
pression in the trade of Perak, had to be dis-
posed of. The present establishment was not
opened until some years afterwards. In the
interval Mr. Craigie entered the Government
service and assisted in the work of constructing
wash, roll, and press the product. The
Federated Engineering Company, Ltd., was
established in 1899 by the amalgamation of the
businesses of two private companies. The
operations of the company comprise brass-
founding, bridge building, and general en-
gineering, while a speciality is made of
machinery for dealing with rubber. A large
trade is also done in motor-cars by this firm,
which was one of the first in the East to im-
port them. The first manager was Mr. David
Robertson, and his assistant was Mr. G. D.
Russell. Mr. Robertson left in January, 1904,
and was succeeded by Mr. Russell, who had
been with the firm since 1900. The staff con-
sists of 7 Europeans and 300 natives. The
company have secured the contract for the
supply and erection of a steel bridge over the
river at Klang. This contract is of the value
of about ;^20,ooo, and is one of the largest ever
FEDERATED ENGINEERING COMPANY, LTD.
The Engixeering Works.
Interior of the Motor-car Works.
Rubber Machixerv.
General Interior.
(See p. 909.)
EILET, HARGBEAVES & CO., LTD.
Motor Works at Ipoh.
Interior of the Ipoh Workshops.
(See p. 912.)
912 TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
let in the Federated Malay States to a private A.M.I.C.E., is a man of wide experience, who
firm. The bridge will consist of four spans of has pursued his technical studies and training
140 feet each, supported on cylindrical piers, in many countries and has travelled practically
SEL.ANGOB ENGINEERING COMPANY'S PREMISES AT KUALA LUMPOB.
each of an estimated depth of 90 feet. It is
expected that the bridge will be open for traffic
by the end of igo8.
RILEY, HARGBEAVES & CO., LTD.
A branch of the firm of Messrs. Riley, Har-
greaves & Co., Ltd., of Singapore, has been
established in Ipoh since June, 1902, when the
company bought out the firm of Mitchell Bros.
This firm had been in existence about eighteen
years, and was the first firm of engineers in
Perak. The business done is chiefly in mining
machinery and mining stores, the firm's
speciality being puddling machinery and wind-
ing gears. A well-equipped electrical depart-
ment is kgpt busily engaged in the electrification
of some bf the up-to-date tin mines. Messrs.
Riley, Hargreaves & Co., Ltd., have- also a
large and complete garage, and are the only
firm in the district who attend to the repair
and upkeep of motor-cars.
SELANGOB ENGINEERING COMPANY.
As a result of the abnorfnally rapid develop-
ment of Kuala Lumpor and the surrounding
country numerous new industrial concerns
have been called into existence. One of the
latest and most important of these is- the
Selangor Engineering Company, who com-
menced operations on August i, 1907, as
mechanical, electrical, civil, and consulting
engineers, bridge builders and contractors, iron
and brass founders, electroplaters, stovers, and
enamellers. A special department of the new
firm's enterprise is the motor-car section of
their works, which is fitted up with the latest
appliances for the repair of cars and cycles and
should prove a great boon to the numerous
users of these vehicles in the States. The com-
pany have in hand an extensive and varied
stock of tyres and accessories. Motor-cars are
sold, bought, exchanged, and let out on hire.
This work is supervised by European experts.
The manager, Mr. T. Smyth, M.I.E.E.,
all over the world. Born in Mexico City in
1856, he began his education in California, and
was then apprenticed for seven years to the
Pennsylvania Steel Company, Ltd., of Phila-
delphia and Boston. His apprenticeship com-
pleted, Mr. Smyth went to Germany, where he
terminated his course in England by qualify-
ing as an M.I.E.E.andA.M.LC.E. For fifteen
years afterwards he was in the service of the
Indian Government. Coming out to the
Federated Malay States on June 4, 1907, he
speedily floated and started this new company,
of which he is now the manager, and which
promises to take a leading place among the
industrial concerns of the Federated States.
COMMERCIAL.
EUROPEAN.
THE MEDICAL HALL, IPOH.
The Medical Hall is one of the latest ad-
ditions to the public buildings in Ipoh, and
occupies a good central position in the town.
It has achieved much success, and the inten-
tion of the proprietor. Dr. Connolly, is that it
shall rank as the medical institution of the
Kinta district. A biographical sketch of Dr.
Connolly will be found under the article on
" Opium." At the time of writing, Dr. Connolly
is in England, and the practice is under the
charge of Dr. John Cross, his partner, who also
looks after Dr. Connolly's general interests
while he is absent. Dr. Cross has been in the
Federated Malay States for two years. He
was formerly in partnership with Dr. Van
Wedel, of Singapore. Previous to that he
practised in China, spending some eight years
in the treaty port of Amoy. He is a native
of Scotland, and graduated M.B., CM., at
Glasgow University.
THE STRAITS TRADING COMPANY.
Kampar, being one of the most important
mining centres in Perak, has a branch of the
Straits Trading Company established in its
midst. Some idea of the extent of the business
done by the company here may be gathered
from the fact that the bulk of Kampar's output
of 14,000 piculs of tin ore per month is pur-
THB STRAITS TRADING COMPANY, GOPENG BRANCH.
studied electrical engineering and took first
honours ; thence he crossed over to France
and studied French electrical methods, and
chased by the company, which, it may be added,
is the only European firm in the town.
The Straits Trading Company, Ltd., are the
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
913
ff
A
i\
THE STRAITS TRADING COMPANY'S OFFICES AT KAMPAR
only European house of business in Gopeng,
and tliey possess tlie finest trade premises in
ttie town. Tlie company tiandle the greater
part of the output of tin ore from the district.
Mr. E. L. Huson has charge of the branch, with
a staff of native assistants.
One of the most recently established branches
of the Straits Trading Company, Ltd., is the
Sungei Siput branch. This district is coming
rapidly into prominence for mining, but is, so
far, practically unexploited by Europeans. Mr.
P. McCauU, the company's agent, enjoys the
distinction of being the only European in the
township. He has been in charge of the branch
for the last two years. Of the increasingly
large amount of tin turned out at Sungei Siput,
about 75 per cent, passes through the hands of
the Straits Trading Company. At Ulu Plus,
some 18 miles from the town, new tin mines
have been recently opened, and Simgei Siput
will form the railway centre — a fact which is
calculated to enhance the importance of the
company's branch in this locality. At present
these mines can only be reached by travelling
on elephants or on foot, but a good road is
projected, and will no doubt soon be an accom-
plished fact.
BUBHAN & CO.
This firm was established in 1886 as general
merchants in the early years of the develop-
ment of the State, and it successfully catered
to the wants of a very large section of the
community. The enterprising proprietor was
likewise the founder of the Perak and Pinang
Aerated Water Factory in 1887. Simulta-
neously he also established a bakery, which,
during the past twenty years, has practically
J. Tau'ing Premises.
BUBHAN & CO.
^. The lNTERio;i.
3. Negri Sambilan Bkaxch.
914
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
commanded the best part of Taiping and out-
lying stations as well. Burhan's bread is
regarded among local dealers as synonymous
with bread of the best quality.
THE PBBAK AND PINANG AERATED
WATEE FACTORY.
This factory, which was founded as far back
as 1887, was the first of the kind established
in the Federated Malay States, and had the
distinction of securing the patronage of Sir
Clementi Smith, G.C.M.G., a former Governor
of the Straits Settlements. The purity and ex-
cellence of the waters manufactured at this
factory have won for them a very high reputa-
tion, and a large demand from all quarters, in-
cluding the leading clubs, messes, &c. Messrs.
Burhan & Co. are the proprietors.
THE STRAITS TRADING
COMPANY, LTD.
The Straits Trading Company, Ltd., whose
head oiBce is in Singapore, have had a branch
in 1896, 274,838 ; in 1897, 279,087 ; in 1898,
289,073 ; in 1899, 251,540 ; in 1900, 254,216 ;
in 1901, 277,431 ; in 1902, 264,020 ; in 1903,
253,179 ; in 1904, 287,714 ; in 1905, 274,422 ;
and in 1906, 219,017. The tin ore is smelted at
Pulo Brani, Singapore, and Butterworth, Pinang.
The firm have an agency in every important
mining centre, and . employ a very large
European staff. At Kuala Lumpor the manager
for the company is Mr. W. F. Nutt, who has
been fourteen years in their service in various
parts of the States. Mr. F. Adam is general
inspector. The company are adding to the
Selangor business a very large modern plant
for dressing tin ore. This plant, which is being
put down at Sungei Besi, is specially adapted
for treating low-grade ores, which cannot be
dealt with at present.
A. C. HARPER & CO.
Even among comparatively new commercial
houses in Malaya there are many cases in
which the prosaic routine of business has been
enlivened by excitement owing to local dis-
taken in Market Street. The partnership only
lasted a short time, however, and Mr. Harper
continued the business on his own account. A
large trade was done in rice and opium and
in supplying planting and mining requisites
throughout the Federated Malay States. Mr.
Harper was the first European to start a brick
kiln. He carried out several Government
contracts for the supply of bricks and the con-
struction of roads, and in 1906 Messrs. Russell
F. Grey and F. Ede Maynard joined him in
partnership. Branch establishments have now
been opened up at Bentong (Pahang), Klang,
and Port Swettenham. Other recent develop-
ments include sharebroking and the supply of
automobile requisites. Messrs. Harper & Co.
are sole agents for the Asiatic Petroleum Com-
pany, Ltd., and supply about 75 per cent, of
the petroleum used in Selangor and Pahang.
They also represent the P. & O. Company,
the Straits Steamship Company, Lloyd's
Shipping Insurance, the Commercial Union
Assurance Company, the South British Marine
Insurance Company, and Nobell's Explosives
Company.
THE STRAITS TRADING COMPANY'S PREMISES AND OFFICE AT KUALA LUMPOR.
in the State of Selangor for many years. They
have just built and entered into occupation of
handsome new premises in Market Street,
Kuala Lumpor. It was in 1889 that the com-
pany commenced operations in Selangor, by
taking over the business of Messrs. Sword &
Mullinghaus, who were then buying tin ore and
smelting it at Teluk Anson. At that time their
turnover was about 100 piculs per month (a picul
being 133J lbs.). The rapidity with which the
company's business is growing is well illus-
trated by the following figures : Tin ore
purchased in 1889, 36,344 piculs ; in i8go,
34,285 ; in i8gi, 52,888 ; in 1892, 81,862 ; in
1893, 103,435 ; in i894, 99.6i7 I in 1895, 177,328 ;
turbances. During the Pahang rebellion of
1894, for instance, Mr. A. C. Harper, who
founded the firm of A. C. Harper & Co., of
Kuala Lumpor, two years previously, secured
the contract for supplying the whole of the
provisions to the troops engaged in quelling
the disturbance, and the execution of this
undertaking was attended with considerable
difficulty owing to the fact that there was then
no railway line, and the goods had to be con-
veyed by road to the scene of operations. Mr.
Harper built up an extensive business as a
general merchant, commission agent, and con-
tractor. In 1904 he was joined in partnership
by Mr. Loke Yew, and larger premises were
THE FEDERAL DISPENSARY, LTD.
This establishment occupies fine premises at
the corner of Yap Ah Loy Street and High
Street. It was established some seven years
ago by Messrs. Loke Chow Kit, Tong Wai
Wai, and W. D. Williams, who, for that pur-
pose, bought out a small going concern and
floated the business as a limited liability com-
pany of 100,000 dollars. Two years later the
capital of the company was reduced to 85,000
dollars. In 1906 the company acquired an oppo-
sition business in the town, and this departure
brought increased trade and prosperity in its
train. While ordinary medical dispensing con-
HABPBR & CO., GENERAL MERCHANTS.
The Offices at Kuala Lumpor.
Oil Godovvns at Kuala Lumpor.
The Offices at Klang
. The Interior.
THE FEDERAL DISPENSARY, KUALA LUMPOR.
i. The PkemiSES. 3. F. V. Guy (Manager).
4. The SfAFF.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA 917
tinues to be the mainstay of the establishment,
there is also a large business carried on in such
goods as photographic supphes, guns, spectacles,
&c. For the convenience of residents a doctor
attends the dispensary at certain hours daily,
and the firm give special attention to the supply
of medical stores to the plantations in the States.
Mr. F. V. Guy, M.P.S., is manager of the
business, which has been built up and extended
under his management during the last five
years. When he first took charge of the
establishment Mr. Guy had under him only
three Chinese assistants. Now the staff
numbers no fewer than twenty, including the
assistant-manager, Mr. H. L. Johnston, A.P.S.
The firm imports its goods direct from home,
and holds several agencies, including those for
Messrs. W. Jeffreys & Sons, gun-makers,
London ; Kodak, Ltd. ; Messrs. N. Lazarus
& Co., opticians, London ; Messrs. Fussell &
Co., Ltd. ; and Messrs. Cumberbatch & Co.,
tea-blenders, Colombo. The premises have
been twice extended during the last two years,
and are now lit throughout by electricity.
Though old they present a smart appearance,
as will be seen by the photograph which we re-
produce. The company is managed by a board
of six directors, of which three are well-known
local Chinese gentlemen. From the dividends
paid a very good idea may be obtained of the
advance of the business. In igoi the dividend
was 40 cents per lo-dollar share ; in 1902,
50 cents ; in 1903, 5 per cent.; in 1904, 15 per
cent.; in 1905, 17J per cent.; and in 1906,
15 per cent., ihe total paid in dividends thus
aggregating 47J per cent., besides which
15,000 dollars has been placed to reserve.
These figures explain the high price now
quoted for the shares of this company.
GERVIS XAVIBR & CO.
Messrs. Gervis Xavier & Co. carry on busi-
ness at 64 and 66, Paul Street, Seremban, as
chemists and general merchants. The business
was established by Messrs. C. Xavier d'Souzaas
senior partner and J. Gervis Mendes, and in
1905 it was formed into a limited liability
company with Mr. C. Xavier d'Souza as
i
_^\l^
/?l^
J. & Q. McCLYMONT & CO.
managing director. Since then it has been
greatly extended. New premises have been
acquired and fresh departments opened. The
company import their goods direct, and do a
£SU..<tR
.J!g:^:^:'^Mii^
GERVIS XAVIBR & CO.
..^£l
large trade in all kinds of patent medicines and
medical stores used on the plantations.
J. & Q. McCLYMONT.
For many yeairs the only European business
house in the vicinity of Port Dickson, Xegri
Sambilan, Messrs. J. & Q. McClymont have
secured a very firm footing and a good reputa-
tion throughout the State, the supplies for which
come through that poi t. They do a very ex-
tensive forwarding and agency trade for all
parts of the State. The bulk of the rubber
from Negri Sambilan is shipped through their
agency to London and Ceylon, and, in the same
way, they handle most of the planters' stores
imported. Amongst others the firm holds
agencies for Fraser & Neave's Aerated Waters,
the Straits Steamship Company, Ltd., Asiatic
Petroleum Company, Ltd., Kaiser Brewery,
Beck & Co., Bremen (sub-agency), Commercial
Union Assurance Company, Ltd., New Zealand
Insurance Company, and the China Mutual Life
Insurance Company. They are also managers
and secretaries of the Co-operative Coffee
Trading Company, and are forwarding agents
for the Seremban Engineering Company,
Seremban Tin-llining Company, Linggi Planta-
tions, Ltd., Ribu Planting Company, Ltd.,
Anglo-Malay Rubber Company, Ltd., and Con-
solidated Malay Rubber Estates, Ltd.
ZACHARIAS & CO.
This firm, with godowns located at Nos. 17
and 18, Old Market Square, in the very centre of
the town, is one of the oldest Selangor firms of
merchants. Whilst making a speciality of the
importation of American goods, and represent-
ing, amongst others, ihe interests of the Standard
Oil Company of New York, the British .\meri-
2Q*
918 TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
ZACHAEIAS & CO.
The Offices and the Oil Godowns.
can Tobacco Company, and the Sperry Flour
Mills, its dealings with Liverpool and London
are equally extensive, particularly in machinery
and engineering requisites. Messrs. Zacharias
& Co.'s correspondents in Copenhagen supply
them with dairy produce, those in Bordeaux
with brandies, &c., and those in Colombo with
tea. Their business also includes insurance,
KIP CHANG LBONG'S PREMISES.
real estate agency, sharebroking and the like.
The senior partner, Mr. H. C. E. Zacharias,
was joined by a mining engineer, Mr. D.
Christie, in 1905, and it was only natural that
the branch of the business dealing with mining
and engineering generally should receive a
special stimulus in consequence. Indeed, since
then Messrs. Zacharias & Co., who have always
made a point of keeping well in touch with
the requirements of the Chinese, have had to
open a special repairing and fitting shop, which,
under the style of " Tong Fatt " and with an
entirely Chinese staff, copes with the increasing
demands made upon it by the miners of the
district, and is capable of dealing with any
other branch of mechanical engineering,
whether it be repairing a motor-car or erecting
special rubber machinery. Messrs. Zacharias
& Co. enjoy the reputation of being the first
exporters of rubber in the Federated Malay
States — a business which they still attend to
with much success, having corresponding
houses in Antwerp and London, who dispose
of their shipments to the best advantage on
arrival in Europe. The firm has many more
irons in the fire, and either partly or alone
owns several tin-mines and also a rubber
estate.
AYLESBURY & GARLAND.
This firm was founded by H. A. W. Ayles-
bury and E. T. C. Garland, in partnership, in
1895, i" Tapah, Batang Padang, as tin ore
buyers and Government contractors and agents.
Later on a branch office was opened in Tan-
jong Malim, a town just on the border of the
neighbouring State of Selangor, and now
practically all the tin ore in the Batang Padang
district is purchased through native brokers
TAVENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA 919
and agents by this firm. In August, 1902, an
office was started in Ipoh by Mr. G. L. Bailey,
as manager for the firm, and with the rapid
growth of the town it jias now become the
head office. In January, 1905, Mr. H. A. W.
Aylesbury was killed in a carriage accident in
Devonshire, much to the regret of the European
community of the Federated Malay States, by
whom he was much liked and respected. The
business was then carried on by Mr. E. T. C.
Garland alone, until the middle of 1906, when
Mr. G. L. Bailey was admitted a partner.
The firm carry on a general import business,
manufacture pipes and other articles under
the Stokoite patent, effect insurances, execute
architectural work, engage in rubber planting
and tin mining, purchase tin and other ores,
and visit, report on, and act as agents for rubber
and other estates. The firm owns, and has
large interests in, many rubber estates in the
Federated Malay States.
Amongst public works' carried out for the
Government by Aylesbury & Garland are the
construction of the earthwork for the railway
line from Tapah Road to Trolak, and the
making of the cart road towards the Camerons
Plateau Highlands of Perak.
PEBAK PHAKMACY,-
Medical stores for the miners of local Chinese
towkays are purchased largely from the Perak
Pharmacy, established in Kampar in 1901.
The proprietor, Mr. R. A. Thomas, is a man
of experience. He was educated at Madras
College, and after qualifying as an apothecary
and chemist did practical work in British
North Borneo, Singapore, and Pinangp Eight
years ago he made a trip to Jedda, and had
under his charge 1,400 pilgrims. He is striving
to introduce the use of European medicines
amongst the Chinese in his district.
A. K. E. HAMPSHIRE & CO.
In 1889 Mr. A. K. E. Hampshire came East
and joined the firm of H. Huttenbach, at Kuala
Lumpor,- Two years later he took over the
business, at the same time changing the name
to that of A. K. E. Hampshire & Co. He
carries on business at No. 8, Market Street, as
merchant and shipping agent._ He is the local
representative of the British India Steam
Navigation Company, the Ocean Steamship
Company, China Mutual Steam Navigation
Company, Ltd., "Shire" and "Glen" and
" Ben " lines, as well as of several rubber
estates and insurance companies.. He is also
agent for the Federal Oil Mills, Ltd. Branches
have been established in Klang and Port
Swettenham.
STRAITS TRADING COMPANY, LTD.,
KAJANG.
The Straits Trading Company's branch at
Kajang was opened in 1898, and it is now
actively engaged in buying tin ore from pro-
ducers in the surrounding district, including
the mining towns of Seminyih, Sungei Lallang,
Reko Broga, Cheras, and Ulu Langat. The
agency despatches the tin ore to the smelting
works of the company at Singapore, and
thence it is sent to all parts of the world. The
acting agent at Kajang is Mr. F. D. Rees.
Before joining the Straits Trading Company in
1905 he was in the service of Messrs. Gilbert J.
McCaul & Co., Australian merchants, London.
ORIENTAL.
IPOH DISPENSARY.
Mr. Wong I Ek was the first qualified
Chinese to practise medicine in IpoK He is
proprietor of the Ipoh Dispensary, 46, Market
Street, Ipoh, and to such an extent has his
business grown that he h?s now two branches
in other parts of the town. Mr. Wong I Ek
received his training at the Hongkong Medical
College attached to the Alice Memorial
Hospital. His successful career in Ipoh has
brought him considerable wealth, and he is
now an influential member of the community,
with landed property,
PEBAK DISPENSARY^
Mr. Eu Poon Guan is the proprietor of the
Perak Dispensary, 37, Hugh Low Street, Ipoh.
HOOT & CO., IPOH.
During the last few years motor-cars and
motor-cycles have become very popular in
Ipoh. Of the firms dealing in motor-cycles
Messrs. Hoot and Co., of 93 Belfield Street,
Ipoh, are one of the most important. They are
direct importers of motor-cycles and tri-cars
of the most modern pattern, and are doing a
large business in this line. Mr. Low Hoot
Kee, of Pinang, is the proprietor, and Mr.
L. Chew Huat the local manager. Messrs.
Hoot & Co. are agents for the famous Rex
bicycles, for the N.S.U. Cycle and Motor
HOOT & CO.'Si PREMISES.
A large business is done with the owners and
managers of mines and estates in Kinta district.
Mr. Eu is a native of Pinang, and was educated
at Pinang Free School and Rangoon College.
From the latter institution he entered the
Government Medical Service in Perak, and
went through a course of training in hospital.
After some years there, he resigned and com-
menced business on his own account in Ipoh.
He has mining interests in the Kinta district, is
owner of some good mining property in the
vicinity of Ipoh, and is a member of the Perak
Miners' Association.
LAI CHAK SANG.
Mr. Lai Chak Sang manages the chop
Kwong Fatt at Ipoh, which is owned by Leong
Lok Hing, who has lately become a Justice of
the Peace in Pinang. The firm, established
some eighteen years ago, do a large trade in silk,
opium, drapery, oil, and other commodities.
Mr. Lai Chak Sang was born in Canton in
i860, and about twenty-four years ago entered
the service of Chooi Hin,of Chop CheongWoo,
Pinang. After six years he opened the branch
at Ipoh.
Company, of London, and for practically
all the best makes of ordinary bicycles.
They execute repairs of all kinds, stock cycle
and motor accessories, and are about to add a
motor garage to their establishment.
TEIK CHIN COMPANY.
Established in 1894 at 23, 25, and 27, Hugh
Low Street, Ipoh, the firm of Teik Chin Com-
pany has grown rapidly to its present impor-
tance. Stocked with a large assortment of
European goods, it has attracted considerable
patronage not only to the Ipoh house, but to
the depots at Pinang (Messrs. Cheng Chan &
Co., of 4, Ah Kwee Street) and at Teluk Anson
{Messrs. Tait, Son & Co.). The firm hold the
Perak agencies for the Sun Fire Insurance
Office of London, the Shanghai Life Insurance
Company, the Langkat kerosine oil, and F.
Reddaway's camel-hair belting, besides being
the sole importers of Jean Debau cognac, Glen-
bissa Scotch whisky, and Chop Kam Ceylon
tea. At their various branches the firm do
a large business in supplying mining and
agricultural implements and house-building
materials. One of the large contracts secured
recently by Mr. Kam Teik Sean, the sole
1. The Dandokg Mine.
TEIK CHIN & CO.
2. The Ipoh Premises. 3. The Ikterior.
4. The Staff.
CHAN SOW LIN & CO. LTD
THK E„P.ov.,s, ™k Wohk,„ops, ..o V:.ws op xhh S..... m,.v..
2Q
I. Exterior of Premises.
TAIK HO & CO., TAIPING.
2. IoHiKay Beng (Proprietor).
3. The Interior,
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
923
proprietor of the business (vvlio has important
interests as a contractor and general agent, and
is the owner of the Dandang mine at Tampoi,
Papan, in Kinta), is that for the erection of 142
liouses in Ipoh for Towkay Yau Tet Shin,
at a cost of 385,000 dollars. Mr. Kam Teili
Sean was born at Pinang thirty-six years ago,
and is the son of Mr. Kam Chew Phoe. His
residence is at 11, King Street, Pinang. Mr.
Kam Kim Eam signs per pro. for the firm.
TONG SING.
The art of the Chinese gold and silversmiths
finds pleasing expression in all descriptions of
jewellery at the establishment of Mr. Leong
Song Thing, No. 33, Pudoli Street, where a
staff of upwards of fifty expert workmen is
employed. Although a branch of the well-
rubber estate. They have held contracts from
the Government and Municipality for many
years past. The\' make a speciality of meeting
planters' requirements, and supply many of the
retail shops in Taiping. They have a shipping
branch at Pinang and deal directly with the
manufacturers of English, Indian, and Chinese
goods. Mr. Toh Khay Beng is tlie son of llr.
YTJE WOK & CO.
The oldest and most important shop — indeed,
almost the only establishment of its kind — in
Teluk Anson, is that of Messrs. Yue Wok &
Co., at No. 7, Market Street. The business is
that of a general store with several important
agencies combined, and was started nearly
twenty years ago. Mr. Woo Chye, the proprietor,
is a Cantonese, who came from China in 1874
and commenced business as a grocer, subse-
quently becoming a partner in the establish-
ment whose name appears at the head of this
notice. In 1892 he was appointed agent at
Teluk Anson for the Straits Steamship
Company, and, about the same time, agent for
the Po On Insurance Company of Hongkong.
Mr. Woo Chye has a family of two sons and
three daughters.. He is a member of the Teluk
Anson Sanitary Board, a partner in the
Hydraulic Tin Mining Company, of Selangor,
and has interests in tin mines at Batu Gajah,
Papan, Kampar, and many other places in Perak
and Selangor.
KHOO TECK SBONG.
(See p. 705.)
JWI FONG LOONG..
As general storekeepers and importers of
English and American goods, the firm of Jwi
Fong Loong, 126, Belfield Street, Ipoh, does
a large trade, especially with the European
population.. Considerable business is also
transacted at their branches in Kuala Lumpor,
Klang, Kulau Kubu, and other towns in the
Federated States. They are dealers in wines
and spirits, and agents for Southwell's, London,
Guthrie & Co., Singapore, &c. Mr. Foo
Fook Thye is the senior partner, the firm
having been established by him and Mr..Siu
Kee Cheang, who are the sole proprietors.
^^
^^
M
0-
^^
LEONG SONG THING AND HIS BUSINESS PEEMISES (TONG SING).
known Singapore business of Hung Seng, the
shop in Kuala Lumpor is much the larger of
the two, and is one of the most important of
numerous branches in the Federated States.
Every kind of jewellery is manufactured, and
orders of all kinds are executed with finish
and despatch. Mr. Leong Song Thing, the
managing partner, is a native of Canton, and
has been connected with the business in Kuala
Lumpor for the past seventeen years. Pre-
vious to that he spent eleven years in the
Singapore establishment. His eldest son is
employed in the mines office at Rawang and
Serendali as mines overseer, and his fourth
son is being educated in Japan for the army.
TAIK HO & CO.
The firm of Messrs. Talk Ho & Co., of
No.. 82, Main Road, Taiping, was established
in 1899 by Mr., Toh Khay Beng, the present
sole proprietor. The premises are, perhaps,
the most central and commodious in Taiping.
The company carry on business as general
storekeepers, wine, spirit, and provision mer-
chants, miners, and general importers, besides
acting as forwarding agents for the Sandycroft
Toh Yew Leng, who came from China and
started business in Pinang some forty years
ago.. For nine years he has been actively
engaged in tin mining in Perak, and for twelve
years he has been a member of the Taiping
Sanitary Board. He is one of the local visiting
justices, owns considerable house and mining
property, and takes an active interest in public
affairs. All his family have received an English
education, and Mr. Toh Eng Swee, the eldest
son, assists in the management, in which also
the proprietor's son-in-law is engaged.
CHOW KIT & CO.
Messrs. Chow Kit & Co. are the largest
storekeepers in Kuala Lumpor. Their com-
modious premises at the corner of Holland
Road and Clarke Street are easily noticeable.
From the small store which, on its establish-
ment in 1892, had a staff of six, the business
has grown until to-day its numerous branches
give employment to about one hundred assist-
ants. The business is that of a general store,
with agencies for many London firms and
life and fire insurance companies. The pro-
prietors are Messrs. Loke Chow Kit (Kuala
CHOW KIT & CO.
Main Premises.
The Interior.
Printing Department.
The Staff,
CHOP SliSr SENG WHATT, SBEBMBAN.
THE FEDERATED MALAY STATES ICE FACTOET, KUALA LUMPOE.
The Ice Chamber and the Factory.
(See p. 92O.)
926
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Lumpoi), Ho Kim Kee (Pinang), Lim Chin
Guan (Pinang), and Teh Seow Teng (Kuala
Lumpor). The tailoring department was
opened by the last named, and the whole-
sale a_nd millinery by Mr. Lim Chin Guan.
The printing department, first known as the
Malayan Supply Company, was amalgamated
with Chow Kit & Co. when Mr. Khoo Keng
Hooi became their manager. The tailoring
and millinery departments are under European
supervision, the former having become famous
owing to its creation of a new dress of a semi-
European style, which has been adopted by
practically all the better-class Chinese in Kuala
Lumpor. The wholesale house of the firm is
later Postmaster of Kuala Lumpor. It is
worthy of note that he was the first Chinese
to receive such an appointment and to be
placed on the establishment with a sterling
salary. Being eligible for a pension, he retired
and founded the Malayan Supply Company,
which was afterwards amalgamated with Chow
Kit & Co. He is a capable man, still only a
little over thirty, and well educated in English.
KWONG KUT CHEONG & CO.
Established about twenty years ago, with
branches at Chanderiang and Bidor, this firm
carry on the business of miners, planters, and
merchants. They own several large mines,
J. Khoo Hock Cheong. 2. Lim Aa hku, 3. Hiu Toxg Se.\'.
4. Yeoh P.aik Keat (^Manager and Partner,, Tiang Lee & Co., Kuala Lumpor).
5. Chax Sow Lin" (Member of Council). 6. Choo Hu Seong.
•/_, C. Heng Hooi (Hon. Secretary,, Wdd Hill Chinese Club, Kuala Lumpor).
S. Wee Hap L-ang. 9. Cheah Koh Phi.v. 10. Law Yew Swee.
in Old Market Square. The directors are all
substantial men, three being directors also of
the newly-formed Eastern Trading Company,
whilst Mr. Loke Chow Kit is one of the largest
business men in the State. Mr. Khoo Keng
Hooi, manager of the company, was born and
educated in Pinang. From 1892 until 1907 he
was in the Perak Government service, and
rose from the position of a fifth-grade clerk to
that of Acting Chief Postmaster of Perak, and
which have been profitably worked by them
for many years past, as well as an estate, near
Tapah, partly planted with rubber and coffee.
Messrs. Kwong Kut Cheong & Co. purchase
very large quantities of tin and tin ore, and
also deal largely in European provisions and
merchandise. Mr. Leong Lok Hing, J.P., of
Pinang, is the proprietor. The business is
under the able management of Mr. Shem Kuon
Teng, an excellent English scholar, of Queen's
College, Hongkong. The Tapah office, at No.
41, Bridge Road, is a very commodious building.
HENG JOO & CO.
Being the only firm dealing in all classes of
European goods in the Kampar district, Messrs.
Heng Joo & Co., a branch of the well-known
establishment of Mr. Khoo Hean Kwee at
Pinang, carry on an extensive trade. They
have a large staff of assistants at their pre-
mises, No. 6t, Jalan Gopeng, under Mr. Lim
Kim Seng, the managing partner. They stock
wines, spirits, and provisions, canned and pre-
served foods and other goods of excellent
quality, and high-class European general
stores, wearing apparel, and household furni-
ture. They import directly from London and
other European houses, and hold a number of
important agencies.
TIANG LBB & CO.
Messrs. Tiang Lee & Co., of Pinang, opened
a branch of their business at Nos.. 65 and 66,
Java Street,. Kuala Lumpor, in January, 1907,
under the management of Mr. Yeoh Paik Keat,
one of the partners. Messrs. Tiang Lee & Co.
are direct importers, doing an exclusively
wholesale trade, chiefly in wines and spirits,
which they obtain from the leading English
and European houses. They have a con-
trolling interest in the Federated Malay States
Ice Company, formerly known as the Federal
Ice Company. This factory, which is situated
on the Ampang Road, turns out daily 20 tons
of ice of excellent quality, manufactured from
the Government water supply.. The plant is of
the latest American type, and is in the charge
of an experienced Chinese engineer. Mr.
Yeoh Paik Keat, the manager, was born in
Pinang, educated at the Free School, and
trained in the firm of Messrs. Schmidt, Kuester-
mann & Co. He was one of the founders of
Tiang Lee & Co., and formerly managed the
Pinang branch of the business.
LAW YEW SWEE & CO.
Mr. Law Yew Swee, proprietor of L. Y.
Swee & Co., general importers and commis-
sion agents, of Kuala Lumpor, is a son of the
late Mr. Law Seow Huck, of Pinang, in which
place he was born in 1881 and educated. He
was in the service of the Selangor Government
for six years, and then became private secre-
tary to his Excellency the High Commissioner
of the Siamese Western Malay States. This
position he occupied for two years, after which
he went as assistant manager of the wholesale
department of Messrs. Chow Kit & Co. He
remained there one year,, and then founded
the firm of Law Yew Swee & Co., dealers in
wines and spirits, drapery and fancy goods,
perfumery, hardware, paint, oilmen's stores,
stationery, mining, planting, and building
materials, &c. Mr. Law is a member of the
Weld Hill Club.
SIN SENG WHATT.
The business premises of the firm of Messrs.
Sin Seng Whatt are situated at No. 66, Murray
Street, Seremban. A very old and weU-known
firm, they have been engaged in business for
many years as miners, planters, and general
merchants. Mr. Chan Kong Plan, the sole
proprietor, was born in China, and came to
the Federated Malay States some forty years
ago, during which time he has been engaged
principally in tin mining. At present the firm
possess a mine at Port Dickson, where about
two hundred coolies are employed. In Serem-
ban the firm's business is that of general
wholesale merchants. They import, on a large
scale, wines and spirits, cement, iron, &c. Mr.
Chan Chin Ek, the manager, is a son of the
proprietor, and has received an excellent edu-
cation in English and Chinese. He is a
member of the Seremban Sanitary Board.
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FAUNA
By H. C. ROBINSON, Curator, SelaNgor Museum.
With Photographs by Fred \V. Kxocker, F.Z.S., Curator, Perak State Museum.
XTENDING as it does
through more than ten
degrees of latitude, with
mountains ranging in
height to over 7,000
feet, the Malay Penin-
sula presents such
variety in local con-
ditions and environ-
ment, that, as might naturally be expected, its
Fauna can vie in richness with that of any
other area of equal extent on the earth's
surface.
Dealing with the origin of the fauna, we
find that at least three elements are clearly
defined, each of which probably represents a
definite phase in the geological history of the
country. There is, first, what may be termed
the coastal zone, which covers the greater
portion of the inhabited districts, including the
valleys of the larger rivers for some consider-
able distance from their mouths. Secondlv,
we have the submontane tract, extending over
all mountain ranges under about 3,000 feet in
height, as well as the lower slopes of the
loftier mountains up to about that height ;
and, finally, the mountain zone proper, com-
prising the remainder of the peninsula above
3,000 feet on the main range as well as certain
of the loftier detached ranges, such as the
Larut Hills in Central Perak and the Tahan
Range in Xorthern Pahang.
It is with the fauna of the first of these zones
alone — the coastal — that the average European
inhabitant of the Malay Peninsula is familiar,
1. ELEPHANTS AT WORK ALONG THE KUALAi KANGSA RIVER.
2. ELEPHANT KRAAL NEAR TAP AH, PERAK'. 3. NEWLY CAUGHT ELEPHANTS IN A KRAAL NEAR TAP AH, PERAK.
928
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
though to the student of natural history it is
the least interesting of the three. It comprises
species of mammals, birds, and reptiles that
are widely spread throughout the further East
MONKEY OP MALAYA.
from Burma to Cochin China, including the
coastal districts of the large islands of the
Indian Archipelago. In the submontane tract
are found animals that are known mainly from
the Siinda Islands, Borneo, Sumatra, and Java,
and from the forest districts of Tenasserim and
Lower Burma, but which are not, as a rule,
met with either on the plains of Burma or in
India proper. These must be regarded as the
representatives of the true Malayan fauna
which existed in its present haunts while the
alluvial flats beneath were still a shallow sea,
such as the Strait of Malacca is at the present
day. Finally, we have the true mountain zone,
which is inhabited either by species known
in no other locality, or which are identical,
or very nearly so, with forms found either in
the Himalayas or on high mountains in Java,
Sumatra, and Borneo. These species are
THE ORANG UTAN,
probably survivors of a period when the land
area of the peninsula was very much more
restricted than is the case at present. A
continuous land connection with the mountains
of Tenasserim and possibly with high land in
Sumatra must have existed even then, though
at some later date the former was broken
somewhere in the latitude of Kedah and
re-united later. The larger mammalia are
very numerous throughout the region, but
space will not permit of more than a very brief
account of the commoner species, which are
dealt with seriatim in the following pages.
Commencing with the monkeys, the anthro-
poid apes are represented by three or four
species, of which the siamang (Hylobates
syndactylus) is the largest as well as ■ the
rarest, though it is found sparingly throughout
the Federated Malay States from the North of
Perak to as far south as Negri Sambilan. The
siamang is a large and powerful monkey, with
very long arms, having a spread in old indi-
viduals of over "five feet. In colour it is
uniform black, occasionally with a whitish
muzzle, and with a bare pouch under the chin.
It is not infrequently kept in captivity, and is
a gentle, and affectionate pet. when young ; old
males, however, are apt to become savage and
treacherous, and can inflict a dangerous bite
with their long canine teeth.
One species is found among the mangroves of
the coast, another among casuarinas in similar
situations, but they are more common in virgin
"JEMMIE," A WHITE WHITE-HEADED
MALAYAN GIBBON.
Now in the London Zoological Gardens.
Allied to the siamang, though much smaller
and less powerful, are two or three species of
gibbons known to the Malays as wau-wan or
nngka, the former name being derived from
the call of one of the species — a penetrating
and pathetic wail, which carries for great
distances, and is often heard in the early
morning in jungle districts. One species is
sooty black with a white ring round the face
and with white hands and feet ; another is
uniform black ; while white, or rather yellowish
white, varieties of all the forms are frequently
met with. They are docile in captivity and
make charming pets, being cleanly in habits
and affectionate in disposition, but are very
delicate and rarely survive a journey to
Europe.
Another group of equally common monkeys
are the Leaf Monkeys, or Lotong, which are
allied to the Langur of India. Several varieties
exist, which do not differ materially from each
other, and agree in having very long tails and
either black, dull grey, or silvery black fur.
A YOUNG MALE KEA OE CEAB-
EATING MACAQUE.
(Macacits cynomolgus.)
Now living in the London Zoo.
jungle, in the neighbourhood of hills, ascending
the mountains to as high as 4,000 feet. They
are found on high trees in parties of from five
or six to as many as sixty individuals, and but
rarely descend to the ground. They do not
lend themselves to domestication, and are only
occasionally seen in captivity.
The only other monkeys which claim atten-
tion are the " broh," or coconut monkey, and
the " kra," or crab-eating macaque, both of
which are extremely common in captivity, and
familiar to every European resident in the
1
Ei-."-.^-... .^^^^B^PI^,-
J
n
W^-C
L
/
A YOUNG FEMALE KRA OR CRAB-
BATING MACAQUE.
{Macams cynomolgus.)
Straits. The former is an inhabitant of low-
country jungle, and in its wild state is some-
^what local m distribution. It is much sought
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
929
A FEMALE KRA OB CRAB-EATING MACAQUE.
{^facacus cynomolgits.)
This animal lived in captivity in its native counti-y for some seven or eiglat years, during whicli time it gave birth
to three young ones— one female and two males — all by different fathers. She is now hving at the Zoological
Gardens, London, whither she was talien in March, igo6.
AN OLD MALE KRA OR CRAB-EATING
MACAQUE.
{Macacus cynomolgns.)
after by country Malays, who capture it wlien
young and train it to climb ttie coconut palms
and to pick any individual nut indicated by its
owner. In some districts, indeed, this monkey
is in such universal use that the trees are not
even notched for human climbers, as is the
case nearly everywhere, The specimens of the
broh usually seen in captivity are somewhat
dwarfed, but males of, a size approaching that
of a retriever dog are occasionally met with,
both wild and in domestication. Such animals
are powerful and savage brutes, and have been
known to attack human beings when molested,
and to inflict serious injuries. The brbh has a
short, stumpy tail, and its hind limbs are very
much shorter than the fore limbs, as is the case
with baboons, to which the animal bears a
strong superficial resemblance. The colour is
a dull earthy brown, much darker on the
crown, and the hind-quarters are furnished
with naked callosities which at certain seasons
of the year are coloured bright red.
The " kra " monkey, though closely related to
the "broh," is very different in appearance,
having both fore and hind limbs of approxi-
mately equal length and a tail slightly longer
than the body. In colour it is dull greyish,
the back and head frequently tinged and
speckled with golden brown. With the excep-
tion of the hill country, it is widely distributed
throughout the Malay Peninsula, but is
commonest in the mangrove swamps, where at
low tide large numbers may be seen searching
the mud for crabs, small fish, and molluscs,
of which its diet largely consists.' Though a
powerful swimmer, its method of crossing
narrow creeks, which has been noted by more
than one observer, is curious, as, instead of
progressing on the surface, it sinks and walks
along the bottom. The habit is probably due
to the fear of crocodiles, to which many
monkeys must fall victims, as is shown by the
number of mutilated animals that may be seen
on the flats.
Mention must also be made of the slow
loris, one of the family of Lemurs, which are
closely allied to the monkeys, and are found
principally in Madagascar. This curious little
J
-TiSsiaaBdl
• w
^^^
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— jJOH|
""^i^^^^^^srsif^f^
-.rfi
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t'^J^^^^H
BB^rT .** ^s--
'w!t^^~!]^^^^^H
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Sdq;CiS5^^^^^^H
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'^ll.^^^H
^^^^^^^.j^^^^^^^^^Bk
H^^Hft|^^^^^^^^^^^V 't,-< '
^Hn^^^HIHr^' '- '
•''" . ;' -, ™
FEMALE KRA AND YOUNG.
(Macacus cyiiomolg.is.)
It is very rare for monkeys to breed in captivity, but this old Jlacaque did so freely.
The Kra is by far away the commonest monkey in the Malay Peninsula.
930
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
animal has somewhat the appearance of a
sloth, and is often known-to Europeans by that
name.. The colour of the fur varies from
silvery grey to rusty brow?n, with usually a
A YOUNG WHITE (PADB GBEY) LUTONG
OB LBAF-MONKEY.
(Seynnopitheciis obscurus.)
These are very difficult to rear in captivity, the subject
of the portrait only living for about three months.
darljer median stripe from the nose to the
rump, but the most characteristic point about
the animal, which is the size of a small cat.
carried on Malay ships, the idea being that
its presence will always insure a favourable
wind.
Chief among the carnivora of the peninsula
is, of course, the tiger, which, though it does
not attain the size of large Indian specimens,
or of the magnificent Manchurian variety, is,
nevertheless, a formidable animal. In the
Malay Peninsula the average total length of
the male is about 8 feet 4 inches, though
specimens of 9 feet 6 inches have been
obtained, while tigresses are about a foot
shorter. The tiger is common throughout
the Malay Peninsula, especially in Perak, in
the Ulu Langat district of Selangor, in certain
portions of Pahang, and in Johore, while stray
specimens from the latter State are met with
almost annually in Singapore itself. It has
been seen near the summit of Batu Puleh, one
of the highest mountains in Selangor, but its
scarcity or abundance in any given district
depends mainly on the presence or absence
of deer and pigs, which probably form its
principal food, though the stomach of one
fine male shot near Kuala Lumpor contained
nothing but frogs.-.
Man-eating tigers are by no means rare,
though it would appear that the Malayan tiger
does not take to this form of diet so readily as
its Indian brother, possibly because the Malay
or Chinaman does not form so toothsome a
morsel as the Kling or Bengali ! One specimen
shot in igo6 in Ulu Langat had been respon-
sible for the death of over twenty Chinamen,
and, contrary to the usual rule, was by no
means decrepit or mangy, though a slight
injury to the foot had probably rendered it
difficult for the beast to pursue prey more
agile and less slow-footed than human beings.
During the year 1906 police rewards were
paid for the destruction of seventy tigers, of
which half were killed in Pahang, while during
regarded as distinct species, are exceedingly
abundant throughout the Peninsula, The
black leopard, or panther, is by far the com-
monest, the spotted form, which in India far
A TIGER HUNT.
is the very large, round, and prominent eyes.
In habits it is purely nocturnal, and is very
rarely seen in its native haunts. It is, however,
not uncommon in captivity, and is frequently
the same period seventeen leopards were
brought in.
Next in importance to the tiger comes the
leopard, of which two varieties, commonly
QUEER PETS.
outnumbers it, being regarded as a comparative
rarity. Leopards are comparatively harmless
to human beings, and but few cases are on
record of fatal injuries through their agency ;
they are exceedingly destructive to goats, and
are especially partial to dogs ; they are often
caught by Malays inside the hen-roosts of
country villages. A much rarer animal than
the common leopard is the clouded leopard,
which is distinguished by its smaller sides,
more greyish coloration, and by having the
spots very much larger and less regular and
defined in outline. Its habits are not well
known, but it is believed to live almost entirely
in trees. Rembau, Kuala Pilah, and Gemen-
cheh, all in Negri Sanibilan, are among the
few localities recorded for this beautiful species.
Besides the above-mentioned species, which
are all over 5 feet in total length, there are
several smaller species of wild cat, which live
in the deepest recesses of the jungle and are
only rarely encountered. The commonest is
known to the Malays as the rimau avjing, or
" dog-cat," and is about the size of a setter and
of a beautiful golden colour above, paler
beneath. Another species somewhat resembles
the British wild cat, but has a much longer tail.
All varieties, even when captured as kittens,
are very savage and intractable, and rarely live
long in confinement.
Besides the tigers and wild cats, the Felidae
are represented in Malaya by numerous species
of civet-cats, of which the most abundant is the
palm-civet, which is a common inhabitant of
houses in towns as well as in country districts.
The civets, generally, are distinguished from
the true cats by the more elongated head, and
especially by the strong odour that nearly all
varieties possess. The most striking member
of the group is the binturong or bear-cat, a
medium-sized animal, about 4 feet from nose
to tip of tail. The fur is long, black, and
shaggy, somebmes with white tips to the hairs,
and the ears are tufted like those of the lynx.
It is arboreal in habits and but rarely met with'
When captured young it is readily tamed and
makes an amusing pet.
Two species of mongoose and as many
weasels are also to be found. They are
however, quite unknown to the ordinary
resident and even to the majority of Malays,
;ind need not be mentioned further.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
931
Jackals are unknown in the Malay Peninsula,
and the only representative of the dog tribe
is the srigala, which is closely allied to the
dhole or red hunting dog of India. In the
THE BINTUEONG OE BBAE-CAT;
{Arctidis bintitrong.)
This animal has troubled the classificatory powers of
zoologists for many years now, but still remains a zoo-
logical problem. As the English name signifies, it has
characteristics of both the cats and bears, but such is the
uncertainty surrounding it that it is placed in a separate
family, of which it is the only known representative. Its
principal peculiarity is that the last two or three inches of
its tail is prehensilCi
northern parts of the peninsula, in Upper Perak
and in Pahang, they are not uncommon, but in
the more settled districts they are now very
rare.
The Malay hunting dog is a handsome
animal, foxy red in hue, with a bushy tail,
black at the tip and sometimes entirely of that
colour. It hunts in packs of five or six up
to forty individuals, and in some districts
creates great havoc among the domestic
animals, goats, cattle, and even buffaloes.
Malays consider it most unlucky to meet this
animal. Their view is that, disaster is inevi-
table should the dogs bark without their being
forestalled in the act by those, who are so
unfortunate as to meet them. The same
superstition prevails with regard to the urine
of the srigala as that held by the Ghonds and
other Indian tribes regarding that of the dhole,
viz., that contact with it causes blindness, and
that the dogs make use of this quality by
urinating against the trunks of trees on which
their prey is likely to rub itself and among
bushes and long grass through which it may
pass.
Otters are common in the peninsula, occasion-
ally inhabiting the mangrove swamps and
swimming some distance out to sea. In habits
and appearance they closely resemble the
English otter, though one variety considerably
exceeds it in size.
Birds are exceedingly numerous in species in
the Malay Peninsula, no less than 617 varieties
being known to occur between Southern
Tenasserim and the Singapoi-e Straits. Dealing
first with the birds of prey, we find that the
vultures are represented by three species, one
of which, the king vulture {Octogyps calvus), is
a very handsome bird, black in plumage, with
a white ruff round the neck, and with the legs
and bare skin of the head and neck brilliant
red. The other two varieties are dingy brown
birds. Curiously enough, the vultures are
hardly, if ever, seen much south of Pinang, and
very rarely there, probably owing to improved
sanitation in the British possessions and protec-
torates ; but in the Siamese States north of
Pinang on the west coast and as far south as
'Trengganu on the east coast they are very
abundant.
Eagles and hawks are very numerous in
species, but not many varieties are at all
common, and the ordinary resident in the
Straits Settlements is not acquainted with more
than six or seven species, though more than
four times that number are to be met with in
the more remote parts of the country and at
rare intervals.
Three species are common on the coast, and
may be met with in numbers in every fishing
village, viz., the Brahminy kite, the large
grey and white fishing eagle and the osprey.
that at the turn of the tide it flies up the
estuaries and creeks uttering its long-drawn
scream, which warns the shell-fish of the
return of the water.
BOS GAUEUS HUBBACKI (MALAYAN
BUFFALO).
Other fairly common hawks are the little
sparrow-hawk or raja wali (Accipitcr gularis),
which creates great havoc in the native poultry-
yards, and the Serpent Eagle (Sfilornis), a large
bird of handsome ash-brown plumage varie-
gated with white and a long black crest. The
bird frequents the edges of the rice-fields and
is very sluggish in its habits, sitting for hours
on the tops of dead trees. It feeds mainly on
fresh-water crabs, lizards, small fish, and an
HEAD OP A SELADANG (MALAYAN BUFFALO).
(Shot by J. S. Mason.)
The latter is identical with the form inhabit-
ing Europe which is so great a rarity in the
British Isles. It is known to. the Malays as
the laiig siput or oyster hawk, as they say
occasional rat. Interesting as being the smallest
known bird of prey is the black and white
falconet, known to the Malays as the lang
belalatig or grasshopper hawk, a small bird
932
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
YOUNG RHINOCEROS HORN-BILLS.
{Buceros rhinoceros.)
The " Ung-Gong " of the Malays. The common Horn-bill of the Malay Peninsula.
considerably less in bulk than the thrush, but
which will attack and kill birds more than
twice its weight.
Among the more uncommon species, mainly
denizens of deep jungle, and therefore seen
only at rare intervals and great distance, are
three species of forest eagles, handsome birds
of variegated plumage, somewhat smaller than
D. MA"W.
(A Singapore Shikari.)
the golden eagle and furnished, when adult,
with long pointed crests, which can be erected
at will.
The honey buzzards are represented by two
species very similar in appearance and habit to
the British bird, and the peregrine falcon also
occurs during the winter months. Finally, the
bat hawk must be mentioned. It is exceed-
ingly rare, being known as yet only in three
or four localities in the Malay Peninsula.
Three species of crocodiles are met with in
Malaya, of which one, Crocodilus palustris, the
marsh crocodile, is very rare, and, indeed, of
somewhat doubtful occurrence except in the
inore northern portions of the peninsula within
the territorial limits of Siam. Another, Tomis-
tonia schcgcli, the Malayan gavial, which can be
at once recognised by its long and narrow
snout, is also somewhat rare and hitherto has
only been actually met with in the Perak,
Pahang, and Selangor rivers and certain of
their tributaries, though skulls referred to it
have been seen on the shores of the Tale Sap,
the great lake in Senggora, on the north-east
coast of the peninsula. The gavial is said to
feed entirely on fish and not to attack man.
The largest specimen recorded from the Malay
Peninsula is about 13 feet in length, but in
Borneo and Sumatra much larger ones have
been procured. The third species, Crocodilus
porosus, the estuarine crocodile, is exceedingly
abundant in every river and tidal creek
throughout the peninsula, but is much com-
moner on the west than on the east side of
the peninsula, which is probably due to the
greater prevalence of mangrove on the vi'estern
side. It attains a very large size, specimens of
over 24 feet in length having been captured in
the peninsula on more than one occasion, while
from other parts of its range individuals of over
30 feet are on record. Though commoner
within tidal influence, the crocodile ascends
the river for very considerable distances, and
is not infrequently found in the deep ponds
formed by abandoned mining operations which
have no direct connection with any river. It
has also been seen 30 miles from land, in
the centre of the Straits of Malacca. It is
probably the cause of more loss of human life
in the peninsula than even the tiger, and large
specimens have been known to attack the small
Malay dug-outs and seize their occupant. The
Government consequently offers a reward for
their destruction, and 25 cents per foot is paid
for each crocodile brought to the police-station
and 10 cents apiece for eggs. Considerable
sums are annually disbursed on this account.
Many Malays make a regular practice of fishing
for crocodiles, the usual bait being a fowl at-
tached to a wooden hook in such a way that
when the bait is taken two wooden spikes are
driven into the palate and throat of the crocodile.
The line for some distance above the hook
is made of separate strands of rattan, which
cannot be bitten through.
The Malays recognise many rarities, which,
however, are based merely on differences in
colour, due, as a matter of fact, to age, and not
to any specific differences. Very aged speci-
A CROCOJHLE.
(Showing eggs Mni nest.)
iTiens of a dingy grey or greyish brown, fre-
quently due to a growth of alga on the scales,
are occasionally met with. Such specimens are
usually regarded as "kramat," or sacred, by the
ocal Malays. They are supposed not to attack
human bemgs, and any interference with them
entails misfortune on the rash being who
undertakes it.
A "kramat" crocodile frequented Poit Weld
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
933
in Perak, for many years, and was regularly
fed by the inhabitants, and a similar individual
was well known at Port Swettenham during the
building of the wharfs. The Port Weld one
fell a victim to an unsportsmanlike European,
who had it called up to be fed and .then
shot it.
The next order of reptiles, the Chelonia, or
turtles and tortoises, is very well represented
in th.e Malay Peninsula and adjacent seas, no
less than twenty-three species being recorded
from -the region. The largest of all existing
species of turtles, the luth or leathery turtle
(Dermochclys coiiaccaj, is occasionally though
rarely found in the Straits of Malacca, and a
fine specimen captured many years ago in the
vicinity of Singapore is in the Raffles Museum
of that city. The species attains a total length
of 8 or 9 feet and a weight which may approxi-
mate to three-quarters of a ton. It produces
nothing of commercial value.
P'ar commoner than the leathery turtle are
the green or edible turtle (Chelone mydas) and
the hawksbill turtle (Chelone imbricata). The
former is met with in abundance on both
coasts of the peninsula, and lays its eggs on
the sandy shores of small islands, or occasionally
on lonely beaches on the mainland. All these
places are well known to the natives, and
during the laying season are jealously guarded.
In the native States the privilege of collecting
the eggs is a prerogative of the ruler of the
State and is usually fanned out, considerable
sums being paid for the right. The eggs are a
favourite delicacy among all classes of natives
and command a high price, anything from
three-quarters to two cents apiece being paid
for them. Though famed as an aldermanic
luxiiry in Great Britain, the turtle is not much
eaten in the Straits Settlements.
The flesh of the hawksbill turtle is inedible,
nor are its eggs much sought after. It is, how-
ever, the principal source of the tortoiseshell of
commerce, of which a very large amount passes
through Singapore, though not much is collected
locally.
Another species, the loggerhead, is also found
in the Straits of Malacca. It maybe recognised
by the very large head and strongly hooked
beak, in which respect it resembles the hawks-
bill. This strongly developed beak is correlative
with the habits of the species, which are carni-
vorous, whereas the edible turtle feeds- entirely
on seaweed and vegetables. All three varieties
attain approximately the same size, which is
about 4 feet in length of carapace.
The four species just dealt with are exclusively
marine in their habits, but we now come to a
group known as the Trionychidee, or soft tor-
toises,, which, though often found in estuarine
waters and hot infrequently far out to sea, are
mainly inhabitants of rivers. The head and
limbs are large and powerful, and can be com-
pletely retracted within the carapace, which is
quite devoid of horny shields and is leathery in
texture. They are savage in disposition, and
can inflict dangerous bites with their powerful
jaws, the peculiar structure of the bones of the
neck enabling them to dart out their head with
great rapidity. The flesh is much eaten by
Chinese and Klings, and specimens are fre-
quently to be seen exposed for sale in the
markets of the peninsula. About five species
occur locally, which present only technical
differences between themselves. The largest
specimens attain a size of about 3 feet across
the back.
The remaining tortoises of the peninsula,
fourteen in number, are comprised in a group
known as the Testudinidas, or land tortoises,
though as a matter of fact some of them are
almost as fluviatile in their habits as the soft
tortoises. All have a hard and bony carapace,
into which the head and limbs can be com-
pletely retracted, while in some species the
lower portion of ihe carapace is hinged, so that
when alarmed the animal is completely en-
closed and quite impervious to attack. These
species are known as box-tortoises (Cyclemys),
and are by no means uncommon in marshy
situations.
Three species of large tortoises, which attain
a length of 20 inches and more, are confounded
take part. The eggs are elongated and have a
hard shell, and are not round and leathery like
those of the edible turtle.
Over seventy-five species of lizards are
known to the systematist as denizens of the
Straits Settlements, but most of these are rare
The Favourite Perch.
Waiting for the Mid-day Meal. The Favourite Position (on One Leg).
THE ADJUTANT OE MARABOUT STORK— "BURONG BABI" (PIG BIRD)
OF THE MALAYS.
{Leptoftihts jat'anicus.)
by the Malays under the name fttiitong. In
most of the native States, Perak especially,
these tortoises are regarded as royal game, and
their capture is prohibited under penalty of a
heavy fine. The tuntong lays its eggs in sand-
banks by the side of the larger rivers, and
hunting for these eggs is the occasion for
water picnics, in which the ladies of the Court
and local or present only minute differences
among themselves. Several varieties of
geckoes are common in houses, but some
of these have been introduced from other parts
of the world, and are not really indigenous to
the peninsula. In the northern parts of the
peninsula and in Singapore, where it has been
brought from Bangkok, a very large species,
934
TWENTIETH CENTUKY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
grey with small red spots and nearly a foot in
length, is sometimes to be found. It is known
as the tokay, from its note, and according to
natives its presence in a house indicates great
good fortune to the occupants. A somewhat
similar species, but of duller colouration, is
fairly common in deep jungle, living in hollow
bamboos, but owing to its habits is rarely met
with, though its note is often heard. Mention
should also be made of the flying gecko,
which is characterised by having a large but
variable number of flaps of skin along each
side of the tail, and by having the skin of the
sides of the body flattened and extensible so
that the animal can parachute through the air
and even rise slightly at the end of its course,
though flight in the strict sense of the word is
and shutting the mouth when irritated or
alarmed. The common species in the Straits
is in large specimens about eighteen inches
long, of which the long and slender tail
accounts for considerably more than half, and
in colour is a light emerald green, which
changes to almost black when the animal is
irritated or alarmed.
The largest lizards in the Malay Peninsula
belong to the genus Varanus, and are called
monitor lizards by the Europeans and biawah
by the Malays. Two species are common, of
which the largest may attain a length of over
seven feet, such specimens being often mis-
taken for small crocodiles by inexperienced
persons. One species is largely fluviatile in its
habits, but the other is common round towns
THE KAMBING GRUN OR MALAYAN GOAT ANTELOPE.
impossible. Several species of flying Draco
are also found in the jungles of the peninsula,
while one is also very common in orchards,
frequenting chiefly the trunks of the coco and
betel-nut palms. In this reptile the ribs are
extended to support a lateral membrane which
serves as a support when gliding through the
air, though, like the flying gecko, no flight in
an upward direction can take place. The
colour of these flying lizards is generally of a
mottled grey and brown, but the throat is in
most species ornamented by a scaled append-
age, which is brightly coloured, yellow, blue,
scarlet, or maroon, varying with the species and
sex. Other common lizards belonging to the
same group as the flying lizards, but without
their power of flight, are several species of
Calotes, incorrectly called chameleons by
Europeans, from their powers of colour change,
but known to the Malays as snmpa sumpa, or
cursers, from their habit of frequently opening
and villages, and is a very foul feeder, living
on carrion, garbage, and offal of all descriptions.
A very large proportion of the peninsular
lizards are included in the family of Scincidse
or Skinks, or bengkarong in Malay. These are
small and inconspicuous in their habits, being
usually found among dry leaves, &c., in jungle,
though some are fond of basking in the sun in
hot and open situations, and one species, the
largest of the genus, is frequently met with in
houses. The species vary much in appearance,
and particularly in the size of their limbs,
which are frequently rudimentary, or in some
cases absent, so that the animal has a super-
ficial resemblance to a slow-worm or a snake.
The only representative of the family to
which the common English lizard belongs is
a species hitherto found only in the northern
parts of the peninsula. This species (Tachy-
dromus sexlineatus) is characterised by a very
long and slender tail three or four times the
length of head and body, and has a total length
of about fifteen inches. It is called by the
Malays ular bengkarong, or the lizard -like
snake, in allusion to its appearance, and in-
habits fields of long and coarse grass (lalang),
over the tops of which its attenuated body
enables it to travel.
The fourth and most important division of
the Reptilia is the Ophidia, or Snakes. Though
the ordinary observer is not likely to come
across even a tithe of the number, over a
hundred and thirty varieties are known to
naturalists as occurring within the limits of the
Malay Peninsula. Only a very small propor-
tion of these, however, are poisonous or in any
way harmful.
The first group that merits attention is that
known as Typhlopidse, or burrowing snakes.
These snakes, which are almost entirely sub-
terranean in their habits, are all of small size,
rarely exceeding a foot in length. They are
practically devoid of eyes, and their scales,
which are small, smooth, and shining, are of
the same character all round the body, the
ventral ones not differing from the others as is
the case with most snakes. The tail is very
short and blunt, so much so that one of the
Malay names for the species of the group is
" the snake with two heads." Unless carefully
sought for by digging or turning over loose
rubbish these snakes are practically never
seen, but very occasionally, when very heavy
rain in the afternoon is followed by hot sun,
they may emerge. They are absolutely harm-
less, though some Malays and most Javanese
consider them as poisonous in the extreme.
The next family is the Boidae, or Pythons,
very frequently, but incorrectly, called boa-
constrictors by Europeans. Three species are
entered in the peninsular lists, but one, an Indian
form, is of somewhat doubtful occurrence as
a truly indigenous animal, while a. second
is of extreme rarity. The best known one.
Python reticulatus, or iilar sawa (rice swamp
snake), is very common, and commits depreda-
tions among the poultry and goats of the
natives. It is one of the very largest of existing
snakes, and there is good evidence that indi-
viduals may attain a length of over thirty feet,
while specimens of over twenty-four feet are
quite common. The python is the centre of
many Malay folk-tales, and its gall-bladder is
of very high value for medical and magical
purposes, while its flesh is also eaten by
Chinese from certain provinces. The python
is not a poisonous snake. It kills its prey by
constriction, but it possesses such formidable
and recurved teeth that it can inflict most
dangerous and even fatal bites.
Two families, the Ilysidae and Xenopeltidje,
need only be mentioned. The former, repre-
sented by two species, are burrowing snakes,
similar in habits to the Typhlopidse, while the
latter is a carnivorous species feeding on other
snakes and small mammals. Both families are
very rare in the peninsula. They are not
poisonous.
We now come to the family Rolubrida;,
which comprises the vast majority of the
snakes found in the Malay Peninsula. This
group has been divided by certain peculiarities
in the dentitions into the following sections : —
Aglypha.— All the teeth solid. Harmless.
Ofisthoglypha. — One or more of the teeth in
the back of the upper jaw grooved. Suspected
or slightly poisonous.
Proteroglypha.— Front teeth in upper jaw
grooved or perforated. Poisonous.
The first section, the Aglypha, contains a
considerable majority of the total number of
snakes inhabiting the Malay Peninsula, but
only two or three demand special notice.
Acrochordus javanicus is a very curious form
which inhabits fresh water and lives chiefly
on fish. In colour it is reddish brown mottled
with black ; its total length in full-grown
specimens is about five feet, and its skin, which
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
935
is uniform round the body, is granulated like
shagreened leather. The Malays call it ular
belalei gajah from a fancied resemblance to
an elephant's trunk. The snake is very thick
for its length, and its stumpy tail and flattened
triangular-shaped head give it the superficial
appearance of a viper, so that most persons
consider it very poisonous, though as a matter
of fact it is perfectly harmless.
Another very interesting species belonging
to this section is Coluber tceniurus var. Ridleyi.
Though very widely distributed throughout
Asia, the form inhabiting the Malay Peninsula,
which is slightly paler and less mottled than
specimens from other countries, is practically
never found outside the large limestone caves
which are very numerous throughout the
Federated Malay States, and also in Kedah and
Patani. Inside these caves, however, one may
be certain to find two or three specimens a
house. They live exclusively on bats, and
attain in large specimens a length of over
seven feet. Malays call them ular bulan, or
moon-snakes, and the Chinese venerate them as
MALAY TAPIBS.
tutelary deities of the caves they inhabit, and
will on no account interfere with them.
The section of possibly poisonous snakes
comprises about twenty-five species in the
Malay Peninsula, which, so far as local experi-
ence goes, are quite innocuous to human
beings, though possibly their bite has a slight
paralysing effect on small mammals. About
half of them are water-snakes, living in fresh
and brackish water and only occasionally
found on dry land, while the remainder are
arboreal forms, often of very brilliant coloura-
tion.
Of these may be mentioned Dryophis
prasinus, the green whip snake, of very
slender form, about five feet long and of a
brilliant emerald green with a vivid yellow
down each side. In some individuals the
edges of the scales in the region of the neck
are silvery turquoise blue. This snake is
common everywhere, except in old and lofty
jungle. It is usually found in small bushes,
with which its colouring harmonises so well
as to make it very difficult of detection.
Another common but much larger snake of
the same group is Dipsadomorphus dendrophilus,
which is also of very handsome colouration.
The body colour is a deep glossy black with a
slight bluish cast and with regular vertical bars
of brilliant chrome yellow. The Malay name
for the snake is ular katam tebu, katam tebu
being pieces of sugar-cane peeled and stuck
on skewers. This snake, though not poisonous,
is very vicious. It feeds on other snakes,
small birds and their eggs, and slugs.
The third section, Proteroglypha, all very
poisonous snakes, is represented by over thirty
species in the Malay Peninsula and adjacent
seas. Of these, however, about twenty-five
are sea-snakes, which may be distinguished
from the innocuous water-snakes by possessing
a tail flattened like an oar. As a rule these
snakes never leave salt water and are quite
helpless on land. One species, however, in-
habits a fresh-water lake in the Philippines,
and another has been found in jungle in
Sumatra some miles from the sea. The bite
of all without exception is most dangerous
and very 'generally fatal. Their virulence
seems to vary with the season of the year, and
a bite at the commencement of the north-east
monsoon (November) is considered much more
serious than one at any other season. Though
quite common in the Straits of Malacca these
sea-snakes are much more abundant on the
east coast of the peninsula, where they annually
cause a certain loss of life amongst the
fishermen, whose familiarity with them causes
them to treat them with carelessness. The
poison appears to act somewhat slowly, and
cases that ultimately terminate fatally often
survive for three days or more.
We now come to a small group of snakes
that comprises the most poisonous Asiatic
species, whose bite is almost invariably fatal
within a few hours of its infliction. Chief
amongst these, and the largest of all poisonous
snakes, attaining in well authenticated instances
a length of over fourteen feet, is the king
cobra, or Hamadryad, which is by no means
uncommon in the Malay Peninsula. This
species is reputed to be of the most ferocious
disposition, so much so that it it is stated to '
attack human beings unprovoked, though
except in the breeding season or in the
vicinity of its eggs it is somewhat doubtful
if this is really the case. Old specimens are
dull yellowish brown on the anterior two-
thirds of the body, with the posterior third
chequered with blank. The under surface is
much lighter, sometimes with a yellow throat,
and the skin of the neck is dilated and can be
erected into a hood when the snake is irritated.
The principal food of the Hamadryad is snakes,
including cobras and other poisonous species,
to whose venom it is probably immune.
Even commoner than the Hamadryad is the
cobra, which is almost as poisonous, though
very much smaller, rarely exceeding a len^h
of 6 feet. Malay specimens, as a rule, lack the
spectacle mark on the hood which is generally
seen on Indian ones, and are generally much
darker, almost black, in colour. Occasionally
a brilliant turmeric yellow variety is met with
and in certain districts in the northern parts
of the peninsula this is the dominant form.
The cobra affects all types of country except
the higher mountains and the mangrove
swamps, but is perhaps commoner in the
neighbourhood of towns and villages than in
true jungle. Curiously enough, on certain
small rocky islands in the north of the Straits
of Malacca it is so abundant that the greatest
care has to be exercised in traversing them,
but, speaking generally, the death of a human
being from snake-bite (other than from that of
marine snakes) is of very rare occurrence in
the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay
States, though in the States under Siamese in-
fluence such fatalities are more frequent. Even
after allowing for the far less dense population,
the mortality from this cause is quite in-
significant when compared with that attributed
to snake-bites in British India.
Three species of " krait " are on record from
the Malay Peninsula, but only one, the banded
krait, is at all common. The bite of these
snakes is almost as dangerous as that of the
cobra, though slower in its effect. The common
species, Bungarus fasciatus, has a strong
superficial resemblance to a harmless species
of Dipsadomorphus.
Of the two remaining genera of Protero-
glyphous snakes, represented in the peninsula
by four species, the only form worthy of note
is Doliophis bivirgatus, known to the Malays as
the ular sendok mati hari, or sunbeam snake,
one of the most beautiful of its order. Its
head and tail above and below are bright coral
red, the under surface is the same colour, and
the upper surface Oxford blue, separated from
the red of the lower parts by a narrow lateral
line of pale blue. Nothing is on record with
regard to the effect of its poison on human
beings, but Malays regard it as one of the most
poisonous of all snakes. Its bite proves very
quickly fatal to small birds and mammals, and
it is a significant fact that the poison glands
are relatively larger in this snake than in any
other species, actually displacing the heart from
it normal position.
CAPTURING THE TAPIR.
The Amblycephalida3 are a small family of
medium-sized snakes, represented in the
peninsula by five species, all of considerable
rarity and of no general interest. They are
nocturnal in their habits, and feed on small
mammals, frogs, lizards, &c.
The last family of snakes to be dealt with
here are the Vipers, of which only one section,
the pit-viper, is met with in the Malay Penin-
sula. All are exceedingly poisonous snakes,
but the physiological action of their poison is
quite different from that of the cobras and
their allies. Their bite is not invariably fatal,
but even if the sufferer escapes death, serious
constitutional disturbances are set up that may
last for some months. The pit-vipers may be
recognised by their flat triangular head and
sharply constricted neck and by possessing a
deep pit between the nostril and the eye. Six
species belonging to two genera occur in the
peninsula and are widely spread throughout
the region. The genus Ancistrodoii , which has
hitherto only been found in the north of the
peninsula, though its representative species,
Ancistrodoii rhodostoma, is common in Siam
and Java, can be distinguished from the other
genus, Lachesis, by having the head covered
with large symmetrical shields instead of small
scales. It is a heavily built and sluggish snake
of mottled greyish brown colouration, and is
936
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
found usually among dead leaves in under-
growth. Together with several allied species,
it is called by Malays the tilar kapak daiin, or
leaf axe snake, the word " axe " referring to
the shape of the head.
The species of the genus Lachesis are also
thick-set snakes, usually with a considerable
amount of green in the colouration, often varied
with red, purple, yellow, and black.
Lachesis sumafraniis and L. gramoneus are
almost uniform green, usually with red tips to
the tail, which is prehensile. They are arboreal
in their habits, and are not common except at
considerable altitudes. Lachesis wagferi fre-
quents the mangrove swamps, where it is much
dreaded by Chinese woodcutters. It is green
in colour, mottled, and starred with yellow and
black, but no two specimens are alike in
arrangement of pattern. The other two species
are rare and only occasionally met with.
Mr. H. C. Robinson is the Inspector of
Fisheries for the Federated Malay States. He
was born in 1874, and was educated at Marl-
borough. In 1902 he was appointed Curator of
the Museum at Kuala Lumpor, and in 1906 he
took up also the Federal appointment men-
tioned above.
Mr. F. J. V. Guy.— One of the" most
enthusiastic collectors of wild animals, reptiles,
birds, &c., in the Federated Malay States is
Mr. Frederick J. V. Guy, manager of the
THE WILD PIG OP MALAYA.
Federal Dispensary, Ltd., Kuala Lumpor. He
has been a resident of Selangor for several
years, and has made many excursions
into the jungle, both in that State and in
Pinang, for collecting purposes, with the result
that at his residence in Kuala Lumpor there is
to be seen probably the best collection of
Malayan animals in the Federated Malay
States At the time of our representative s
visit Mr. Guy had in captivity two splendid
specimens of the Malay tapir, a large animal
of a type somewhat between a pig and a
rhinoceros. This animal is rarely taken alive ;
indeed, it is seldom seen alive, even by hunters,
owing to the extreme shyness of its nature and
to the fact that its habitat is in the most im-
penetrable parts of the jungle. It is mostly
found in swampy districts, and can swim long
distances under water. Besides panthers,
bears, and other animals, Mr. Guy has also a
fine collection of monkeys, and it is his ambi-
tion to secure specimens of every kind of this
animal to be found in Malaya. He is a warm
supporter of the measures being taken by the
Government to protect big game, with the
exception of tigers and such other animals as
are dangerous to human life. There are, he
says, still a few elephants to be found in
Selangor, many in Perak, and large herds in
Pahang, especially in the south-eastern part of
the State, to which very few hunters penetrate.
INFORMATION FOR TOURISTS
HE visitor to Singapore
will find no lack of
objects of interest and
beauty. One of the
first sights that tourists
generally make a point
of viewing is the Botani-
cal Gardens — among
the loveliest institu-
tions of the kind in the East. Having landed
from his steamer, all that the tourist has to do
iS- to call one of the many gharries (little pony
cai'riages) or rickshas which ply for hire in
the streets, and, giving the word, he will find
himself being carried through some of the
finest thoroughfares in the city until he reaches
the Tanglin suburb, with its broad roads and
noble trees. In the Gardens themselves the
scene presented is one of surpassing beauty.
The grounds are well and tastefully laid out —
in one aspect suggesting the lines of an
ancestral EngHsh park, and in another convey-
ing an idea of the savagery of the jungle.
Another very beautiful spot which should
certainly be visited is the Thompson Road
reservoir, where a fine stretch of water is seen
amid thickly wooded slopes. This is about
four miles out of town. Again, there is the
Gap — a delightful drive along a ridge of hills
overlooking the sea that occupies about two
hours.
As for other drives of interest, one can
hardly go wrong in taking a hackney carriage
for a couple of hours — it only costs the equiva-
lent of 3s. — and leaving it to the sweet will of
the driver to carry you whither he lists ; for
the roads of Singapore, whether along the sea-
fringe or running into the interior of the island,
are so good, level, and beautiful as regards
their arboreal dressing, that it does not matter
very much in what direction one turns.
As the hotels of a strange place are generally
among the first things to be considered by a
visitor, it may not be out of place here to refer
to some of them. Premier among these
institutions is the Raffles Hotel — a striking
edifice facing the sea — noted all over the East
for the excellence of its accommodation and
cuisine. Two other leading hotels are the
recently erected and imiposing-looking Grand
Hotel de I'Europe on the Esplanade and the
Adelphi Hotel close by. Of others, there may
be mentioned the Caledonian Hotel, Hotel de
la Paix, and the Hotel van Wyk, as well as the
Sea View Hotel and the Grove Hotel, situated
SINGAPORE.
in a beautiful palm-tree plantation on the beach
at Katong.
In the city proper the visitor will find
innumerable sights and scenes to attract his
attention and retain his interest — the street life
alone possessing a wonderful variety of colour
and picturesqueness. The hub of the town in
a commercial sense is Raffles Place, sometimes
called Commercial Square. This has been the
business centre of the colony ever since it was
founded. Here at one time were situated all
the big shipping and trading houses, banks,
and stores. Nowadays it cannot suffice to
accommodate more than a mere fraction of
these establishments, and they have con-
sequently spread to the neighbouring streets
and to CoUyer Quay, which is now almost
wholly occupied by the shipping firms. The
Square itself still remains the great shopping
rendezvous for the European section of the
community, and is a very busy place from nine
o'clock in the morning till five o'clock in the
afternoon, after which hour, however, it is
almost as deserted as the Sahara. In the day-
time, the never-ceasing stream of traffic —
carriages, gharries, rickshas, and foot pas-
sengers, with their wealth of colour, quaint-
ness, and movement — makes a wonderfully
interesting kaleidoscopic procession. High
Street, which is only a few minutes distant, is
the home of native jewellers and silk-sellers,
and should not be missed by the tourist in
search of curios. Crossing High Street at
right angles is North Bridge Road, which with
its continuation. South Bridge Road, forms the
longest thoroughfare in town and the main
artery for traftic. Along its entire length, this
street is lined with Chinese shops of all con-
ceivable kinds — silversmiths', ivory workers',
rice shops, pork shops, eating houses, hotels,
and what not — whilst the side streets leading
from it are simply thronged with stalls on
which "a medley of foodstuffs and pedlars'
wares are exhibited. In North Bridge Road is
situated a Malay theatre where plays, ranging
from " Ali Baba" to " Romeo and Juliet," with
musical interludes, are nightly presented be-
fore crowded houses. This is a favourite
place for Europeans to visit who want to see
and hear something out of. the common. The
plays are presented in Singapore iVIalay, and,
even though the visitor may not understand the
dialect, he will have no difficulty in following
the action of the pieces. There is also a
Chinese theatre near at hand, where a seem-
ingly interminable play goes on all night, and
where it is amusing to observe the cool way in
which the spectators will sometimes stroll
across the stage right among the actors, to find
937
some more convenient point of view or to
exchange greetings with a friend.
In South Bridge Road and in Orchard Road,
also, there are two Indian temples which are
always open to inspection by the visitor.
Small Chinese temples and joss-houses abound
all over the neighbourhood, and the tourist will
find a half-hour visit to any of these places
interesting and instructive by reason of the
many strange rites and sacrificial customs to be
observed among the habitues. In the Chinese
joss-houses one of the things that strike the
European visitor as most curious is the way in
which edible offerings are made to the "joss."
A Chinese lady, resplendent in silks and
jewellery, will come along, perhaps accom-
panied by her young sons and attended by a
coolie bearing a huge basket replete with all
sorts of delicacies, prominent among which are
roasted ducks and coloured Chinese cakes.
.■\fter the necessary formalities have been gone
through, the edibles are duly placed out in
festal array in front of the paiticular " joss"
whom it is sought to propitiate. Then the
worshipper burns some joss-sticks and coloured
papers, after which the coolie sweeps all the
good things back into the basket and the party
go off rejoicing to feast upon them at home.
While entering the harbour, the visitor will
doubtless have been struck by the numbers of
small islands which lie around Singapore.
Some of these are British, others are Dutch.
For the most part they are uninhabited except
for an occasional fisherman, but they are
favourite places of resort for local hunters,
who find there abundance of wild pig, pigeon,
and quail ; while the creeks are generally-
capable of affording sport to the " shikari " in
quest of a crocodile. Should it happen that
thi steamer enter the harbour from the
western end, the visitor will pass through a
narrow channel between the island of Singa-
pore and that of Pulo Brani, on which are
situated the largest tin-smelting works in the
world. On the Singapore side of this channel
is the commencement of the Tanjong Pagar
Docks, the recent expropriation of which by
the Government created quite a stir in ship-
ping and commercial circles.
The tourist should make it part of his
programme to pay a visit to Johore, the capital
of an independent native State of the same
name on the mainland opposite the island of
Singapore. Here are situated the headquarters
of the State Government and the Sultan's
Palace, or Istana, as it is called — a luxuriously
fitted residence, full of rich and valuable
furniture, paintings, and furnishings, not the
least valuable of which is the famous Ellen-
938
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH JMALAYA
borough plate, acquired in England by the late
Sultan. The main objects of attraction in
Johore, otherwise, are the gambling-shops,
which are daily and nightly crowded with
Chinese — both men and women — engaged in
play at the favourite games of- " fan tan " or
"po." These shops are licensed by the
Government, to whom they are sources of
enormous -revenues. In Singapore no gam-
bling is allowed— indeed, the anti-gambling
laws are very strict— so that Johore is the
rendezvous for all the "inveterates" from the
neighbouring British settlement, with which it
is connected by a railway and steamboat
service, the whole journey between the two
towns occupying a little over one hour.
There is another famous trip which can be
made by those whose leisure will allow them
to take advantage of it, namely, the trip to Java.
There is an excellent service of steamers
running from Singapore down to these Dutch
territories, whose mountains and highlands are
celebrated health-giving resorts. This trip
occupies three or four days each way, and a
round journey which takes about a fortnight to
accomplish is arranged specially for tourists
who desire on their itinerary to view the
beauties and enjoy the salubrious breezes of
this wonderful island, which has been aptly
termed " the garden of the world."
. From Singapore there is also a frequent
service of luxuriously appointed coasting
steamers running to Pinang and calling on the
way at Malacca, Port Swettenham, and other
ports on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula.
PINANG.
To visitors who are merely calling at Pinang
for a few hours, the Waterfall Gardens form
the principal attraction. They are situated 4J
miles from the centre of the town, and the
drive to them along fine broad roads, shaded
for their entire distance by high trees on either
side, is one of the most beautiful in Malaya.
Nestling under the hills, the gardens cover
gently undulating ground, and contain a wealth
of tropical trees, plants, and Howers. In one
corner the water from the hill-top comes
splashing down from a height of 1,000 feet
over rocks and boulders, and is caught at the
foot in a reservoir for the use of the public of
Pinang. The gardens are easily reached
either by ricksha or gharry, the fares being
about 40 cents and 60 cents respectively.
From the Waterfall the ascent of the Pinang
Hills is made in chairs carried by six Indian
coolies, and the charge for this mode of con-
veyance is 46 cents for each coolie. The hills
vary in height from 1,500 to 2,700 feet, and
form the sanatorium of the Straits Settlements.
On the highest elevations are a good hotel and
several Government bungalows, and the climate
thereis much cooler than on the plains, the shade
temperature varying from 80 to 60 degrees.
There are numerous pretty walks on the
plateau, and roses, orchids, and other flowers
.grow in pleasing profusion. A splendid view
of the town and harbour, Provmce Wellesley,
and Kedah can be obtained from the hill-top,
and in very clear weather the Taiping Hills
can be distinguished in the distance.
Ayer Etam Chinese temple and Tanjong
Bungah (Flowery Point) are also well worth
visiting. The former is reached by an electric
tramway, which starts from the jetty, and for
part of the distance travels through the middle
of coconut plantations. The building itself is
in the peculiar Chinese style of architecture.
It stands on the hill-side, and rises tier above
tier, so that a fine kaleidoscopic view of the
surrounding landscape can be obtained from
the top. The monks are exceedingly cour-
teous, and are always willing to show visitors
the many interesting features which the temple
contains.
Tanjong Bungah, a lovely bay six miles from
the tovifn, is approached by a winding road
which runs through Malay villages and coco-
nut plantations, and skirts the sea for the
greater part of the way ; indeed, when the
tide is abnormally high, the sea covers the
road for some distance.
In the town itself there are not many notable
works of architecture. Perhaps the most
interesting is the old fort, now used as the
police and volunteer headquarters. It faces
the harbour, and in the old days completely
commanded the port. Surrounding it is a
moat fed from the sea and well stocked with
large fish.
Pinang is the best centre from which to tour
the Federated Malay States. The Federal
railway terminates at Prye, on the mainland
immediately opposite Pinang, with which it
is connected by a frequent ferry service across
the channel.
MALACCA.
There are many to whom the old-world town
of Malacca — steeped in historic associations,
quaint in its straggling thoroughfares, soothing
in its quiet, and beautiful ih its blending of
broken sky-line, sweeping foreshore, and inter-
vening wealth of verdure — will appeal more
strongly than any other town in the peninsula.
It is a far cry to the days, referred to in Malay
annals, when Malacca was founded by a forlorn
few who escaped from Singapura after the
betrayal of the Lion City ; and, from that time
on, little is known until their descendants were
driven out by Albuquerque in 1511, except that
Malacca had grown in the meantime to be
famous as a harbour "possessing the most
valuable merchandise, and most numerous and
extensive traffic that is known in all the world."
For 130 years the Portuguese remained in
occupation ; the Dutch succeeded them in
1641 ; the British held sway in 1795 ; the Dutch
regained possession in 1818 under the Treaty
of Vienna, and exchanged it for Bencoolen.,
with the British in 1824. These are the leading ■
dates in the warp ; for others, and for the woof
of strange incidents which went to make up
the tangled web of the history of the settlement,
there are records teeming with interest and
replete with stirring tales of the days when the
life of the voyageur was one long adventure.
Gradually the glory of Malacca departed, and
though of late years, under British occupation,
there has been a great revival of prosperity,
Malacca still wears the aspect of a city of the
past.
Malacca is reached by sea from Singapore
or from one or other of the coastal ports in the
peninsula, and by rail from Kuala Lumpor.
The visitor has choice of two rest-houses — one
near the station, the other overlooking the bay.
He will in all probability amuse himself in the
first instance by a stroll to the top of St. Paul's
Hill, whereon stand the walls of the old Portu-
guese church. " Here," a brass tablet informs
the curious, " lay the body of St. Francis
Xavier, S.J., Apostle of the Far East, before its
translation to Goa, a.d. 1553." Small windows
give peeps of exquisite scenery ; but the tower
of the lighthouse, which is built on to the church,
commands a far more extensive prospect.
Mount Ophir, standing boldly from a blue hne
of lesser heights, bounds the view eastwards,
while along the coast Cape Rachado, in one
direction, and the Tohor headland in the other,
may be seen. Another hnk with the Portuguese
occupation is a venerable gateway, '• the only
remaining part," so runs a mural tablet, " of the
ancient fortress of Malacca, built by Alfonso
d'Alboquerque, and by him named ' Famosa,'
151 1 ; near this fortress stood the bastion of
Santiago."
The old Dutch Stadt House, near the landing-
place, is an example of the solidity of the
Hollanders' masonry ; it still serves its purpose
as Government offices. Many other houses in
the town, if not actually Dutch, at least show
abundant evidences of Dutch influence in their
construction.
In the bay and on the river picturesque craft
ply, or idly sport with the sluggish tide ; and
the scene from the bridge, with the graceful
towers of St. Francis Xavier's Church smiling
in the background, red-roofed houses, straggling
foliage, and playful sun-lit ripples, constitute a
picture which rejoices the soul of an artist.
There are altogether nine rest-houses in the
settlements, and at Ayer Panas a bath-house is
provided for the use of persons visiting the hot
springs, so that the traveller need have no fear
that he will lack material comfort.
The baskets made by the natives of Malacca
are much prized on account of their artistic
design and delicate workmanship. The lace,,
made under the auspices of the Government, is
also much sought after.
FEDERATED MALAY
STATES.
Although they do not offer such attractions
to the visitor as are to be found in older
countries, where buildings of great antiquity
and historic interest claim attention, the Feder-
ated Malay States have much to commend
them to the tourist to whom each new scene is
full of matter for profound study. If he loves.
Nature he may come face to face with her in
all her moods ; she will appeal to him by her
grandeur in the hills, her quiescence in the
jungle solitudes, her mystery as she shows him
of her secrets in tortuous caves. If his fellow
men be his study, he may find races of people
about whom much yet remains to be known —
the Sakais and Saraangs, the aborigines of the
country ; or the Malays, Nature's gentlemen,
whose contentment the Western mind is apt
to construe as indolence. The fauna of the
jp£ni;isula and the bird-life which teems in the
woodland depths will delight him if he is a
naturalist ; whilst if he is a botanist he will
find, incredible as it may sound, that the flora
of Malaya is more extensive even than that of
India. The sportsman may still find seladang,
elephant, tiger, rhinoceros, tapir, pig, and deer,
and snipe and crocodile shooting in abundance.
There are speedy and comfortable means of
reaching the chief centres of interest by rail, by
motor-bus, and along the coast, by steamer.
Roads link up the more important out-stations
with the trunk systems, keeping pace with the
development of the country. A reference to-
the maps issued by the authorities will show at
a glance the main routes. Leaving Pinang, a
steam ferry brings the traveller to Prye, the
northern terminus of the Federated Malay
States railway system, and he may book
through to Malacca. Before long it will be
possible to book even to Singapore, as the line-
through Johore is nearing completion, and
will be connected by ferry with the island
railway. Branch lines run from Taiping to
Port Weld, from Tapah Road to Teluk Anson,
from Kuala Lumpor to Port Swettenham, and
from Serembaii to Port Dickson, thereby
establishing connection with the steamers
calling at these ports. By a service of motor-
buses and cars the tourist can travel from
Temoh to Chanderiang, from Tapah Road to
Tapah Town, from Kuala Lumpor to Ampang,
from Klang Riverside to Kuala Selangor, and
from Kuala Kubu to Raub, Kuala Lipis, and
Bentong, in Pahang. With his own motor-
car he will find that a large extent of country is
accessible, the roads through which are good
and well graded.
.41 the moment of writing it cannot be said
that the available accommodation is all that
could be wished, but it must not be forgotten
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OP^ BRITISH MALAYA
939
that the country is new, and that in all proba-
bility two or three years will see a great im-
provement. Several new hotels are projected,
and when these- are built they will place the
Federated Malay States on an equality with
other Eastern countries in this direction.
Meanwhile the tourist must content himself
with the existing more or less indifferent hotels,
and with the Government rest-houses, which,
unpretentious though they may be, malce him
welcome and moderately comfortable.
He is far better provided for in the matter of
sanitaria. On the Larut hills, at altitudes
varying from 2,000 to close upon 5,000 feet, are
situated Government and other bungalows,
open, subject to certain formal conditions, to
the public. The temperature is from ten to
twenty degrees lower than that of the plains,
and the air in consequence is healthful and
invigorating. The elevation has its influence
on the flora, too, for roses, violets, and other
flowers, besides many varieties of vegetables,
grow in profusion.
Whether in the plains or on the heights the
traveller may obtain glimpses of landscape
which will well repay him for his sojourn by
the way ; hill, valley, and mountain stream,
sunshine, mist, and rain — these he may see in
endless combination, boldly coloured with
pigments from Nature's magic palette. Even
as he journeys in the railway he might feast
his eyes on beautiful scenery ; and of. many
lovely spots which might be mentioned,
Taiping, the capital of Perak, with its splendid
museum, and Kuala Kangsa, with its magnifi-
cent gardens and its Sultan's Istana, are pre-
eminent. Proceeding southwards, the traveller
will find his attention arrested by the compara-
tive bustle and ipodernity of Ipoh, the centre
of the tin-mining industry. Practically every
system of mining is in operation here, from the
primitive methods employed by a handful of
Chinamen to the labour-saving hydraulic
system. From Temoh he may journey by
motor-bus to Chanderiang, near which is the
famous Kinjang waterfall, the venue of in-
numerable picnic parties. The water falls a
distance of 800 feet, and the cascade is the
finest in the States. At Tanjong Malim he
enters Selangor, and may then consider
whether he will alight at Kuala Kubu and
proceed by motor-bus to Pahang or continue
his journey to the capital of the Federation.
If he is wise he will leave Pahang until he has
seen something of Selangor. Kuala Lumpor
will astonish him by the magnificence of the
Government buildings, a pile indicative of the
wealth of the Federated Malay States and of
the aspirations of those who administer the
country. The town is built upon and around a
cluster of small hills, the only portions which
can be called level being the Chinese quarter
and the padang in front of the Government
buildings. The beauty of the town is enhanced
by the public gardens, which surround an arti-
ficial lake and contain an ever-increasing
collection of botanic specimens. Not far from
the capital are the Batu Caves, reached by a
short line ; and within easy access are the hot
sulphur springs at Dusun Tua. The line to
Klang runs through vast acreages of rubber
country, with the industry in all its stages.
On returning to the capital the traveller has
again two courses open to him. He may
retrace his journey to Kuala Kubu and from
there visit Kaub, Tras, Bentong, and Kuala
Lipis, returning by the same route to Kuala
Lumpor, or he may first visit other places of
interest in Selangor, Negri Sambilan, and
Malacca, and then, returning to Kuala Kubu,
go through the Pahang towns already men-
tioned, down the river by boat to Pekan, from
there to Kuantan, and thence by boat to Singa-
pore, Full inquiries should, however, be made
in case this latter route is decided on, for the
journey occupies some time, and it is necessary
to talie into consideration the fact that at certain
seasons of the year the coast service is, to put
it mildly, erratic. It is in the State of Pahang
that the sportsman's happy hunting grounds are
located ; he may here win the blue ribbon of
big-game hunting, and secure for trophy the
greatly prized head of a seladang.
It is difficult to say much that can really be
of use to the tourist in regard to a young
country in which mutation is visible, as it
were, to the naked eye. Many things he can
only find out for himself by inquiry on the
spot. But, speaking generall5-, the country is
worthy his attention quite apart from its com-
mercial aspect ; it is for the most part easy of
access, and it possesses a climate which can
compare favourably .with any to be found in
the torrid zone. And by the time he has made
up his mind to settle permanently in the
Federated Malay States the visitor will have
come to know that there is inherent in the
European community a spirit of hospitality and
good fellowship — the camaraderie of exile —
which ameliorates not a little the severance of
home ties.
THE VALUE OF ENGLISH AND FOREIGN MONEY.
The following table shows the approximate value of English and foreign coins in Straits money : —
Country.
Great Britain
Austria and Hungary
Belgium
,,
Brazil
J,
Denmark
,,
East Indies
Egypt
France
Coin.
$ c.
Country.
Coin.
$ c.
Sovereign
... 8 50
France
5-Franc Piece
I 65
Half-sovereign ... -
- 4 25
,,
Franc
33
Crown
... 2 13
Germany
20-Mark Piece
8 10
Half-crown
... t 6
,, ... ... ... ...
Mark
41
Florin ...
85
Greece
20-Drachmas Piece
S 91
Shilling
42
Holland and Dutch East Indies
Florin or Guilder
68
Sixpence
21
Italy
20-Lyre Piece
6 60
Florin or Gulden
68
Portugal
Coroa or Crown of 10,000 Reis
18 so
20-franc Piece
... 6 60
,,
Milreis (1,000 Reis)
I 85
Franc
33
Russia
Imperial
13 66
lo-Milreis Piece
9 33
,,
Rouble
I 20
Milreis
93
Spain
Pistol
7 70
20-Crown Piece
... 9 30
,,
Doubloon of $5 nominal
8 60
Crown
46
,,
fi6
26 30
Mohur of Rs. 15
... 10 80
Turkey
Medjidie of 100 Piastres
7'6
Rupee
68
,,
Piastre
6
So-Piastre Piece
4 26
United States
Eagle of Sio
17 22
Piastre
8
,,
Dollar
I 72
Napoleon of 20 Francs
... 6 60
HACKNEY CARRIAGE FARES.
The following are the fares for hackney carriages, both by time and by distance, in Singapore. The fares in other populous centres of- British
Malaya are much the same. Fares are payable according to distance, unless at the commencement of hiring the hirer expresses his intention
of paying by time.
1 or 2 3 or 4
Persons. Persons.
$ c, $ c.
o 10 o 15
75
20
o
Fares by Distance :
For every half-mile or part thereof ...
Fares by Tiime :
For every hour or part thereof
F"or half a day, or five hours
For a whole day, consisting of nine hours ...
For every hour or part of an hour after the fifth or
ninth hour
JINRICKSHA FARES.
(■Within Municipal Limits.)
By Distance : ist Class. 2nd Class.
For any half-mile or fraction of half-mile 05 03
0 60
1 50
2 50
0 30
0 40
By Time : ist class. 2nd class.
$ c. $ c.
For one hour ... ... ... ... ... ... o 40 o 20
For every additional quarter of an hour ... ... o 10 05
Detention :
The hirer is entitled to detain the jinriksha for ten
minutes for stopping at any place, but for every
hour or part of an hour during which any
jinriksha may be so detained beyond the first
ten minutes an additional sum is chargeable, viz. o 10 05
No puller is entitled to claim as payment for any
distance drawn or any time during which he
may be detained in one day more than ... i 50 6 80
940
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
GLOSSARY.
Appended is a list of native words and phrases whicli are in common
witli the coloured population is carried on in Malay : —
use in the Straits Settlements, where nearly all linguistic intercourse
Yes
Malay.
Ya
Pronounced.
Yar
Guilder
Rupiah Java
No
Tida'
Teeda
Half cent
Dua duit
Not
Ta'
Ta
Interest
Bunga Wang
This, these
Ini
i as in pin
That, those
Itii
I too
Money
Wang
Here
Sini
i as in pin
Petty cash or disburse-
Duit blanja
There
Situ
Situ
ment money ...
How much
Brapa
Brahpa
Quarter cent
Satuduit
Rupiah Benggala ...
How many
Brapa banya
Brahpa banya
Rupee
Are there )
Is there \
Ada
Adder
Ten cent (silver piece) ...
Shilling sa' puloh sen
Have youj
Give me
Kasi
Kassy
Tid-ahper
Three-quarters of a cent...
Tiga duit
Nevermind
Tidfipa
Twenty-cent (silver piece)
Shilling dua puloh sen
What
What do you want
Apa
Apa mau
Ahpa
Ahpa mow
Sunday
Hari Minggo
Go away
Pergi
Piggy
Monday
Hari Satu
Hari Dua
Stop
Brenti
Brenty
Tuesday
Come here
Mari sini
Marry sinny
Wednesday
Hari Tiga
To-day
Hari-ini
Harry Inny
Thursday.
Hari Ampat
To-morrow
Biso
Bee-so
Friday
Hari Lima
Wait a bit
Nanti sikit
Nafity sickit
Saturday
Hari Anam
What is this
Apa ini
Ahpa inny
A day
Satu hari
What is your name
Apa nama
Ahpa nahma
A week
Satu minggo
Who is this
Siapa ini '
Sapper inny
A month
Satu bulan
Hospital
Rumah Sakit
Roomah Sahkit
A year
Satu taun
Master Attendant's Office
Ofis Kelasi
Office Kel-ahsy
A quarter of an hour ...
Suku jam
Municipal Office
Ofis Chukei Pintu ...
Office Chooki
A little while
Sa' bunter
Pintoo
A long time
Banyak lama
Police Station
Rumah Pasong
Roomah Pa-song
Afternoon or evening (up
Petang
Botanic Gardens
Kebun Bunga
Kib-oon Boong-ah
to 6 p.m.)
Cemetery (Christian)
Kuboran Orang Puteh
Koobor-an Ohrang
Always
Selalu
Puteh
An hour
Satu jam
Esplanade
Padang Besar
Pahdong B's'aar
Half an hour ,
Stengah jam
Fort Canning
Bookit Banderah ...
Bodkit Ban-dayrah
One quarter
Satu suku
Government House
Rumah Gobenor
Roomah Governor
One half
Satu stengah
Government Hill
Gobenor Bunya Bukit
Governor Poony ah
Three-quarters
Tiga suku
Bukit
One-third
Sa' per tiga
Racecourse
Tempat Lumbah
T!mpat Loombah
Two-thirds
Duapertiga
Kudah
Koodah
Water
ayer
Singapore
Singapura
Sing-ah-poorah
Ice
ayer batu
Museum
Skola Gambar
Schola Gam-bar
Drink
minum
One cent
SatuSen
Sahtoo Sen
Hot
panas
Two. cents
Dua Sen
Dooah Sen
Cold
seju
Three tents
Tiga Sen
Teegah Sen
Carriage driver
syce
Four cents
AmpatSen
Ampat Sen
Chinese god
Joss
Five cents
Lima Sen
Lee-mah Sen
Chinese temple
Joss-house
Six cents
Anam Sen
Ahnam Sen
Pony carriage
Gharry
Seven cents
Tujoh Sen
Toojoh Sen
Hand carriage
Jinricksha
Eight cents
Dilapan Sen
Lapan Sen
Go quickly
Pergi lekas
Nine cents. ..!_
Sembilan Sen
S'mbeelan Sen
Go slowly
Jalan plan-plahan ...
Ten cents ...
Sa.' puloh Sen
Sah pooloh Sen
Go carefully
Jalan baik-baik
Twenty cents .'.
Dua puloh Sen
Dooah pooloh Sen
Sun-hat
Topi
Thirty cents
Tiga puloh Sen
Teegah pooloh Sen
Coat
Baju
Forty cents
Ampat puloh Sen
Ampat pooloh Sen
Skirt
Sarong
Fifty cents
Lima puloh Sen
Leema pooloh Sen
Watchman
.Tager
One hundred
Sa'ratus
Sah rahtus
Gardener
Kebun
One thousand
Sa' ribu
Sah reebu
House
Rumah
Dollar
Ringgit
Ring-git
Chair
Krusi
A bad dollar
Ringgit korangbaik. . .
Ring-git Kohrang
Horse
Kudah
by
Match
Kori api
Cash (as to pay cash for
■ Wang tunai.
Wahung tooni
Toothpick
Kori giggi
anything) '
To halt
Brenti
Five cent (silver piece) ...
Shilling lima sen
Shilling leemah
Right
Cannan
sen
Left
, Keri
HOTEI S,
RAFFLES HOTEL, SINGAPOEE.
"The Savoy of Singapore" is the well-
merited description given by the London
Sphere to Raffles Hotel. Further testimony
to the excellence of this palatial place of
entertainment is borne in Rudyard Kipling's
advice, " Feed at Raffles when visiting Singa-
pore," and in Senator Staniforth Smith's
statement that " Raffles Hotel is more than a
hostelry ; it is an institution — the hotel that has
made Singapore famous to the tourist and an
abode of pleasure to the resident."
The proprietors, Messrs. Sarkies Bros., com-
menced business in the Straits Settlements
nearly a quarter of a century ago. The eldest
member of the- firm, Mr. Martin Sarkies, who
retired some fifteen years back, arrived in
Pinang at the end of 1869, and was for several
years engaged in engineering there. His
brother, Mr. Tigran Sarkies, followed him in
the early eighties after having been with a
Pronounced.
Rupiah Jahwah
Dooah dweet
Boong-ah
wahang
Wahng
Dweet blan-jah
Sahtoo dweet
Roopeah Ben-
gahlah
Shilling sa-poolob
sen
Teegah dweet
Shilling dooah
pooloh sen
Hahry Ming-go
Hahry Sahtoo
Hahry Dooah
Hahry Teegah
Hahry Ampat
Hahry Leemah
Hahry Ahnam
Sahtoo hahry
Sahtoo ming-go
Sahtoo boolan
Sahtoo town
Sookoo jam
Sah buntar
Bahn-yack lama
P'tang
Slahloo
Sahtoo jam
Steng-ah jam
Sahtoo sookoo
Sahtoo steng-ah
Teegah sookoo
Sah per teegah
Duah per teegah
Ayah
Ayah battoo
Minnum
Pan-ass
Sedge-oo
Syce
Joss
Joss-house
Gari
Jinricksha
Piggi lekas
Jalan plan-plan
Jalan bai-bai
Topee
Bajoo
Sarong
Jagah
Keboon
Rooma
Krooseh
Kooda
Koree apee
Koree geegee
Brentee
Kannan
Keree
mercantile firm in Java, and early in 1884 the
two brothers opened the Eastern Hotel, facing
the Esplanade. This was a small beginning,
but in the following year the enterprising
proprietors opened the Oriental Hotel, and ran
both houses for some time. The original
Eastern Hotel, being incapable of structural
extension, had eventually to be abandoned,
and attention was then concentrated upon the
Oriental Hotel. New buildings were added,
and in the course of time the Eastern and
2 R *
942
TWENTIETH CENTUHY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Oriental Hotel, as it is now called, has become
one of the most delightful hotels of the East.
Messrs. Sarkies Bros, subsequently opened the
Crag Hotel on the invigorating summit of
Pinang hill, which is one of the most popular
health resorts in Malaya.
Messrs. Sarkies Bros.' connection with Singa-
pore dates from 1888, when Raffles Hotel, then
housed in quite an unpretentious building,
first offered its hospitality to the wayfarer.
This building soon proved to be absolutely
inadequate to the wants of " the seventh largest
port of the world," and the proprietors
promptly made arrangements for the present
commodious premises to be erected upon the
same site. The building — chiefly associated
with the name of Mr. Tigran Sarkies, one of
the principal partners of the firm — is one of the
architectural ornaments of Singapore, and,
with its unrivalled situation on the sea front,
its luxurious internal arrangements, and its
thoroughly up-to-date management, it stands
in the front rank of similar establishments East
or West of Suez. It is a building of noble
proportions and imposing appearance, and
covers an area of no less that 200,000 square
feet. It commands an unrivalled panoramic
view of the harbour and the adjacent islands,
and is conveniently situated within easy reach
of the chief business centres. On the ground-
floor is the marble-paved dining-room, than
which there is probably none more handsome
in the East ; whilst the spacious open verandah
is one of the breeziest spots in Singapore. The
private dining-rooms form an important feature,
and are in constant demand for wedding-
breakfasts, private dinners, &c. The whole
of the space on the first floor above the
verandah is used as a reading-room — airy,
lofty, and light, well supplied with home,
colonial, and Continental newspapers and
periodicals, and fitted up with writing tables
and comfortable lounge chairs. A large bar
^
CI
O
w
^
1. ABSHAK SAEKIES.
2. AVIET SARKIES.
3. TIGRAN SARKIES.
1. DINING ROOM. RAFFLES HOTEL.
2. GENERAL VIEW.
1. THE EASTERN AND ORIENTAL HOTEL, PINANG, THE VERANDAH.
2. DINING HALL. 3. THE CRAG HOTEL, PINANG.
GRAND HOTEL DE L'EUBOPE.
I, N- N. Adis (Proprietor).
2. General View.
(See p. 946.)
3. H. ScilUTZ (Manager).
GRAND HOTEL DE L EUROPE.
The Dining Room axd Drawing Room.
(See p. 946 )
2 R -■■■
946
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
and smoke-room is provided on the ground
floor. The billiard-room, containing four first-
class London tables, is in a separate block.
There are over 150 suites of rooms, consisting
of sitting-room, bed and dressing room, and
bath-room attached ; and the popularity of the
hotel is evidenced by, the fact that all the
rooms are almost always occupied.
The building is lighted throughout with
electricity, generated by plant on the premises,
and electric fans are provided in all the public
rooms. The cuisine is under the direct super-
vision of two accomplished European chefs.
The manager of the hotel is Mr. J. Constantine,
who has had wide experience.
The success which Messrs. Sarkies Bros.
met with in the Straits Settlements induced
them to extend their operations to Burma,
and some ten years ago they opened the
Strand Hotel at Rangoon, a first-class hotel
built to their own special design under the
direction of Mr. Aviet Sarkies. The Strand is
splendidly situated facing the river Irrawadi,
and has from the commencement been a great
favourite with tourists.
The jjresent partners in the firm of Sarkies
Bros, are.: Mr. Tigran Sarkies, Raffles Hotel,
Singapore ; Mr. Aviet Sarkies (who became a
of the harbour of Singapore, and is one of
the newest and most palatial hotels in the
colony. It occupies the major portion of
Adis Buildings, one of the most magnificent
piles in Singapore, which face the High Street
and the Esplanade. Formerly the hotel occu-
pied the buildings now vised as municipal
offices. The present new building \xras com-
menced by the Hotel de I'Europe Syndicate,
but has been completed and taken over by Mr.
N. N. Adis, who is now the sole proprietor.
It ^:overs nearly an acre of ground, and is
of the Renaissance style of architecture. The
ground floor fagade consists of a series of
segmental arches between massive rusticated
piers, and forms a colonnade in front of the
entrance hall, lounge, reading-room, and bar
along the Esplanade front ; while the High
Street side is divided into shops of good size.
Above the piers of the ground-floor lofty
Corinthian columns are carried through two
storeys. Jnternally the decorations are simple,
as befits a tropical climate. The halls, lounge,
reading-room, bar, and verandah have Doric
columns. It has been the object of the pro-
prietor to make the hotel as open as possible,
and with this in view, arches have generally
been adopted in preference to doors, but where
open. In the drawing-room, which is accom-
modated on the first floor, considerable decora-
tive work has been introduced, but it is O' a
licrht and delicate nature. On the top of the
building a unique feature is a large roof garden,
which is a popular resort.
The upper stories' are reached by lifts sup-
plied by the Otis Elevator Company, and in all
the public rooms electric fans serve to keep the
air fresh and cool. The lighting is by elec-
tricity, and the fittings throughout are of the
latest design. Every attention has been paid
to ventilation and sanitation. The bedrooms,
which tiumber 120, are fitted with private bath
and dressing rooms, and each has a private
balcony, which lengthens the apartment and
gives the seclusion so often vainly sought in
hotel life. Every precaution has been taken
for the safety of those staying at the hotel.
There are three fireproof emergency staircases,
affording exits in every direction. The building
has been erected and furnished by Mr. N. N,
Adis, of whom a biographical sketch is given
on another page, at a cost of a million dollars.
The manager is Mr. H. Schutz, formerly
manager of the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel,
Bombay, and of the Galle Face Hotel,
Colombo.
GBAND HOTEL DE L'EUEOPE.
The Lounge.
partner in 1884), Strand Hotel, Rangoon ; and
Mr. Arshak Sarkies (who entered the firm in
1891), Eastern and Oriental and Crag Hotels,
Pinang.
GBAND HOTEL DE L'EUEOPE,
SINGAPORE.
The Grand Hotel de I'Europe, situated on
the Esplanade, commands a splendid view
the latter have had to be used they are of great
size and pleasing design. The entrance to the
hotel is by two carriage doors under the build-
ing, and the entrance hall and the whole of
the first floor are paved with encaustic tiles,
which give a bright but cool appearance. The
dining hall, which is on the ground floor, em-
braces 1,000 square feet, and is almost free
from columns. The few that there are are very
light. Dining here is practically dining in the
INTERNATIONAL HOTEL, PINANG.
Situated in the very heart of Pinang, within
five minutes' ricksha ride of Swettenham Pier
(passenger jetty), the General Post Office, the
leading clubs, and other important centres,
there is the International Hotel, which pro-
vides everything that most people can desire
and affords unique facilities for getting to every
part of the town in the shortest possible time.
, The Dining Room.
INTERNATIONAL HOTEL, PINANG.
2. A Bedroo^i. 3 The Hotel.
4, THE Bar.
THE ADELPHI HOTEL.
The Hotkl, a Bedroom, and the Dixing Hall.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
949
Oi'iginally the residence . of a wealthy towns-
man, the building combines solidity with
comfort. The deep, broad front verandah is
arranged after the European fashion as a semi-
outdoor restaurant, where it is always cool
the greatest care, and with due regard to
climatic conditionst
The management is in the hands of a
courteous and energetic gentleman who speaks
several European languages and personally
is provided with electric light and electric fans.
The cuisine is renowned for its excellence.
The billiard-room and reading-room, on the
ground floor, are paved with white marble,
which lends a splendid eft'ect and makes for
THE GENERAL ROOM AND SITTING ROOM OF THE BODEGA.
and shady, and from this the wide entrance
hall (as shown in the illustrations) leads into
the interior of the building. Skirting the bar,
the dining-room is reached, which will accom-
modate ISO people in comfort. From the
centre of the dining-room a large staircase
takes the visitor to the upper floor, where the
spacious drawing and music rooms are situated.
These two apartments, which are amongst the
largest halls in the whole of the town, are some
26 feet high from floor to ceiling. They com-
mand a magnificent view of the town, and are
the favourite rendezvous for the guests of the
ho^el. Many of the bedi'ooms open out on the
right and left of these apartments, whilst others
are grouped around the landing of the stair-
case.
The spacious bathrooms, which are reached
directly from the bedrooms, are a great im-
provement upon the ordinary style of bath-
rooms found in the East.
The establishment is lighted throughout with
electricity and is fitted with electric fans. The
attendance is of the best and smartest, the
cuisine all that can be wished for, and the
wines, spirits, and cigars are selected with
supervises the arrangements for the comfort
of his guests.
ADELPHI HOTEL, SINGAPORE.
One of the best known and most popular
hotels in Singapore is the Adelphi. It was
established in 1863 in Raffles Place, but the
business soon outgrew the premises, and a
move was made first to High Street, then
to Coleman Street, and finally to the present
site facing St. Andrew's Cathedral and the
Esplanade. No better position than this could
have been selected, for the hotel is now within
a short distance of all the principal places of
business and the Government olfices. About
four years ago the hotel was taken over by the
present proprietors, Messrs. Sarkies, Johannes,
& Co., who have greatly improved it. The
whole of the old building has been pulled
down and replaced by the present imposing
structure. The magnificent dining-room, aptly
described in the local press as "one of the
coolest and most desirable spots in Singapore,"
is capable of seating four hundred people, and
coolness and cleanliness. On the first floor is
the ladies' drawing-room, where the Singapore
Chess Club holds its meetings. There are over
a hundred airy and comfortable bedrooms,
with sitting and bath rooms attached. A
tennis court has been laid out for the benefit
of those residing in the hotel. Altogether the
Adelphi is a most desirable place to stay at.
INTERNATIONAL BODEGA AND
RESTAURANT, PINANG.
Presided over by the genial proprietor,
Captain "W. Joyce, who is well known through-
out the Straits, the International Bodega and
Restaurant, in Union Street, Pinang, affords a
general rendezvous for business men to- con-
gregate in and exchange ideas, and for travel-
lers from the ships in harbour to meet each
other and enjoy a little cooling refreshment.
The Bodega provides plain and wholesome
meals at all hours of the day, and stocks the
best brands of liquors and cigars. Its internal
appointments are homely and cheerful, and the
attendance is all, that can be desired.
'=cia_
-_Q_
950
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
STRAITS SETTLEMENTS AND FEDERATED MALAY STATES TIME.
Since June, 1905, the time of the whole of
the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay
States has been standardised. It is the time
of the 105th degree of East longitude, and
therefore seven hours in advance of Greenwich
time. Formerly time was reckoned according
to the actual longitude of the different parts of
the colony and the Federated Malay States, but
this gave rise to much confusion.
COST OF LIVING IN THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.
The cost of living in the colony at the present
lime is very high, owing to the fact that the
dollar, which is now of the fixed value of 2s. 4d.,
has much the same purchasing power that it
had when worth. only is. yd. The following
figures, compiled on behalf of the civil servants
for the consideration of the Government, will
give an idea of the high prices ruling in Singa-
pore, which is a free port except for spirituous
liquors and opium : —
IMPORTED FOODSTUFFS.
LOCAL FOODSTUFFS.'
Straits
sterling
Currency
Equivalent.
-S
c.
s.
d.
Bacon, Lush's
per lb.
50
I
2
„ Fitch's
65
I
6
Butter, Bretel F.
65
I
6
„ Australian
62
I
5
„ Danish
75
I
9
Biscuits, arrowroot
55
I
3
,, cabin
35
9
,, dessert
I
00
2
4
„ ginger nuts
55
I
3
„ milk
40
II
„ mixed
70
I
7
Candles, Price's
26
7
Cheese, Cheddar
55
1
3
„ Gruyere
60
I
5.
Cocoa, Van Houten's
lib.
80
I
10
„ Cadbury's
,,
67
I
6
Coffee
per lb.
55
I
3
Fruits, French
qt. bot.
I
35
3
I
„ American canned
2j lbs.
43
I
0
„ C. B., for tarts
qt. bot.
33
9
„ raisins, muse
))
I
15
2
8
Hams, Fitch's ...
per lb.
60
I
5
Infants' food, Nestle's
jj
75
I
9
Jams, C. B.
n
30
8
„ Australian
)j
19
5
„ marmalade, Keiller's
25
7
Milk, tinned Anglo-Swiss
per tin
21
5
Mustard
Alb.
28
7i
Pate de foie gras, P. & Canaud
Jib.
n
25
5
3
Pickles, mixed
per pint
45
1
0
Preserved kippered herrings, C. & B.
per lb.
30
8
„ haddocks, Findon
n
38
10
„ salmon, Canadian
M
46
I
0
„ sardines, P. & Canaud
Jib.
80
I
10
„ meats, C. & B
per lb.
50
1
2
„ „ Australian
,1
34
9
Sausages, Oxford, C. & B
large
I
00
2
4
„ Cambridge, C. & B.
per lb.
55
I
3
,. ham, chicken, & tongue, C. & B.
,,
55
I
3
Tongues, ox, Fray Bentos
2 lbs.
I
45
3
4
„ lunch, Exchange
lib.
58
I
4
Soups, C. & B
,,
45
I
0
Essence, Brand's
Jib.
I
10
2
7
„ Lemco
I
25
2
II
„ Bovril
,,
90
2
I
Vegetables: peas, P. & C
lib.
43
I
0
„ „ fin
n
22
6
„ asparagus
tin
43
I
0
„ tomatoes
2 lbs.
32
9
Salt, table
1)
21
6
Sauce, Lea & Perrin's Worcester
i pint
50
I
2
„ Harvey's, Lazenby's
n
44
I
0
Sugar, chopped cubes
4 lbs.
65
I
6
Tea, Indian finest orange Pekoe
2 lbs.
2
35
5
5
„ Assam Souchong
)'
I
25
2
II
„ Ceylon Uplands
I
65
3
10
Vinegar, C. & B
qt. bot.
40
II
Straits
Sterling
Currency,
Equivalent.
$ c.
s
d.
Beans, French
per lb.
72
3i
Beef ...
11
20
#
Beefsteak
22
6
Cabbage, China
,,
09
2i
Capons
„
30
8
Celery
,
24
6*
Chillies, fresh
,,
34
9i
Cucumbers
.,
06
li
Coconuts
each
04
I
Coffee
per lb.
26
7i
Crabs, large
each
30
8
„ small
„
15
5
Curry stuffs
per lb.
19
Ducks, large
each
60
I
4}
„ small
,-,
50
I
2
Eggs, ducks'
perdoz.
25
7
„ hens'
„
36
10
„ salted
25
7
Fish, large
per lb.
26
7i
„ medium
,,
13
3i
„ small
„
09
2i
„ salted, Siam
,,
15
5
Fowls, large
each
60
I
4i
„ medium
,,
45
I
0
„ small
,.
30
8
Ginger
per lb.
07
3i
Garlic
J
07
If
Geese, large
each
2 00
4
8
,, medium
„
I 50
3
6
Lettuce
per lb.
12
3:
Lard
J
18
5:
Mutton
... — ,,
30
8
Mint
bunch
01
oj
Onions, Bengal
per lb.
04
I
„ small
,,
07
If
spring
,,
09
2*
Potatoes, Java
04
I
Prawns, fresh
34
9i
„ dry
J
24
64
Pineapples
each
06
li
Pigeons
per pair
50
1
2
Plantains
bunch of 10
05
ij
Pork
per lb.
26
7i
„ chops
,,
24
64
Rice, 1st quality
per pint
50
I
2
Sugar, 1st quality
per lb.
06
14
Tamarind
04
I
Tomatoes
... ... ,,
34
94
Padi
... 164 lbs.
50
I
2
Ice
per lb.
02
04
Milk
chupak
24
64
Bread
lb. loaf
06
14
Wheat flour •
per lb.
07
li
The prices are those charged in the bazaar to native servants.
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
951
BEVERAGES.
TOBACCO, &c.
Straits
sterling
Currency.
Equivalent.
$
c.
s. d.
Champagne, Pommery & Greno's doz. qts.
48
so
113 2
Ayala
I)
4S
00
100 4
„ Heidsieck
S4
00
126 0
Hock, sparkling, Deinhard's
... doz. botts.
16
■^0
38 6
„ still, 1897
,,
12
00
28 0
Burgundy, still, Pommard...
n
II
00
25 8
„ sparkling
2.S
7=;
55 5
Graves
It
II
00
25 8
Chablis
,,
II
00
25 8
Claret, St. Julien
,,
6
IS
15 9
„ St. Estephe
1,
n
00
30 4
„ Vin Ordinaire
..
5
40
12 7
Sherrv, Cockburn & Campbell's
2S
SO
59 6
Port
IQ
SO
45 6
Brandy, Hennessey's Three Star
2S
so
59 6
„ Exshaw's No. i ...
..
29
25
68 3
Whisky, Usher's special reserve
■■
13
2S
30 II
„ Dewar's special ...
12
7S
29 9
„ Walker's special ...
22
00
51 4
„ Jameson's Three Star
18
00
42 0
Gin, A. V. H
..u. of 15 bots.
IS
2S
35 7
„ Boord's Old Tom
doz. qts.
10
00
23 4
„ Bols
. . p. doz. large
16
S4
38 7
Liqueurs, D. O. M.
.. per qt. bot.
2
75
6 5
Cherry brandy
I
7S
4 I
Kummel
n
10
4 II
Milk punch
per pint
I
02
2 4
Beer, Bass
doz. qts.
■?
36
12 s
„ „ bitter ale
11
■^
21
12 I
„ Pilsener Bull-dog ...
M
4
26
9 11
Stout, Guinness's (E. & J. Burke)
4
81
II 2
Aerated water —
Soda
.. doz. large
70
I 7
Others
11
80
I 10
CLOTHING.
White drill suits
Cashmere socks
Pyjama suits ...
Waterproofs
Dress suits
Flannel suits
Collars, hnen, five-fold
Pure woollen undervests, size 38
India gauze, size 38
Ceylon flannels
Elwood's helmets
Helmets, other makes
Gents' brown shoes
Ladies' shoes ...
Gents' dress shoes
Drapery
each
per doz.
each
per doz.
)j
per yard
each
M
per pair
Straits
Currency.
5 00
7 SO
4 50
13 50
60 00
22 00
3 90
36 00
12 50
50
7 50
5 50
9 45
6 00
5 00
80 00
Sterling
Equivalent.
II
17
10
31
140
51
9
84
29
I
17
12 10
22 o
14 o
II 8
186 8
Dutch cigars
Manila cigars
Rangoon cigars
Tobacco, Wills's bird's-eye...
„ „ Three Castles
,, ,, Craven
„ Lambert & Butler's
,, American curve cut
Cigarettes, Wills's Three Castles
„ Lambert & Butler's
i
per 100-^
Straits
Currency.
Sterling
Equivalent.
Jib.
ilb.
per 50 c.
Egyptian Georgacapulo per 100-
Melachrimo „ \
I 75
to
3 00
I 20
to
19 00
I 05
to
I 45
I 10
65
I 00
70
52
42
55
I 55
to
'' 20
1 80
to
2 90
MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSES.
5. d.
4 I
to
7 O
2 9
to
44 o
2 5
to
3 4
2 7
1 6
2 4
I 7
I 2
II
1 3
2 8
to
5 I
4 2
to
6 9
Straits
Sterling
Currency.
Equivalent.
$
c.
s. d.
Boarding houses, per person per calendar
month
70
00
0
163 4
to
100
00
233 4
I
00
2 4
Club, monthly subscription
0
to
6
00
14 0
Newspaper (daily), subscription per annum ...
30
00
70 0
Library, subscription per annum, 1st class
12
00
28 0
„ „ „ 2nd class ...
8
00
18 0
Entertainments
3
00
7 0
I 6
Patent medicines, per is. ijd
6s
„ „ market price 2s. 9d
I
25
2 II
Stationery, per is. market price
Ao
I 5
Books, per is
fio
I 5
„ market price 2s. 6d
I
25
2 II
4
00
9 4
Doctors' fees, per visit
0
to
6
00
14 0
Photos, cabinet size, per dozen
20
00
46 8
„ platinotype
2S
00
58 4
Assessment on house within limit 8100 of rent...
IS
00
35 0
Tax on horse ..
5
00
11 8
„ four-wheeled carriage
18
00
4-' 0
„ two-wheeled carriage
13
00
28 0
„ jinriksha
6
00
14 0
Duty on spirits per gallon
I
SO
3 6
„ wines per gallon J
SO
to
I 2
to
I
00
2 4
„ malt liquors per gallon
18
S
As a rule, the local European firms engage employees on agreements varying from three to five years. The usual term is five years,
the option of returning home or of remaining another two years, towards the close of which six months' leave on full pay is granted.
with
SINGAPORE.
United States of America —
Mr. Thornwell Haynes, Raffles Hotel
Buildings.
Austro-Hungary —
Mr. R. Kiliani (acting), 2, De Souza Street.
Belgium —
Mr. S. Behr, 3A, Malacca Street.
China —
Mr. Suen Tie Ting, Bras Bazah Road,
CONSULS.
Denmark —
Mr. S. Gad, 6, Telegraph Street (East
Asiatic Company).
France —
Comte R. de Bondy-Riario, 7 IE, River
Valley Road.
Germany —
Mr. R. Kiliani, 2, De Souza Street.
Norway —
Mr. W. P. Waddell, 18, Collyer Quay
(Boustead & Co.).
Italy-
Mr. H. Spakler (acting), 14, Raffles Quay.
Japan —
Mr. Kuramatsu Kishi, 97, Robinson Road.
Netherlands —
Mr. H. Spakler, 6, Raffles Quay.
Portugal —
Mr. H. Spakler (acting), 14, Raffles Quay.
Russia —
Comte R. de Bondy-Riario (acting), 7ie
River Valley Road.
952
TWEXTIETH CENTURY IMPEESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Siam —
The Hon. John Anderson, ii, Collyer
Quay (Guthrie & Co.).
Spain —
Comte R. da Bondv-Riario, 71E, River
Valley Road.
Turkey —
Mr. R. Kiliani (acting), 2, De Souza Street.
PINANG.
United States of America —
Mr. Otto Schule (agent), 33, Beach Street.
Austro-Hungary —
Mr. Alfred Pausmer (acting), at Schmidt,
Kuestermann & Co.
Belgium —
Mr. John Mitchell, 23, Church Street
Ghaut (Adamson, GiWillan & Co.).
Denmark —
Mr. A. Tobler, 4, Weld Quay (Schiffmann,
Heer & Co.).
France —
Mr. John Mitchell (agent), 23, Church
Street Ghaut (Adamson, Gilfillan &
Co.).
Germany —
Mr. F. Katenkamp (vice), 5, Weld Quay
(Behn, Meyer & Co.).
'Mr Arthur Oechsle (agent), 56, Beach
Street (Goldenberg & ZeitHn).
Xetherlands— xt ■ o, i
Mr. G. S. D. Hamel (vice), 11, Union Street.
Norway — x, , 01 i
Mr. H. Hilton (vice), 27, Beach Street
(Huttenbach Brothers).
Portugal — ^
Mr. Joseph M. Anthony (acting). Downing
Street.
Siam —
Mr. A. D. Neubronner, 33D, Beach Street.
Sweden —
Mr. F. Duxbury (acting), 27, Beach Street
(Huttenbach Brothers).
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.
AVOIRDUPOIS WEIGHT.
LINEAL MEASURE.
LAND MEASURE (MALAY).
I sq. jemba = 144 sq. feet.
16 drams = i ounce.
12 inches = 1 foot.
400 sq. jembas = i sq. orlong = i J ac. (nearly).
16 ounces = i pound.
3 feet = I yard.
I lelong = 2,400 sq. ft.
14 pounds = I stone.
Sj yards = i pole or perch.
24 lelong = I sq. orlong = i J ac. (nearly).
8 stones =1 hundredweight.
40 poles or perches = i furlong.
20 hundredweights = 1 ton.
8 furlongs ... =1 mile.
MEASURES OF CAPACITY.
{Dry Measure.)
Avoirdupois.
I tahil = 14 ounces.
16 tahil = I kati = ij lb.
roo kati = i picul = 133J pounds.
3 picul = I bahar = 400 pounds.
SUPERFICIAL MEASURE.
2 gills = I pau or quarter chupak.
2 pau =1 pint or Half chupak.
144 sq. in = I sq. ft.
2 pints or 4 pau ... = 1 quart or chupak.
4 quarts or chupak = i gallon or gantang.
40 picui = I koyan = 5,333^ pounds.
9 sq. ft. = I sq. yd.
30J sq. yds =1 sq. pole 01
10 gantang ... = i para.
800 gantang ... =1 koyan.
perch.
2 gallons ... v: = I peck.
GOLDSMITHS' WEIGHT.
40 sq. poles =1 rood.
4 pecks ... ... = I bushel.
4 roods = I acre.
8 bushels = i quarter.
12
16
12
saga = I mayam = 52 grains,
mayam = 1 bongkal = 832 grains,
bongkal = i kati = 9,984 grains (i lb.
43,560 sq. ft. (4,840 sq. }-ds.) = 1 acre.
{Liquid Measure:)
2 gills = I pau or quarter chupak.
8 ozs. 16 dwts.).
2 pau = I pint or half chupak.
LONG MEASURE (MALAY).
2 pints or 4 pau... = 1 quart or chupak.
4 quarts or chupak = i gallon or gantang.
OPIUM WEIGHT.
4 pelempap = i jengkal.
10 gantang ... = i para.
2 jengkal = i hasta.
800 gantang ... = i koyan.
10 tee = I boon.
4 hasta = I depa.
63 gallons ^= I hogshead.
10 boon = I chee.
2 depa = I jemba.
2 hogsheads ... =1 pipe.
10 chee = I tahil.
20 jembas = i orlong.
2 pipes = I tun.
CONCLUDING NOTE
OW that our labours in connection with the compilation of this volume are completed, we must return our very cordial
thanks to those who, by the valued assistance which they have so generously rendered, have helped materially
to lighten our arduous task. To his Excellency the Governor, Sir John Anderson, K.C.M.G., we are indebted
for the patronage which he so readily accorded to our work and for the close personal interest which he displayed
in its progress. From the British Residents in the Federated Malay States — Mr. E. W. Birch, C.M.G., of Perak ;
Mr. Conway Belfield, of Selangor ; Mr. C. Wray, of Pahang ; and Mr. R. C. Gray, of Negri Sambilan — we have
received every courtesy and consideration. Our obligations are due to the Colonial Secretary, Captain Young,
C.M.G., for authorising the heads of the various Government Departments to furnish us with information. We
owe our acknowledgments also to Mr. C. E, Spooner, C.M.G., of the Federated Malay States Railway, and to Mr. W. Tearle and Mr.
J, H. Williams, of the Singapore and Kranji Railway, for placing travelling facilities at the disposal of our staff. Nor can we forget our
indebtedness to those who have either contributed articles, or material for articles, which appear in the foregoing pages. Prominent amongst
these are Mr. L. Wray, I.S.O. (Native Arts and Handicrafts), Mr. R. J. Wilkinson (Malay Literature and History), Mr. B. O. Stoney (Malays),
Mrs. R. Sanderson (Population), Mr. H. C. Robinson (Fauna), Mr. J. B. Scrivenor (Geology), Mr. H. M. Ridley, M.A. (Botany),
Mr. A. M. Burn-Murdoch (Forests), Mr. R. Derry (Agriculture), Mr. J. B. Carruthers (Rubber), Mr. L. C. Brown (Coconuts), Mr. F. Douglas
Osborne (Mining), Mr. A. Hale (Hill Stations), Captain Cuscaden and Captain Talbot (Police), Lieut. -Colonel Walker, C.M.G., and Major
Ford, D.S.O. (Military), Captain Colbeck and Major Hubback (Volunteers), Mr. A. Stuart and Mr. J. R. O. Aldworth (Imports and Exports),
Mr. W, J. P. Hume (Finance), the Hon. Mr. J. Pigott and Mr. R. O. N. Anderson (Public Works), the Hon. Mr. J. Pigott and Mr. Redfearn
Shaw (Land Survey), Mr. R. Bell and Mr. C. H. AUin (Posts and Telegraphs), Messrs. J. Polglase, L. A. C. Biggs, L, E. Koek, and C. H. C.
Buchanan (Municipal), the Rev. F. G. Swindell, Father Couvreur, Bishop Oldham, the Rev. J. A. B. Cook, and Dr. Lim Boon Keng (Religion),
Mr. Justice Fisher and Mr. L. C. Ebden (Law), Dr. A. J. McClosky (Health and Hospitals), Commander Radcliffe and Commander D. C.
Mclntyre (Harbours), Mr. E. Burnside (Spirit and Gambling Farms), Dr. S. C. Yin, Dr. Gnoh Lean Tuck, Mr. A. M. Pountney, and Mr.
H. G. B. Vane (Opium), and Messrs. T. R. Hubback, A. B. Hubback, W. D. Scott, G. Gumming, G. D. Lucas, and Captain A. McD.
Graham (Sport). The Press of British Malaya has exhibited a spirit of camaraderie and good-will which we highly appreciate. Especially
are we grateful to Mr. W. Makepeace, of the Singapore Free Press, who contributed the article on "The Press"; to Mr. T. H. Reid, F.J.I. ,
editor of the Straits Times, who has been ever ready to help in any way that lay in his power ; to Mr. J. T. Dobbie, of the Pinang Gazette,
who wrote for us a description of Pinang ; to Mr. Chesney Dimcan, editor of the Times of Malaya, who has maintained an attitude of the
utmost cordiality towards our project; and to Mr. J. M. Robson, managing director of the Malay Mail, whose long experience of the
Federated Malay States has been always at our command. We are very much obliged, also, to the Superintendents of the Government
Printing Departments Mr. J. E. Tyler, of Singapore, and Mr. J, Russell, of Kuala Lumpor — for supplying us with various Government
publications of which we stood in need. In conclusion, a word of praise must be given to Messrs. Unwin Bros., Ltd., our printers, for the
artistic skill which they have brought to bear upon the production of this book, and to the members of our staff for the loyal and devoted
way in which they have worked to achieve success.
LLOYD'S GREATER BRITAIN PUBLISHING CO., LTD.,
Singapore, November, 1907.
GENER.iL Manager,
INDEX
Abdullah, Dato' Major, 892
Aboriginal Arts and Handicrafts, 232
Abrams, H., 577
Acton, R. D., 136
Adams, Hon. Mr. A, R., 127, 597
Adams & Allan, 748
Adamson, Gilfillan & Co., 674, 791
Adelphi Hotel, Singapore, 949
Adis, N. N., 628
Agriculture, 337
Ahmad Rfaathan Shah Ebini al Merhum
All. K.C.M.G., Sultan of Pahang, 133
Alang Iskandar, Raja, 854
Aldworth, J. R. O., 165
AlkafE & Co., 710
Alia Idin Suleiman Shah, C.M.G.. Sultan
of Selangor, 131
Allan, Murison, 749
Allen,' Percy Tothill, 878
Allen,. Rowland, 611
Allen Dennys & Co., 795
Allin, Charles Henry, 328
Alma Estate, 369
Alsagoff & Co., 705
Ambrose, Sydney Cole, 748
American Methodist Episcopal Church,
286
Anderson, Sir John, K.C.M.G., Governor
of the Straits Settlements and High
Commissioner of the Federated Malay
States, 123
Anderson, Hon. Mr. John, 127
Anderson, R. O. N., 315, 318
Anglo-Chinese Girls' School, Pinang, 274
Anglo-Chinese School, Pinang, 274
Anglo-Chinese Store, Pinang, 833
AngulUa, M. S. E., & Co., 708
Ann Lock & Co., 726
Anthonisz, J. O., 136
Anthony, Joseph Manook, 752
Anti-Opium Movement, 153
Apcar Line, 170
Armstrong, H.,"453
Armstrong, W. R., 749
Arts and Handicrafts, Native, 232
Atherton Estate, 492
Atkinson & Forbes, 697
Australian Horse Repository, Pinang, 814
Australian Stores, Singapore, 681
Automobilism, 580
Avetoom, Dr. T. C, 752
Ayer Kuning Estafe, 445
Ayer Silolo and Ayer Angat Estates, 492
Aylesbury & Garland, 530, 918
Bagan Datoh Estate, 373
Bailey, A. W., 221
Bain, George, 264
Baker, Hon. Mr. T. S., 127, 610
Balgownie and Bangi Rubber Estates,
445
Ban Eng & Co., 384
Ban Soon Leong, 720
Banks, 140
Bannennan, Colonel, 893
Banque de I'lndo-Chine, 143
Barillon, Bishop D. E., 286
Barker, F. W., 625
Barlow & Co., 676
Barnard, Henry Cuthbert, 3r3 '<
Batak Rabit Estate, 405
Batara Brickworks, 664
Batu Caves, The, 857
Batu Caves Estate, 416
Baxendale, Arthur Salisbury S54
Becker, Hans, 625
Behn, Meyer & Co., 672, 801
Behr & Co., 801
Belfield. F., 136
Belfield, H. Conway, 131
Bell, Elton, 742^
Bell, William Gregory, 327
Bendahara, Raja, 130
Benjafield, J, F., 612
Bennett, Edward Leigh, 318
Barkhuijsen, J. G., 752
Bertam Estate, 377
Beverlac and Kapar Estates, 408
Bible Society, The, 289
Bicknell, William Alfred, 140
Bidwell, Regent Alfred John, 627
Big game, The hunting of, 559
Biggs, Louis Alban Coutier, 742
Birch, E. W., C.M.G., 128
Bishop, James Edward, 883
Blackwater Estate, 459
Bland, Hon. Mr. Robert Norman, B A.,
126
Borneo Company, Ltd., 697
Botany, 331
Boustead & Co., 785
Bony Lin Chin, 146
Bower, Captain W. M. L., 299
Braddell, Mr. Justice, 135
Bramall, Edward, 679
Brandt, D., & Co., 669
Bratt, E. H., J.P., 568
Braunston Rubber Estate, 449
Bridges, Dr. D., 250
Brieh Rubber Company, Ltd., 413
Brinkmann & Co., 679
British Dispensary, Singapore, 6g7
British Malaya, Malays of, 222
Broadrick, Lieut. -Colonel Edward George,
594, 610
Brockman, E. L., 128
Brown, A. V., 328
Brown, James Edward M., 893
Brown, L. C, 503, 504
Bruseh Hydraulic Mine, 514
Bryant, Hon. Mr. Alfred Thomas, B.A.,
126, 138, 140
Buchanan, Charles, 855
Buckmaster, William North, 893
Buddhism, 290
Bujang Estate, 489
Bukit Asahan and Kesang Rim Estates
483
Bukit Cherakah Estate, 430
Bukit Dinkel Estate, 423
Bukit Nanas and Negri Sambilan Estates,
478
Bukit Rajah Estates, 456
Burhan & Co., 913
Burn-Murdoch, A. M., 329, 330
Burnside, E., 853
Butler, D., 300
Caldbeck, Macgregor & Co., 679, 810
Campbell, Clement, 330
Campbell, Douglas Graham, 132
Campbell, F. M., 456
Carruthers, J. B., F.L.S., 345, 350
Central Engine Works, Singapore, 650
Chan Kang Choon, 160
Chan Kang Swi, 497
Chan Kim Boon, 637
Chan Koon Cheng, J.P., S42
Chan Sow Lin, i3r
Chan Teow Lam, 617
Chan Yap Thong, 902
Chang Chin Hsun, 635
Chang On Siew, 549
Changkat Asa Estate, 438
Chapman, William Thomas, B.A., 269
Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and
China, 143
Charteris, F. R., 435
Cheah Cheang Lim, 898
Cheah Chen Eok, 757
Cheah Choon Seng, 770
Cheah Eng Wah, 546
Cheah Kok Phin, 539
Cheah Tat Jin, 770
Cheah Tatto, 761
Cheak Tek Thye, 489
Cheang Jim Chuan, 636
Chee Eng & Sons, 722
Chee Lim Bong, 905
Chee Swee Cheng, 902 '
Chee Yee Wo, 719
Chenderiang Rubber, Ltd., 381
Cheong Soon & Co., 726
Chetty System, The, 140
Chi Hong Cheng, 160
Chi Tze Ching, 156
Chin Ah Saick, 539
Chin Kant Kin Oil Trading Company, 722
Chin Jong Chong, 638
Chin Jong Kwong, 638
Chin, T. B., & Co., 726
China Mutual Life Insurance Company
Ltd., 694
Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Singapore,
617 ; Pinang, 742 ; Selangor, 855
Chinese Lawn Tennis Club, 584
Chinese Recreation Club, 584
Ching Keng Lee, 611
Choa Giang Thye, 652
Chong Fee & Co., 717
Chong Soo Leong, 638
Choc Ang Chee, 637
Choo Cheang Khay, 546
Choo Chuan Keok & Co., 833
Choo'Hu Seong, 546
Choo Thong Hee, 657
Chop Chin Giap Pineapple Preserving
Works, 652
Chop Hang Seng, 71 8
Chop Kwong Sang, 525
Chop On Woh, 553
Chop Soon Bee, 177
Chop Youg Kwa, 716
Chow Kit & Co., 923
956
TWENTIETH CENTUKY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Choy Tsz Yong, 714
Christmas Island, 115
Chulan, Raja, 130!
Chung Ah Yong, 577
ChimgThye Phin, 130
Chung Thye Siong, 577
Chungkat Salak Estate, 384
Church of England, 281
Cicely Rubber Estate, 388
Clark, H. T., 277
Clayton, L. H,,22i, 741
Cobb, G. E., 893
Cochrane, Charles W. H., 131
Coconut Cultivation, 503
Cocos-Keeling Islands, 115
Coghlan, H. L., 611
Coghlan, H. L., & Co., 693
Coins, Discovery of Old, in Malacca, 843
Colbeck, Captain, 595
Coiomb, S. C, 328
Collinge, H. B., 269
Col wall Estate, 438
Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, 290
Conlay, William Lance, 300
Connolly, Dr. R. M., 160
Constitution and Law of the Straits Set-
tlements, 121 ; of the Federated Malay
States, 123
Consuls, 951
Convent, The, Pinang, 276
Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus, Kuala
Lumpor, 280
Cook, Edward Arthur, 312 .;
Copley, George, 140
Cost of living, 950
Couvreur, Father, 286
Cowan, William, 221
Crane, A. G., 893
Crawford, G. Whyte, 691
Cricket, 580
Criterion Press, 259
Crocodile shooting, 561
Croucher, Dr. Francis, 843
Cullin, E. C, 259
Gumming, George, 131
Cunningham, Clark & Co., 814
Cuscaden, George Percy, 300
Cuscaden, Captain W. A., 294, 299
Dalian's Australian Horse Repository,
580
D'Almeida, Frederick, 631,
D' Almeida, George, 628
Damansara Selangor Rubber Company,
Ltd., 428
Dato" Bandar, Sungei Ujoag, 133
Dato' Johol, 133
Dato' Klana Petra, Sungei Ujong, 133
Dato' Muda, Liuggi, 133
Dato' PangUma Besar, Perak, 130
Date' Penghulu, Jelebu, 133 ; Rembau,
133
De Hamel, Major H. B., 299
Denison Estate, 419
Dennys, the late Dr. N. B„ 750
Dennys, Allen, 795
Dent, Dr. F., 250
Derrick, Major George Alexander, 594
Derry, R., 337, 343
De Silva, B. P., 707
Deutsch-Asiatische Bank, 141 ^
Deutsche Vereiniguag, Pinang, 746
Diamond Jubilee Estate, 487
Dickson, EricAyton, 885
Dindings, The, History of, 49
Dingle, Edwin J., 257
Dobbie, J as. T., 259
Douglas, W, W., 300
Dugdale, William F., 318
Dulton, Ralph Mathew Legge, 299
Duncan, Chesney, 262
Dunn, W. S., 742 C
Dupire, C, & Co., 674
Dusun Durian and Roxburgh Estates, 403
Dykes, Frecheville Joseph Ballantine, 511
E Kong Guan, 502
Eastern Daily Mail, 257
Eastern Extension, Australasia and China
Telegraph Company, Ltd., 327
Eastern Smelting Company, Ltd., 817
Eastfield Estate, 386
Eastnor Estate, 475
Ebden, Leonard Powney, B.A., 302
Edinburgh Estate, 438
Education, 267
Elcum, John Bowen, B.A., 267, 269
Ellerton, Henry Brooke, 885
Ellis, Major Evelyn Campbell, 594
Emerald Estate, 419
Engineers' Institute, Pinang, 746
Eu Tong Seng, 534
European Social Life, 195
Evans, R. G., 511
Evans, Hon, Mr. William, 126
Ewing, N. R. Crum, 878 .
Exports, Imports, andShipping, 162
Faber, A. G., 803
Fauna, 927
Federal Dispensary, Ltd., 914
Federal Oil Mills, Ltd., 907
Federated Engineering Company, 909
Federated Malay States, history of, 74 ;
constitution and law, 123 ; finance,
139 ; exports, imports, and shipping,
164 ; harbours, 191 ; health and hos-
pitals, 249 ; Government Printing
Of&ce, 264; police, 297 ; prisons, 301 ;
railways, 304 ; public works, 315 ;
land survey and revenue, 323 ; posts,
telegraphs, and telephones, 326 ; mete-
orology, 557 ; geology, 558 ; volunteers,
-597 ; social and professional, 892 ; in-
dustrial, 907 ; commercial, 912 ; infor-
mation for tourists, 937
Federated Malay States Rubber Com-
pany, Ltd., 459
Ferguson, W. H., 612
Firmstone, H. W., 324
Fisher, Mr. Justice W. W., 134
Fisheries, 554
Foo Chew Fan, 543
Foo Choo Choon, 130
Foo Eang Sean, 781
FootbaU, 581
Forests of Malaya, 329
Fort, Hon. Mr. Hugh, 127
Fox, Alexander, 893
Fox, Captain Arthur J., 466
Fox, Walter, 330
Fraser & Neave, Ltd., 264, 642
Freemasonry, 625
Fry, Robert Symonds, 105
Fryer, G. W., 312
Fulcher, E. W. P., 612
Galloway, Dr. David James, 127
Gambling and spirits, 161
Game, The hunting of big, 559
Gan Ngoh^Bee, 761
Gan Teong Tat, 777 ]
Gapis Estate, 403
Gardner, John, 893
Gedong Bedor Estate, 419
General Hospital, Singapore, 246 ; Pinang,
248
Geology of the Federated Malay States,
558
Georgetown Dispensary, Ltd,, 812
Gervis Xavier & Co., 917
Gibson, John, J. P., 473
Gleeson, P. W., 570
Glenmarie and Batu Estates, 411
Glennie, Captain J. A. R., 595, 613-
Glossary, 940
Gnoh Lean Tuck, Dr., 160
Goh Boon Keng, 761
Gob Siew Tin, 177
Golden Hope Estate, 456
Goldenberg & ZeitUn and Martyn & Co.,
806
Goldie, William, 793,
Goodyear, C. M., 324
Goon Yen & Friends, 828
Goonetilleke, Dr. Frederick William, 642
Gostwick, H., 612
Gould, R. C, 749
Government House, Singapore, 202 ;
Pinang, 206
Governors of the Straits Settlements, List
of, 120
Graham & Co., Ltd., 810
Graham, Captain A. McD,, 300
Grand Hotel de I'Europe, Singapore, 946
Grant, Dr. Andrew, 892
Gray, Norman Tempest, 318
Gregory, Stephen Mesrope, 312
Grey, Robert Campbell, 131
Guan Lee Hin Steamship Company, 177
Guthrie & Co., Ltd., 669, 790
Gula Estate, 396
Guy, F. J. v., 936
Hackney carriage fares, 939
Haines, Rev. Frank William, 283
Haji Bot, Raja, Selangor, 131
Hale, Abraham, 251, 252
Hallaway, J. P., 612
HalUfax, Frederick James, 741
Hallifax, James Wilson, 741
Hamburg-America Line, 170
Hamel, G. S. D.. 748
Hampshire, A. K. E., & Co., 919
Handicrafts, Native, 232
Hanitsch, Karl Richard, 612, 623
Harbours and Lighthouses, 182
Harpenden Merrow Estates, 463
Harper, A. C,, & Co., 914
Harper, Joseph Peascod, 324
Harrison, R. W., 494
Hassan, Raja, Selangor, 131
Hatchell, Howard Montagu, 30J
Haynes, A, S., 221
Haytor Estate, 480
Heah Swee Lee, 131
Health and Hospitals, 246
Heap Eng Moh & Co., 180
Hearwood Rubber Estate, 377
Hedgeland, Edmund Woodhouse, 324
Heise, Friedrich Adolph, 817
Heng Hin & Co., 726
Heng Joo & Co., 926
Henggeler, A. A., 534
Henham, Rev. Hubert ColUson, 284
Henry, Walter, 318
Hermanos, Levy, 702
Herment, L., 681
Hickey, R. G., 192
Hidden Streams Estate, 405
High School, Malacca, 276
Highlands and Lowlands Estates, 422
Hill, Hon. Mr- Edward C. H., 127, 140
Hill-Stations and Sanitaria, 251
Hilton, Captain Frank, 124, 594
Hilton, H., J.P., 79^
Hin Choon & Co., 657
Hin Kian Ng, the late, 907
Hip Hing & Co., 717
Hin Tong Sen, 543
Ho Ann Kee, 657
Ho Chun Fatt, the late, 9C0
Ho Hong Oil and Rice Mills, 652
Ho Tiang Wan, 766
Hockey, 582
Hoho Biscuit Factory, 657
Holland, H. P. Dyson, 702
Hongkong and Manila Yuen Sheng Ex-
change and Trading Company, Ltd.,
143
Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corpo-
ration, Ltd., 141
Hooglandt & Co., 669
Hooper, W. E., 613
Hoosen, A. G., & Co., 707
Hoot & Co., 919
Hope, H. Ashworth, 892
Horse-racing, 562
Hose, Edward Shaw, 302, 853
Hose, Right Rev. George Frederick,
Bishop of Singapore, Labuan, and
Sarawak, 283
Hospitals, 246
Hotels, 940
How Wan Yiik, 539
Howard, Edward Charles Clifford, 324
Howarth Erskine, Ltd., 644, 801
Howell, James, 277
Hubback, Arthur B., 318, 597, 598
Hug & Co., 810
Hume, W. J. P.', 140
Hunting of Big Game, 559
Huttenbach Bros. & Co., 664, 785
Huttenbach, Hon. Mr. A., 747
Ibrahim, His Highness, Sultan of Johore,
891
Idris Mersid-el-Aazam Shah^ Raja,
G.C.M.G., Sultan of Perak, 128
Imports, 162
Inch Kenneth Rubber Estates, 456
Inche Tamby Abdullah, 854
India-Ceylon Association, Pinang, 747
Influence of Shipping Combines, 165
Information for Tourists, 937
Innes, Mr. Justice, 136
Institute for Medical Research, 249
International Banking Corporation, 146
International Bodega and Restaurant,
Pinang, 949
International Hotel, Pinang, 946
In Tinland, 264
Ipoh Club, 875
Ipoh Dispensary, 919
Ipoh Foundry, 908
Isseng Rubber Estate, 419
Iwatsubo, Dr. S., 640
Jackson, J. E., 853
Jalan Acob Rubber Estate, 463
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
957
Jebong Estate, 381
Jebsen, Henn., & Co., 796
Jeher and Serandah Mines, 530
Jelf, A. S., 132
Jeram Estate, 469
Jessen, H., 803
Jin Hang Estate, 423
Jitts & Co., 725
Joaquim, S- P., 613
Johore, descriptive account of, 890
Jones, Sir W. H. Hyndman, 134
Jugra Estate, 480
Jugra Land and Rubber Estates, Ltd.,
433
Jwi Fong Loong, 923
Kalumpang Estate, 435
Kam Keng Lim, 502
Kame & Co., 714
Kamuning Estate, 413
Kamunting Mine, 517
Kanaboi. Ltd., 533
Katz Bros., Ltd., 684, 803
Kaulfuss, August, 814
Kavasji, Sorabji, 258
Kelly & Walsh, Ltd., 679
Kempsey Estate, 469
Kennedy & Co., 781
Kenny, W. E., 318
Kepong Malay Rubber Estates, Ltd., 435
Kerr, Captain John, 180
Khaw Joo Choe, 154
Khie Heng Bee Mill, 824
Khoo Cheow Teong, 'jTj
Khoo Hock Cheong, 900
Khoo Sian Tan, 156
Khoo Siew Jin, 156
Khoo Teck Seang, 705
Kim & Co., 725
Kim Hin & Co., 716 ■
Kim Hoe & Co., 180
King, Joseph Leeman, 140
King Edward's School, Taiping, 279
Kinghorn, H. P., 612
Kinta Ice Work?, 908
Kirk, Dr. James, 751
Klanang Estate, 435
Kledang Tin Mining Company, Ltd., 522
Knocker, Fred W., 927
Koch, Gerald C, 140
Koek, L. E., 843
Koh & Co.. 722
Koh Beng Chua, 726
Koh Seang Tat, J.P., 755
Koh Seek Tian, 705
Kuala Kangsa Malay Residential School,
278
Kuala Lumpor Convent of the Holy
Infant Jesus, 280 ; Methodist Boys'
School, 279 ; St. John's Institution,
279 : descriptive account of, 845 ; Sani.
tary Board, 852 ; Fire Brigade, 855
Kuala Lumpor Rubber Company, Ltd.,
453
Kuhn & Komor, 691
Kulumpong Rubber Company, Ltd., 400
Kwa Chooi Seng, 541
Kwong Hing Loong & Co., 724
Kwong Kuk Cheong & Co., 539
Kwong Kut Cheong & Co., 926
Kwong Yan Hin, 720
Kwong Yik Banking Companyp^Ltd., 145
Labour question. The, 360
Labuan, 115
Labuan Padang Estate, 411
Ladies' Lawn Tennis Club, Singapore, 584
Lai Chak Sang, gig
Lake Club, Kuala Lumpor, 856
Lam Loo King, 8g8
Lam Yuen San, 543
Lambert, G. R., & Co., 702
Lambert, W., 700
Lanadron Estate, 360
Land Survey and Revenue, 318
Lapan Utan Estate, 411
Lauderdale Estate, 388
Law, Mr. Justice, 136
Law Foo, 534
Law Yew Swee & Co., 926
Ledbury Rubber Company, Ltd., 445
Lee Cheng Yan & Co., 636
Lee Heng & Co., 522
Lee Keng Hee, 500
Lee Kong Lam, 854
Lee Pek Hoon, 577
Lee Tian Siew, 539
Lee Toon Poon, 572
Lee Toon Took, 570
Legislative Council, Straits Settlements,
127
Lemon, Arthur Henry, 324
Leng Cheak & Co., 823
Leonard, H. G. R., M.A., 221
Leong Cheong & Co., 710
Leong Chin, 543
Leong Fee, 130
Leong Lok Hin, J.P., Tjo
Leong Man Sau, 650
Lermit, Alfred William, 628
Li Kim Koh, 327
Lighthouses, 193
Lim Boon Keng, 633
Lim Cheng Law, 781
Lim Eu Toh, 742, 766
Lim Hua Chiam, 260
Lim Kek Chuan, 156
Lim Kok Eng, 180
Lim Koon Yang, 572
Lim Kwee Eng, J.P., 635
Lim Loon Hock, 712, 728
Lim Mah Chye, 156
Lim Seng Hooi, 260
Lim Soo Chee, 757
Lim Sun Ho, 820
Lira To, go6
Linggi Plantations, Ltd., 475
Linsum Estate, 480
Literature, Malay, 229
Little, John, & Co., Ltd., 681
Living, Cost of, 950
Llewellyn, Lieut. Herbert Roland, 595
Lloyd's Greater Britain Publishing Com-
pany, Ltd., 266
Local Government, 211
Logan, Daniel, 749
Loh Lum, 712
Loke Chow Kit, 160
Loke Yew, 893
Look Yan Tit, 640
Low Ah Pang, 546, 8y8
Low Boon Kim, 902
Low Boon Tit, 900
Low Kim Pong, 638
Lucr.s, G. D., 511
Lumsden, C. S., 463
Lupton, Harry, 317, 843
McAlister & Co , 684, 7g3
McClymont, J. & Q., 917
McDowell, Dr. Donald Keith, C.M.G., 250
jMacgregor, J. A., 480
Macintyre, Commander D. C, 192
Mackail, J. H., 612
McLean, L., 269
McPherson, E. D., 893
JIaddocks, W. E., 192
Magill, G. N., 459
Mahmud, Raja, 854
Makepeace, Walter, 253, 255
Malacca, history of, 65 ; harbour, igi ;
hospitals, 249 ; hill-stations, 252 ; High
School, 276 ; Malay education, 277 ;
public works, 315 ; descriptive account
of , 837 ; Municipality, 840 ; information
for tourists, 938
Malacca Chinese Club, 844
Malacca Club, 844
Malakoff Estate, 377
Malay Education in Malacca, 277
Malay Mail. 262
Malay Literature, 229
Malay Peninsula (Johore) Rubber Con-
cessions, Ltd., 363
!Malay Proverbs, 231
Malay Residential School, Kuala Kangsa,
277
Malay Settlement, Kuala Lumpor, 857
Malay States, Federated, see Federated
Malay States
Malay States Guides, 587
Malaya, Population of, 213 ; forests of,
329
Malayan Arts and Handicrafts, 234
Malays of British Malaya, 222
Mansfield, W., & Co., Ltd., 177
Marks, Oliver, 124
Marriott, Hayes, 327
Martia, D. M., 612
Mason, J. Scott, 881
Matang Jamboe Estate, 391
Maundrell, E. B., 133
Maxwell, Eric, S92
Maxwell, William George, 135
Mayhew, T. A., 613
Maynard & Co., Ltd., 68g
Medical Hall, Ipoh, 912
Medical Hall, Singapore, 694
!Medical Research, Institute for, 249
Mercantile Bank of India, 145
Merchant Shipping Laws, 165
Merton Estate, 416
Messageries Maritimes, 170
Metcalfe, H. W., 543
Meteorology, 556
Methodist Boys' School, Kuala Lumpor,
279
Michell, W. C. 136
Middleton. Dr. H. R. C, 613
Military, 587
Mills, Charles Beresford, 140
Mills, Frank, 313
Mills. Commander J. F., 192
Milne, A. B., 497
Mining, 505
Mitchell, R. M. G., 433
Moffatt, Frank A., 893
Mondy, A. G., 511
Money, Value of English and Foreign,
939
Motion, James, & Co., 700
Muda, Raja, of Perak, 130; of Selangor,
131
Mugliston, G. R. K., 570
Murray, Colonel, V.D., C.E., 127
Murray, Sir George S., 145
Murray, W. J., 534
Murray-Robertson, Dr. Thomas, 610
Nambyar, P. K., 755
Napier, Hon. Mr. W. J., 126, 135
Nathan, J. E., 881
Nathan, E. S., 700
Native Arts and Handicrafts, 232
Xcderlandsch Handel Maatschappy, 149
Nederlandsch-Indis che Escompto-Maat-
sciiappij, 146
Negri Sambilan, history of, 113 ; hos-
pitals, 250 ; hill-stations, 252 ; police,
298 ; descriptive account of, 881
Neubronner, Henry Alfred, 751
New Club, Taiping, 875
New Comet Estate, 475
Ngah Abubakar, Raja, Perak, 130
Nippon Yusen Kaisha, 170
Noordin, H. M., J.P., 757
Noordin, M. M., 752
Norddeutscher Lloyd, 167
Oh Kee Chuan, 181
Oh Swee Kiat, 7;!8
Oldham, Bishop, 287
Oman, W. Campbell, 317
Ong Hun Chong, 772
Ong Kim Wee, 843
Ong Tek Lim, 6ii
Ong Tiang Soon, 638
Oon Chong Siew, 728
Opium, 152
Orang Kaya Kaya Laksamana, Perak, 130
Orang Kaya Kaya Sri Adika Raja, Perak
130
Orang Kaya Kaya Stia Bijava di Raja,
Perak, 130
Orang Kaya Mentri Paduka Tuan, Perak,
130
Orient, 260
Oriental Social Life, igS
Oriental Telephone and Electric Com-
pany, Ltd., 620
Orr, J. Bligh, 475
Osborne, F. D., 130
Osborne & Chappel, 527
Osman, J. M., 650
Otomune, G., & Co., 707
Outram Road School, Singapore, 272
Owen, Mr. John Fortescue, 302
P. and O. Company, 166
Pebaney, Ebrahimbhoy, 707
Padang Gajah Estate, 478
Padang Jawa Estate, 43S
Pahang, history of, 114 ; [hospitals, 25a;
pohce, 299 ; descriptive account of,
886
Paradise Rubber Estate, 459
Park, Dr. George Williamson, 742
Palaling Rubber Estate, 433
Paterson, C. E., 572
Paterson, Graham, 610
Paterson, Simons & Co., Ltd., 664, 796
Payne, W. Cecil, 262
Peel. William, 324
Pendamaran Estate, 460,
Pennefather, John Pyne, 324
Perak and Finang Aerated Water Factory,
914
Perak Club, 584
Perak Dispensary, gig
Perak, history of, 11 1 ; hospitals, 250;
hiU-stations, 251 ; police, 298 : descrip-
tive account of, 858
958
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
Perak Ladies' Rifle Association, 562
Perak Phai-macy, gig
Perak Pioneer, 260
Perak State Museum, 872
Pereira, J. DA., 657
Perkins, C. J., 324
Permataiig Estate, 492
Perrott, Major-General T., C.B., 124, 587
Perry, R. W.. 522
Perseverance Estate, 664
Pfenningwerth, K., 438
Pharmacy, The, Singapore, 6gi
Phillips, Rev. C. M., M.A., 269, 271
Phillips. P., 330
Pierce, Robert, 612
Pigott. F.J..3t7,3i8
Pillay, R. Doorasamy, 854
Pilot Associations, 166
Pinang, history o ', 49 ; harbour, 189 ;
hospitals, 248; hill-stations, 252; Free
School, 272 ; public works, 315 ; volun-
teers, 595 ; descriptive account of, 728 ;
Municipality, 738 ; Chamber of Com-
merce, 742 ; Chinese Chamber of Com-
merce, 742; Library, 744; information
for tourists, 938
Pinang Club, 744
Pinauil Gazette, 258
Pinang Horse Repository, 814
Pinang Opium and Liquor Farm, 156
Pinang Sales Room, S28
Pinang Swimming Club, 5S5
Pinang Town Club, 744
Pineapple Industry, The, 504
Pinhorn, R. H., M,A., 274
Pinkney, Robert, 328
Plang Estate, 419
Polglase, John, 611
Police, 294
Polo, 5S0
Pooley, John Gurdon Turner, 893
Population of Malaya, 213
Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones, 325
Pountney, A. M., 221
Powell & Co., 693
Presbyterian Church, 288
Presgrave & Matthews, 747
Presgrave, Edward William, 748
Press, The, 253
Prior, E. B., 456
Prisons, 301
Pritchard & Co., 806
Proust, Rene, 533
Proverbs, Malay, 231
Province Wellesley, history of, 49 ; hos-
pitals, 24g ; public works, 315
Prye Estate, 363
Public Works D.;partment, 314
Fusing Lama Tin Mining Company, Ltd.,
525
Pykett, Rev. G. F., 274
Quah Beng Kee. 742, 755. 833
<3uartley, H. R., 466
Radcliffe, Commander C. A., R.N., 192
Raffles Girls' School, 271
Raffles Hotel, Singapore, 940
Raffles Institution, 269
Raffles Library and Museum, 621
Rahman Tin Mining Company, 514
Railways, 303
Rantau Panjang Estate, 433
Rautenberg, Schmidt & Co., 676
Ravensway & Co., 700
Recreation Club, Kuala Luinpor, 856
Reid, Thomas H., F.J.I., 257
Religion, 281
Ribiero, C. A., & Co., 705
Richards, D. S., 324
Ridge-, Henry Charles, M.A., 221
Ridley, H. N., M.A., 331, 336
Riley, Hargreaves & Co., Ltd., 644, 801,
912
Riverside Estate, 442
Robinson & Co., 684
Robinson, Franklyn S., 136
Robinson, H. C, 927, 936
Robson, John Henry Matthews, 263
Rogers, T. H. T., 893
Rolls, Francis Crosbie, 351
Roman Catholic Church, 284
Rose, Dr. John Stuart, 742
Ross, Balfour Earl, 749
Rowley, Thomas William, 883
Rubber, 345 ; development in Malaya —
historical. 351 ; land alienation terms,
352 ; practical considerations in estate
work, 354 ; labour, 355 ; tapping and
coagulation, 356 ; market price, 358 ;
yields and profits, 359 ; company forming,
35Q
Rubber Estates (Johore), Ltd., 363
St. Clair, William Graeme, 255
St. George's Girls' School, 276
St. John Ambulance Association, 587
St. John's Institution, Kuala Lumpor, 279
St. Joseph's Institution, 272
St. Xavier's Institution, 274
Saiyid Mashhor bin Saiyid Muhammad,
131
San family, 847
Sanderson, Mrs. Reginald, 213
Sandilands, Buttery & Co., 793
Sandycrott Estate, 386
Saunders & Co., 681
Schaefer, H. & Co., 676
Scheepsagentuur vorheen J. Daendels &
Co., 174
Schiffmann, Heer & Co., 7gg
Schmidt, Kuestermann & Co., 803
Schubert, R. E. H., 749
Scott, George V. L., 453
Scott, Walter Dare, 561, 562
Scrivenor, M. J. B., 558
Seaiield Estate, 466
Seah Eu Chin, 634
Seah Song Seah, 635
Seaport Estate, 430
See Ewe Boon, 143
See Long & Co., iSi
Seet Kee Ann, 160
Selangor, history of, 113 ; hospitals, 250 ;
hill-stations, 252 ; police, 298 ; descrip- ,
tive account of, 878
Selangor Club, 855
Selangor Chinese Chamber of Commerce,
855
Selangor Engineering Company, gi2
Selangor River Estate, 475
Selinsing Estate, 403
Sells, Herbert Cumberlege, 327
Semenyih Estate, 393
Senawang Estate, 4g4
Seng Heng & Co., 7ig
Seng, C. S., & Partners, 770
Seng, C. S., & Co., 837
Seow Ewe Lin, 141
Separators, Ltd., 525
Seremban Engineering Company, gog
Seremban Estate, 483
Seremban Miners' Association, 54g
Severn, Claud, 124
Shaw, H. Redfearn, 323, 324
Shipping, 162 ; combines, 165; lines, 166 ;
agencies, 177
Sijenting Estate, 4^3
Sim Kheng Hoo, 7 [2
Simpang Estate, 391
Stmpson, Dr. A. B., 631
Sin Khye Bee Mills, 820
Sin Seng Whatt. 926
Singapore and Kranji Railway, 310
Singapore Club, 624
Singapore Cold Storage Company, Ltd.,
650
Singapore Cricket Club. 582
Singapore Free Press, 254
Singapore, Bishop of, 283
Singapore Harbour, 182
Singapore, history of, 20 ; hospitals, 246 ;
hill-station, 252 ; public works, 314 ;
volunteers, 592 ; description of the city,
599 ; Municipality, 605 ; Chamber of
Commerce, 613 ; electric tramways,
617 ; Chinese Chamber of Commerce,
617 ; information for tourists, 937
Singapore Oil Mills, 647
Singapore Recreation Club, 584
Singapore Rowing Club, 586
Singapore Rubber Company, Ltd., 466
Singapore Steam Saw-mills, 650
Singapore Swimming Club, 584
Slot, G. H., & Co., 803
Smith, Mr. Justice Thomas Sercombe, 135
Snipe shooting, 561
Social Life, 195
Somerset Rubber Estate, 405
Song Kim Pong, 146
Song Ong Slang, 633
Soo Ah Yong, goo
Spirits, 161
Spooner, Charles Edwin, C.M.G., 312
Sport, 559
Sproule, Percy Julian, 135
Stafford, G. M., 324
State Finance, 137
Stephens, Arthur Bligh, 330
Stevens, K. A., 610
Stockley, Captain H. H. F., 124
Stokoe, Edward Richmond, 318
Stoney, Bowes Ormonde, 222, 228
Straits Echo, 258
Straits Industrial Syndicate, 664
Straits Settlements, history of the, 13 ; at
the present day, 117 ; Governors of,
120 ; constitution and law, 121 ; finance,
137; exports, imports, and shipping,
162; health and hospitals, 246 ; Govern-
ment Printing Office, 263 ; police, 294 ;
prisons, 310 ; Public Works Depart-
ment, 314 ; land survey and revenue,
318 ; posts, telegraphs, and telephones,
325 ; meteorology, 556
Straits Steamship Company, Ltd., 174
Straits Times, 256
Straits Trading Company. Ltd., 534, 553,
644, 806, gi2, 914, 919
Strathmore Estate, 469
Stroobach, Jacobus, 146
Stuart, A., 162, 165
Stuhlmann, Alfred, & Co., 806
Suat Chur»n Y'in, Dr., 160
Sung Ah Gnew, 543
Sungei Besi Mine, 527
Sungei Kapar Estate, 443
Sungei Klah Estate, 403
Sungei Koro Estate, 487
Sungei Krudda Estate, 396
Sungei Puloh Rubber Estate, 445
Sungei Rambai Estate, 469
Sungei Rengam Estate. 463
Sungei Ujong Railway, 309
Sungei Way Estate, 473
Swan, Henry E., 881
Swann & Maclareu, 627
Sweney, Edward, 324
Swindell, Rev. F. G., 284
Symonds, Captain D'Arcy, 299
Sze Hal Tong Banking and Insurance
Company, 146
Sze To Yee, 722
Taik Ho & Co., 923
Taik Lee Guan & Co., 177
Taiping, King Edward's School, 279
Tait, J. J., 546
Talbot, Frederic William, 140
Talbot, Captain H. L., 297, 299
Tarn Ah Poon, 710
Tam Yong, 133
Tambun Mine, 511
Tan Boo Liat, 574
Tan Chay Yan, J.P., 842
Tan Eng Wah, 728 '
Tan Hood Guan. 572
Tan Hoon Choon, 502
Tan Jiak Hoe, 500
Tan Jiak Kim, Hon. Mr., 127, 631
Tan Jiak Lim, 4g7
Tan Jiak Whye, 902
Tan Joo Tiam, 705
Tan Kah Kee, 712
Tan Keong Saik, J.P., 640
Tan Kheam Hock, 154
Tan Say Lee, 726
Tan Swi Phiau, 146
Tan Teck Cheng, 728
Tan Twa Hee & Co., 657
Tanglin Club, 625
Tanjong Pagar Docks, 184
Taveira, L., 32S
Taylor, Sir William Thomas, K.C.M.G.,
127
Tearle, William, 313
Tedlie, T. H., 54g
Teigh Eng Yeok, 170
Teik Chin Company, 919
Ten Tock Seng Hospital, 247
Tennis, 581
Terentang Estate, 480
Teutonia Club, 624
Tham Heng Wan, 710
Thean Chee & Co., 828
Thio Sioe Kiat, 180
Thio Soen To, 180
Thio Tiauw Siat, 777
Third Mile Development Syndicate, iLtd.
494
Thomas, O V., 742
Thornley, Dr. R. L., 250
Thornton, Mr. Justice Swlnford Leslie^
134
Thornton, Maxwell Ruthven, 748
Tiang Lee & Co., 824, 926
Tiang Lim Bros., 717
Time, 950
Times of Malaya, 261
TWENTIETH CENTURY IMPRESSIONS OF BRITISH MALAYA
959
Tomlinson, S., 627
Tong Sing, 923
Tourists, information for, 937
Towner, Harry Venus, 317
Trafalgar Estate, 489
Travers, Dr. Ernest Aston Otlio, 854
Travers, J., & Son, Ltd., 684
Treacher Technical School, 279
Tremelbye (Selangor) Rubber Company,
Ltd., 473
Trong Estate, 393
Trotter, H. B. N. C, 327
Trump, J., 318
Tunlfu Muhamad, C.M.G., His Highness,
132
Tunku Muda Chik, 133 ; Pahang, 134
Tunku Besar, Tampin, 133 ; Pahang, 134
Turf Club, 564
Turner, Hon. Mr. John, 127
Ulu Buluh Estate, 400
Ung Bok Hoey, 260
Ungku Muda, Pahang, 134
Vallambrosa and Bukit Kriong Estates,
453
Van Cuylenburg, John, 323
Vane, Henry George Bagnall, 140
Vanrenan, Major Arthur Saunders, 592
Vanrenan, Frank Adrian, 269
Vanrenan, Walter C, 511
Velge, Charles Eugene, 135
Victoria Institution, Selangor, 277
Vijayan, 260
Volunteers, 592
Von Donop, L. B., 854
Voules, A. B., 302
Wai Seng & Co., 722
Walker, H. J. Noel, 136
Walker, Lieut.-Colonel R. S. F., C.M.G.,
302, 589
Waller, Charles Alfred, 750
Wallick, E. H., 318
Watkins, A, J., 610
Watkins, Alexander James William, 627
Watson, Dr. Malcolm, 250
Watson, R. G., 324
Wearne, C, F. F., & Co., 702
Webster, Albert Edward, 801
Wee Hap Lang, 160
Wee Kay Poh, 156
Wee Kay Seek, 728
Wee Kay Siang, 156
Wee Kim Yam, 714
Wee Leong Tan, 640
Wee Tiong Hock, 717
Weights and Measures, 952
Weill & Zerncr, 694
Weld Hill Residential Club, 856
Welham, Herbert, 259
W'elleslcy, Province, see Province Wcl-
lesley
Wellington Estate Company, Ltd., 408
Wertheim, Dr. Sigmund, 631
White, W. A., 328
Whiteaway, Laidlaw & Co., 689, 812
Whitham, John, 449
Whittall & Co.. 494
Wilkinson, R. J., 130, 229, 231
Williams, John Huw, 313
Wing Hing Company, 522
Wing Sang & Co., 726
Wolferstan, L. E. P., 136
Wolff, Ernest Charteris Holford, B.A.,
128, 133
Wong Fong, 898
Wong Lam Yen, 546
Wong Wan On, 640
Wong Wee Yeng, 553
Woodward, Mr. Justice, 136
Wray, Cecil, 133
Wray, Leonard, I.S.O., 232, 245
Wreford, John Frederick, 748
Wright, Arnold, Historical Account of
the Straits Settlements by, 13 ; of the
Federated Malay States, 74
Wright-Motion, G. E., 749
Wyatt, E. W. N., 881
Yam Seng Estate, 391
Yamato & Co., 712
Yap Kwan Seng, the late Captain China,
897
Yap I^ong Hin, 895
Yap Loong Kee, the late, 905
Yap Whatt& Co., 717
Yau Tat Shin, 539, 640
Y:iu Tet Shin, 539
Yeo Cheng Lean, 902
Yeo Swee Hce, 708
Yeo W^ee Gark, 766
Yeoh Chin Kee, 541
Yeoh Paik Keat, 772
Yong Hoa Seng, 724
Yong Lee Seng & Co., 721
Young, Alfred Ernest, 324
Young, Captain Arthur H., CM.G., 126
Young, Dr. D., 631
Young, Robert, 752
Young, Robert Heyden, 323
Young Men's Christian Association, 289
Young Women's Christian Association,
290
Yow Hi Ting, 642
Yow Ngan Pan, 718
Yue Wok & Co., 923
Zacharias & Co., 917
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